July 17, 2001
John D. MacDonald’s 1950 mystery, “The Homesick Buick,” has one character with an IQ of a genius but he was so unattractive that no one would accept that he could be smart. He solved the acceptance problem by retaking the IQ test until his score was average. This young fellow illustrates the difference between being knowledgeable and being shrewd. He used his smarts to benefit himself without anyone realizing the trick he played on them. Eventually, he also used his intellect to solve the mystery in the story.
Being knowledgeable also is not the same as being wise. A wise person is able to use their knowledge and experience with good judgement so it benefits everyone. Wisdom is not measured by IQ or Mensa tests but shows up in the way a person handles life.
The Bible says that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” This fear is not a terror that drives a person to flight but a feeling of awe mixed with respect and adoration. Almost every reference to the “fear of the Lord” combines it with knowing and obeying God. In other words, those who know God will also fear Him and do what He says. They do not offer Him mere lip service because knowing Him awes them into total allegiance.
This does not mean that a wise person never makes mistakes. King Solomon is said to have been one of the wisest men who ever lived but he disobeyed God. The Lord said that a king should guard against acquiring gold, horses, and many women. Solomon had more horses and gold than any king of his time and several hundred wives. Nevertheless, Solomon wrote “Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost you all you have, get understanding.”
In this search to become wise, people have done everything from perching on flag poles to living in a desert, but Solomon knew that wisdom comes from God. He said “the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding.”
One practical way to glean this wisdom is by reading words that God inspired Solomon to write, such as Proverbs or Ecclesiastes. Since Proverbs has thirty-one chapters, it is fairly easy to read one a day on the corresponding day of the month. If a chapter is missed, go to whatever one matches the date and catch the one you missed the next month.
If you search for His wisdom, God promises a positive payback. He says, “Listen . . . accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.”
Our words and ideas are limited to the input we receive. Imagine the difference when that input comes from God who is limitless. No wonder the psalmist wrote, “Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies . . . I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts.”
Fictional wise guys might be able to solve crimes but God can help us solve the mysteries of life. Our part is to know Him well. If we allow that knowledge of Him to fill us with awe, then we will want to do everything He says. As that happens, we will become far wiser than our best IQ scores.
Showing posts with label knowing God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label knowing God. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
Recognizing God ................ Parables 598
June 2, 1998
Dad “works better” with Mom around. They have been partners for nearly sixty years. Together they are much stronger than they are apart.
This is particularly true in the past few years. My mother has Alzheimers and my Dad has legs that will not work. He has been her mind and she his body. Now, both are struggling. Although they need each other, neither one is much help, either with memory or physical activity.
Since February, Dad has been separated from Mom because he needed nursing care. It is only across the street from her senior’s lodge, but life is frequently confusing for him. His memory plays tricks. Some days he thinks he sees my mother but it is someone else. Does he forget what she looks like? I don’t think so. When she visits, he recognizes her instantly. Whatever goes wrong when she is not there seems to work just fine when she is with him.
Their situation is sad, yet they enjoy small delights and are always thankful. They remind me constantly of things God is teaching me. Like them, I do better with others around, most of all God. He has been a faithful partner, even when my mind and body do not do whatever I want them to do. There are days when I am unsure of His presence, but others when I recognize Him instantly. No matter what goes wrong in my life, I know He is always close, whether I sense it or not. Because of Him, I enjoy small delights and am thankful.
For myself and others who believe in Christ, recognizing God is not a problem, yet it was for people in the first century. When Jesus came to earth, the Bible says, “the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”
Odd that His own (referring to the Jews) would not know Him. Their relationship with God went back several centuries. Didn’t He act like the God they thought they knew? Didn’t He look familiar? Or were they having problems with their eyesight?
At that time in history, the Jewish people were under the thumb of Rome, humiliated by both military and economic defeat. The Romans tolerated their presence but life was not easy. For years, God had promised a Messiah, a great deliverer. Most people were certain He would come as a man of war.
However, Jesus was anything but that. Besides, He didn’t act like the God of the Old Testament who helped them battle their enemies. How could this Jesus be God? If He showed anger, it was not against Roman oppressors but against self-righteous Jews.
Once He made a whip and drove them from the temple, accusing them of greed and turning His Father’s house into a “den of thieves.” He even accused them of violating the laws of God, pointed out other sins but mainly condemning them for not believing God had sent Him to redeem them. A few realized who He was and followed Him. Those who refused to admit their sin and rejected all that Jesus offered them were the same people who did not recognize Him.
According to Scripture, these rejecters had “eyesight problems.” They were blind to the identity of Jesus because their sin kept them from seeing reality. Their lack of vision was correctable. All they needed to do was acknowledge that Jesus was no ordinary man and seek His true identity. If they admitted they were sinful, God would have cleansed them and opened their eyes. In refusing to do this, they missed their opportunity to know God through Christ.
For all who want to know Him today, the same principle applies. We too must acknowledge our sin, admit our helplessness, and keep our eyes open. God will reveal Himself. He will forgive and cleanse our sin. He will give us a new understanding of reality. And when He does, we will never forget what He looks like.
Dad “works better” with Mom around. They have been partners for nearly sixty years. Together they are much stronger than they are apart.
This is particularly true in the past few years. My mother has Alzheimers and my Dad has legs that will not work. He has been her mind and she his body. Now, both are struggling. Although they need each other, neither one is much help, either with memory or physical activity.
Since February, Dad has been separated from Mom because he needed nursing care. It is only across the street from her senior’s lodge, but life is frequently confusing for him. His memory plays tricks. Some days he thinks he sees my mother but it is someone else. Does he forget what she looks like? I don’t think so. When she visits, he recognizes her instantly. Whatever goes wrong when she is not there seems to work just fine when she is with him.
Their situation is sad, yet they enjoy small delights and are always thankful. They remind me constantly of things God is teaching me. Like them, I do better with others around, most of all God. He has been a faithful partner, even when my mind and body do not do whatever I want them to do. There are days when I am unsure of His presence, but others when I recognize Him instantly. No matter what goes wrong in my life, I know He is always close, whether I sense it or not. Because of Him, I enjoy small delights and am thankful.
For myself and others who believe in Christ, recognizing God is not a problem, yet it was for people in the first century. When Jesus came to earth, the Bible says, “the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”
Odd that His own (referring to the Jews) would not know Him. Their relationship with God went back several centuries. Didn’t He act like the God they thought they knew? Didn’t He look familiar? Or were they having problems with their eyesight?
At that time in history, the Jewish people were under the thumb of Rome, humiliated by both military and economic defeat. The Romans tolerated their presence but life was not easy. For years, God had promised a Messiah, a great deliverer. Most people were certain He would come as a man of war.
However, Jesus was anything but that. Besides, He didn’t act like the God of the Old Testament who helped them battle their enemies. How could this Jesus be God? If He showed anger, it was not against Roman oppressors but against self-righteous Jews.
Once He made a whip and drove them from the temple, accusing them of greed and turning His Father’s house into a “den of thieves.” He even accused them of violating the laws of God, pointed out other sins but mainly condemning them for not believing God had sent Him to redeem them. A few realized who He was and followed Him. Those who refused to admit their sin and rejected all that Jesus offered them were the same people who did not recognize Him.
According to Scripture, these rejecters had “eyesight problems.” They were blind to the identity of Jesus because their sin kept them from seeing reality. Their lack of vision was correctable. All they needed to do was acknowledge that Jesus was no ordinary man and seek His true identity. If they admitted they were sinful, God would have cleansed them and opened their eyes. In refusing to do this, they missed their opportunity to know God through Christ.
For all who want to know Him today, the same principle applies. We too must acknowledge our sin, admit our helplessness, and keep our eyes open. God will reveal Himself. He will forgive and cleanse our sin. He will give us a new understanding of reality. And when He does, we will never forget what He looks like.
Friday, March 10, 2017
I Am What I Am! ................ Parables 560
June 24, 1997
While mutually admiring a photograph of the Rockies, seven-year-old Levi told me he loves being in the mountains. I asked this little lad, “When you stand looking up at them, do they make you feel small?”
He said, “No, I already know I am small.”
The so-called negative realities of life are sometimes difficult for most people to accept. Some “vertically challenged” adults buy shoes with lifts or wear clothes with vertical stripes, anything to appear taller. Two shoe salespeople have related that customers came in insisting they wear shoes two sizes smaller than the pair that fits them. Both clerks admitted scratching off the number and putting the proper-sized shoes in the wrong box, just to make the sale. They understood that these customers are not prepared simply to state the facts and live with them. Perhaps that is why remarks like Levi’s make us say, “Out of the mouths of babes. . . .”
Accepting undesired, unchangeable features is a challenge for many people. Too often we think we should be taller, or slimmer, or have smaller feet, or that our bodies must conform to the vogue in Hollywood or the criteria of New York modeling agents.
That our outside shape dictates our value seems to be an old problem. Somewhere around 1050 BC, the people asked one of God’s prophets to anoint for them a king. He picked Saul. The Bible says Saul was “an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites—a head taller than any of the others.”
Saul also impressed the prophet but after a few years, that same prophet had to boot him from office. This “impressive” king had not kept the commands the Lord God gave him so his tenure as king was over. God asked the prophet to anoint another man.
This time he was directed to a family with several sons. When he saw the height and appearance of the first one, he said, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here . . .” but God told him “No.” He added, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
Because we see the outside first, we often make evaluations on only that. If a person’s appearance conforms to our idea of good, favorable, well-shaped, lovely, well-muscled, or whatever other measurement we use, then we accept the person. In other words, if “short” is in then Levi will not have a problem with his peers, but if tall is popular, he will be ostracized for being small for his age.
Thankfully, God does not look at Levi or anyone else with those measurements in mind. Instead, He looks for an honest heart, one that will admit that the standards of this world are not reliable. They change from culture to culture, from year to year but God’s standards never change.
For that reason, the Lord looks for people who can say, “Yes, I may be short (if shortness is their particular issue) but I also fall short. I cannot measure up to the standards of God and I know that I need a Savior. I need God’s forgiveness and His help so that I can become all that He wants me to be.”
God also says, “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD. . . .”
An addition seems appropriate: “Let not the tall, handsome lad boast in his appearance...” Levi, small and ordinary, displays extraordinary humility. He has already taken a giant step towards pleasing God.
While mutually admiring a photograph of the Rockies, seven-year-old Levi told me he loves being in the mountains. I asked this little lad, “When you stand looking up at them, do they make you feel small?”
He said, “No, I already know I am small.”
The so-called negative realities of life are sometimes difficult for most people to accept. Some “vertically challenged” adults buy shoes with lifts or wear clothes with vertical stripes, anything to appear taller. Two shoe salespeople have related that customers came in insisting they wear shoes two sizes smaller than the pair that fits them. Both clerks admitted scratching off the number and putting the proper-sized shoes in the wrong box, just to make the sale. They understood that these customers are not prepared simply to state the facts and live with them. Perhaps that is why remarks like Levi’s make us say, “Out of the mouths of babes. . . .”
Accepting undesired, unchangeable features is a challenge for many people. Too often we think we should be taller, or slimmer, or have smaller feet, or that our bodies must conform to the vogue in Hollywood or the criteria of New York modeling agents.
That our outside shape dictates our value seems to be an old problem. Somewhere around 1050 BC, the people asked one of God’s prophets to anoint for them a king. He picked Saul. The Bible says Saul was “an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites—a head taller than any of the others.”
Saul also impressed the prophet but after a few years, that same prophet had to boot him from office. This “impressive” king had not kept the commands the Lord God gave him so his tenure as king was over. God asked the prophet to anoint another man.
This time he was directed to a family with several sons. When he saw the height and appearance of the first one, he said, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here . . .” but God told him “No.” He added, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
Because we see the outside first, we often make evaluations on only that. If a person’s appearance conforms to our idea of good, favorable, well-shaped, lovely, well-muscled, or whatever other measurement we use, then we accept the person. In other words, if “short” is in then Levi will not have a problem with his peers, but if tall is popular, he will be ostracized for being small for his age.
Thankfully, God does not look at Levi or anyone else with those measurements in mind. Instead, He looks for an honest heart, one that will admit that the standards of this world are not reliable. They change from culture to culture, from year to year but God’s standards never change.
For that reason, the Lord looks for people who can say, “Yes, I may be short (if shortness is their particular issue) but I also fall short. I cannot measure up to the standards of God and I know that I need a Savior. I need God’s forgiveness and His help so that I can become all that He wants me to be.”
God also says, “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD. . . .”
An addition seems appropriate: “Let not the tall, handsome lad boast in his appearance...” Levi, small and ordinary, displays extraordinary humility. He has already taken a giant step towards pleasing God.
Monday, August 29, 2016
You have to have been there! .......... Parables 477
July 18, 1995
The woman on the plane sounded Scottish so I asked her where she was from. She replied, “I live in Liverpool, but I belong to Scotland.” What charming words!
A few hours later, we landed in Glasgow and spent two weeks traveling through Scotland. Now, those words are more than charming. Now I have been there myself. Now I feel her heartbeat. I also feel as if I belong to Scotland. It is everything I imagined and more.
Perhaps my love affair is due to my grandfather being born near Aberdeen. There is something about family roots that draws a person back to the land of their origins. Whatever it is, I dream about Scotland nearly every night since we arrived back here in Alberta.
Mind you, there are drawbacks. It rains a great deal there (but I like rain). The roads are narrow and everyone drives on the wrong side of the road (but it never hurts me to slow down or learn a new skill). The prices are double or more what they are here in Canada and it is hard to make a living (so that is why Scots are so thrifty — but I am too). Still, I would go back tomorrow, if I could. And while I am dreaming, I would buy a castle ruins and have it restored. I even have the castle picked out. But then, you would have had to have been there.
“You have to have been there...” How true! Remember telling funny anecdotes but somehow they lost some of their magic in the retelling? The event was better “first hand.”
What about when children finally grow up and become parents... don’t they now better understand the joys and sorrows of being parents after they have “been there” themselves?
The same holds true in the Christian experience. Most people know at least something about God, but hearing about Him and is not the same as having “been there,” as having a personal relationship with Him. Try as we might, our glowing words, praises for God, and stories of answered prayer all sound flat to people who have not “been there.” Perhaps one way to explain is like standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon and trying to describe its color to a blind person.
The question is: How can a person know God? According to Scripture, we do not know God through hearing eloquent words, magnificent descriptions, and glowing testimonies about Him. They may help but the difference is like reading about Wayne Gretzky in the newspaper compared to playing on the same team with him.
Neither does being smart guarantee that a person knows God. The Bible explains that God (in His wisdom) decided no one in the world would know Him through wisdom. Being powerful or wealthy does not automatically make a person know God either.
How then can a person know God? Paul says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him — but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit...”
A “been there” experience of God is a revealed thing, and God has to do the revealing. He hides Himself from those who are proud, uninterested or simply playing games. Therefore we must come to Him with a “humble and contrite spirit” and “believe that He is and is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” We have to look for Him and desire to know Him for ourselves.
The lady on the plane could have described Scotland. She could have told me about the flawless fresh air and the bend-over-backwards hospitality — but being there made the difference. Scotland showed me Scotland... and now that I have been there, I’m not sure I understand why she lives in Liverpool.
The woman on the plane sounded Scottish so I asked her where she was from. She replied, “I live in Liverpool, but I belong to Scotland.” What charming words!
A few hours later, we landed in Glasgow and spent two weeks traveling through Scotland. Now, those words are more than charming. Now I have been there myself. Now I feel her heartbeat. I also feel as if I belong to Scotland. It is everything I imagined and more.
Perhaps my love affair is due to my grandfather being born near Aberdeen. There is something about family roots that draws a person back to the land of their origins. Whatever it is, I dream about Scotland nearly every night since we arrived back here in Alberta.
Mind you, there are drawbacks. It rains a great deal there (but I like rain). The roads are narrow and everyone drives on the wrong side of the road (but it never hurts me to slow down or learn a new skill). The prices are double or more what they are here in Canada and it is hard to make a living (so that is why Scots are so thrifty — but I am too). Still, I would go back tomorrow, if I could. And while I am dreaming, I would buy a castle ruins and have it restored. I even have the castle picked out. But then, you would have had to have been there.
“You have to have been there...” How true! Remember telling funny anecdotes but somehow they lost some of their magic in the retelling? The event was better “first hand.”
What about when children finally grow up and become parents... don’t they now better understand the joys and sorrows of being parents after they have “been there” themselves?
The same holds true in the Christian experience. Most people know at least something about God, but hearing about Him and is not the same as having “been there,” as having a personal relationship with Him. Try as we might, our glowing words, praises for God, and stories of answered prayer all sound flat to people who have not “been there.” Perhaps one way to explain is like standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon and trying to describe its color to a blind person.
The question is: How can a person know God? According to Scripture, we do not know God through hearing eloquent words, magnificent descriptions, and glowing testimonies about Him. They may help but the difference is like reading about Wayne Gretzky in the newspaper compared to playing on the same team with him.
Neither does being smart guarantee that a person knows God. The Bible explains that God (in His wisdom) decided no one in the world would know Him through wisdom. Being powerful or wealthy does not automatically make a person know God either.
How then can a person know God? Paul says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him — but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit...”
A “been there” experience of God is a revealed thing, and God has to do the revealing. He hides Himself from those who are proud, uninterested or simply playing games. Therefore we must come to Him with a “humble and contrite spirit” and “believe that He is and is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” We have to look for Him and desire to know Him for ourselves.
The lady on the plane could have described Scotland. She could have told me about the flawless fresh air and the bend-over-backwards hospitality — but being there made the difference. Scotland showed me Scotland... and now that I have been there, I’m not sure I understand why she lives in Liverpool.
Friday, May 27, 2016
Atheists, agnostics and knowing God .................. Parables 437
September 6, 1994
A person professing to be an atheist was flattered when someone suggested to him, “You must be extremely knowledgeable.”
He responded that he felt he was definitely intelligent and well informed. To that, the other person responded, “You must know everything there is to know.”
The atheist said, “Well, no, I have to admit that I do not. Actually, no one can know all there is to know.”
The next response was more unsettling: “I am surprised. Being an atheist requires knowing all there is to know about everything. The reason you have to be so knowledgeable is simple: if you don’t know everything, then God could exist in a realm of which you are completely ignorant.”
At that, and somewhat to his credit, the person who called himself an atheist changed his label. He said perhaps he was really an agnostic. The Bible says, “Only a fool says in his heart there is no God.” This man at least decided not to be a fool.
An agnostic position is somewhat like atheism, however. Agnostics believe ultimate reality (usually God) is unknown and unknowable. They seldom insist there is no God but say no one can know for sure.
Strangely, the Bible never argues for the existence of God. Instead, it treats the issue as self-evident. Concerning creation, no one finding a grand piano in the middle of a jungle would suppose the ebony trees fell in just the right configuration, ivory tusks from elephants over a period of years arranged themselves in order and were polished smooth by the rains, and copper ore was buffeted by the elements until it became piano wire. Because of the intricacies of creation, an intelligent Creator is assumed.
As for accountability, the Bible also assumes every man realizes that one day he will die and face judgment. This common fear is evident in the way people from every culture and era try every possible means to either escape death or appease the “ultimate judge” regarding their obvious imperfections.
A few decide the most rational choice is to declare God dead. If there is no God, there can be no judgment. Others imagine a god (or gods) that would approve of their lifestyle. Still others make idols to represent the gods they fear and offer sacrifices of various sorts hoping this will make their gods treat them favorably in the afterlife.
The religions of the world have in common the notion of some sort of ultimate reality but only one holds there is one God, the Lord Jehovah, creator of the universe and sovereign over His creation. This God revealed Himself to a people-group, the Hebrew nation, who recorded that revelation in a collection of books known as the Old Testament.
Then, two thousand years ago, He revealed Himself more fully by pulling on humanity (like a suit of clothes) and becoming one of us. In Jesus Christ, we can see what God is like: He loves us, but hates sin — so much so that He became our sacrifice for it. His story is in the New Testament.
As for the atheist’s requirement to know everything and the agnostic’s insistence one cannot know, Christ declares God is knowable. Those who follow Christ enjoy an intimate, personal relationship with Him. The reality of that relationship is so incredible that we are satisfied not to know everything else.
A person professing to be an atheist was flattered when someone suggested to him, “You must be extremely knowledgeable.”
He responded that he felt he was definitely intelligent and well informed. To that, the other person responded, “You must know everything there is to know.”
The atheist said, “Well, no, I have to admit that I do not. Actually, no one can know all there is to know.”
The next response was more unsettling: “I am surprised. Being an atheist requires knowing all there is to know about everything. The reason you have to be so knowledgeable is simple: if you don’t know everything, then God could exist in a realm of which you are completely ignorant.”
At that, and somewhat to his credit, the person who called himself an atheist changed his label. He said perhaps he was really an agnostic. The Bible says, “Only a fool says in his heart there is no God.” This man at least decided not to be a fool.
An agnostic position is somewhat like atheism, however. Agnostics believe ultimate reality (usually God) is unknown and unknowable. They seldom insist there is no God but say no one can know for sure.
Strangely, the Bible never argues for the existence of God. Instead, it treats the issue as self-evident. Concerning creation, no one finding a grand piano in the middle of a jungle would suppose the ebony trees fell in just the right configuration, ivory tusks from elephants over a period of years arranged themselves in order and were polished smooth by the rains, and copper ore was buffeted by the elements until it became piano wire. Because of the intricacies of creation, an intelligent Creator is assumed.
As for accountability, the Bible also assumes every man realizes that one day he will die and face judgment. This common fear is evident in the way people from every culture and era try every possible means to either escape death or appease the “ultimate judge” regarding their obvious imperfections.
A few decide the most rational choice is to declare God dead. If there is no God, there can be no judgment. Others imagine a god (or gods) that would approve of their lifestyle. Still others make idols to represent the gods they fear and offer sacrifices of various sorts hoping this will make their gods treat them favorably in the afterlife.
The religions of the world have in common the notion of some sort of ultimate reality but only one holds there is one God, the Lord Jehovah, creator of the universe and sovereign over His creation. This God revealed Himself to a people-group, the Hebrew nation, who recorded that revelation in a collection of books known as the Old Testament.
Then, two thousand years ago, He revealed Himself more fully by pulling on humanity (like a suit of clothes) and becoming one of us. In Jesus Christ, we can see what God is like: He loves us, but hates sin — so much so that He became our sacrifice for it. His story is in the New Testament.
As for the atheist’s requirement to know everything and the agnostic’s insistence one cannot know, Christ declares God is knowable. Those who follow Christ enjoy an intimate, personal relationship with Him. The reality of that relationship is so incredible that we are satisfied not to know everything else.
Friday, February 12, 2016
Where did the idea of God come from? ............. Parables 392
October 19, 1990
Have you seen the marvelous mouthwash commercial featuring a rooster who takes a swig, swishes it around, gargles, then breaks into song? What a delightful example of our incredible capacity to create. We see more of it everywhere, in art galleries, book stores, advertising, every place human hands have touched.
With this remarkable creative capacity, some conclude the idea of God is another one of our inventions. With that suggestion, some definitions are in order. First, which god is meant?
Some have observed there seems to be a force in the universe that permeates all and holds all things together. Plato and Socrates articulated this vague concept. Some have called it “god”.
Another “god” has been defined as an extension of a universal force that permeates the soul and being of all men, the so-called god-within. By this explanation, Shirley McLean claims there is a “god”, even that she is herself “god”, as do many others who embrace the religion of the New Age.
These are two concepts conceived by creative thinkers who may possibly be trying to understand a Something that they are certain exists. For them, it appears there is a god but the nature of its identity is impersonal and open to interpretation. In other words, “god” is up to human definition.
On the other hand, Christians believe there is a Being called God who created us in His image. Because of that, we have this capacity to create other things. We believe if God is someone man created, then man is god, and God amounts to little more than nothing.
Far from nothing, our understanding of God includes a universal force, that is He is infinite and omnipotent; His power pervades all of the cosmos, but He is more than a force. We know that is true because He did not leave us guessing about His nature; He revealed Himself, an element that makes Him different from man-created gods.
Why would man invent a god like this God? If we are that inventive, why not create something that is tangible, something we can see as well as worship, something that can be proven, and dissected and completely understood in any human language?
Looking at it rationally, how could we invent someone that is all we are not? We create based on what we know, observe and experience with our senses. While we may imagine things we have never seen, like roosters gargling mouthwash, we have seen roosters and we know about gargling mouthwash.
The God of the Bible is all that we are not. He is omnipotent or all-powerful. He says, “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27) There are too many impossibilities in my world to imagine or invent a Being who is thwarted by none of them.
This God is also omnipresent, everywhere at once. The psalmist said, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” He is that because He is, as Jesus said, Spirit. We cannot imagine that. We can imagine a ghost roughly shaped like a human being but we cannot envision Someone who occupies all space yet is not any of the things in that space, never mind an omnipresent God who is also personal. He has no head, no feet, yet He loves us. How could we make up something like that?
God is also omniscience, or all-knowing. The psalmist wrote, “O LORD, you have searched me, and you know me. You know when I sit and when rise; you perceive my thought from afar.... You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, you know it completely.... Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”
Exactly!
Have you seen the marvelous mouthwash commercial featuring a rooster who takes a swig, swishes it around, gargles, then breaks into song? What a delightful example of our incredible capacity to create. We see more of it everywhere, in art galleries, book stores, advertising, every place human hands have touched.
With this remarkable creative capacity, some conclude the idea of God is another one of our inventions. With that suggestion, some definitions are in order. First, which god is meant?
Some have observed there seems to be a force in the universe that permeates all and holds all things together. Plato and Socrates articulated this vague concept. Some have called it “god”.
Another “god” has been defined as an extension of a universal force that permeates the soul and being of all men, the so-called god-within. By this explanation, Shirley McLean claims there is a “god”, even that she is herself “god”, as do many others who embrace the religion of the New Age.
These are two concepts conceived by creative thinkers who may possibly be trying to understand a Something that they are certain exists. For them, it appears there is a god but the nature of its identity is impersonal and open to interpretation. In other words, “god” is up to human definition.
On the other hand, Christians believe there is a Being called God who created us in His image. Because of that, we have this capacity to create other things. We believe if God is someone man created, then man is god, and God amounts to little more than nothing.
Far from nothing, our understanding of God includes a universal force, that is He is infinite and omnipotent; His power pervades all of the cosmos, but He is more than a force. We know that is true because He did not leave us guessing about His nature; He revealed Himself, an element that makes Him different from man-created gods.
Why would man invent a god like this God? If we are that inventive, why not create something that is tangible, something we can see as well as worship, something that can be proven, and dissected and completely understood in any human language?
Looking at it rationally, how could we invent someone that is all we are not? We create based on what we know, observe and experience with our senses. While we may imagine things we have never seen, like roosters gargling mouthwash, we have seen roosters and we know about gargling mouthwash.
The God of the Bible is all that we are not. He is omnipotent or all-powerful. He says, “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27) There are too many impossibilities in my world to imagine or invent a Being who is thwarted by none of them.
This God is also omnipresent, everywhere at once. The psalmist said, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” He is that because He is, as Jesus said, Spirit. We cannot imagine that. We can imagine a ghost roughly shaped like a human being but we cannot envision Someone who occupies all space yet is not any of the things in that space, never mind an omnipresent God who is also personal. He has no head, no feet, yet He loves us. How could we make up something like that?
God is also omniscience, or all-knowing. The psalmist wrote, “O LORD, you have searched me, and you know me. You know when I sit and when rise; you perceive my thought from afar.... You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, you know it completely.... Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”
Exactly!
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
What do I NEED to know? ................. Parables 249
(January 9, 1991)
It isn’t easy writing a column for January 2 in the middle of December. Who knows what will be happening in three weeks? Plans, hopes, dreams or worries may or may not come to pass. Certainly, the Bible affirms it: “You do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.”
In spite of that, God does give some “knowns” to grab hold in our struggles with uncertainties. Call them blueprints, goals, or even anchors, but without something more solid than our own wants and hopes, blueprinting the year ahead is a waste of effort.
KNOWING WHAT I AM WITHOUT GOD: Paul said “I know that in me dwells no good thing...” This is not comfortable knowledge but necessary. We cannot know God or receive His forgiveness for our sins until we know and fully acknowledge our deep need of Him.
KNOWING HE HAS POWER TO FORGIVE SINS: God provided salvation from the penalty, power and presence of sin. Rather than be destroyed because of our guilt, in Christ, we can know forgiveness (Luke 5:24). No one knows any other way to deal with the guilt of sin!
KNOWING THE TRUE GOD AND JESUS CHRIST: Through faith in His Son, it is possible to intimately know God and have eternal life (John 17:3). Many people think they believe but how can we be sure that we actually do know Him?
OBEDIENCE TO HIM IS EVIDENCE OF KNOWING HIM: 1 John 2:3 says “Here is how we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.” The forgiven friends of Jesus Christ are those who, from the heart, obey what He says.
KNOWING LIBERATING TRUTH: Obedience gives even further assurance; Jesus said those who obey Him (rather than sin) will know that what He says is truth (John 7:17). Furthermore, those who know truth are set free from sin’s bondage (John 8:32). As we more deeply know truth, we more deeply realize what we would be doing, thinking and saying without Christ, thus we know any goodness that is present is there because Jesus is there. (see 2 Corinthians 13:5)
KNOWING THE MYSTERIES OF HIS KINGDOM: Jesus promised all this valuable knowing to His disciples. God’s insight into His world keeps me from losing my mind, direction, and confidence in this one (Matthew 13:11).
KNOWING AFFLICTIONS ARE APPOINTED FOR ME: One of His mysteries is that He does not shield his children from all trials. Then, when unexpected troubles come, instead of blaming God or being angry at Him, I can expect to find His wisdom teaching me lessons through it (2 Thessalonians 3:3,4).
God is not out to get me because “we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” His love works through blessings and disasters, using both for the good of those who love Him. That keeps me glad that I know Him.
KNOWING GOD HEARS AND ANSWERS PRAYER: John 9:31 says we know He will not hear sinners, but He will hear those who worship and obey Him. I John 5 says we can know He will do whatever we ask, if it is according to His will.
KNOWING WHAT I DO FOR HIM WILL BE REWARDED: There may not be a lot of thank you’s or praises in this life, but God’s Word promises rewards so I know my labor is not in vain in the Lord. I also know...
HE WILL RETURN UNEXPECTEDLY: “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night” (2 Thessalonians 5:2). Until that great event happens, I am convinced of one more certainty:
ETERNAL LIFE: 2 Corinthians 5:1 proclaims we know that when our earthly bodies are destroyed, we will have a heavenly body from God, eternal in the heavens. In fact, I John was written to all believers for this purpose, so they “may know they have eternal life.” I am sure of my destiny.
When Paul wrote Timothy, he had been ridiculed for his faith, however, he was “...not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”
Me too, not because of what I have done, but because He said so.
It isn’t easy writing a column for January 2 in the middle of December. Who knows what will be happening in three weeks? Plans, hopes, dreams or worries may or may not come to pass. Certainly, the Bible affirms it: “You do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.”
In spite of that, God does give some “knowns” to grab hold in our struggles with uncertainties. Call them blueprints, goals, or even anchors, but without something more solid than our own wants and hopes, blueprinting the year ahead is a waste of effort.
KNOWING WHAT I AM WITHOUT GOD: Paul said “I know that in me dwells no good thing...” This is not comfortable knowledge but necessary. We cannot know God or receive His forgiveness for our sins until we know and fully acknowledge our deep need of Him.
KNOWING HE HAS POWER TO FORGIVE SINS: God provided salvation from the penalty, power and presence of sin. Rather than be destroyed because of our guilt, in Christ, we can know forgiveness (Luke 5:24). No one knows any other way to deal with the guilt of sin!
KNOWING THE TRUE GOD AND JESUS CHRIST: Through faith in His Son, it is possible to intimately know God and have eternal life (John 17:3). Many people think they believe but how can we be sure that we actually do know Him?
OBEDIENCE TO HIM IS EVIDENCE OF KNOWING HIM: 1 John 2:3 says “Here is how we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.” The forgiven friends of Jesus Christ are those who, from the heart, obey what He says.
KNOWING LIBERATING TRUTH: Obedience gives even further assurance; Jesus said those who obey Him (rather than sin) will know that what He says is truth (John 7:17). Furthermore, those who know truth are set free from sin’s bondage (John 8:32). As we more deeply know truth, we more deeply realize what we would be doing, thinking and saying without Christ, thus we know any goodness that is present is there because Jesus is there. (see 2 Corinthians 13:5)
KNOWING THE MYSTERIES OF HIS KINGDOM: Jesus promised all this valuable knowing to His disciples. God’s insight into His world keeps me from losing my mind, direction, and confidence in this one (Matthew 13:11).
KNOWING AFFLICTIONS ARE APPOINTED FOR ME: One of His mysteries is that He does not shield his children from all trials. Then, when unexpected troubles come, instead of blaming God or being angry at Him, I can expect to find His wisdom teaching me lessons through it (2 Thessalonians 3:3,4).
God is not out to get me because “we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” His love works through blessings and disasters, using both for the good of those who love Him. That keeps me glad that I know Him.
KNOWING GOD HEARS AND ANSWERS PRAYER: John 9:31 says we know He will not hear sinners, but He will hear those who worship and obey Him. I John 5 says we can know He will do whatever we ask, if it is according to His will.
KNOWING WHAT I DO FOR HIM WILL BE REWARDED: There may not be a lot of thank you’s or praises in this life, but God’s Word promises rewards so I know my labor is not in vain in the Lord. I also know...
HE WILL RETURN UNEXPECTEDLY: “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night” (2 Thessalonians 5:2). Until that great event happens, I am convinced of one more certainty:
ETERNAL LIFE: 2 Corinthians 5:1 proclaims we know that when our earthly bodies are destroyed, we will have a heavenly body from God, eternal in the heavens. In fact, I John was written to all believers for this purpose, so they “may know they have eternal life.” I am sure of my destiny.
When Paul wrote Timothy, he had been ridiculed for his faith, however, he was “...not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”
Me too, not because of what I have done, but because He said so.
Monday, April 14, 2014
Knowing God .............................. Parables 105
"Oh, I know him... I met him last year at a
convention... haven't seen him since though."
"I know her so well that I can almost finish her
sentences when she talks to me."
"Dear, we have been married 12 years and I
sometimes feel as if I don't really know you at all."
Obviously, the degree of 'knowing' someone varies anywhere from a brief encounter to deep intimacy. We know the American president, at least we know who he is and would be able to say his name and shake his hand if he came to our door. We also know the neighbors, perhaps just by sight or perhaps well enough to discuss world affairs and Alberta weather as we chat across the fence, leaning on our garden shovels.
We also know our family, more intimately of course. We
know what they like to eat, what clothes they wear, and who leaves their dirty
socks under the bed. We know their deepest desires, their hopes and dreams.
Knowing God is the same, yet it is different. We do not see His image on television. If He came knocking on our door, we may not respond by sight the same way we would to a well‑known celebrity. We could also know many facts about God yet never have met Him in a personal way.
Yet God is not a person anyone could meet in a casual manner and walk away from the encounter without any further interaction. True knowledge of God never starts and ends with an introduction because when anyone meets the Living God, things are changed...
Their FOCUS OF TRUST is changed: "I know in whom I believe, and I am convinced that He is able..." (2 Timothy 1). True knowledge of God goes hand in hand with trusting Him. But this kind of faith is far more than a passive "Sure, I believe..." or an intellectual agreeing that God exists. Even the devil believes that!
ETERNAL DESTINY is changed: "And this is life eternal, that they might know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (J0hn 17:3). The devil knows who God is and knows all about Him, but the devil will not spend eternity in heaven with God. True knowledge of God results in eternal life. Therefore, it is a relationship worth seeking.
BEHAVIOR is changed: "We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands." True knowledge of God results in a lifestyle of obedience. Lack of knowing Him will show up in a person's life because the Bible says that anyone without God is also without the ability or the desire to obey Him. James affirmed it this way: "Faith without action is useless." Daniel 11:32 says, "They who know their God will be strong and take action."
In other words, if there are no changes, no action as a result of a supposed "knowing" of God, it is not the right kind of knowledge. That person is either lying or deceived.
Real knowledge also makes us want to know Him more. Paul, after meeting the Lord (Acts 9), spent several years with Him in private getting to know Him (Galatians 1). Later on, he wrote Philippians and said his only desire was "that I MAY KNOW HIM, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings..."
God did not allow Paul to be content with an introduction only. He had a desire to deepen his relationship with the One who had changed him so dramatically.
This deeper knowing is not reserved for apostles. It
is God's desire that all know HIm... then all increase the intimacy of that
relationship. He wants us to discuss every detail of our lives with Him, hear
our deepest desires, our hopes and dreams. He wants us to consciously be aware
of His presence, to intimately know His mind. Our God is a knowable God,
willing to reveal Himself to those who search for Him with their whole heart.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Who is this honored guest? ....................... Parables 043
Christmas is the only birthday party in which most of the guests do not know the person in whose honor the party is given.
In fact, there is as much argument about who Jesus Christ is today as there was after He arrived in Bethlehem, nearly two thousand years ago.
Some thought He was a prophet or perhaps a political redeemer. Others denounced Him as a liar and a blasphemer. Still others thought He was a madman. He Himself claimed to be God. They couldn’t all be right.
The Jews were looking for a promised Messiah who they thought would free them from Roman oppression and establish a Jewish kingdom. So when they saw that Jesus had power to heal diseases and feed multitudes, they welcomed Him. However, His message became clear . . . He came to deliver from their sin, not from the Romans. He called for a change in lifestyle and they changed their acceptance of Him instead. The very ones who wanted to make Him a King, soon were demanding, “Crucify Him, crucify Him.”
The religious leaders considered Him a liar and a blasphemer. He was upsetting their religious system and their authority over the people by claiming to be equal with God, calling Him His Father. These leaders led the demand that He be put to death. Their control over the people depended on getting rid of Jesus.
Some thought He was a crazy man, out of His mind because He wasn’t motivated by fame or personal gain. His own half brothers reasoned that He was crazy because He did not put His own interests first. Not only that, He said that anyone who “saved his own life would lose it, but those who lost their life for my sake would save it.” Clearly unpopular teaching.
Another group responded immediately to His call to follow Him. They were the twelve who later were called the disciples. One of them turned out to be a traitor, and the others ran from Him for a time, but they later returned and affirmed their belief that He was who He claimed to be.
Who is This Christ, This baby boy born in a manger?
Was He a deliverer? Yes, but not of a political sort. He came to set men and women free from the condemnation of sin and deliver them from the death penalty that sin carries.
Was He a liar and a blasphemer? Do liars live as this man lived? No man ever called Himself God and backed it up with the evidence that Jesus did. His “blasphemy” consisted of saying that He was God. If He was God, He was not a blasphemer.
Was He a lunatic? Men who are insane cannot, and do not forgive and heal sinful people, filling their hearts with peace.
Was He God in human flesh? A handful of men thought so. They were so convinced that they “lost their lives” for His sake. Since then, countless others have done the same. The birth of the baby didn’t convince them, nor did His life. If that had been so, they would not have fled from the cross. The evidence that proved the identity of Jesus was the empty tomb - the resurrection. The disciples may have been, for the most part, simple fishermen but they knew, beyond doubt, that lunatics, liars, and mere political messiahs do not rise from the dead.
There are no other options.
In fact, there is as much argument about who Jesus Christ is today as there was after He arrived in Bethlehem, nearly two thousand years ago.
Some thought He was a prophet or perhaps a political redeemer. Others denounced Him as a liar and a blasphemer. Still others thought He was a madman. He Himself claimed to be God. They couldn’t all be right.
The Jews were looking for a promised Messiah who they thought would free them from Roman oppression and establish a Jewish kingdom. So when they saw that Jesus had power to heal diseases and feed multitudes, they welcomed Him. However, His message became clear . . . He came to deliver from their sin, not from the Romans. He called for a change in lifestyle and they changed their acceptance of Him instead. The very ones who wanted to make Him a King, soon were demanding, “Crucify Him, crucify Him.”
The religious leaders considered Him a liar and a blasphemer. He was upsetting their religious system and their authority over the people by claiming to be equal with God, calling Him His Father. These leaders led the demand that He be put to death. Their control over the people depended on getting rid of Jesus.
Some thought He was a crazy man, out of His mind because He wasn’t motivated by fame or personal gain. His own half brothers reasoned that He was crazy because He did not put His own interests first. Not only that, He said that anyone who “saved his own life would lose it, but those who lost their life for my sake would save it.” Clearly unpopular teaching.
Another group responded immediately to His call to follow Him. They were the twelve who later were called the disciples. One of them turned out to be a traitor, and the others ran from Him for a time, but they later returned and affirmed their belief that He was who He claimed to be.
Who is This Christ, This baby boy born in a manger?
Was He a deliverer? Yes, but not of a political sort. He came to set men and women free from the condemnation of sin and deliver them from the death penalty that sin carries.
Was He a liar and a blasphemer? Do liars live as this man lived? No man ever called Himself God and backed it up with the evidence that Jesus did. His “blasphemy” consisted of saying that He was God. If He was God, He was not a blasphemer.
Was He a lunatic? Men who are insane cannot, and do not forgive and heal sinful people, filling their hearts with peace.
Was He God in human flesh? A handful of men thought so. They were so convinced that they “lost their lives” for His sake. Since then, countless others have done the same. The birth of the baby didn’t convince them, nor did His life. If that had been so, they would not have fled from the cross. The evidence that proved the identity of Jesus was the empty tomb - the resurrection. The disciples may have been, for the most part, simple fishermen but they knew, beyond doubt, that lunatics, liars, and mere political messiahs do not rise from the dead.
There are no other options.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Faith gives peace, not control ...........................Parables 008
Last Friday was an interesting day. I dropped my article off at the Record office, came home, and the telephone was ringing as I unlocked the door. A man’s voice said, “Don’t be alarmed . . . I have your son at the hospital.”
Surprisingly, I was not alarmed. He went on to describe a minor accident at school, painful for our son, but not serious. This incident followed on the heels of the article that I had just given to this newspaper. It appeared with the following title, FAITH IN GOD’S WORD KEEPS OUR KIDS SAFE but that title did not match what I was hoping to convey, making me realize the importance of clarity.
So I will say it again -- faith in God’s Word can keep us from going into a state of panic during the crisis times, when the circumstances of life are unpleasant. However, contrary to what the headline may have suggested, faith does not prevent the unpleasant from happening.
Maybe that is what we would like to believe . . . something like, “I’ll just trust God and everything will be the way I want it.” The Bible doesn’t guarantee that. In fact, it says we should not be surprised at trials and problems, that they will come . . . and all of us will have them.
What God’s Word does say is that we can have confidence and even rejoice in those trials because they have a purpose. God is not allowing them out of vindictiveness or indifference, but uses them to develop qualities that make Christians more like His Son. That is not only our goal, but our eternal destiny. (1 John 3:2)
Our faith then, is not a hopeful escape from the realities and pressures of life, but a gift from God to help us meet them head on. In those trials, God supplies the needed strength, wisdom, courage, and even joy to carry us through the trials and out the other side with even greater conviction that our God is entirely sufficient for these things.
I would not want anyone to think, “If I only had more faith in God’s Word this would not have happened to my child.” What pathetic theology that would be to the MacMillans, the Wilgoshs, the McClenaghans, or any other suffering parents. They, and all of us, need to know that faith in God is not a guarantee of a disaster-free life, nor is faith to be measured by the lack of pain that we go through.
Faith is simply the means by which we KNOW that God is not being unkind or indifferent to our sufferings, nor are they dropped on us haphazardly. And Biblical faith is not something we can conjure up, but is a gift to us: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). Our responsibility is to read it, and to respond to trials by placing our lives and the lives of those we love, into the Lord’s care, fully trusting that He knows what we do not know, that He sees what we cannot see, and that His peace is available, even in those trials.
Surprisingly, I was not alarmed. He went on to describe a minor accident at school, painful for our son, but not serious. This incident followed on the heels of the article that I had just given to this newspaper. It appeared with the following title, FAITH IN GOD’S WORD KEEPS OUR KIDS SAFE but that title did not match what I was hoping to convey, making me realize the importance of clarity.
So I will say it again -- faith in God’s Word can keep us from going into a state of panic during the crisis times, when the circumstances of life are unpleasant. However, contrary to what the headline may have suggested, faith does not prevent the unpleasant from happening.
Maybe that is what we would like to believe . . . something like, “I’ll just trust God and everything will be the way I want it.” The Bible doesn’t guarantee that. In fact, it says we should not be surprised at trials and problems, that they will come . . . and all of us will have them.
What God’s Word does say is that we can have confidence and even rejoice in those trials because they have a purpose. God is not allowing them out of vindictiveness or indifference, but uses them to develop qualities that make Christians more like His Son. That is not only our goal, but our eternal destiny. (1 John 3:2)
Our faith then, is not a hopeful escape from the realities and pressures of life, but a gift from God to help us meet them head on. In those trials, God supplies the needed strength, wisdom, courage, and even joy to carry us through the trials and out the other side with even greater conviction that our God is entirely sufficient for these things.
I would not want anyone to think, “If I only had more faith in God’s Word this would not have happened to my child.” What pathetic theology that would be to the MacMillans, the Wilgoshs, the McClenaghans, or any other suffering parents. They, and all of us, need to know that faith in God is not a guarantee of a disaster-free life, nor is faith to be measured by the lack of pain that we go through.
Faith is simply the means by which we KNOW that God is not being unkind or indifferent to our sufferings, nor are they dropped on us haphazardly. And Biblical faith is not something we can conjure up, but is a gift to us: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). Our responsibility is to read it, and to respond to trials by placing our lives and the lives of those we love, into the Lord’s care, fully trusting that He knows what we do not know, that He sees what we cannot see, and that His peace is available, even in those trials.
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