Your Soul's Sure And Steadfast Anchor

In my last post we heard that there are those who may have fallen from the faith and cannot be returned to it. Nevertheless we pray for them. Now turn this around. What if you are fearful that this may happen to you by some weakness of your sinful heart or some temptation of the devil? What confidence can you have that you too will not lose your faith? Can you have any confidence in God's blessings? Listen.

Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things--things that belong to salvation. For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. - Hebrews 6:9-12 ESV

If you are reading these words of Holy Scripture, if you're heart rejoices in the promises that are yours in Jesus and if you are even concerned that you might lose your faith, then please, my brother or sister, take heart. " Better things, things that belong to your salvation, await you."

For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. - Hebrews 6:10 ESV 

He knows you. He knows your heart. He knows what moves you to love your friend. He knows why you went out of your way to send your friend a check to cover expenses when he was forced to spend all that he had for medicines for his sick and dying child. He knows how you spent long hours visiting and encouraging a fellow member of your Christian fellowship, encouraging her as she mourned the death of her husband. He knows and remembers that commitment you have to your Bible class for teens in your neighborhood. He knows your heart and sees the faith that you have for Him, faith that expresses itself in love.

And just as He promised to bless Abraham, so He promises to bless you. Abraham was willing to obey the LORD, even when He was commanded to sacrifice his only son, Isaac (Gen. 22:1-18). Then the LORD knew that Abraham believed and trusted Him—and, as before, He renewed His promise to bless Abraham (Gen. 17:1-8).

And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, "By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice." - Gen 22:15-18 ESV 

As Hebrews says, "since God had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, 'Surely I will bless you and multiply you'" (Hebrews 6:13-14). And it is very important that you understand what that means for you so that even in times when you struggle with doubts and darkness you do not completely despair of God's love for you, sinner though you are. What strengthens us in those moments is the unchangeable nature and person of God and the fact that He cannot lie. In other words,

1. God's purpose for you is that you receive forgiveness because of Jesus' sacrifice for you on the cross of Calvary. In Jesus He said, "Surely I will bless and multiply you. I WILL, I WILL!" 
2. And he has guaranteed this with an oath, swearing by Himself, just as He did to Abraham. 

So we return to what He said to us earlier in this letter about Jesus, the Son of God.

Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. - Hebrews 4:14-15 ESV

We have a high priest, we surely do. His name is Jesus, the Son of God. He understands, relates and sympathizes with your weakness, your confusion, your fear. Again, as we said before, He knows. He too was tempted, just as you are. Yet He did not sin, but offered His sinful life for you.

Jesus is then your soul's "sure and steadfast anchor" in the midst of the storms assailing you. He is your one certain hope. He has "passed through the heavens" into the very presence of God, the presence represented in the old tabernacle and later in the temple by the Most Holy Place (Exod. 26:33-34; 40:18-38; Hebrews 9:1-28).

So do not fear. He will preserve your faith. Your hope of heaven and eternal life is certain. We'll learn more of this later.

Our Radical Need For Rest

The world we live in is filled with anxiety, stress and tension. And we don't know how to get rid of it. As a result so very many of us cannot sleep. And that can indeed be a very, very serious problem. Lack of sleep, even for one night, can reduce your daytime alertness by as much as a third and impair your memory and ability to think. Studies indicate that sleepiness doubles the risk of getting hurt on the job. In the U.S. the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that each year drowsy driving is responsible for 100,000 automobile crashes, 71,000 injuries and as many as 1,550 fatalities.

Sleep is not an option. Lots of studies support what our bodies tell us. We have to sleep. But there is an even deeper need. The writer to the Hebrews calls it God's Rest ! After pointing out that the first generation descendants of Israel led by Moses out of slavery in Egypt never received it, the writer continues.

Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, 

"As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest,'" although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. 

For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all his works" (Gen. 2:2). 

And again in this passage he said, "They shall not enter my rest" (Deut. 1:34-35).  

Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he appoints a certain day, 

"Today," saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts" (Ps. 95:7-11). 

For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. - Hebrews 4:1-10 ESV

The entire OT points to God's promised Sabbath-rest. We learn from Scriptures that God created the week of seven days and decreed that His people should rest on the seventh as He did. Some Rabbis in days gone by asked if God did anything before He rested on the seventh day. Yes, they replied, He had one more thing to do. Before He could step back to exult and delight in His work of creating, He created peace, joy and happiness. He did this because He wants His children to celebrate with Him the perfect balance and marvelous wonder of all He has created. He wants to bless them with an entire day in which to rejoice and be happy as they ponder upon and celebrate His wisdom and goodness.

This is what the LORD promised Israel when He led them out of slavery under Moses' leadership. In essence He was promising, "Trust Me, follow Me, obey Me and I will bring you into the land I promised to your forefather Abraham. It is a land overflowing with good things, food, drink and all you need for life. I will make you secure. You will become the mightiest nation upon earth and no enemies will ever harm you again. I will put my name upon you and bless you, for you are My children."

But they blew it. They threw it away. They hardened their hearts, complaining and chasing after idols. And so they all perished in the wilderness. No rest for the wicked. No rest for unbelievers. But . . .

"there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his" (Hebrews 4:9-10 ESV). 

Rest is still waiting for you today! God holds it out: perfect peace, happiness, security, fullness and joy.  It awaits you and you have nothing to do to gain it other than to trust Him. More on this next time.

No Rest, No Sleep, No Hope—Forever!

I'm not a night owl. I have zero appreciation for those of you who love to stay up into the wee hours of the morning. My eyes begin to droop around 10 p.m. I want my bed. I need my rest and I want it to start long before midnight. Then when 6:30 a.m. comes I'm rested and ready to roll out to begin the new day. I've had my eight and I'm on the way.

Whether you're a lark like me or an owl, one of the huge problems of our day is getting enough sleep. Tons of products promise to put you to sleep. Some work for some. Many don't and they droop along through the day, fighting to keep going. Stress, anxiety and tension follow and soon sickness of one sort or another sets in. Can't sleep, can't work, not gonna make it.

That's what happened to the thousands who were rescued from slavery in Egypt under the leadership of Moses and the saving Hand of the LORD. They didn't make it. It's all recorded in the Biblical Book of Exodus. They made it out, but the foreboding wilderness of Sinai stood between them and the Promised Land. And when they came up to the very borders with orders to march, they caved in. They believed the reports of most of the spies. Those guys are as big as giants; its hopeless, they said. And so Israel turned back in doubt and rebellion toward the heat and horror of the desert. Hebrews puts it this way:

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years. Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, 'They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.' As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest.'" - Hebrews 3:7-11 ESV

No rest for the wicked. And the most wicked thing you can do is to doubt the promises of the loving and forgiving Savior. That's what the Children of Israel did. They gave it up. They threw in their towels. They lost hope and turned to other gods. They didn't, they wouldn't believe in the LORD who brought them out and set them on the path leading to freedom and security. So they invited the anger of the LORD upon themselves.

I swore in my wrath, "They shall not enter my rest." Hebrews 3:11 ESV

And the LORD's anger was kindled on that day, and he swore, saying, 'Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me, none except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD.' And the LORD's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD was gone. - Num 32:10-13 ESV 

No rest, no sleep, no hope. That's today's warning for all who once claimed to be members of the household of God in Christ Jesus, but threw it all away in unbelief and rebellion.

Take care, brothers (and sisters), lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. - Hbr 3:12 ESV

It's hell not to be able to sleep in the darkness, plagued by fear, guilt and remorse. It's hell to wander through the house, staring out at the night while everyone around you is quietly and happily taking deep breaths in sleep. No rest, no sleep, no hope. That's your future if you throw away all that is freely given to you in Jesus. No rest, no sleep, no hope—forever!

 

                 

The Promised Helper, The Spirit of Truth

I was invited to proclaim God's Word to a small congregation in East Texas last Sunday, the Sunday after Jesus' ascension into heaven. Based upon the Gospel lesson, I focused on the anxiety so many of us feel in these unsettled times. Take a brief look at but a few of the events here in the U.S.:

• Boston marathon bombing
• Slaughter of kids in Newtown, Connecticut
• Abortionist doctor convicted of murder
• Jodi Arias found guilty of murder
• Devastating explosion in West, Texas

I've referred only to a few of the recent frightening events in the United States. Yesterday I touched on the extreme hatred and persecution of Christians around the world. Why? Why does all this continue? Where is the Lord God? Why does it seem like Satan and the vast powers of darkness, confusion and death are winning? When will it end? 

To help us in this struggle the Lord Jesus said something we all need to keep hearing: 

"But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. - Jhn 15:26-27 ESV

The Helper, as the ESV translates it, is no one less than the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, called by Jesus the Spirit of Truth, sent by the Father to bear witness about Jesus. In the original language used by Jesus the Helper refers to one who stands at your side to guide, comfort, defend you from the demonically inspired thoughts of despair and doubt that plague so many of us. The KJV calls the Spirit the Comforter. Of this Spirit of God Jesus further taught, 

"he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." - Jhn 14:26 ESV

The Holy Spirit at work in God's Word lifts up for us these important truths: 

• We have no right to expect anything other than that God would reject us and this world we live in altogether. If you followed the Jodi Arias trial for the past four months to the point where she was declared guilty, you learned that the trial is divided into two parts: the guilt phase followed by the punishment phase. Fox news reported that she prefers the punishment to be death. Would that be your preference? In God's eyes there is no righteous person on earth (Ecclesiastes 7:20). All are guilty and deserving death. But the Spirit reveals that death does not mean one ceases to exist. Rather death means that you continue forever in lonely despair and darkness, finally given the arid hell you ask for by your disobedience (Luke 16:19-31). Speaking for that same LORD, the prophet Jeremiah puts it this way: 

". . . for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water." - Jer. 2:13 ESV

• But the Spirit speaks again and again a vital second truth in God's Word. Jesus has already endured that hell for you on the cross. This is what was behind his loud, despairing cry at the ninth hour, 

"Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" - Mark 15:34 - ESV. 

• And the Father accepted that lonely sacrifice by raising Jesus up on the third day. All this was foretold by the prophets like Isaiah who spoke about the Suffering Servant who 

"poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors." Why? The prophet continues, "he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors." - Isa 53:12 ESV

• Speaking to our hearts, the Spirit confirms in this way that we are God's children and that despite everything else our Father will not forsake us, but will also raise us up with Jesus on the great day when Christ returns in victory and glory. 

For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For "God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "all things are put in subjection," it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. - 1 Cor 15:21-27 ESV 

Comforted and strengthened by our Helper and Comforter, we set out again each day to give witness to our faith and pray that our witness will be used to lead yet others to know and believe in their Savior.  

The Blessing Of Faith In The Risen Christ

In the past week I commented on the physical resurrection from the dead promised by and through our Lord Jesus Christ. This is such an astounding promise that many have a most difficult time accepting. Just as they struggle with the idea of a virgin birth, so they seriously doubt the return of our bodies from the dead. Would the Lord God give this promise to such a sinner as I? Does He truly care enough to rescue me? Why then does He permit this grief and pain into my life? Why does God seem so incapable of answering my prayers?

So go the doubts and struggles. Thomas, one of Jesus' Twelve Apostles, also had such doubts. His name in Aramaic (Tau'ma - תאומא) means twin. In Greek it is Didymus. If Thomas was indeed a twin we know nothing about his twin. Some have suggested that his wavering back and forth in his initial inability to accept the witness of the other Apostles earned him this name. In doubting, however, he was not completely different from the other disciples of Jesus.

Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe." - John 20:24-25 ESV

When Jesus appeared among them eight days later, even though they were behind locked doors, he offered them Peace (Shalom in Aramaic or Hebrew) —a word that fulfills all the promises of eternal forgiveness and oneness with him and with his Father. Then he turned at once to Thomas,

The Incredulity of St. Thomas by Caravaggio

"Put your finger here," he said, "and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"
- John 20:27-28 ESV

Thomas' doubts were gone. His senses of touch and sight confirmed what the others had said. Jesus was indeed alive, returned from the grave. He was indeed Thomas' Lord and God. Like the other Apostles, Thomas went out into the world to proclaim the Gospel of the Risen Christ. Legend has it that he was martyred in India in the year 72.

But note then Jesus' other words to Thomas and to all who struggle to cling to faith.

"Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." - Jhn 20:29 ESV

As I've pointed out numerous times before, faith in Jesus as Savior and Risen Messiah is a gift of God, a blessing granted by the Holy Spirit. Paul emphasizes again and again that no one—including Thomas—can say "Jesus is my Lord" except in the holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3). Before Jesus' resurrection Peter had acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of the living God. To that Jesus said,

"Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. - Mat 16:17 ESV

Blessings are always gifts from the LORD, gifts poured out by the Holy Spirit at work in and through God's Word. Paul also emphasized this as he said,

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. - Rom 10:17 ESV

When you doubt, cry out. When you are afraid, reach out for help. Jesus will always meet you at your deepest point of need. He will grant you the most precious gift of His Spirit. He will come to you to speak to your heart. He will take up residence in your soul and give you life. He will grant you faith in His love and hope in His promises. He will give you living water to drink (John 4:10; 7:37).

And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" - Luk 11:9-13 ESV

As the Psalmists said so long ago,

Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! - Psalm 40:4 ESV

Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple! - Psalm 65:4 ESV

Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. - Psalm 84:4-5 ESV

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, - Psalm 146:5 ESV

Does Old Age Have Meaning?

The question of meaning has increased for me as I entered old age. So many of my age fall into the despair as they struggle to find meaning in their lives. In the book of Ecclesiastes Solomon uses poignant images to describe the breakdown of our mortal bodies and warns us to make our peace with our Creator before these days come.

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, "I have no pleasure in them"; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, and the doors on the street are shut--when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low-- they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets-- before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. - Ecc 12:1-7 ESV

If you have ever been to a nursing home you have seen those whom Solomon describes, sitting, tied to their wheel chairs, white heads hanging low, eyes dull, toothless, trembling, groaning and staring out at nothing in particular. It can be a most disturbing spectacle. 


But even before reaching this stage in life, many in old age ask about the meaning of life. A white paper on old age and meaning by Sage Publications suggests there are two significant questions to ask:

1. Does old age have a meaning for society? 
2. How do individuals actually experience their lives as meaningful in the last stage of life? 

I'd like to rephrase the questions:

1. Does anyone feel that we old people are important?
2. How do I personally make sense of this final stage in my life? 

So often people talk about what a wonderful thing it must be to be retired and have time to do things you really want to do. "Yeah, right," says a friend. "I tried that and in two years I got bored to death with three or four games of golf every week. Now what do I do? Watch TV? This retirement thing really stinks."


The Sage white paper points out that we're not all alike by any means. Broadly speaking, people over age 65 tend to do the same sorts of things they did in their middle years. Some things slow down however. For instance one study of leisure found that after age 65 only about 17% go to movies. Travel among people over 75 also diminishes. Other activities, such as outdoor gardening, TV watching, watching sports and just talking with friends remain strong.


One interesting fact for business is that Americans over 50 command more than half of all discretionary income and account for 40% of consumer demand. The young-old are much more likely to travel than the old-old. All in all, as noted, people continue to do the sorts of things they are familiar with and find meaningful as long as they can. Of course, as Solomon points out, the body doesn't stay healthy and whole forever. So elderly find themselves limited by illness and weakness and eventually forced to stop altogether.


Another friend of mine spent much of his life traveling the world to present seminars and training for people in his profession. Now he has heart disease and cancer. He struggles to continue, but his medical problems are raise big barriers. He talks about his final keynote speech at a conference in London. But will his health allow it? And what then?


Does God offer any help to those who are in old age or approaching it? Personally, I've never found the Solomon's words of much help. They fill me with anxiety, despair and hopelessness. They are meant to do that, of course. Don't forget your Creator, he warns. You won't live forever. Make your peace with God "before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it."


There's much more in Scripture beyond these somber words. In the next couple posts I'll take a look at many other passages that do provide meaning, hope and encouragement to seniors. 

Difficult Times And Church Going

Economics is a huge issue in the current race for the American presidency. Our debts need to be paid and our budget needs to be balanced. However, based on earlier American history, don't expect thousands to rush back to church to pray for wisdom and God's blessings. 

With millions of people out of work and millions others having lost their life savings, one might have predicted (as many at the time did) that there would have been a strong resurgence of the church during the period of the Great Depression in the 1930s. Indeed, after decades of declining church membership and what many perceived to be a general decline in religious piety throughout the country, many clergyman saw the Depression partly as a heavenly response to these developments. 

Moreover, many believed that the suffering masses would quickly rush back into the church, swelling membership rolls, and seeking forgiveness for their folly. Yet while most major denominations did see an average membership gain of about 5% during the thirties this gain fell far short of the clergy's collective hopes. Moreover, contemporary evidence indicates that religious piety among these church members may actually have been on the decline even during this period of crisis. At the same time that popular religion was experiencing a decline, the spread of radio allowed such people as Father Charles Coughlin to achieve nationwide fame.

The Lynds' famous study of "Middletown," the everyman of the small American city, indicated that little had changed in the years between 1925 and 1935, despite the intervening onset of Depression. Middletown is the title of the classic sociological study of a typical middle-American city published in 1929 by Helen and Robert Lynd. The study was based on field research done in Muncie, Indiana, in 1924-1925. A sequel published in 1937, entitled Middletown in Transition, was based on the Lynds' return to Muncie in 1935. Muncie was referred to as Middletown to convey the representativeness of the city and their findings there.

The Middletown studies were influential in identifying and popularizing the idea of America as a consumer culture. By observing the day-to-day life of the city's residents, the Lynds showed how traditional values and customs were changing under the influence of industrialization. They contrasted Middletown in the 1890s and 1920s, portraying the shift from an active, civic-oriented citizenry to one embracing materialistic values. Since work and community life in the 1920s provided fewer satisfactions to Middletowners, they turned to consumerism to fulfill their social needs. Middletown depicted the

dynamic conflict over this change, although most citizens believed it was inevitable and good. The Lynds implicitly criticized this emergent commercialism by successfully combining their moral critique with scientific analysis. The combination gave the study its power and originality.

Middletown in Transition focused on the power relationships in Muncie during the Great Depression. The Lynds showed how the residents were subordinate to both a powerful, local business elite and the national consumer culture. This domination rendered Middletown citizens somewhat impotent, unable to change their society. The solution, the Lynds concluded, was for professional managers to mold social institutions for the greater public good.

In religious matters, the Lynds found that the majority of churchgoers remained middle age women, with few people of either sex under the age of 30. One possible reason for this was the marked decline in piety among the younger generations who felt that religion did not occupy a significant place in their lives. While there was some resurgence of piety among the lower classes (which manifested itself in an increase in the strength of religious fundamentalism during this decade) most middle and upper class individuals remained unmoved even though they too may have suffered from the Depression.

Here is a cover from the New Yorker Magazine of October 13, 1934. This cover plainly represents how the uppper classes during the 1930's continued to pay little attention to religion during this decade. The tip of a hat by the dead rich gentleman being rushed up to heaven shows the only tacit attention which such individuals, often caught up in the business world, paid to matters of religion.

I suspect that the current economic crisis in the USA will have the same non-effect on church going. 

Bluebirds And Anxiety

Today I'd like to comment about the above photo that I took in my back yard a little over a week ago. If you look close you can see a nest with blue eggs. They are actually eggs laid by a mother bluebird. Two of the chicks have hatched. Three eggs are not yet. The odd piece of machinery on the right comes from my propane tank. It is the gauge telling me how much gas I have in the tank. Here's the story.

I wanted to check to see if I had enough gas, so I lifted a yellow metal cover over the gauge. To my great astonishment there was this nest. The cover has an opening that allows just enough room for the little birds to go in and out and acts very much like any ordinary bird house. Seeing what I had come upon I quickly called my wife Sylvia, took this photo with my iPhone and quietly put the cover back down. We both decided the little babies must not be disturbed. We were delighted to watch the bluebird mother enter her house to care for her young as we stood about thirty feet away. Daddy bluebird also dropped down and perched outside as she entered. Since then, they have been going in and out regularly. We've not dared to open the cover again. In fact, we called the gas company and asked them also to stay away for the duration.

How long does it take for baby bluebirds to mature? As it turns out, several interesting facts surfaced as I did a Google search, i.e. Bluebird Babies In Back Yard. It appears that the mother eats the eggshells after the babies hatch. They provide protein. In about a week the babies begin to get feathers and in less than three weeks they are ready to fly. All this is quite amazing to me. As the author of the linked piece says, "May all your blues be bluebirds."

My further point is that none of this happens by chance, accident or some vague natural phenomenon called "Mother Nature." Here is what our Lord Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount.

"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matt. 6:24-34). 

As I gaze again upon this bluebird nest photo and ponder the little family in my backyard, I sense our Lord speaking again to both of us. He reminds us that our anxieties about health and money issues and our future are quite unnecessary. He listens to our prayers. Jesus promises that our heavenly Father values us more than these tiny bluebirds that He is protecting. It was not by chance that I was moved to lift up the cover to my gas tank. I hardly ever do that. I usually entrust all that to Selph's Propane coming by automatically to check the levels. In fact, when I reported the phenomenon they told me this was not the first time that my tank cover has been so used. And they are always very careful not to disturb the nest in the Spring when they do check. I didn't know that.

And yet, the heavenly Father wanted us to know about it. So I was strangely moved to lift up the cover. As a result much of our anxiety about health, finances and the future has melted away. We shall focus upon the troubles of today and how we may please our heavenly Father. Everything else is in His hands. Food, clothing, shelter and all the rest that we worry about will be cared for.

I pray that He speaks the same Word also to you.

We Still Have The Kingdom

Psalm 46:1-11 is appointed for the upcoming final Sunday of the Church Year, usually known as Christ the King Sunday. It is also the psalm appointed for Reformation Sunday at the end of October and the psalm upon which Martin Luther based his famous hymn, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." I shall lift up the teachings from Luther's great hymn. Here is how the Psalm begins.

God is our refuge and strength,
   a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
   though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
   though the mountains tremble at its swelling. 

Surely life is filled with turmoil and trouble. I read this morning in the Houston Chronicle about a family wiped out by a careless driver who will most likely be charged with reckless driving and manslaughter. Beyond that comes the news that a loved one has cancer, a hurricane has wrecked havoc on an entire island nation and an upstanding citizen is charged with bribery. Why all this?

The Bible's answer is simple, sharp and clear. We have all sinned and fallen far short of God's commandments. We are under judgment. What could we possibly expect?  But we have hope, for in our time of trouble "God is our refuge and strength."That is, of course, quite puzzling. How can we be under God's judgment and at the same time find Him to be a tested and sure source of refuge and strength?

Luther sorts out this dilemma in the following manner. He points us to Christ. We believers in Christ who sing this psalm must realize that we are no longer at war with God, but with "the old evil foe," Satan and all his demons. By means of guile, deception and other dread spiritual arms they would deprive us of our faith in Christ and devour us with despondency. Against them we can do nothing. As soon as we attempt to fight our spiritual battles alone we lose.

But for us fights the valiant One, whom God Himself elected? Who is this? Jesus Christ it is. He is the Lord of hosts—Hebrew: Sabaoth. He is God and the Son of God. He holds the field for us and will do so forever. He won the victory over sin and death upon the cross. He now pleads for us before the throne of God. Satan can no longer harm us. God has spoken His Word by raising Jesus from the dead. He has accepted the sacrifice of His Son. We can put our trust in this fortress and be unafraid.

So let devils fill the world, all eager to swallow us. We tremble not. We fear no ill. They shall not, they cannot overpower us. Oh, this world's prince may still scowl fierce as he will, lifting up our sin and mocking us with shame. Let him. He can harm us none. He and his rebels are under judgment themselves. They must now flee before the Word, Jesus Christ.

The Word is by our side on the battle field. He has not left us here alone. He is here with His good gifts, the preaching and teaching of His Word and the sacraments administered to us and our children. In them we hear again and again the assurance that we are the forgiven children of God. And so we are secure.

Will we still face trials? Yes we will. That is the lesson of the book of Job, the story of a righteous, God-fearing man whom God permitted to endure grave trials and tests. In Job 2:4-6 we read of how this came to be.

Satan answered the LORD and said, "Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face." And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life."

 As you know, murderous thieves and natural disasters were responsible for the deaths of Job's sons and daughters. After that a horrid disease wracked his body. No wonder that his wife urged him to "curse God and die" (Job 2:9).  Yet through it all Job clung to God's Word and promise. Listen to his words.

"Oh that my words were written!
   Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
Oh that with an iron pen and lead
   they were engraved in the rock forever!
For I know that my Redeemer lives,
   and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
   yet in my flesh I shall see God,
whom I shall see for myself,
   and my eyes shall behold, and not another" (Job 19:23-27). 

 God does not tempt us to sin, but He does permit our faith to be tested, sometimes most severely. All this is always and ever for our eternal good. His concern is to produce endurance, character and hope. He wants to teach us that we can only depend upon Jesus for mercy and forgiveness (Romans 5:1-11).

So Dr. Luther can write, "Were they to take our house, goods, honor, child or spouse, though life be wrenched away, they cannot win the day. the Kingdom's ours forever." What a powerful lesson for Christ the King Sunday.

   

                

How To Deal With Today's Anxiety

I have this habit of scratching when I'm nervous or afraid. Often I don't even realize that I'm doing it until I notice some blotches on my skin. Others I know start to stutter or blink their eyes rapidly or twitch their mouth. We all manifest anxiety or fear one way or another. In the most extreme situations people become hypochondriacs.

For hypochondriacs everyday functions become obsessions. They misinterpret normal bodily functions. A rapid heart rate is probably a heart attack. Sweating must mean kidney failure. Hunger pangs and fatigue obviously mean the onset of some form of cancer. Surely I must quickly get to the emergency room or at least obtain another doctor's appointment today, tomorrow at the very latest.

Sometimes I wonder if Psalm writer David was not a bit of a hypochondriac. Take Psalm 39:1-13 for instance. He starts out by talking to himself. He is absolutely going to restrain himself before those total idiots he has to work with. He suspects they're out to get him one way or another. He gets so troubled by this that he starts burning up inside. This is bad, really bad.

But then he shifts and I realize these are not the words of a hypochondriac. These are the words of a devout man troubled not merely by what men say or think, but about the brevity of life. I can relate directly to that. He is aware that he can measure his days with a few handbreadths. Life is but a mere breath, a shadow. Why is that? Why do we all die? Why do we even concern ourselves about this?

Many years ago I distinctly recall stumbling across a passage from King Solomon's disturbing writings. He wrote, "God has made everything beautiful in its time." That, I thought, is true. We can sing about that. But then he went on, "Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end" (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

How easy it would be for David, Solomon and me if we were like dogs. Mine in particular is quite incapable of worrying about the brevity of his life. He has a problem with seizures every couple months. The vet says he can do little about that problem other than to dumb him down with some drugs. Neither my pet nor I want that, so when a seizure comes I hold him tight and we tremble through it together. After its over, he bounces up in about an hour and is ready to move on the same as always. He is not capable of all the fretting and fussing the two kings and I go through.

But we're not dogs. We are the cap of God's creation, bearing His very image within, made by Him for eternity. We can do nothing other than to beg our Creator, "look away from me" (Psalm 39:13). Please, God, do not look me in the eye and tell me again how I have messed up, failed and deserve to be utterly forsaken by You—forever! Help me before I depart and am no more.

And then I hear another cry from a direct descendant of King David. I see Him hanging on a Roman cross, crying out in Syro-Chaldaic, his native tongue, the words of another of David's psalms (Psalm 22:1), "Eli, Eli lama sabachthani?" Matthew interprets the strange words, "That is, My God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46).

As I hear those words my hypochondria begins to dissipate like morning fog. I realize again that He hung there so I can begin this day with a smile on my face. I am forgiven. My God is my heavenly Father who, for Christ's sake, has forgiven me. And when I depart, I will not cease to be, but I will dwell in the Father's house and among His children forever.

Anxiety and Hope

I grow so weary of bad news and forecasts of disaster. Some current that have come across my desk the past weeks:

* Swine Flue Pandemic Hits Texas
* Few Signs of Recovery from Recession
* All of Europe will be Muslim in another 25 years
* US Losing Drug War

And the list goes on. As I try to absorb this daily dose of bad news, I begin to imagine all sorts of terrifying things about to happen. My next reaction is to try to figure out what I ought to be doing to stem the tide. Should I get some flu medicine? Stock up on canned goods? Contact my congressman?

And then a still small voice speaks within, calling to mind the Words of my Lord's Sermon:

"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing?

"Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own " (Matthew 6:25-34).

The Apostle James, along with others, reminds us that we really do not know what tomorrow holds. All our worrying about it, together with all those carefully laid out plans, will not change it (James 4:13-15).

I've been watching the TV program Lost for the past several weeks. I've missed a couple years of past episodes already. Sorry, but I had no knowledge about its existence until my daughter told me she was a fan. The program explores a favorite sci-fi topic, time travel, together with the implication that if we could travel back in time to make some different choices we could change the future. That makes for some interesting and complex fiction, but that's all it is--fiction!

Such stories (and there are many) assume that time merely happens--blindly. The universe is some kind of machine governed by physics, scientific laws, understood or not. The only beings with free will are we humans. We make choices. These choices influence these fixed laws, changing them. Then stuff happens. If we could travel back in time to make other choices, then other stuff will happen instead. So goes the story line.

Time, like everything else in this creation, is a creation. The universe is not a blind machine that merely happens to be. We Christians rejoice that God created everything through Christ (John 1:1-4). He not only created all things. He sustains them by His Word of power. It is this same Lord who, in the fullness of time, entered His world to carry the burden of our choices, our godless choices, our sin. He is the One I turn to whenever my heart grows weary with all this bad news. On the first day of a new week He came out of the grave to announce once and for all that in Him our sins are forgiven.

Time travel? Possible? Nope. Fiction. We can't change the past, but in Christ we have confidence for the future. So I'm going to focus on today. How may I give glory and honor to Christ and His Father today? How may I care for my neighbor today? Tomorrow never comes. Yesterday cannot be repeated. All I have is today. And that is enough.

How Slow of Heart to Believe

It's been a while since I've posted. I could say that I've been busy, but that would be only partly so. The truth is, I've been depressed and discouraged, an old familiar pain that spans my entire lifetime. I can distinctly recall it since my early teens. If I could find it, I'd point you to a journal from those days in which I scrawled, "What good to live, if but to die.

Sounds like the Book of Ecclesiastes, one Biblical book I avoid, because it is too painful for me. "Meaningless! Meaningless!"
says the Teacher.
"Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless."

It doesn't help that I've been reading a dismal book. Why do I dip into such stuff? I've just finished One Second After by William R. Forstchen. He writes about what might happen if enemies of the USA were to manage to explode nuclear bombs a couple hundred miles above Kansas, causing an EMP (electro-magnetic pulse). Telephones, cars, the entire electrical grid, everything electronic--all of it--could in theory be destroyed while people and animals would not be affected. However, that would leave us helpless, pushed back to a civilization like that in medieval times. Millions upon millions would die.

My goodness, what moves me to read such stuff? Fiction, of course, but potentially . . . Well, you get the picture.

As I read that I suddenly began to realize how the two disciples on the road to Emmaus must have felt when they thought Jesus was dead. Everything they hoped for, dreamed about, was gone. Their Messiah was dead, murdered by the Romans and their own country's leaders on a cross outside of Jerusalem.

"He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people," they told the stranger who encountered them on the way. "The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel" (Luke 24).

"We had hoped. . ." The dream was gone, dissipated by the cruel reality of the day. The night was now closing in and with it hope was dying.

And yet, here was this stranger. They didn't recognize him. They couldn't. Their eyes were blinded by their disbelief. Rather blunt, no very blunt was he. "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe . . ." And from there he went on to explain that it was all part of the plan, all written through the prophets centuries before.

I guess I'll have to take another look at my depression, wiggle my little finger at my doubts and ask, "Is what you believe really the truth? Is God dead? Has Satan won after all?"

Perhaps not. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!

I'd best get on with the tasks of the day before me. I pray you will do the same.