December 1, 1992
A man took his elderly father to a psychiatrist. “I’m worried,” he said. “My father still drives a horse-drawn wagon but he is getting confused. His horse’s name is Joe, yet he drives down the road saying, `Come on, Joe! Come on, Steve! Come on, Sam!’”
The doctor asked the older man, “Is your horse named Joe?”
The old man nodded. “Certainly it’s Joe, but if I let him think he is pulling the wagon all by himself, he is apt to quit on me.”
Now that old gentleman was a thinker! Could it be that horses are just like people; we don’t like doing the job alone either? Furthermore, his way of encouraging his horse may have worked better than the techniques that psychiatrist used to encourage people!
Most of use words like “You can do it” or “We are counting on you.” Sometimes they do the trick, but whenever we are pulling a heavy load or doing a difficult job, it really helps to know we are not alone.
According to God, working alone is not good. After He created Adam, He said, “It is not good that man should be alone...” even though Adam was living in paradise! So God made Adam a companion to help him with his tasks.
Women don’t enjoy being left alone either. When Jesus came to dinner, Mary left her sister in the kitchen to visit with Him. Martha, “distracted with serving,” came to Jesus and complained, “Lord, don’t You care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me.” (So Jesus invited Martha to join her sister in the living room with Him.)
Even when Jesus Himself went alone into the wilderness to pray, He did not do that work without companionship. He said, “I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.”
All people need companionship, but we are so aware we no longer live in paradise. Sin and selfishness put wedges between even the best of friends. Husbands and wives struggle to maintain a sense of oneness. Everyone can feel alone in tough situations. Loneliness is acute when we have something very difficult to do and feel that no one knows or even cares.
Jesus understood that need. The disciples had been His closest companions for three years. When He told them He was going to die, they did not understand. It seemed as if their eyes and minds had thick clouds over them. Shortly before He was betrayed and taken to trial and crucified, He said to them, “Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone...”
Can you imagine how Jesus felt? It was the most difficult task anyone would ever face, yet none of them stayed. None of them even said, “You are not alone!”
But He knew. This verse concludes with “... and yet I am not alone because the Father is with Me” (John 16:32). Jesus was so convinced of the presence of God that even when every human support was pulled out from under Him, He knew He would not finish His life’s work by Himself.
Paul knew it too. He wrote a letter to another pastor, Timothy, and warned him to watch out for a coppersmith named Alexander who had done him much harm in his resistance to the gospel. Paul added, “At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me.” He was alone in the battle for truth.
However, this great Apostle was not angry at those who pulled out on him. He wrote, “May it not be charged against them.” He could pull his load alone because he knew the same encouraging presence that Jesus knew. The next verse says, “But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.”
I am a lot like that horse called Joe. When I think I am pulling my load all by myself, I get balky and want to quit. It is too hard. However, out of all the promises that God makes, one stands out. It is constant. It is always true. It is something His people can depend on: “He Himself has said, `I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”
Friday, October 30, 2015
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Becoming intelligent ................ Parables 345
November 24, 1992
A pad of notepaper has the following caption across the top: “I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person!”
One psychology textbook says intelligence is very difficult to measure. For one thing, there is little agreement on exactly what it is. Is it the capacity to solve problems? Or remember what you know? Or understand other people? Or be competent performing job-related skills? Or is it the quantity of information you can stuff in your brain? Besides whatever it is, how can intelligence be tested?
To complicate the matter, intelligence can be very selective. People considered autistic may not be able to function well enough to go to school or even be employed, but some of them can compute numbers as quickly and accurately as an electronic calculator or draw detailed pictures of complex subjects from memory. Some “average” people know how to take apart a tractor motor and put it back together. Others are better at learning how to write songs or draw pictures.
Those of us who belong to God sometimes wonder if we are armed with any wits at all regarding spirituality. We find ourselves so delighted to learn even the simplest truths about Him and what He expects of us, and then so quickly forget what we know. Spiritual truth does not come easy because our own habits and strategies for life run contrary to the way God wants us to live. To have spiritual wit, we have to learn how to think His way.
Romans 12:2 speaks about this process: “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Simply put, our problem is that the natural human mind, no matter how clever, does not evaluate God’s will as good, acceptable, or perfect. Brain-power, logic, or I.Q. have nothing to do with one’s ability to trust God and even when He is trusted, everyone, wits or not, has to enter into this process of mind-renewal.
God does give Christians a head start in the matter. As the Apostle Paul says, “we have the mind of Christ,” itself an outstanding concept. He also adds, “Christ has been made unto us wisdom...” With Him at the center of our minds so we can think His thoughts means our actions are more apt to be in line with God’s will.
On the other hand, it is so easy to be conformed to this world. That means, among other things, to be centered on one’s self, which is the way most of the world operates; “look out for number one” and considering every event, person or piece of data is in light of how it relates to ourselves. I can go so far as to refuse any new ideas unless I can somehow fit them comfortable with what I have decided is true. Sometimes my worldly mind is even behind “good” deeds, those done mostly for personal satisfaction or recognition. From that, it is not difficult to understand that a mind conformed to the world is far more interested in personal comfort, power, and promotion of their own interests than it is concerned about God or the needs of others.
In contrast, a renewed mind moves away from putting self at the centre of things. Instead, Christ is put there. When He becomes the focus, life begins to take on a much different meaning. Christ-minded people begin to ask: How does God look at these events? How does this person relate to God? How does that data fit into His Word? What does God says is true about me? What can be done to glorify or promote God in this situation?
A renewed mind is not a perfect mind; there is still a struggle with life’s hurts and with decision-making. We tend to panic now and then and go back to patterns of behavior that used to work for us, pre-Christian strategies, if they could be called that, and we learn so slowly that they really do not work at all. We need God’s Spirit and His Word continually reminding us and helping us with how we should think.
So take heart all who wonder if God missed them when He passed out brain power. Those who have the wisdom of God may sometimes feel “unarmed” but with His wisdom, anyone can be a formidable foe in a battle of wits.
A pad of notepaper has the following caption across the top: “I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person!”
One psychology textbook says intelligence is very difficult to measure. For one thing, there is little agreement on exactly what it is. Is it the capacity to solve problems? Or remember what you know? Or understand other people? Or be competent performing job-related skills? Or is it the quantity of information you can stuff in your brain? Besides whatever it is, how can intelligence be tested?
To complicate the matter, intelligence can be very selective. People considered autistic may not be able to function well enough to go to school or even be employed, but some of them can compute numbers as quickly and accurately as an electronic calculator or draw detailed pictures of complex subjects from memory. Some “average” people know how to take apart a tractor motor and put it back together. Others are better at learning how to write songs or draw pictures.
Those of us who belong to God sometimes wonder if we are armed with any wits at all regarding spirituality. We find ourselves so delighted to learn even the simplest truths about Him and what He expects of us, and then so quickly forget what we know. Spiritual truth does not come easy because our own habits and strategies for life run contrary to the way God wants us to live. To have spiritual wit, we have to learn how to think His way.
Romans 12:2 speaks about this process: “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Simply put, our problem is that the natural human mind, no matter how clever, does not evaluate God’s will as good, acceptable, or perfect. Brain-power, logic, or I.Q. have nothing to do with one’s ability to trust God and even when He is trusted, everyone, wits or not, has to enter into this process of mind-renewal.
God does give Christians a head start in the matter. As the Apostle Paul says, “we have the mind of Christ,” itself an outstanding concept. He also adds, “Christ has been made unto us wisdom...” With Him at the center of our minds so we can think His thoughts means our actions are more apt to be in line with God’s will.
On the other hand, it is so easy to be conformed to this world. That means, among other things, to be centered on one’s self, which is the way most of the world operates; “look out for number one” and considering every event, person or piece of data is in light of how it relates to ourselves. I can go so far as to refuse any new ideas unless I can somehow fit them comfortable with what I have decided is true. Sometimes my worldly mind is even behind “good” deeds, those done mostly for personal satisfaction or recognition. From that, it is not difficult to understand that a mind conformed to the world is far more interested in personal comfort, power, and promotion of their own interests than it is concerned about God or the needs of others.
In contrast, a renewed mind moves away from putting self at the centre of things. Instead, Christ is put there. When He becomes the focus, life begins to take on a much different meaning. Christ-minded people begin to ask: How does God look at these events? How does this person relate to God? How does that data fit into His Word? What does God says is true about me? What can be done to glorify or promote God in this situation?
A renewed mind is not a perfect mind; there is still a struggle with life’s hurts and with decision-making. We tend to panic now and then and go back to patterns of behavior that used to work for us, pre-Christian strategies, if they could be called that, and we learn so slowly that they really do not work at all. We need God’s Spirit and His Word continually reminding us and helping us with how we should think.
So take heart all who wonder if God missed them when He passed out brain power. Those who have the wisdom of God may sometimes feel “unarmed” but with His wisdom, anyone can be a formidable foe in a battle of wits.
Monday, October 26, 2015
Unity in diversity is possible! ................ Parables 344
November 17, 1992
A united Canada — was that what the national referendum was all about? More specifically, did those 50% plus people who voted NO do so from a united opinion?
Unity is not easily defined. In this case it is certainly not unanimity or harmony of thought on the issue. While the final YES or NO decisions may have marked two basic camps, the voters within those camps marked their ballots as they did for a great variety of reasons. For instance, some said NO because they felt too many concessions were made to various groups; some because they felt there were too few concessions.
An interesting display of what can also temporarily unite people was the outcome and final game of baseball’s World Series. Blue Jay fans were united by their joy over the victory and they celebrated together as one big happy family, for at least a few hours. However, one can hardly say it was a genuinely unified group. For one thing, on the very same day, likely half of them voted YES and the other half NO in the referendum.
To go to the other extreme, could we say a group is united when each and every one of them think exactly the same way about everything? One of my relatives belongs to a religious group that claims that kind of unity. He says if one person has a dissenting opinion, he or she is no longer allowed to remain in the group. Most of us generally do not think of unity as something that is legislated and consider such a group not really united but in some sort of dictatorship or maybe a brainwashed condition.
Christians have been accused of being brainwashed too, but what the Bible says about unity shows this is not so. For one thing, we are supposed to “strive for unity” and “dwell together in unity” commandments that go against our sinful bent to squabble. Like the referendum illustrates, unity is not easy to achieve.
However, biblical unity is also not unanimity — at least on every issue. We do not all have to think alike because freedom in Christ makes room for many varying understandings and interpretations. For example, one might vote YES on private schooling and another NO to the same issue. We do not get ousted for disagreeing on issues like that. Instead, our unity runs much deeper in that we are expected and even commanded to be unified over certain basic issues. In those issues, if we do not agree, we cannot be genuinely Christian.
Our unity comes from common beliefs. These are aligned with the world view presented in the Bible. We agree concerning God, Christ, the nature of man and the means of salvation. All Christians believe our salvation is by grace, through faith in Christ. Like baseball fans, we certainly have many occasions to rejoice together in those truths that unite us.
Christian unity not only allows diversity but even depends on it. Each believer has unique experiences and gifts that would be lost to the church if everyone had to think and act alike. It is God’s goal to bring us together to help all live for God in the fullest possible way, using our individual strengths for the good of others, “equipping us...and edifying us... until we all come to the unity of the faith...”
In that practical way, diverse ideas help build our unity, but the principle of Christian unity is not established or even developed by Christians. It is not a matter of what theologians decide or lists of church rules or taking a vote. Real unity is a matter of the heart. We could have no unity if it were not for the Holy Spirit who supplies it. When each Christian listens to and obeys Him, there is oneness among us. When we do not, we are divided.
For that reason, what the church (and Canada) needs to unite us will never be supplied by a vote, a document, nor a baseball team.
A united Canada — was that what the national referendum was all about? More specifically, did those 50% plus people who voted NO do so from a united opinion?
Unity is not easily defined. In this case it is certainly not unanimity or harmony of thought on the issue. While the final YES or NO decisions may have marked two basic camps, the voters within those camps marked their ballots as they did for a great variety of reasons. For instance, some said NO because they felt too many concessions were made to various groups; some because they felt there were too few concessions.
An interesting display of what can also temporarily unite people was the outcome and final game of baseball’s World Series. Blue Jay fans were united by their joy over the victory and they celebrated together as one big happy family, for at least a few hours. However, one can hardly say it was a genuinely unified group. For one thing, on the very same day, likely half of them voted YES and the other half NO in the referendum.
To go to the other extreme, could we say a group is united when each and every one of them think exactly the same way about everything? One of my relatives belongs to a religious group that claims that kind of unity. He says if one person has a dissenting opinion, he or she is no longer allowed to remain in the group. Most of us generally do not think of unity as something that is legislated and consider such a group not really united but in some sort of dictatorship or maybe a brainwashed condition.
Christians have been accused of being brainwashed too, but what the Bible says about unity shows this is not so. For one thing, we are supposed to “strive for unity” and “dwell together in unity” commandments that go against our sinful bent to squabble. Like the referendum illustrates, unity is not easy to achieve.
However, biblical unity is also not unanimity — at least on every issue. We do not all have to think alike because freedom in Christ makes room for many varying understandings and interpretations. For example, one might vote YES on private schooling and another NO to the same issue. We do not get ousted for disagreeing on issues like that. Instead, our unity runs much deeper in that we are expected and even commanded to be unified over certain basic issues. In those issues, if we do not agree, we cannot be genuinely Christian.
Our unity comes from common beliefs. These are aligned with the world view presented in the Bible. We agree concerning God, Christ, the nature of man and the means of salvation. All Christians believe our salvation is by grace, through faith in Christ. Like baseball fans, we certainly have many occasions to rejoice together in those truths that unite us.
Christian unity not only allows diversity but even depends on it. Each believer has unique experiences and gifts that would be lost to the church if everyone had to think and act alike. It is God’s goal to bring us together to help all live for God in the fullest possible way, using our individual strengths for the good of others, “equipping us...and edifying us... until we all come to the unity of the faith...”
In that practical way, diverse ideas help build our unity, but the principle of Christian unity is not established or even developed by Christians. It is not a matter of what theologians decide or lists of church rules or taking a vote. Real unity is a matter of the heart. We could have no unity if it were not for the Holy Spirit who supplies it. When each Christian listens to and obeys Him, there is oneness among us. When we do not, we are divided.
For that reason, what the church (and Canada) needs to unite us will never be supplied by a vote, a document, nor a baseball team.
Friday, October 23, 2015
Better that the hard drive crashes than my life ................ Parables 343
November 10, 1992
Computer people say it is not a matter of IF it happens but WHEN it happens. For me, it happened Saturday morning — my hard drive crashed. For those who do not know, the hard drive is the part that contains software programs necessary for using the computer, plus any information that has been saved or written on to its disk. A crash means it does not work; the information usually cannot be retrieved. It is gone forever.
My software is not a problem because we still have the original disks. As for my own data, I had a few hundred documents on that hard drive, including five or six manuscripts for Parables, this semester’s school work, letters, some artwork, and so on. Fortunately, most of it was also saved on portable disks called “floppies.” But, because my habits of backing up daily had lapsed, some things were lost, including at least two essays that must be researched and rewritten before their due dates later this month.
After taking the dead drive to a technician who replaced it with a new one, I spent several hours reloading my software programs.
As for the lost work, I felt something like a marathon runner might feel after 25 miles and the finish line in sight when someone’s dog runs out from the sidelines and bites him on the leg. Or maybe like the mother who brings a fresh load of sun-dried laundry in from the clothesline and one of her children spills a big can of tomato soup in it. A whole week of work — gone.
When I told my husband that I did not feel very enthusiastic about redoing the work, he responded with a simple question, “Why were you doing it in the first place?” His question was just what I needed to pull me out of my gloom.
For one thing, it reminded me I had set definite goals before starting Bible College. Prior to this, my educational ambition was only to achieve good grades and satisfy class requirements. Now, since I am aware that the Lord wants me to be more like Him, I decided it was important to do all the work but the goal would be greater spiritual maturity, not good marks.
Bob’s question also reminded me of a place in Scripture that talks about eternal rewards for the work we do in our Christian lives. It says some actions have potential for making an eternal impact; some have no lasting value. God will test them somehow by fire: “If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.”
God does not need a computer to know how we live, but if He somehow choose to record my whole life on a hard disk, then when the crash comes and my life is over, according to this passage, He does not simply toss the disk (as we will likely do with ours). Instead, He recovers what has been built on “the foundation which is Jesus Christ,” those actions done in faith and in the power of the Lord. He also rewards them in some undefined way. In other words, the good data is recoverable.
On the other hand, any of my life that was corrupted by selfishness and rebellion against Him will be burned; it is not fit for eternity. This includes not only the obvious uglies like hate, anger, lies, and so on but even so called “Christian service” that I did for my own glory and not for God. Because He knows everything about our hearts and motives, He justly evaluates what we do.
Looking back on the “loss” of some data now takes a different perspective. All that God has done during the past two years to change me is recorded on my heart and life where it should be — certainly (and thankfully) not on my hard drive!
Computer people say it is not a matter of IF it happens but WHEN it happens. For me, it happened Saturday morning — my hard drive crashed. For those who do not know, the hard drive is the part that contains software programs necessary for using the computer, plus any information that has been saved or written on to its disk. A crash means it does not work; the information usually cannot be retrieved. It is gone forever.
My software is not a problem because we still have the original disks. As for my own data, I had a few hundred documents on that hard drive, including five or six manuscripts for Parables, this semester’s school work, letters, some artwork, and so on. Fortunately, most of it was also saved on portable disks called “floppies.” But, because my habits of backing up daily had lapsed, some things were lost, including at least two essays that must be researched and rewritten before their due dates later this month.
After taking the dead drive to a technician who replaced it with a new one, I spent several hours reloading my software programs.
As for the lost work, I felt something like a marathon runner might feel after 25 miles and the finish line in sight when someone’s dog runs out from the sidelines and bites him on the leg. Or maybe like the mother who brings a fresh load of sun-dried laundry in from the clothesline and one of her children spills a big can of tomato soup in it. A whole week of work — gone.
When I told my husband that I did not feel very enthusiastic about redoing the work, he responded with a simple question, “Why were you doing it in the first place?” His question was just what I needed to pull me out of my gloom.
For one thing, it reminded me I had set definite goals before starting Bible College. Prior to this, my educational ambition was only to achieve good grades and satisfy class requirements. Now, since I am aware that the Lord wants me to be more like Him, I decided it was important to do all the work but the goal would be greater spiritual maturity, not good marks.
Bob’s question also reminded me of a place in Scripture that talks about eternal rewards for the work we do in our Christian lives. It says some actions have potential for making an eternal impact; some have no lasting value. God will test them somehow by fire: “If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.”
God does not need a computer to know how we live, but if He somehow choose to record my whole life on a hard disk, then when the crash comes and my life is over, according to this passage, He does not simply toss the disk (as we will likely do with ours). Instead, He recovers what has been built on “the foundation which is Jesus Christ,” those actions done in faith and in the power of the Lord. He also rewards them in some undefined way. In other words, the good data is recoverable.
On the other hand, any of my life that was corrupted by selfishness and rebellion against Him will be burned; it is not fit for eternity. This includes not only the obvious uglies like hate, anger, lies, and so on but even so called “Christian service” that I did for my own glory and not for God. Because He knows everything about our hearts and motives, He justly evaluates what we do.
Looking back on the “loss” of some data now takes a different perspective. All that God has done during the past two years to change me is recorded on my heart and life where it should be — certainly (and thankfully) not on my hard drive!
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Self-Abuse & Warranties ................ Parables 342
November 3, 1992
A trouble-shooter for a major implement dealer tells a story about some complaints they received on a new tractor. While this tractor was receiving rave responses from nearly everyone, there were a few farmers from one part of the country who thought it was the worst model on the market. They kept wearing out gear boxes. After replacing the defective parts under warranty, sometimes two or three times for the same farmer, the company decided to send their trouble-shooter to find out what was happening.
This fellow discovered these farmers clearing land, including tree stump removal. They fastened a long chain around each stump, hooked the other end to the tractor, put it in gear, then took off at full speed. Just before the tractor reached the end of the chain and reared into the air, the driver jumped off. If the stump was not yanked free, they repeated the process.
Now any farmer, and a few of us who are not farmers, know that tractors and gear boxes are not made to withstand such treatment. After so much of it, the equipment will break down. The trouble-shooter had to carefully explain that in order to resolve the problem the farmers were having with their tractors. He said he now uses the story when folks come to him with their problems, explaining that we too break down because so many of us abuse our lives like those farmers abused their tractors.
He says people were originally made to live in a perfect environment with a relationship of dependence on God to meet all their needs. Instead, we live in an imperfect world where God is left out of most of our lives, but because we were not designed for such living conditions, we need Him even more than Adam and Eve did in paradise.
We see the wreckage all around: shattered marriages, dysfunctional families, corrupt governments, business failures, crime, and irresponsible behavior; people living independently from their Maker. Even though suggestions and plans for what to do instead-of-God are almost as numerous as the negative situations, only one works: the plan for which we were designed.
According to the story of creation in Genesis, God intended man and women not only to depend on Him but to reflect His image. When humanity determined to act apart from God, sin entered the picture and the image was mangled. Oh, it can still be seen whenever people act in kindness or mercy, but independence and the effects of sin have marred our hearts, minds, choices, and life as it was intended to be.
In love and concern for us, our Manufacturer also offers a warranty regarding our defective parts, ruined by sin. He offers a “new heart” and to put a “new spirit within,” to “take the heart of stone out” and give us a heart that is soft towards Him and towards living as He made us to live.
He warns us “do not be confirmed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” That means a change in thinking made possible by receiving His wisdom and “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).
As for our choices, so seldom do we consult God and we so easily make selfish decisions but the Bible tells us if we turn to God, He works in us “both to will and to do His good pleasure.”
God remembers that we live best in paradise and says that someday, “the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” Those who go back to their Manufacturer for replacement hearts, minds and decision-making abilities will undergo a radical transformation, but so will this world someday be radically transformed, “a new heaven and new earth.” In the meantime, we are responsible to stop abusing ourselves and live life the way He intended.
A trouble-shooter for a major implement dealer tells a story about some complaints they received on a new tractor. While this tractor was receiving rave responses from nearly everyone, there were a few farmers from one part of the country who thought it was the worst model on the market. They kept wearing out gear boxes. After replacing the defective parts under warranty, sometimes two or three times for the same farmer, the company decided to send their trouble-shooter to find out what was happening.
This fellow discovered these farmers clearing land, including tree stump removal. They fastened a long chain around each stump, hooked the other end to the tractor, put it in gear, then took off at full speed. Just before the tractor reached the end of the chain and reared into the air, the driver jumped off. If the stump was not yanked free, they repeated the process.
Now any farmer, and a few of us who are not farmers, know that tractors and gear boxes are not made to withstand such treatment. After so much of it, the equipment will break down. The trouble-shooter had to carefully explain that in order to resolve the problem the farmers were having with their tractors. He said he now uses the story when folks come to him with their problems, explaining that we too break down because so many of us abuse our lives like those farmers abused their tractors.
He says people were originally made to live in a perfect environment with a relationship of dependence on God to meet all their needs. Instead, we live in an imperfect world where God is left out of most of our lives, but because we were not designed for such living conditions, we need Him even more than Adam and Eve did in paradise.
We see the wreckage all around: shattered marriages, dysfunctional families, corrupt governments, business failures, crime, and irresponsible behavior; people living independently from their Maker. Even though suggestions and plans for what to do instead-of-God are almost as numerous as the negative situations, only one works: the plan for which we were designed.
According to the story of creation in Genesis, God intended man and women not only to depend on Him but to reflect His image. When humanity determined to act apart from God, sin entered the picture and the image was mangled. Oh, it can still be seen whenever people act in kindness or mercy, but independence and the effects of sin have marred our hearts, minds, choices, and life as it was intended to be.
In love and concern for us, our Manufacturer also offers a warranty regarding our defective parts, ruined by sin. He offers a “new heart” and to put a “new spirit within,” to “take the heart of stone out” and give us a heart that is soft towards Him and towards living as He made us to live.
He warns us “do not be confirmed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” That means a change in thinking made possible by receiving His wisdom and “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).
As for our choices, so seldom do we consult God and we so easily make selfish decisions but the Bible tells us if we turn to God, He works in us “both to will and to do His good pleasure.”
God remembers that we live best in paradise and says that someday, “the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” Those who go back to their Manufacturer for replacement hearts, minds and decision-making abilities will undergo a radical transformation, but so will this world someday be radically transformed, “a new heaven and new earth.” In the meantime, we are responsible to stop abusing ourselves and live life the way He intended.
Monday, October 19, 2015
Is it a control thing? ................ Parables 341
October 27, 1992
Ever notice how much easier dreams are than doing? For instance, in making decisions? Compare window shopping to actually going out and buying something. Every time I don’t have money or any intentions of spending what I do have, there are so many nice things in all the store windows. But when it comes to actually buying something, it is much more difficult to find what I want — in the same windows, in the same stores. Maybe it is because the money to be spent now is real money, not the stuff of dreams.
Dream decisions are easier, but so are dream conversations. In my imagination, I can say all the right words to that person I need to apologize to or to the class I want to teach. When it comes time to actually do it, my tongue gets tangled somewhere down around my beating heart and out comes strained stutters and ill-formed sentences.
Dream accomplishments are perhaps the easiest of all. In them, I control all factors including the plot, sub-plot, cast of characters, and every action committed and word said. Doing anything in my imagination is a snap, but when it comes to the real thing, the results are not quite the same.
Because of the gap between dreams and doing, life can be disappointing. Even though some dreamers find that some dreams do come true now and then, most of us know how frustration and failure can so easily shut down our vision. However, if we can bring God into the picture, things just might become very exciting. Think of it. God who sovereignly controls the universe becoming involved in making our dreams come true? Is that possible?
The people I know who have experienced it first had to know for certain that God Himself is not a dream, not a figment of the human imagination. If He is not real, there is no one but ourselves to make those dreams come true. However, Hebrews 11:6 says those who come to God MUST believe that He exists and that He REWARDS all those who seek Him. He is real and He does reward us for believing in Him. Thus, the Bible also describes the reality of living in faith. Genuine faith is not a hope-so, imaginary thing. Those who have it also have tangible peace, real changes in their lives and obvious answers to prayer.
Secondly, because God is able to do anything and make anything happen, and because He loves us and wants the best for us, He invites His children to draw near to Him. He says we can even call Him “daddy” as well as Lord, and invites us to bring our dreams along, explaining to Him the desires of our heart. When Jesus promised abundant life, He wanted us to know we do not have to continue in the narrow confines of “no one ever did that before” or “I can’t.” He wants us to experience a life so remarkable that it can only be explained by faith and by the fact that He is very real.
Obviously, God does not make every dream come true; He knows better. Some of the things we dream about are entirely selfish and destructive, doing little or nothing to glorify God or genuinely benefit us. God knows if all our dreams came true, some would be the nightmare variety.
But to many dreams God gives the nod. One of mine was having opportunity to go to Bible school. For years, it seemed impossible but God moved us to Moose Jaw, within twenty minutes of the largest Christian college in Canada... and here I am, nearly ready to graduate.
So for even the most frustrated dreamers among us, we have a God who says, “I am able to do exceeding abundantly above all you can ask or think, according to My riches in Christ Jesus.” Notice He not only listens but is the One who is able to go one step farther — above whatever we can ask and above whatever it is we dream about.
Ever notice how much easier dreams are than doing? For instance, in making decisions? Compare window shopping to actually going out and buying something. Every time I don’t have money or any intentions of spending what I do have, there are so many nice things in all the store windows. But when it comes to actually buying something, it is much more difficult to find what I want — in the same windows, in the same stores. Maybe it is because the money to be spent now is real money, not the stuff of dreams.
Dream decisions are easier, but so are dream conversations. In my imagination, I can say all the right words to that person I need to apologize to or to the class I want to teach. When it comes time to actually do it, my tongue gets tangled somewhere down around my beating heart and out comes strained stutters and ill-formed sentences.
Dream accomplishments are perhaps the easiest of all. In them, I control all factors including the plot, sub-plot, cast of characters, and every action committed and word said. Doing anything in my imagination is a snap, but when it comes to the real thing, the results are not quite the same.
Because of the gap between dreams and doing, life can be disappointing. Even though some dreamers find that some dreams do come true now and then, most of us know how frustration and failure can so easily shut down our vision. However, if we can bring God into the picture, things just might become very exciting. Think of it. God who sovereignly controls the universe becoming involved in making our dreams come true? Is that possible?
The people I know who have experienced it first had to know for certain that God Himself is not a dream, not a figment of the human imagination. If He is not real, there is no one but ourselves to make those dreams come true. However, Hebrews 11:6 says those who come to God MUST believe that He exists and that He REWARDS all those who seek Him. He is real and He does reward us for believing in Him. Thus, the Bible also describes the reality of living in faith. Genuine faith is not a hope-so, imaginary thing. Those who have it also have tangible peace, real changes in their lives and obvious answers to prayer.
Secondly, because God is able to do anything and make anything happen, and because He loves us and wants the best for us, He invites His children to draw near to Him. He says we can even call Him “daddy” as well as Lord, and invites us to bring our dreams along, explaining to Him the desires of our heart. When Jesus promised abundant life, He wanted us to know we do not have to continue in the narrow confines of “no one ever did that before” or “I can’t.” He wants us to experience a life so remarkable that it can only be explained by faith and by the fact that He is very real.
Obviously, God does not make every dream come true; He knows better. Some of the things we dream about are entirely selfish and destructive, doing little or nothing to glorify God or genuinely benefit us. God knows if all our dreams came true, some would be the nightmare variety.
But to many dreams God gives the nod. One of mine was having opportunity to go to Bible school. For years, it seemed impossible but God moved us to Moose Jaw, within twenty minutes of the largest Christian college in Canada... and here I am, nearly ready to graduate.
So for even the most frustrated dreamers among us, we have a God who says, “I am able to do exceeding abundantly above all you can ask or think, according to My riches in Christ Jesus.” Notice He not only listens but is the One who is able to go one step farther — above whatever we can ask and above whatever it is we dream about.
Friday, October 16, 2015
The Source of Violence ................ Parables 340
October 20, 1992
It is Sunday afternoon and the stores are packed with back-to-school shoppers. Suddenly a young man races through the mall with another fellow in angry pursuit, each yelling loudly at the other. When they pass us, the second is saying to the first, “You are dead meat, man. I will get you... you are dead, for sure.”
Other shoppers are uncomfortable. Some laugh. My husband says someone should call the security guards. Moments later, a dozen youth and two guards move quickly in the same direction as the first two. They all talk at once. We hear one of them say, “He yanked out a knife.” A few minutes after that, we see an R.C.M.P. officer hurrying in the same direction.
No, this was not in Hong Kong or even New York but in a small city in southern British Colombia, in broad daylight, with hundreds of witnesses. We wondered what drove this young person to make such a threat, endangering not only his intended victim but his own freedom. Why do so many people resort to violence when no one really wins anyway?
Sociologists and psychologists have a myriad of answers: inadequate education, deteriorating family values, peer pressure, poverty, television and so on, yet with all their wisdom, young lives continue to slip through the cracks into the streets where the only laws are written by the survivors.
Historically, violence began right after Adam and Eve were put out of Eden. Cain killed his brother Abel in cold blood and violence began to permeate society. The Bible paints the same bloody picture of humanity out to destroy humanity by acts of aggression and brutality as does our daily news; however, the Bible gives a different reason violence exists. According to the Word of God, brutality is evidence of sin in the human heart, and sin is an attitude of rebellion against God.
I can relate. There have been a few expressions of savagery in my life. While I didn’t pull a knife on someone, I have thrown things, including a punch or two. Reflecting on my anger at people, I realize I was actually angry with God at the time; I didn’t like the things He was allowing to happen in my life, so I lashed out in retaliation. Instead of trusting His choices for me and His power to make things right, I was going to force my own way.
The Word of God (and the bitter consequences of my anger) have taught me that God hates violence. Psalms 11:5 says, “The LORD tests the righteous, but the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.”
He also has been known to severely judge violence: “God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; I will destroy them with the earth’” (Gen.6:13). He did just what He said by sending a catastrophic flood that drowned those who were in rebellion against Him. Sometimes God allows brutal people to self-destruct, destroyed by their own ferocity: “The violence of the wicked will destroy them because they refuse to do justice” (Proverbs 21:7).
God offers a model of non-violence though, even for those who have every reason to retaliate. His Son Jesus was innocent of any sin, yet was hated and treated brutally. Instead of breathing out threats, He “entrusted Himself to the Father who judges righteously” and “He did no violence...”
Jesus’ submission to His abusers meant death for Him but through His death, we are offered forgiveness and a new heart, including those who resort to personal retaliation as the only answer to injustice. Jesus gives grace and peace to the angry, protection and hope to the victims.
God promised His people that someday, “Violence shall no longer be heard in your land, neither wasting nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise” — all because of Jesus.
It is Sunday afternoon and the stores are packed with back-to-school shoppers. Suddenly a young man races through the mall with another fellow in angry pursuit, each yelling loudly at the other. When they pass us, the second is saying to the first, “You are dead meat, man. I will get you... you are dead, for sure.”
Other shoppers are uncomfortable. Some laugh. My husband says someone should call the security guards. Moments later, a dozen youth and two guards move quickly in the same direction as the first two. They all talk at once. We hear one of them say, “He yanked out a knife.” A few minutes after that, we see an R.C.M.P. officer hurrying in the same direction.
No, this was not in Hong Kong or even New York but in a small city in southern British Colombia, in broad daylight, with hundreds of witnesses. We wondered what drove this young person to make such a threat, endangering not only his intended victim but his own freedom. Why do so many people resort to violence when no one really wins anyway?
Sociologists and psychologists have a myriad of answers: inadequate education, deteriorating family values, peer pressure, poverty, television and so on, yet with all their wisdom, young lives continue to slip through the cracks into the streets where the only laws are written by the survivors.
Historically, violence began right after Adam and Eve were put out of Eden. Cain killed his brother Abel in cold blood and violence began to permeate society. The Bible paints the same bloody picture of humanity out to destroy humanity by acts of aggression and brutality as does our daily news; however, the Bible gives a different reason violence exists. According to the Word of God, brutality is evidence of sin in the human heart, and sin is an attitude of rebellion against God.
I can relate. There have been a few expressions of savagery in my life. While I didn’t pull a knife on someone, I have thrown things, including a punch or two. Reflecting on my anger at people, I realize I was actually angry with God at the time; I didn’t like the things He was allowing to happen in my life, so I lashed out in retaliation. Instead of trusting His choices for me and His power to make things right, I was going to force my own way.
The Word of God (and the bitter consequences of my anger) have taught me that God hates violence. Psalms 11:5 says, “The LORD tests the righteous, but the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.”
He also has been known to severely judge violence: “God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; I will destroy them with the earth’” (Gen.6:13). He did just what He said by sending a catastrophic flood that drowned those who were in rebellion against Him. Sometimes God allows brutal people to self-destruct, destroyed by their own ferocity: “The violence of the wicked will destroy them because they refuse to do justice” (Proverbs 21:7).
God offers a model of non-violence though, even for those who have every reason to retaliate. His Son Jesus was innocent of any sin, yet was hated and treated brutally. Instead of breathing out threats, He “entrusted Himself to the Father who judges righteously” and “He did no violence...”
Jesus’ submission to His abusers meant death for Him but through His death, we are offered forgiveness and a new heart, including those who resort to personal retaliation as the only answer to injustice. Jesus gives grace and peace to the angry, protection and hope to the victims.
God promised His people that someday, “Violence shall no longer be heard in your land, neither wasting nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise” — all because of Jesus.
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