I love history - maybe it's a learned trait, maybe I'm wired that way; I don't know and I don't really care. Over the years, when combined with faith, I can see God's story of mankind unfolding in the pages of a book or the wills of nations.
It is as if you're unlocking a mystery - you learn that history is simply the will of a just God unfolding before us to His appropriate and righteous end.
But as He reveals Himself and His will to us in historical movements - it is comparable to finding the Rosetta Stone and seeing reality for the very first time, though it has been visible all the while.
One of the best ways to prove this thought is by looking at Jesus Christ Himself - He is revelation from the Father of unknown truths about God, though they had been evident all along.
In 1996, Joan Osborne had a song which asked if it would make any difference if God was one of us; many found the lyrics to the song quite sacrilegious.
Funny - that was exactly the reaction of Jesus' family and neighbors; yet, today we know God has become one of us in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus Himself actually led a very tragic life from the very beginning.
There were rumors of illegitimacy, later He experienced taunts of insanity by His family, accused of being in league with demons as an adult, rejected by most, He was betrayed by two of His disciples - one of which hung himself, the other was restored fully; He witnessed a formerly praising group of people turn into a mob against Him; He experienced a trial that mocks even the crudest forms of justice and He was executed in a way that was designed for humiliation and reserved for violent criminals.
Tragic, indeed; but Jesus did reveal one major thing that mankind had longed to know since Adam fell in the Garden.
Jesus revealed how every person could know God.
And if you asked Jesus, 'How do we know God personally?'
Jesus would respond - 'The same way you know anyone else.'
Jesus revealed something most people of His time could not fathom - an intimate and personal side to God; a God who desired communion with His people and could be approached as 'Father.'
He was never to be thought of or revealed by cold stone objects or those of a metallic glare - but in a real-life person who loved, cried, felt pain and faced the same things we face in life.
We call this the 'Incarnation' - and while God had come near, He had also for the very first time learned what it was like to be a human.
By this new, human existence - God, for the first time - exactly what a newborn learns.
Jesus gave God a face; that face would be streaked with tears as He shared our experience.
If a person looks into a magnifying glass, things are very clear at the focal point. But the further you get away from that focal point, the more distorted they become.
Jesus is the focal point of our faith; yet, we have drifted so far away from the clarity of the center of that point, things, people, faith, most of our knowledge - is distorted.
We hear grand preachers tell us on television that God wants to work wonderful miracles in our lives. If we don't get healed, or find our spouse, or recover from financial ruin, or some other fantastic issue - well, we either have hidden sin in our lives or we just don't have enough faith.
And if all this continues, well - we might just be possessed by a demon.
Funny - God didn't answer Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane in the same manner that He does not answer mine at times.
All those grand preacher and pseudo-theologians prove to me is their spiritual immaturity and lack of understanding about who Jesus is and the the work of God itself.
What bothers us about the planet - crime, injustice, genocide, children with cancer or born with deformities, crooked politicians, or whatever may personally grind against our souls - these things that bother us, bother Jesus as well.
If you want to know how God feels about something - look to Jesus and you will have your answer.
Because it is Jesus who unlocks the mysteries of God the same way the Rosetta Stone unlocked the mystery of Egyptian hieroglyphics.
In Jesus, we understand God anew; which is the entire point of Him coming to us.
Until next time, win one for the good guys.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Knowing Bethlehem's Best
This month in 1944, the German army made its final counter offensive of World War II and began the drive through Belgium to retake what they had lost since the commencement of Operation Overlord six months earlier, 06 June 1944.
This attempt to 'break out' of the Allied lines - we know it today as 'The Battle of the Bulge.'
Sixty-nine years ago on 22 December 1944, the German commander, General Heinrich Freiherr von Luttwiz, sent the American commander on the surrounded 101st Airborne at Bastogne, General Anthony McAuliffe the following message:
This attempt to 'break out' of the Allied lines - we know it today as 'The Battle of the Bulge.'
Sixty-nine years ago on 22 December 1944, the German commander, General Heinrich Freiherr von Luttwiz, sent the American commander on the surrounded 101st Airborne at Bastogne, General Anthony McAuliffe the following message:
To the U.S.A. Commander of the encircled town of Bastogne.
The fortune of war is changing. This time the U.S.A. forces in and near Bastogne have been encircled by strong German armored units. More German armored units have crossed the river Our near Ortheuville, have taken Marche and reached St. Hubert by passing through Hompre-Sibret-Tillet. Libramont is in German hands.
There is only one possibility to save the encircled U.S.A. troops from total annihilation: that is the honorable surrender of the encircled town. In order to think it over a term of two hours will be granted beginning with the presentation of this note.
If this proposal should be rejected one German Artillery Corps and six heavy A. A. Battalions are ready to annihilate the U.S.A. troops in and near Bastogne. The order for firing will be given immediately after this two hours term.
All the serious civilian losses caused by this artillery fire would not correspond with the well-known American humanity.
The German Commander.
General McAuliffe, responded with a now famous one-word answer, 'NUTS!'
Typically, we have an image in our minds as to what military members are like. Soldiers and Marines get the brunt of the stereotypes, but the Navy and Air Force do not escape it either.
Combat veterans of all branches are sometimes stereotyped as ruthless knuckle-draggers, who are in the military because they couldn't find a 'real' job somewhere else.
Their language is filled with profanity; their morals lacking; their hygiene is debatable and they are generally not considered as the cream of the crop.
Below is a WWII photo of General McAuliffe.
Oh, how little we know of those who serve!
General McAuliffe was known for his integrity and was known for never using profanity. That's why his answer to the Germans was so confusing.
He was married only once, having two children and was one of the 'brain trusts' of the war; rising to full general before he retired.
As Americans, we should value a man such as this and we should value our heritage; never forgetting what they did in 1944 to save the world from the threat of Nazism.
Yet, from this history lesson, we should also examine our relationship with God.
For, just as we have stereotypes about soldiers and combat vets, we also have stereotypes and preconceived ideas about God.
Every person has an image of God; due to our nature and to the greatness of God, that image is distorted in some way.
Our very nature is fallen; we have fallen into a fog where we cannot see things as well as those who lived before the fall nor as we will after Christ restores the universe to its original state.
Yet, this fog affects everything in our lives and around our lives, including how we see God.
This, along with God we so grand that He transcends our ability to rightly imagine Him, clogs our vision of God and communing with Him.
This being true, it begs a question - 'If our view of God is distorted, how do we know God?'
I know my wife better than any other person on the planet knows her.
The same is true with her 'knowing' me; she knows me as well as I know myself - which makes me marvel at the fact that she has stuck with me. :)
But all relationships have an uncertainty to them and a mysterious quality.
In truth, we fall short in knowing one another as fully as we could; so, if this true of humans how much more true is it of an infinite God among finite beings?
Although I despise cell phones, it is amazing how they work.
I can speak in a cell phone, which will send a signal to a tower in digital code. That tower will send that digitize voice code to a satellite, which will relay that digital code to another tower on earth and then to another receiver such as a friend's cell phone.
But they are not hearing my voice, they are hearing a very close replica in a digitized code of my voice.
This is what Christians are to be in the world for Christ - a very close replica of who He is and what He does in the life of others.
But those of us who follow Jesus sometimes have very different thoughts on Christ as to who He is and what He has done in our lives and even how He should be approached and how we are to reflect the Lord.
Think about it - in three years with Jesus, Judas and John drew very different conclusions.
When the Jewish leader Saul was chasing down Christians and killing them, he believed he had figured out Jesus; little did he know he was about to get a name change and a heart change to go with it.
Truthfully, knowing God is tricky at times; but the most logical way to begin to know God and explore who He is and who He desires us to become is through the act of prayer.
Prayer is the most common and easiest act of a faithful Christian; yet, it is the most neglected.
But prayer is the only way we can begin to know God.
Prayer is like breathing, it keeps us alive spiritually as oxygen does physically.
All Biblical figures who are now considered great saints and guides of faith from the past, were what they were because they were defined by God and accepted His definition.
I am who I am and will become as a Christian who I am to be by relating to God and discovering in His will who He has 'defined' or created me to be in this world.
The truth is that God cannot be grasped by the human mind; if He could be, then He would not be God.
The human mind and its conceptions are limited whereas God is infinite; a finite cannot rightly conceive the infinite - and yet another reason why we are to be thankful for grace and accept Him by faith.
You see, God is both a self-concealer and a self-revelator; He satisfies our thirst and remains the Great Unknown.
But we do not need, as Christians, the full revelation or the full exposing of who God is or what He intends to do with the Universe.
All we truly need is for Him to reveal to us and expose to us His will for our lives so that we can become the men and women He has created and ordained us to be.
And that happens by relating to God through the private act of prayer.
Until next time, Merry Christmas and win won for the good guys.
The German commander had no idea what the message meant, until another soldier told the Nazi soldier under the flag of true that it meant they could all go to H**L.
All this to say, from that one response, the actions of the 101st Airborne during the battle and the historical lessons which came from that nearly 2 month period in the Ardennes, taught me quite a bit about our relationship with the Lord.
Combat veterans of all branches are sometimes stereotyped as ruthless knuckle-draggers, who are in the military because they couldn't find a 'real' job somewhere else.
Their language is filled with profanity; their morals lacking; their hygiene is debatable and they are generally not considered as the cream of the crop.
Below is a WWII photo of General McAuliffe.
Oh, how little we know of those who serve!
General McAuliffe was known for his integrity and was known for never using profanity. That's why his answer to the Germans was so confusing.
He was married only once, having two children and was one of the 'brain trusts' of the war; rising to full general before he retired.
As Americans, we should value a man such as this and we should value our heritage; never forgetting what they did in 1944 to save the world from the threat of Nazism.
Yet, from this history lesson, we should also examine our relationship with God.
For, just as we have stereotypes about soldiers and combat vets, we also have stereotypes and preconceived ideas about God.
Every person has an image of God; due to our nature and to the greatness of God, that image is distorted in some way.
Our very nature is fallen; we have fallen into a fog where we cannot see things as well as those who lived before the fall nor as we will after Christ restores the universe to its original state.
Yet, this fog affects everything in our lives and around our lives, including how we see God.
This, along with God we so grand that He transcends our ability to rightly imagine Him, clogs our vision of God and communing with Him.
This being true, it begs a question - 'If our view of God is distorted, how do we know God?'
I know my wife better than any other person on the planet knows her.
The same is true with her 'knowing' me; she knows me as well as I know myself - which makes me marvel at the fact that she has stuck with me. :)
But all relationships have an uncertainty to them and a mysterious quality.
In truth, we fall short in knowing one another as fully as we could; so, if this true of humans how much more true is it of an infinite God among finite beings?
Although I despise cell phones, it is amazing how they work.
I can speak in a cell phone, which will send a signal to a tower in digital code. That tower will send that digitize voice code to a satellite, which will relay that digital code to another tower on earth and then to another receiver such as a friend's cell phone.
But they are not hearing my voice, they are hearing a very close replica in a digitized code of my voice.
This is what Christians are to be in the world for Christ - a very close replica of who He is and what He does in the life of others.
But those of us who follow Jesus sometimes have very different thoughts on Christ as to who He is and what He has done in our lives and even how He should be approached and how we are to reflect the Lord.
Think about it - in three years with Jesus, Judas and John drew very different conclusions.
When the Jewish leader Saul was chasing down Christians and killing them, he believed he had figured out Jesus; little did he know he was about to get a name change and a heart change to go with it.
Truthfully, knowing God is tricky at times; but the most logical way to begin to know God and explore who He is and who He desires us to become is through the act of prayer.
Prayer is the most common and easiest act of a faithful Christian; yet, it is the most neglected.
But prayer is the only way we can begin to know God.
Prayer is like breathing, it keeps us alive spiritually as oxygen does physically.
All Biblical figures who are now considered great saints and guides of faith from the past, were what they were because they were defined by God and accepted His definition.
I am who I am and will become as a Christian who I am to be by relating to God and discovering in His will who He has 'defined' or created me to be in this world.
The truth is that God cannot be grasped by the human mind; if He could be, then He would not be God.
The human mind and its conceptions are limited whereas God is infinite; a finite cannot rightly conceive the infinite - and yet another reason why we are to be thankful for grace and accept Him by faith.
You see, God is both a self-concealer and a self-revelator; He satisfies our thirst and remains the Great Unknown.
But we do not need, as Christians, the full revelation or the full exposing of who God is or what He intends to do with the Universe.
All we truly need is for Him to reveal to us and expose to us His will for our lives so that we can become the men and women He has created and ordained us to be.
And that happens by relating to God through the private act of prayer.
Until next time, Merry Christmas and win won for the good guys.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Playing God
Many years ago, as I began to center on pastoral/chaplain ministry, I enrolled in a class called, 'Addictions and Grace.' Those two words - Addiction & Grace - they didn't seem to go together in my mind, but I quickly learned that they did.
They still do - more than the average Christian realizes.
In this class, part of the requirements were to attend addiction meetings such as Alcoholics Anonymous. Every person in the class had to go to an AA meeting; but we also had to go to another type of addiction recovery support group that was similar to AA.
In seminary, you don't run into too many people who are members of AA, so this was a new experience for most of the students, including me.
The AA meeting was held in a basement of a local church; it was small and included people from various walks of life - you could tell by the way they dressed.
As they went around the room, I watched the people stand and state their name, followed by the declarative statement, 'I'm an alcoholic.'
When it finally got to me, I didn't know what to say - I didn't want to tell these people in recovery I was just there to observe; I knew it might shut them down. So, when it came to me, I stood and said, "Hi, I'm Jack, and I'm an ALCOHOLIC."
The response - "Hi, Jack."
The Christian exists in a time period that lies between the Cross and Resurrection to Eternal Life. As such, we live in a state of decay with the promise of hope to perfection.
For those in AA, the first thing that they must learn is that that they need to stop playing God, trying to repair and restore their lives - the Christian would do well to learn the same.
Only God can restore a human life and repair it towards the hope He promises.
Yet, this desire towards the hope of the resurrection and eternal life with Him isn't something we can see; but it is something we know is true by faith and by the witness of the Holy Spirit.
Throughout our lives, we have been given 'helps' to our faith, pulling us closer to God and pointing to His truth through His Son.
Commander Richard Byrd, during an expedition to the South Pole, once lived without any sunlight for four months. He was quoted as saying:
"I find I crave light as a thirsting man craves water."
When it comes to faith, as we mature, the Christian should crave the Light of God more than anything else. Sometimes it is an intentional seeking after the Lord and sometimes, especially as one matures in the faith, they begin to seek after God intentionally, naturally, even without thinking.
And this Light we are given, it comes from the hand of God and comes through various avenues.
For example, in my life, I wonder where my faith would be without the writings of John Calvin or C.S. Lewis; or where would it be without the adoration of Charles Wesley's hymns or the musical contributions of Beethoven and the classic composers.
I'm not sure I can answer that because I was introduced to these early in my faith - to me it seems as if Augustine is an old father who waited for me to come to his books and some of the music was waiting to be heard.
I can say these shots of reflection in my life only served to make the true Light shine even greater for their writings and their music was evidence of the true essence of God - beauty, love and truth.
And what I have learned from these men of the past, and some women, is that faith isn't something you settle into and it isn't something you can learn like learning to swim.
Faith is a skill that every Christian must learn to master as a second nature, just as we have learned to breath as an involuntary action in our first nature.
We master this skill in triumphs and defeats; tragedy, trial, turmoil and victory - each of these has their place when one is dependent on God for the true joy of life by faith.
As a Christian, I realize that the main priority in my life is to seek to please God.
The old confession teaches that our chief end is to 'glorify God and enjoy Him forever.'
This can only be done by seeking to please God.
When a man seeks to please God, there is a freedom that enters his life; it is a freedom from the worries of the world.
A person going through the motions of grace will soon find that the motions without the reality of grace only hardens the heart.
But when a person lives for God, you might stroke my ego or chew me out but either way I am going back to the cross under any circumstance because Christ is my chief end.
In the end, my faith is a constant transformation in my life; as it is for every person.
This transformation continues throughout our lives, but it does not come from an act of will; rather, it comes from an act of grace by faith in the Lord.
We can only ask for it and then, keep asking.
Until next time, win one for the good guys.
They still do - more than the average Christian realizes.
In this class, part of the requirements were to attend addiction meetings such as Alcoholics Anonymous. Every person in the class had to go to an AA meeting; but we also had to go to another type of addiction recovery support group that was similar to AA.
In seminary, you don't run into too many people who are members of AA, so this was a new experience for most of the students, including me.
The AA meeting was held in a basement of a local church; it was small and included people from various walks of life - you could tell by the way they dressed.
As they went around the room, I watched the people stand and state their name, followed by the declarative statement, 'I'm an alcoholic.'
When it finally got to me, I didn't know what to say - I didn't want to tell these people in recovery I was just there to observe; I knew it might shut them down. So, when it came to me, I stood and said, "Hi, I'm Jack, and I'm an ALCOHOLIC."
The response - "Hi, Jack."
The Christian exists in a time period that lies between the Cross and Resurrection to Eternal Life. As such, we live in a state of decay with the promise of hope to perfection.
For those in AA, the first thing that they must learn is that that they need to stop playing God, trying to repair and restore their lives - the Christian would do well to learn the same.
Only God can restore a human life and repair it towards the hope He promises.
Yet, this desire towards the hope of the resurrection and eternal life with Him isn't something we can see; but it is something we know is true by faith and by the witness of the Holy Spirit.
Throughout our lives, we have been given 'helps' to our faith, pulling us closer to God and pointing to His truth through His Son.
Commander Richard Byrd, during an expedition to the South Pole, once lived without any sunlight for four months. He was quoted as saying:
"I find I crave light as a thirsting man craves water."
When it comes to faith, as we mature, the Christian should crave the Light of God more than anything else. Sometimes it is an intentional seeking after the Lord and sometimes, especially as one matures in the faith, they begin to seek after God intentionally, naturally, even without thinking.
And this Light we are given, it comes from the hand of God and comes through various avenues.
For example, in my life, I wonder where my faith would be without the writings of John Calvin or C.S. Lewis; or where would it be without the adoration of Charles Wesley's hymns or the musical contributions of Beethoven and the classic composers.
I'm not sure I can answer that because I was introduced to these early in my faith - to me it seems as if Augustine is an old father who waited for me to come to his books and some of the music was waiting to be heard.
I can say these shots of reflection in my life only served to make the true Light shine even greater for their writings and their music was evidence of the true essence of God - beauty, love and truth.
And what I have learned from these men of the past, and some women, is that faith isn't something you settle into and it isn't something you can learn like learning to swim.
Faith is a skill that every Christian must learn to master as a second nature, just as we have learned to breath as an involuntary action in our first nature.
We master this skill in triumphs and defeats; tragedy, trial, turmoil and victory - each of these has their place when one is dependent on God for the true joy of life by faith.
As a Christian, I realize that the main priority in my life is to seek to please God.
The old confession teaches that our chief end is to 'glorify God and enjoy Him forever.'
This can only be done by seeking to please God.
When a man seeks to please God, there is a freedom that enters his life; it is a freedom from the worries of the world.
A person going through the motions of grace will soon find that the motions without the reality of grace only hardens the heart.
But when a person lives for God, you might stroke my ego or chew me out but either way I am going back to the cross under any circumstance because Christ is my chief end.
In the end, my faith is a constant transformation in my life; as it is for every person.
This transformation continues throughout our lives, but it does not come from an act of will; rather, it comes from an act of grace by faith in the Lord.
We can only ask for it and then, keep asking.
Until next time, win one for the good guys.
Monday, December 9, 2013
The Real Miracle
Beethoven is my favorite composer - maybe it's because my grade school music teacher, Ms. Rosenecker, introduced the class to his music before the others, or maybe it is because I really dig his hair - I don't know.
But what I do know about Ludwig Van Beethoven is that he was one impressive man who, within himself, had a true gift and communicated an outworking of God's miraculous hand.
Disagree?
Ludwig Van Beethoven was a very moody and sometimes quite angry man; it's even said that he died with his fist clenched to the heavens, shaking it in anger to God.
Well, I don't know about that but what I do know is that Beethoven, at the height of his career in his adult life, began to go deaf.
For a composer and a musical genius, it would have been an enormous tragedy.
Today, we can plug in an iPod and download Beethoven's 9th Symphony and listen to it with pleasure, just as he wrote it.
And it is this 9th Symphony where we see and hear a miracle of God communicated through a flawed believer to us through the very common medium of music.
You see, Beethoven was completely deaf when he wrote that symphony; he never heard a note of it audibly; yet, he did hear it in his mind.
And what Beethoven heard in his mind, he wrote on paper; from the paper it was communicated through instruments which joined together and formed the symphonic beauty. What I now hear in my ears, he only heard with his mind but has given me the gift of the experience of pleasure.
Amazing, isn't it?
But I will tell you that this is how all miracles really happen - through willing vessels using the gifts God gave them and communicating truth to others.
In doing so, you will find that God uses very practical mediums to communicate to His children.
In our worst times and in the greatest struggles, many will often ask why God doesn't intervene.
In our suffering, we will often look to Job or some other Biblical character, wanting God to speak to us in some way. That's not an unnatural thought or desire.
Truth is, for all of Job's problems, he did finally receive a Word from God; but we usually do not - not audibly anyway.
But the evidence He gives of His presence among us is just as real as any burning bush.
Every Christian MUST learn and needs to be reminded that God has communicated through His Son to us; His presence is constantly with us and within us through the Holy Spirit.
And while we desire a visible presence of God to manifest, like a Burning Bush, we have something much greater and God is much closer because you simply can't get much closer to a person than when you dwell within them.
While our prayers may at times be distorted, our reading of His Word confused, and our aid to His children imperfect - it does not lessen the value of His miraculous entry into our hearts nor does it lessen the greatness of His love which He desires to shine through our good works for His glory.
After the ascension of Jesus Christ, Peter and the apostles were in Jerusalem for Pentecost. It was there that God decided to give evidence of Himself in a visible manner.
On that day, through the HS, God chose to evidence Himself through the human phenomenon of language.
To those watching the spectacle, the Christians appeared to resemble drunks; today, we might even say that the group was caught up in the hysteria of the moment.
Theologically, this is called 'Glossolalia,' the speaking in tongues; but this gift was not a gift of the tongue, it was a gift of the ear.
What was happening was something of a divine nature confined to a practical, human expression; thus, when Peter spoke, if you were an Egyptian, you heard Egyptian; a Greek, in Greek and if you were from anywhere else, you heard his speech in your language.
One mistake that is made is that some Christians will reduce this miracle to a practical explanation.
The truth is that if you as a Christian attempt to reduce everything God does in your life down to a practical explanation, you distort the greatness of God and the witness for the Risen Lord will suffer.
Truthfully, Christians have made life harder for other believers by explaining miraculous things away as natural phenomenons.
But just like the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost or the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in every believer, sometimes God's supernatural acts are expressed in seemingly natural ways.
We should never lessen the importance of a supernatural act happening in a natural way.
The reverse is also true, we should not call something miraculous or supernatural if it is not.
If we do, then it lessens the validity of the supernatural and God's presence in the world.
But if we do reduce the supernatural and miracles down to only things we can explain, then all of human behavior will become hormones and chemistry and we will lose the thrill and joy of mystery, free will and romance.
Spiritually in Christ, things do miraculously happen supernaturally.
Now, when I put a sermon together with my thoughts, resources and writings, I am not miraculously lifted to heaven on a cloud as Jesus dictates what I am to say.
But the spiritual nature of the message I preach is just as real and trustworthy.
Likewise, the acts of faith that we engage in on a daily basis may not cause thunder and lighting to flash across the night sky but the acts of prayer, fasting, of observing the ordinances/sacraments and proclaiming the Gospel are true holy carriers of the supernatural by faith.
When Christ ascended, He let behind His Spirit to indwell the individual believers in His Word; today, we are called 'the Church.' We remain as His Body on the earth.
As such, our goodness becomes His goodness originating from the throne of God Himself.
And whatever we do, we do to the Lord just as He said - 'Whatever you have done unto the least of these, you have done unto Me...'
And that is the goal of Creation - for all of who God is to dwell within us and become a part of us.
A miracle is not an invasion from heaven; trust me, I know what it is like to have a miracle performed in your own body. Once you're healed, you still have to recover.
It isn't an invasion, rather, a miracle is a glimpse into the spiritual world as to how things were suppose to be in our world long before the fall of man.
When the supernatural takes place, we are getting a small look into the end and further into eternity.
As for now, that God would choose to indwell and work His will through me or any flawed human being; saving us from sin and delivering us to Himself for His own pleasure...
Well, that's the real miracle of the ages.
Until next time, win one for the good guys.
But what I do know about Ludwig Van Beethoven is that he was one impressive man who, within himself, had a true gift and communicated an outworking of God's miraculous hand.
Disagree?
Ludwig Van Beethoven was a very moody and sometimes quite angry man; it's even said that he died with his fist clenched to the heavens, shaking it in anger to God.
Well, I don't know about that but what I do know is that Beethoven, at the height of his career in his adult life, began to go deaf.
For a composer and a musical genius, it would have been an enormous tragedy.
Today, we can plug in an iPod and download Beethoven's 9th Symphony and listen to it with pleasure, just as he wrote it.
And it is this 9th Symphony where we see and hear a miracle of God communicated through a flawed believer to us through the very common medium of music.
You see, Beethoven was completely deaf when he wrote that symphony; he never heard a note of it audibly; yet, he did hear it in his mind.
And what Beethoven heard in his mind, he wrote on paper; from the paper it was communicated through instruments which joined together and formed the symphonic beauty. What I now hear in my ears, he only heard with his mind but has given me the gift of the experience of pleasure.
Amazing, isn't it?
But I will tell you that this is how all miracles really happen - through willing vessels using the gifts God gave them and communicating truth to others.
In doing so, you will find that God uses very practical mediums to communicate to His children.
In our worst times and in the greatest struggles, many will often ask why God doesn't intervene.
In our suffering, we will often look to Job or some other Biblical character, wanting God to speak to us in some way. That's not an unnatural thought or desire.
Truth is, for all of Job's problems, he did finally receive a Word from God; but we usually do not - not audibly anyway.
But the evidence He gives of His presence among us is just as real as any burning bush.
Every Christian MUST learn and needs to be reminded that God has communicated through His Son to us; His presence is constantly with us and within us through the Holy Spirit.
And while we desire a visible presence of God to manifest, like a Burning Bush, we have something much greater and God is much closer because you simply can't get much closer to a person than when you dwell within them.
While our prayers may at times be distorted, our reading of His Word confused, and our aid to His children imperfect - it does not lessen the value of His miraculous entry into our hearts nor does it lessen the greatness of His love which He desires to shine through our good works for His glory.
After the ascension of Jesus Christ, Peter and the apostles were in Jerusalem for Pentecost. It was there that God decided to give evidence of Himself in a visible manner.
On that day, through the HS, God chose to evidence Himself through the human phenomenon of language.
To those watching the spectacle, the Christians appeared to resemble drunks; today, we might even say that the group was caught up in the hysteria of the moment.
Theologically, this is called 'Glossolalia,' the speaking in tongues; but this gift was not a gift of the tongue, it was a gift of the ear.
What was happening was something of a divine nature confined to a practical, human expression; thus, when Peter spoke, if you were an Egyptian, you heard Egyptian; a Greek, in Greek and if you were from anywhere else, you heard his speech in your language.
One mistake that is made is that some Christians will reduce this miracle to a practical explanation.
The truth is that if you as a Christian attempt to reduce everything God does in your life down to a practical explanation, you distort the greatness of God and the witness for the Risen Lord will suffer.
Truthfully, Christians have made life harder for other believers by explaining miraculous things away as natural phenomenons.
But just like the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost or the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in every believer, sometimes God's supernatural acts are expressed in seemingly natural ways.
We should never lessen the importance of a supernatural act happening in a natural way.
The reverse is also true, we should not call something miraculous or supernatural if it is not.
If we do, then it lessens the validity of the supernatural and God's presence in the world.
But if we do reduce the supernatural and miracles down to only things we can explain, then all of human behavior will become hormones and chemistry and we will lose the thrill and joy of mystery, free will and romance.
Spiritually in Christ, things do miraculously happen supernaturally.
Now, when I put a sermon together with my thoughts, resources and writings, I am not miraculously lifted to heaven on a cloud as Jesus dictates what I am to say.
But the spiritual nature of the message I preach is just as real and trustworthy.
Likewise, the acts of faith that we engage in on a daily basis may not cause thunder and lighting to flash across the night sky but the acts of prayer, fasting, of observing the ordinances/sacraments and proclaiming the Gospel are true holy carriers of the supernatural by faith.
When Christ ascended, He let behind His Spirit to indwell the individual believers in His Word; today, we are called 'the Church.' We remain as His Body on the earth.
As such, our goodness becomes His goodness originating from the throne of God Himself.
And whatever we do, we do to the Lord just as He said - 'Whatever you have done unto the least of these, you have done unto Me...'
And that is the goal of Creation - for all of who God is to dwell within us and become a part of us.
A miracle is not an invasion from heaven; trust me, I know what it is like to have a miracle performed in your own body. Once you're healed, you still have to recover.
It isn't an invasion, rather, a miracle is a glimpse into the spiritual world as to how things were suppose to be in our world long before the fall of man.
When the supernatural takes place, we are getting a small look into the end and further into eternity.
As for now, that God would choose to indwell and work His will through me or any flawed human being; saving us from sin and delivering us to Himself for His own pleasure...
Well, that's the real miracle of the ages.
Until next time, win one for the good guys.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Is God Trustworthy?
When General George Pickett (CSA) was asked after the war as to why the Confederacy lost, he replied, 'Well, I think the Yankees had a little something to do with it.'
If you ever find yourself asking if God can be trusted and why there is so much evil in our world, I think that the rebels on earth have a little something to do with it.
For many, it will take a jolt in a tragedy, illness or a death to create a crisis in their life of faith.
And while we seek clarity; God will be seeking our trust.
It is then that you will find, as you trust God, He will want you to trust Him more - even in things you cannot understand.
An old analogy of how believers look at God in the trusting arena goes like this:
- A man was walking down the street and he stepped off a curb and stepped back on, barely missing a speeding bus. He later testified that God's wonderful Providence was protecting him.
- The next week, the same man stepped off the same curb and this time the bus nicked him, sent him to the hospital but only injured him. He testified that God had been merciful and spared him.
- The following week after leaving the hospital, the man stepped off the same curb and was hit by the bus. At his funeral, his friends said, 'God saw fit to take him home.'
William Shakespeare said that if you take credit for the rain, you will also be blamed for the drought. However, I cannot see nor find a justification in blaming God for things He clearly opposes whether it is a man dumb enough to walk into the street without looking or mass genocide.
It's not God's fault that there is evil in the world because God did not introduce evil into the world.
That blame falls squarely on the shoulders of men - the rebels in the world.
But somehow we don't blame humanity, we tend to blame God when crisis hits.
When Napoleon was marching across Europe and threatening the Russian capital of Moscow, Leo Tolstoy couldn't believe it. He searched for an answer as to how God would allow this tragedy.
The obvious answer is that Napoleon was a conquering warrior and the time was right; as people fell under his charismatic spell - he took advantage of it as he ravaged Europe.
In War and Peace, Tolstoy could only conclude that Napoleon's coming catastrophe was due to the 'irresistible tide of destiny.' In other words - it was because God allowed it.
The greater your growth personally with God, the greater questions you will have. The better personal relationship with God, the growing, unnerving questions.
A faithful person will grow to see life from the perspective of trust, not fear.
As cancer, a death, an illness or any other tragedy or trial hits, a faithful person will know God has a greater purpose in the suffering because God still reigns.
I recently read and was reminded that John Donne was the Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in London during the 17th Century. During his time there, he watched three waves of Bubonic plague sweep through England.
The third wave killed 40,000 people alone.
During that time, Donne was also diagnosed, but that diagnosis was wrong.
Yet, it was during that time for 6 weeks, on the threshold of death, he listened to the Church bells ring - announcing each death, tolling each fatality, wondering if he was next.
From him we received these words, 'Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.'
While I have never been in the throes of death like those facing the Plague, in my experience I did come to learn something about faith and trusting God.
The final and ultimate question of life: 'Is God Trustworthy?'
And the answer is 'yes.'
We should trust God, or trust nothing at all.
For if God cannot be trusted with our very souls, we would live in constant fear. Instead, God expects our fear of Him to produce a holy awe; not an irrational terror.
Of course He can be trusted, for He alone is worthy.
Until next time, win one for the good guys.
If you ever find yourself asking if God can be trusted and why there is so much evil in our world, I think that the rebels on earth have a little something to do with it.
For many, it will take a jolt in a tragedy, illness or a death to create a crisis in their life of faith.
And while we seek clarity; God will be seeking our trust.
It is then that you will find, as you trust God, He will want you to trust Him more - even in things you cannot understand.
An old analogy of how believers look at God in the trusting arena goes like this:
- A man was walking down the street and he stepped off a curb and stepped back on, barely missing a speeding bus. He later testified that God's wonderful Providence was protecting him.
- The next week, the same man stepped off the same curb and this time the bus nicked him, sent him to the hospital but only injured him. He testified that God had been merciful and spared him.
- The following week after leaving the hospital, the man stepped off the same curb and was hit by the bus. At his funeral, his friends said, 'God saw fit to take him home.'
William Shakespeare said that if you take credit for the rain, you will also be blamed for the drought. However, I cannot see nor find a justification in blaming God for things He clearly opposes whether it is a man dumb enough to walk into the street without looking or mass genocide.
It's not God's fault that there is evil in the world because God did not introduce evil into the world.
That blame falls squarely on the shoulders of men - the rebels in the world.
But somehow we don't blame humanity, we tend to blame God when crisis hits.
When Napoleon was marching across Europe and threatening the Russian capital of Moscow, Leo Tolstoy couldn't believe it. He searched for an answer as to how God would allow this tragedy.
The obvious answer is that Napoleon was a conquering warrior and the time was right; as people fell under his charismatic spell - he took advantage of it as he ravaged Europe.
In War and Peace, Tolstoy could only conclude that Napoleon's coming catastrophe was due to the 'irresistible tide of destiny.' In other words - it was because God allowed it.
The greater your growth personally with God, the greater questions you will have. The better personal relationship with God, the growing, unnerving questions.
A faithful person will grow to see life from the perspective of trust, not fear.
As cancer, a death, an illness or any other tragedy or trial hits, a faithful person will know God has a greater purpose in the suffering because God still reigns.
I recently read and was reminded that John Donne was the Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in London during the 17th Century. During his time there, he watched three waves of Bubonic plague sweep through England.
The third wave killed 40,000 people alone.
During that time, Donne was also diagnosed, but that diagnosis was wrong.
Yet, it was during that time for 6 weeks, on the threshold of death, he listened to the Church bells ring - announcing each death, tolling each fatality, wondering if he was next.
From him we received these words, 'Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.'
While I have never been in the throes of death like those facing the Plague, in my experience I did come to learn something about faith and trusting God.
The final and ultimate question of life: 'Is God Trustworthy?'
And the answer is 'yes.'
We should trust God, or trust nothing at all.
For if God cannot be trusted with our very souls, we would live in constant fear. Instead, God expects our fear of Him to produce a holy awe; not an irrational terror.
Of course He can be trusted, for He alone is worthy.
Until next time, win one for the good guys.
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