(August 9, 1989)
“Grandma, what’s that?”
“It’s a “what’s it.”
“What’s a what’s it?”
Five strands of colored yarn knotted at one end and pinned to my shirt prompted this conversation. I wore my “what’s it” so I could explain God’s good news to my five-year-old grandson. He’d never heard it before. As we discussed profound truth in simple terms, I realized it is easy amid the complications of adult life, to forget that the gospel is really so very simple. The colored yarn tells the story:
GOLD: stands for streets of gold in heaven. Of course, heaven is where God lives, and everything is perfect there because God is perfect. (See Revelation 21:21) But, of all the perfect things that might be in heaven, there is at least one thing that God will not allow there...
BLACK: represents sin. Sin is a word for all the bad in us that comes out in mean thoughts, ugly words, and things we do. Everyone sins. I do. You do. Everyone. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The Bible says that sin will keep us from knowing and loving God and from going to heaven when we die. (See 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 and Revelation 22:15 and 21:8)
RED: stands for blood. God said that sinners must be punished but He loved us so much that He sent His Son, who never sinned, to die for our sins. When Jesus claimed to be God’s Son, it made some men angry so they nailed Him to a wooden cross. Then He died, shedding His blood for us. He was buried in a cave. But Jesus didn’t stay there. After three days, He rose from the dead. He has power to conquer death.
Several days later, while His friends watched, He rose up from the earth and went to be with His heavenly Father. He said He would someday return, and take all who believe in Him back to heaven. (John 1:12 and 14:1-3)
WHITE: Sinners need to be made clean from their sin before they can go to heaven with Jesus. He shed His blood so we could be washed “whiter than snow” and made fit to be with God. When we put our trust in Him and ask Him to forgive our sin, He promises to come and live in our hearts (not the organ that pumps blood but the real person). Then our hearts are washed clean in God’s sight.
GREEN: After we become cleansed from sin, God wants us to grow, not taller or fatter but “gooder” -- more like Jesus. We read our Bible, pray, and do what God asks us to do. As we do our part, He keeps on changing us and helps us have victory over sin. That means that even though temptation will come, Jesus will give us the strength we need to say “no” to it, and “yes” to what is right.
This little five-year-old admitted right away that he did bad things. He also said, “It is hard to be good but so easy to be bad.” Isn’t it true? The downward trend of morality gives testimony to his words of wisdom. But in spite of numerous theories and programs to turn things around, the answer lies in the “what’s it” story.
Changed individuals bring changes to their society. When God gets a hold of a man, a woman, or even a child, no matter what their particular vices have been, He is able to radically transform them. When the fearful become trusting, liars tell the truth, and unbelieving take heed to the Word of God, God uses them as salt and light in rottenness and darkness.
I know, I know... the “what’s it” story is too simple, too childlike. But remember, Jesus said, “Unless you are converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
Showing posts with label simple faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label simple faith. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Asking in Faith ..................... Parables 079
The kids in the backyard were hungry. Their young host suggested they go inside and tell his mother their problem, so in they went.
She didn’t seem to hear them at first. One of the children from next door wondered if she was angry. Another child wondered if she even cared that they were hungry. One of the older ones thought maybe she might give a cookie to her own child but wouldn’t be too interested in feeding half the neighborhood. Another little one started for the door, certain her silence meant that this was not the time to ask.
Her son looked at his friends and smiled. He turned to his mom for the second time and asked, “Mother, can we have a cookie?” The initial lack of response didn’t bother him; he believed in her generous love. She smiled and reached for the cookie jar.
A Canaanite woman had a daughter who was demon-possessed. (Matthew 15:21-28) She came up to Jesus Christ and told Him her problem. But He didn’t answer her. Soon the disciples came on the scene and told Him to send her away. They said she had been crying after them.
This woman was a not Jewish but a gentile, despised by most Jews, even called “dogs”. Besides that, no self-respecting Jewish man would even speak to a woman publicly. They put women in the same category as Gentiles. But Jesus turned to this woman and explained that He “had been sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. In other words, His priority was to bring the gospel to the Jews.
The woman did not give up. Instead she worshiped Jesus, falling on her face before Him. She asked again, “Lord, help me.” She believed in His mercy, and bowed to His Lordship, calling Him Lord three times. Jesus responded, “It is not appropriate to give the bread that belongs to the children to the dogs.”
This sounds like a tremendous rebuff. Dogs! But the Greek word that Jesus used was not the same word for “dog” that the Jews used to curse the Gentiles. Instead, it was a word that means “a little puppy.” He likened her, not to a cur, but to a family pet.
The woman responded, “Even the pups lick the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
At that, Jesus told her she had “great faith” and granted her request.
The Bible says that faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8,9) and this gift is available through “hearing the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). Therefore, having great faith in Jesus is possible to anyone open to receiving it. It should not be any more difficult than trusting the goodness of a mother to give what she has, even to those who might not feel they deserve anything.
Faith belongs to those who do not turn away in discouragement, even if they initially find God’s Word doesn’t really “speak” to them. The discouraging remarks of others also will not affect them. Instead, there will be a persistence to rely on the Lord. Great faith realizes that none have any “rights” before God, but instead makes its appeal on the ground of His mercy, not our worth.
Also, great faith knows that He is Lord of all - and will humbly tell Him so.
She didn’t seem to hear them at first. One of the children from next door wondered if she was angry. Another child wondered if she even cared that they were hungry. One of the older ones thought maybe she might give a cookie to her own child but wouldn’t be too interested in feeding half the neighborhood. Another little one started for the door, certain her silence meant that this was not the time to ask.
Her son looked at his friends and smiled. He turned to his mom for the second time and asked, “Mother, can we have a cookie?” The initial lack of response didn’t bother him; he believed in her generous love. She smiled and reached for the cookie jar.
A Canaanite woman had a daughter who was demon-possessed. (Matthew 15:21-28) She came up to Jesus Christ and told Him her problem. But He didn’t answer her. Soon the disciples came on the scene and told Him to send her away. They said she had been crying after them.
This woman was a not Jewish but a gentile, despised by most Jews, even called “dogs”. Besides that, no self-respecting Jewish man would even speak to a woman publicly. They put women in the same category as Gentiles. But Jesus turned to this woman and explained that He “had been sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. In other words, His priority was to bring the gospel to the Jews.
The woman did not give up. Instead she worshiped Jesus, falling on her face before Him. She asked again, “Lord, help me.” She believed in His mercy, and bowed to His Lordship, calling Him Lord three times. Jesus responded, “It is not appropriate to give the bread that belongs to the children to the dogs.”
This sounds like a tremendous rebuff. Dogs! But the Greek word that Jesus used was not the same word for “dog” that the Jews used to curse the Gentiles. Instead, it was a word that means “a little puppy.” He likened her, not to a cur, but to a family pet.
The woman responded, “Even the pups lick the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
At that, Jesus told her she had “great faith” and granted her request.
The Bible says that faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8,9) and this gift is available through “hearing the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). Therefore, having great faith in Jesus is possible to anyone open to receiving it. It should not be any more difficult than trusting the goodness of a mother to give what she has, even to those who might not feel they deserve anything.
Faith belongs to those who do not turn away in discouragement, even if they initially find God’s Word doesn’t really “speak” to them. The discouraging remarks of others also will not affect them. Instead, there will be a persistence to rely on the Lord. Great faith realizes that none have any “rights” before God, but instead makes its appeal on the ground of His mercy, not our worth.
Also, great faith knows that He is Lord of all - and will humbly tell Him so.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
If there is a God . . . ? .............................. Parables 036
A well-remembered journalist seemed to take great delight in trying to stump TV Quiz Show “Front Page Challenge” guests with this question, “If there is a good God, why did he allow the drowning of all those children in the flood?” Few answers seemed to satisfy him. He kept asking the question. Maybe he didn’t really want an answer.
No doubt there are many people who ask the same question, but do want answers. They want to know about God, but cannot get past the so-called “acts of God” that occur from time to time in our world. They find it difficult to believe that a good God could allow such sorrow. It is a serious question, actually several questions, but there are answers.
The first part of the question shows doubt concerning the very existence of God. The Bible clearly tells us that while the natural man cannot perceive spiritual truth without supernatural revelation, God has clearly revealed that He exists. He reveals Himself in three basic ways: 1) through an orderly, intricate, and magnificent creation; 2) through the life of an extraordinary person who was born in a stable, lived without sin, died on a cross, and rose from the dead; and 3) through a book that says things that the human mind could not have invented. Even without the last two, the first one is available to all. Anyone who ignores or denies any of the three will find that God seems remote, even nonexistent.
The second part of that question casts doubt on the goodness of God. Part of the problem is that people often have a definition of goodness that is based on what makes them comfortable, or what profits them personally. God’s goodness is beyond any standard of measurement that we have. Jesus Christ claimed to be God in human flesh, a revelation from the Father of Himself. An honest look at the life of Jesus Christ, as recorded in the New Testament, leaves no doubt that God is good.
Another part of the question is based on an assumption that people, including children, are innocent. The Biblical account of circumstances before the flood says that everyone did evil, continually. Children are just as capable of sin as adults. Furthermore, God says that ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
If we understand even a little bit about God’s holiness, we will realize very quickly that the question should not be “Why does God destroy anyone?” but “Why does He let anyone live at all?” Besides, can we not grant God, who created us, the right to do with us as He sees fit? What options does He have in dealing with our sinful nature?
Some claim atheism, believing that “no God at all” is better than one who does not make sense, or that does not fit into their criteria of what God should be like. This leaves the issue at the bottom line - faith. “ . . . Anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
He gives the revelation of who He is - in His creation, in His Son, and in the pages of a book. Then He asks us this question: “Will you trust me on the basis of what you see there?” Anyone who believes the light that is already seen will be given more light, and will come out of the darkness of not being able to really understand, into the light of knowing the existence and the goodness of God.
No doubt there are many people who ask the same question, but do want answers. They want to know about God, but cannot get past the so-called “acts of God” that occur from time to time in our world. They find it difficult to believe that a good God could allow such sorrow. It is a serious question, actually several questions, but there are answers.
The first part of the question shows doubt concerning the very existence of God. The Bible clearly tells us that while the natural man cannot perceive spiritual truth without supernatural revelation, God has clearly revealed that He exists. He reveals Himself in three basic ways: 1) through an orderly, intricate, and magnificent creation; 2) through the life of an extraordinary person who was born in a stable, lived without sin, died on a cross, and rose from the dead; and 3) through a book that says things that the human mind could not have invented. Even without the last two, the first one is available to all. Anyone who ignores or denies any of the three will find that God seems remote, even nonexistent.
The second part of that question casts doubt on the goodness of God. Part of the problem is that people often have a definition of goodness that is based on what makes them comfortable, or what profits them personally. God’s goodness is beyond any standard of measurement that we have. Jesus Christ claimed to be God in human flesh, a revelation from the Father of Himself. An honest look at the life of Jesus Christ, as recorded in the New Testament, leaves no doubt that God is good.
Another part of the question is based on an assumption that people, including children, are innocent. The Biblical account of circumstances before the flood says that everyone did evil, continually. Children are just as capable of sin as adults. Furthermore, God says that ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
If we understand even a little bit about God’s holiness, we will realize very quickly that the question should not be “Why does God destroy anyone?” but “Why does He let anyone live at all?” Besides, can we not grant God, who created us, the right to do with us as He sees fit? What options does He have in dealing with our sinful nature?
Some claim atheism, believing that “no God at all” is better than one who does not make sense, or that does not fit into their criteria of what God should be like. This leaves the issue at the bottom line - faith. “ . . . Anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
He gives the revelation of who He is - in His creation, in His Son, and in the pages of a book. Then He asks us this question: “Will you trust me on the basis of what you see there?” Anyone who believes the light that is already seen will be given more light, and will come out of the darkness of not being able to really understand, into the light of knowing the existence and the goodness of God.
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.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Farming Father Rolled with Thunder...............Parables 001
Why is it that farmers can accept the fall rain and the damaging hail storms more readily than some folks can handle a rained-out picnic? After all, doesn’t a farmer stand to lose a great deal more from adverse weather?
My father farmed for 50 years. One time he told me that he and come to grips with his part and God’s part in farming. He was to plant the seeds. God made them grow.
That simple philosophy sums up a lifetime of watching the weather, trying to fit seeding time and harvest into its pattern, and realizing that it is senseless to fight with the tremendous power behind the wind and the rain.
Those of us whose exposure to nature is limited to picnics, ball games, and backyard barbeques do not develop that awareness. We generally see weather changes as inconvenient. If we are honest, we’d like to be in control.
My dad never expressed, “It I had my way it would never rain in August or September.” He worked patiently around the late frosts and early snows, and did his part. To him, God was never unfair. Perhaps he recognized something even more profound - that springtime and harvest are blessings.
The Psalmist says, “God does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.” (Psalm 103:10)
Perhaps my father felt grateful for just the privilege of being able to plant the seeds.
My father farmed for 50 years. One time he told me that he and come to grips with his part and God’s part in farming. He was to plant the seeds. God made them grow.
That simple philosophy sums up a lifetime of watching the weather, trying to fit seeding time and harvest into its pattern, and realizing that it is senseless to fight with the tremendous power behind the wind and the rain.
Those of us whose exposure to nature is limited to picnics, ball games, and backyard barbeques do not develop that awareness. We generally see weather changes as inconvenient. If we are honest, we’d like to be in control.
My dad never expressed, “It I had my way it would never rain in August or September.” He worked patiently around the late frosts and early snows, and did his part. To him, God was never unfair. Perhaps he recognized something even more profound - that springtime and harvest are blessings.
The Psalmist says, “God does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.” (Psalm 103:10)
Perhaps my father felt grateful for just the privilege of being able to plant the seeds.
First published in Fort Record, December 4, 1985
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