I never remember, in all my Christian course, a period now of sixty-nine years and four months, that I ever SINCERELY and PATIENTLY sought to know the will of God, by the teaching of the Holy Ghost, through the instrumentality of the Word of God, but that ALWAYS I have been directed rightly.

But if honesty of heart and uprightness before God were lacking, or if I did not patiently wait before God for the instruction, or if I preferred the counsel of my fellowmen to the declarations of the Word of the Living God, I made great mistakes.

—George Mueller

 

LORD, LIFT UP YOUR FEET!

Lift up Your feet to the perpetual desolations.
The enemy has damaged everything in the sanctuary.

(Psalm 74:3)

 

Years ago on a family ski trip my little brother fell and tore the ligaments in his right knee. It was a nasty fall and a nasty injury. When it happened, he let out a cry heard all across the slopes. My father, who had reached the bottom of the hill where we were skiing, heard it too, and instantly turned and headed back up. I can still see him, lifting up his skis, climbing the hill as fast as he could. I can still hear his voice, too: “Hold on son, I’m coming!”

That memorable event supplies a powerful picture of our redemption, as does the text before us. Psalm 74 is the cry of one of God’s children, pleading for help because the enemies of the nation have entered the land and are laying waste to God’s inheritance. All is in desolation. The people are under a severe discipline from the LORD, against whom they have sinned. Like my brother so many years ago, they are down for the count. The psalmist knows they’ll never get up again unless God lifts up his feet and races to their aid.

Read More

 

SNAKES ON A ROCK

There are three things which are too wonderful for me,
Yes, four which I do not understand:
The way of an eagle in the air,
The way of a serpent on a rock,
The way of a ship in the midst of the sea,
And the way of a man with a virgin.

(Proverbs 30:18-19)

 

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how many of God’s creatures like to bask.

Our pet rabbit likes to lie on the grass, stretch out his fore and hind legs, and bask in the sun.

The seals down at Goat Rock, braving the gawkers on the beach, will lie on the sand at the river’s mouth for hours on end and bask in the sun.

Basking sharks, I assume, enjoy swimming near the surface of the water so they can bask in the sun.

Mulling all of this, I suddenly remembered that Solomon, too, was intrigued by baskers. As he thought about the four wonders mentioned above, he knew there was a spiritual significance attached to each of them—and that he couldn’t see it.

But we who are in Christ can!

That’s because the New Testament repeatedly tells us that Christ is our Rock; and also that we—who once had a nature and a standing like that old serpent, the devil—are nevertheless loved by God, who lifted us out of our holes in the earth, and set safely upon the Rock of His Son.

We’re snakes all right. But thanks be to God, the Father no longer sees us that way. Because we’re in Christ, he sees us as sons. Therefore, we can bask in the healing and warming light of his love, with no fear of getting picked off!

So next time you’re feeling low and mean—even downright snakey—take a lesson from the rabbits, the seals, the sharks, the lizards, and all the other baskers.

Remember that you’re on the Rock—and then spend a little time just basking in the Father’s love.

Dear Aunt Tracy:

The Great End Time Debate Clarified for Busy Homemakers

 

Actually, Aunt Tracy is my sister-in-law. However, she is indeed a most excellent and busy homemaker.

For that reason—and also because she is delving into Isaiah at Ladies Bible Study Fellowship—she asked me to write something SHORT on the question of the millennium (Revelation 20).

If you know me at all, you know I don’t do short. Nevertheless, I trust that the following letter—which was short by MY standards—proved helpful to her.

I post it here (with some non-short emendations) in hopes that it will also be of use to anyone else who may be looking for a brief introduction to the Great End Time Debate.

To take a look-see, please click here.

 ” . . . that all should honor the Son, just as they honor the Father.”

(John 5:23)

Cosmology is the study of the origin, structure, purpose, and destiny of our universe. Now that’s a topic to wrap your head around!

I’m guessing that most folks today doubt we can ever be sure about such lofty and complex matters. But here’s a thought to consider: Doesn’t the very fact that we’re able to ponder these questions imply that our minds were actually created to find the answers? Cosmological skeptics may moan and groan, but surely it is not without significance that nearly all of us remain incurably curious about cosmology!

Could it be, then, that we we were meant to behold and enjoy the one true cosmology—and that any religion or philosophy that hopes to win the allegiance of thoughtful people must offer us one?

No doubt. But if that cosmology is to prevail in the war of the worldviews, it will have to be a good one: clear, comprehensive, logical, well-supported by good evidence, and full of hope for a suffering humanity that knows there’s a Supreme Being, but is having difficulty discovering his truth about the world he created.

Having studied naturalistic, pantheistic, and theistic cosmologies for many years, I have concluded that biblical cosmology meets all these criteria, and that it does so far better than any other contestant in the ring. Indeed, I’m  convinced that here we reach the spiritual and philosophical home our hearts were made for.

Yes, its teachings run hard against the grain of  the cosmological “wisdom” of modern man. And yes, because of this, many Christians are reluctant to study, formulate, embrace, and defend a deeply biblical cosmology.

However, such cosmological conflict should not surprise or demoralize intellectually hungry believers. Has not God said that the wisdom of this world is foolishness to him, and that the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men? In such a world, does it make sense for the lovers of truth to let the majority rule?!

If, then, Christians would only dig a little deeper into these matters, and let the Spirit of Truth perform His wonderful work of illumination, I believe they would find, to their amazement and joy, that in his Word God  really has graciously granted us the full spectrum of cosmological truth for which we, by our very nature as creatures in his image an likeness, are ever hungering!

In this post I’d like to tackle first things first by looking at the heart of Biblical Cosmology: the One who dwells in the heart of God the Father, and whom the Father has placed at the heart of all things: the Lord Jesus Christ.

Read More