Monday, November 25, 2019

Where Is God?



During times of tragedy people often ask, “Where is God in all of this?”  And I think it’s an honest question.  One that begs a response!

To be sure, life can be difficult and even overwhelming at times.  We need help from above!  We need One greater than we to carry us through such times.  I love David’s prayer in Psalm 63:1-3, “Hear my cry O God; give heed to my prayer.  From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint.  Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.  For You have been a refuge for me.”

During heart-wrenching times we need to know that someone cares, that someone is “there.”  So, where is the Lord when circumstances come crashing down around us?  When the doctor’s report is hard to accept?  When loved ones face their mortality?  When we face substantial losses of all kinds?

Another psalm, one of my favorites, reminds us that God is NEAR during these times.  “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).  His presence is near and dear! 

My friend, we can live without a lot of things in this world, but we cannot live without His wonderful presence.  His presence sustains us when the storms of life threaten to harm or even destroy us.  I can’t imagine not having Jesus in my life.  To turn to anyone or anything else constitutes a cheap substitute.  No one, nowhere, no how can replace the life-giving presence of God! 

Again, I ask, “Where is the Lord?”  And again, I say, “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth” (Psalm 145:18).

Song writer Gordon Jensen beautifully answered this question when he penned the lyrics of “The Mention of His Name.”

“In the very thought of Jesus His presence can be found.
He’s as close as the mention of His Name.  
There is never any distance between my Lord and me.  
He’s as close as the mention of His Name.”

“In my hour of struggle so many times I’ve found 
He’s as close as the mention of His Name. 
Just to breathe the Name of Jesus can turn everything around.  
He’s as close as the mention of His Name.”

How wonderfully true!  Take time today to pull up on YouTube JanetPascal singing this powerful song.  She sings under a powerful anointing.  His presence will fill your heart!

Christmas is coming and with it comes another confirmation that God is with us.  As a matter of fact, the prophet Isaiah foretold the coming of the Christ Child 600 years before Bethlehem’s baby was born:  “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign:  Behold a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel (7:14).

Centuries later the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to a perplexed Joseph and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” 

And then the angel quoted Isaiah: “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL, WHICH TRANSLATED MEANS, ‘GOD WITH US.’” (Matthew 1:21,23).

So again, where’s God?  He’s with us!  At Christmas and every day!
     

Monday, November 18, 2019

Who's to Blame?




Job is perhaps the Bible’s premiere example of suffering.  His story provides partial revelation to the age-old question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”

Following his loss of income, transportation, ten children, health, and presumably his wife’s affections, Job summarizes his catastrophic situation by saying, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.  Blessed be the name of the Lord” (1:21b).  Job momentarily contributed his losses to God’s dealings in his life. 

I personally believe this was Job’s grief talking.  It was not totally accurate, but it was his truth in that moment.  In the very next verse it says, “Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.”  In other words, it appears that Job came to a righteous resolve and grieved appropriately.  It appears he shifted the blame for his traumatic circumstances away from God. 

As I write, fires in California continue to incinerate thousands of acres and many homes have been destroyed.  Mandatory evacuations have displaced entire communities.  Meanwhile, on the East coast storms have wreaked havoc with fallen trees and broken power lines causing widespread power outages.

Throughout 2019 our beloved Texas has endured record-breaking floods.  Hundreds have been displaced because of high water.  At times, nature is a fierce contender.

The insurance industry refers to such events as “acts of God.”  However, we may need to re-think this position.  Sadly, God gets blamed for what the “prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2) initiates.  The real blame needs to be placed on “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4).  Little “g.”

I meet people on a regular basis who ask me, “Why did God do this?  Is He mad at me?”  It doesn’t help when obscure radio preachers say things like, “God is judging California and Texas for their many sins.”  In other words, according to their misguided teaching, God is signaling out California and Texas and making examples out of them.

NO WAY!  God, in His righteous judgment does not “pick and choose.”  God does not put sin on a continuum, or grade on a curve.  He does not say, “Ohio is better than the other two states.”  Ridiculous!  If what’s happened in California and Texas is God’s judgment, then, God is a cruel judge.  And we know that God loves all people equally.  Let’s put the blame for natural disasters, tragedies and human loss where it belongs:  The devil.  He is the arch enemy of God and hates His creation, many times using natural calamities to attack what he hates and to discourage God’s people, hopefully causing them to doubt God’s love.

Yes, God hates sin; and yes, people make decisions that go against God’s righteous plans, bringing pain and heartache into their lives.  But God comes alongside all of us during times of crisis to bring comfort and provision; and even reversing situations – like he did for Job.

My friend Paula inspires me.  She has a good handle on tragedy and where the real blame lies.  Paula has suffered the loss of her husband after 50-plus years of marriage, the deaths of two sons, and the death of a granddaughter.  Her 21-year-old son died in a car accident.  Her 50-year-old son died from complications of diabetes.  And her 18-year-old granddaughter died of Multiple Sclerosis (MS).   Three of Paula’s five sons were deaf from birth.  Yet, this woman carries no bitterness toward God.

As a child Paula was told constantly by her father, “I hate you.”  Regular beatings were given to punish her for not being a boy.  She grew up feeling unloved and unwanted.  Yet, in her father’s dying days she cared for him.  Forgiveness flowed between the two of them. 

“My loved ones are better off in a better place,” she said.  “God knows best.”  I fought back tears as Paula told her story.  She is no stranger to suffering and loss, as she too suffers from the ravages of MS.  She displays a faith-filled smile.  She affirms that earth has no pain that heaven cannot heal. 

My friend, let’s put the blame where it belongs – the enemy of our soul. His job description is clearly stated: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John10:10). 

Discouraged ones let’s not blame God when life brings us difficult days.   Instead let’s worship Him even when we don’t understand.  Worship is the antidote to hard times and overwhelming circumstances.  Like Job of Old Testament fame, let’s affirm, “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth” (Job 19:25).

Finally, I love what Charles Hadden Spurgeon wrote many years ago: “God is too good to be unkind and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.”






Monday, November 11, 2019

A Salute to Left-handers



Greetings to all left-handers out there!  It’s been stated that “left-handers are in their right mind,” but I guess it depends on who you ask.

When in a group setting, I like to poll.  Today I sat at a table with nine colleagues and observed that three of us were “lefties.”  That’s thirty percent!  Researchers tell us that approximately ten percent of the population is thought to be left-handed.  That means there could be upwards of 700 million lefties around the globe.  We are raising the bar at my workplace!

I’m the middle of seven kids and the only left-handed one in the bunch.  Statistically, that’s very low.

Some time back, I was sitting at a nurses’ station in an assisted living facility.  Six nurses sat around me and it suddenly dawned on me that all of us were south paws.  What were the odds?  We all high-fived one another and enjoyed a good laugh. 

History supports the fact that left-handers have “left” an indelible mark on our world.  Thank you, Napoleon Bonaparte, Prince William, Keanu Reeves, Bill Gates, Babe Ruth, Leonardo da Vinci, Barack Obama, Morgan Freeman, Mozart, Helen Keller, Neil Armstrong, Mother Teresa and many others for your contributions.  We salute and appreciate you, our poster children!

When I was in elementary school – in the early sixties – some teachers determined to disengage left-handers and force them to “write right!”  The reasons why were never discussed. 

At any rate, my first-grade teacher was determined to sway me toward the right.  One day her tri-pod ruler created a welt on my hand.  After school my mother noticed the raised, discolored place and upon learning how it got there, took me by the hand, and walked me back into my classroom to face my perpetrator. 

“Did you hit the back of Roger’s hand with your ruler?” she asked.  My teacher proudly said, “Yes, and I’ll do it again if he doesn’t quit writing with his left hand.” Wrong answer!  To say the least, mom was not happy!  An indignant Mrs. Loomis replied, “Let me put it this way:  If you do, I’ll come back up here and I’ll beat YOU with it.” 

Mom became my heroine and protector.  I successfully navigated my school years left-handedly.  I may hold my paper differently, I may wear ink stains on the side of my hand caused by rubbing my paper while writing, and I may slant my letters the wrong way, but all the left-handers in my first-grade class scored a victory that day in 1962. 

Do you wonder if there is a National “Left-handers Day?”  There is. It's August 13. THAT'S a day I'm going to celebrate!

Inscriptions

None of us is getting out of here alive!  Death is imminent, and it is considered by most morbid to discuss.  And I get it!  Life is preciou...