davidbowerkingwood

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Last week we considered the elusive nature of world peace and the desirability of personal, inner peace and concluded with the Bible’s answer for us in making sure the focus of our lives is more on the unseen rather than what is seen.

Does this actually characterize your life? Do you find yourself more consistently focused on heavenly things, those things which cannot be seen? There will obviously be times when circumstances demand our attention and require we concentrate on the demands of business or family. When those demanding times are past, what is the default focus of your mind at rest? Does your mind automatically return to what is seen or to what is unseen?

A favorite hymn of mine is “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus;” in the chorus the words are, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”

Over the years I have proven to myself again and again that I cannot focus on two things at once; if I am busy rejoicing in Jesus I can’t worry about the things of the world, I simply can’t do it!

Paul spells it out for us in Colossians 3:15-16 where he writes: “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.”

A Peaceful Commute in Rush Hour Traffic

Although I am now retired, I can vividly recall my 36 year career as a residential home builder and will testify that I experienced times of stress and tension; residential construction is not, by its nature, a stress-free environment. I can recall driving into work in the mornings already fighting the expected battles of the day in my mind and experiencing the tension associated with those battles.

As I mentally stepped back and realized what I was doing I would start singing hymns and would suddenly find myself at peace. I’m sure I looked rather strange to any passing motorists that might notice me but it made all the difference in how I felt and my condition when I arrived at work. My mind was focusing on my gratitude to God and not the imagined battles of the day, most of which never actually happened anyway.

It is extremely unlikely that the world will enjoy peace in 2012; you, however, can enjoy the most refreshing peace available to any human being as you rest in the Lord and exult in His peace.

You have been called to peace, inner peace, the kind the world can’t give; it is yours as a gift from your maker and free for the asking. It is interesting to note that most of the New Testament epistles include an early reference to grace and peace; grace always precedes peace in the epistles as it must in our lives.

God’s grace is always followed by God’s peace; claim this promise God has made to you.

May Your New Year be Filled with Inner Peace and Happiness!

Was Hegel Right?

As we start 2012 it seems as if the world around us is in ever increasing turmoil and strife; regardless of where one looks there seem to be endless stories of anger, discord, and misery. In addition to the usual problems there is now the thought that the world will end in 2012. It occurs to some of us to long for simpler times when the world was a more peaceful and contented place but is this longing based on fact or fancy?

I’m reminded of Hegel’s observation on experience and history: “What experience and history teach is this–that people and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it.” This has been paraphrased and simplified by commentators to read: “The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.”

The more history I read the more I’m convinced that our experience today may not differ all that much from the experiences of earlier generations. Certainly the details have changed but the underlying principles seem to have changed very little or none at all.

A Better World for Our Children and Grandchildren?

As I look at my grandchildren I wonder what kind of world they will have in which to live out their lives? I feel a sadness that we, as their elders, couldn’t have done better and left them a happier, more peaceful world.

When I think back to how the world was when I was their age I realize that the world was not a happier, more peaceful place at that time either. I grew up during the Great Depression which was followed by the Second World War and as a young man served in the military during the Korean War.

Actually one can roll the calendar back endlessly and never find that ideal time of world-wide happiness and peace; this is a dream, a worthy dream but only a dream. True, there may have been isolated moments of happiness and peace but these were surely of a transitory nature.

Peace Within

Although circumstantial peace and happiness would be nice, inner peace and happiness would be even nicer; fortunately it is this superior form of peace and happiness that is offered to God’s children. It is freely available to all of God’s children who decide to live life in accordance with God’s instructions.

If peace is so elusive in our troubled world, where then must one look in hopes of finding some sort of peace? The answer to that very important question comes, as you probably suspected, from the Bible.

We live our lives in a sin cursed world that is filled with rebellion against God; without God’s help there is no hope of finding peace. With God’s help, however, peace is available for the asking.

A Search for Inner Peace

The peace we seek most is an inner peace, a calmness of the spirit that soothes and steadies us. Peaceful surroundings can promote this kind of peace but is no guarantee that this inner peace will appear; I’m sure we have all experienced peaceful conditions in which we have felt very agitated on the inside. This is certainly not the condition that we desire; it is the inner peace that soothes and comforts us for which we yearn, not just a peaceful environment.

What then is the real answer to lasting inner peace? I believe we will find that answer as we examine the gifts God wants to give to His children. We might start by addressing the normal focus for our lives; in II Corinthians 4:8 Paul writes: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

In Part 2 we will examine more about God’s plan for peace in the lives of His children.

 Happy New Year!

The Challenges of Being a Flawed Human Being

In Part 1 I mentioned the nature of love as described in I Corinthians 13: 4-7 and its application to self-love. The distinction between self-approval and self-love is a vital point which must be kept in mind.

It is unlikely that we will approve of everything we have done in our lives but in spite of our failures we are usually willing to endure and try to work past our mistakes; it is this quality of sufferance that we should apply to others as well.

Over the years I’ve noticed that many, if not most of us, have wondered how the Lord could love someone so unlovely and unworthy as we see ourselves from time to time. We must recognize the treachery of our feelings and refuse to be influenced by them; it is vital to operate on the basis of what we know from God’s word and not on our feelings.

God knows us infinitely better than we know ourselves and tells us He loves us anyway and will love us for all eternity. In Romans 8:35-39 the Apostle Paul tells us of the certainty of God’s love for us in very strong, clear terms. Our place in His love is sustained by His faithfulness to us, not our faithfulness to Him, praise God!

Love Itself Can Help us Understand

Although we may know we should operate on the basis of what the Bible tells us, our feelings are hard to ignore; is there some way we can better understand God’s love for us from our experience? I believe God has given us a way to better understand and feel His love for us.

Although it is impossible for any believer to generate a positive emotional response toward everyone, it is possible to maintain a charitable, benevolent attitude toward almost everyone; this, I believe, is the message of I Corinthians 13.

Love is part of the fruit of the Spirit and is ours, supernaturally, when the Holy Spirit is in control of our lives and enables us to love with the love of chapter 13; in the power of the Holy Spirit we can maintain a benevolent, charitable attitude toward others.

A Case in Point

At this point I stopped writing and started thinking about an example I could use to illustrate my thoughts; I stood up to stretch and looked out of the door to my office and saw our black and white cat lying on the floor and realized she was the perfect illustration of what I wanted to say.

This cat, our Abby, had come unexpectedly into our lives; the last of our three cats had died over seven years before and we had decided not to get any more cats because of our age. That had worked until one fateful morning when I took our car over to the dealership for an oil change.

As the work was being done on the car I decided to walk around and look at cars on the lot; in the process I noticed a very small black and white clump under one car. As I looked closer I realized this was a small kitten all curled up so I walked over and knelt down a few feet away from the car.

I spoke to the small clump and a tiny kitten head stuck up and looked back at me; she was the cutest little thing I had seen in a long time and I spoke to her encouraging her to come out from under the car.

Ninja Cat Comes into Our lives

Ninja Cat

Not only did she come out, she came out on her hind legs with her front paws in the air like a ninja cat and wanted to play. About that time a used car salesman walked out the door and asked me if I wanted a cat; this one, he said, had been hanging around the used car lot for about two weeks and they had fed her scraps now and then.

Considering the decision we had made about no more cats, I realized I had to talk to my wife and see how she felt about bringing another cat into our family. I called her and told her I’ve got a problem and then hastened to reassure her it was not involving me or the car, but a tiny kitten.

I told her about the kitten and it didn’t take long to decide the Lord wanted us to care for this tiny, skinny little life He had so unexpectedly brought into our lives. After a bit of effort we finally caught that elusive kitten and got her in a box provided by the dealership. 

She was fearful and hungry when I got her home and it was several days before she would finally come out from behind the dryer; that is all history and she is now Abby, a delightful, loved member of our family.

When I see her living her little life around the house I’m moved with feelings of loving concern for her well being. I realize that if I, with my flawed human nature, can love this little cat, then God, in His perfection, can love me too.

This is one small example how greater harmony can be developed between our knowledge and our feelings, as I love others, I feel God’s love for me! What a blessing!

The Japanese Bomb Pearl Harbor

On this date in 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. The attack started somewhere between 7:48 and 7:58 AM local time on a Sunday morning. The public announcement of the attack was delayed by almost two hours so the announcement aired in the USA around 2:30 PM Eastern time and 9:30 AM Hawaiian time.

My mother, stepfather, and I were out on a Sunday drive looking for an alternate camping site for my stepfather’s Boy Scout troop. The time was around 1:31 PM when the announcer broke into the radio broadcast we were listening to and said the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor.

I was sitting in the back seat and still remember hearing the announcement; I don’t recall what was said at that point, but I’m certain none of us had any idea of the far reaching implications of that action.

A number of the boys that had been scouts in my stepfather’s troop would be killed in WW II and the Korean War; a name that stands out to me is John Ditner, a remarkably fine young man who had been my Patrol Leader when I was in the troop.

I am always fascinated by the impact of seemingly remote activities; Pearl Harbor was so far away so how could that affect our lives? But affect our lives it did and in a most profound way. The next several years would see a change in America that would deeply touch everyone.

Today, seventy years later, we still remember the day that “lives in infamy.” To that date we have added September 11, 2001; another date that will live in infamy. At Pearl Harbor 2,402 Americans were killed, on 911 there were 2,975 killed not counting the Muslim terrorists.

I hope and pray there will be no more days of infamy during my lifetime but I suspect that is unlikely.

Love is the Greatest!

We are told in I Corinthians 13:13 about the superiority of love: “And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Most of us can acknowledge the important place love has in our lives.

The search for love has been featured in almost every way one can imagine; poems, songs, and stories, are only a starting point should we try to enumerate the many ways we have endeavored to express our interest in, and longing for the opportunity to love and be loved in return.

I’ve mentioned before the multiple uses the English language has for the word love. Greek, on the other hand, has four distinct words for love, two of which are more frequently used in the New Testament; brotherly love and the special New Testament usage of agape love.  

How appropriate that the Bible should contain what is called the love chapter, I Corinthians 13. In this chapter God defines agape love, the particular kind of love He expects His children to manifest; a love which in the King James Version was translated charity.

In verses 4 – 7 of this chapter Paul lists the characteristics of this love; they are probably better described to contemporary readers by the word charity than the word love. Since I have previously pointed out the distinctive nature of this word I will only mention again the thought that this love is attitudinal rather than emotional. We manifest this love by displaying a charitable, benevolent attitude toward others rather than the hopeless effort of trying to generate a positive emotional response toward everyone else.

God Loves His Children

God loves His children and expects His children to love Him in return. In Matthew 22:37-38 Jesus tells a lawyer: “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.”

We, as God’s children, are granted the wondrous privilege of loving in return the one who loved us and gave himself for us. God’s love was manifested toward us by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross when we were lost in sin and very unlovely.

Jesus concluded by saying: “And the second is like it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:39-40.

As We Love Ourselves

I suspect we have all had times when we didn’t even like ourselves; we have weighed ourselves in the balance and found ourselves wanting. Acts of omission or commission have haunted us like a specter and left us feeling very unworthy.

As God’s children we have the privilege of confessing our sins to God and receiving His forgiveness, I John 1:9, but it may be harder for us to forgive ourselves. It’s too easy to remember the mistakes we have made and feel flooded with disappointment that we could have ever been so foolish.

Even at times like this we put up with ourselves until the process of mental healing can take place; we allow ourselves some slack and realize that some things just take time to heal. We patiently endure with ourselves even though we may dislike what has happened; we give ourselves the benefit of the doubt and try to move on with our lives; we try and put on a brave front so others don’t realize the depth of our dismay. This is the way we love ourselves and the way we should love others, with a charitable, benevolent attitude as described in I Corinthians 13:4-7.

In Part 2 I will mention some ways in which life’s lessons in love can teach us about God’s love for us.

A Heavenly Future

There is probably no way we can realistically understand or relate to heaven; I suspect that heaven is so far beyond our understanding as to be essentially unknowable.

With that caveat in place I believe we are at liberty to speculate based on the revelation of God we have in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We know from Scripture that if we have seen Jesus, we have seen the Father; the life of our Lord provides insight into both heaven and the nature of God.

The Judgment Seat of Christ

It is generally acknowledged that the Judgment Seat of Christ will take place in heaven during or slightly before the seven year period leading up to the Second Advent. The church will have been taken up at the Rapture and believers will have received their resurrection bodies which will be eternal bodies, free of sin.  

We are told in I Corinthians 3:11-15 and II Corinthians 5:10 that our works as mortal humans will be judged for the purpose of determining rewards; this is called the Bema, the judgment seat of Christ. The believer’s salvation is not in question, just the believers works, whether they were done for God’s glory or self glory.

I have heard the comparison made between the Bema and a judge’s stand at a sporting event; this is a better comparison than a court of law, the believer is not on trial, his works are being judged for the purpose of rewards. Just as athletes may appear before a judge’s stand to receive their awards so Christians will appear before Christ to receive rewards for what they have done in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Bible does not reveal the exact nature of those rewards nor does the Bible reveal the exact nature of what we will be doing in eternity or where we will be doing it. We know from Scripture that the Lord Jesus Christ will create a new heaven and a new earth in which we shall live forever.

Eternity Will be a Busy Place

I believe we’ll all have work that is assigned to us in eternity. It seems to me the principle was established in Genesis when God placed man in the garden and told him to care for it and to also be responsible for all of the creatures He created; Adam’s life was never intended to be a life of indolent ease.

Keep in mind the church is a special creation of God and is given unique privileges and responsibilities; this too is a matter of God’s marvelous grace!

The members of the church are given some clues as to what our responsibilities will be; in I Peter 2:9 we are told we’ll be a royal priesthood which suggests both administrative and spiritual leadership responsibilities. Then in I Corinthians 6:3 we are told we will judge angels which would suggest judicial responsibilities.

I’m getting the impression there will be plenty of work to go around with absolutely no danger of unemployment. That does not explain the differences in rewards which, I think, will have to wait until we get to heaven and find out. It may be that some rewards will have to wait until the new heaven and the new earth are created.

A Sin Free Celebration

I suspect that most of us see ourselves more as observers rather than participants in this process of receiving rewards. While we may hope we receive some small reward we recognize that our lives in no way compare to the lives of those saints about whom we have heard so much. How then will we feel as we watch those well known saints receive their well deserved rewards?

One thing we can count on at that time is our resurrected bodies will be completely free of sin and the old sin nature. Another thing is the reality of our all being part of God’s family and seeing each other as children of God in that family.

When one imagines a contemporary sporting event, the conclusion of the event produces winners and losers; the winners joyous in victory and the losers agonizing over their defeat. I am convinced that this will not be the scene at the Bema of Christ!

A Grand Day of Thanksgiving in Heaven

I believe the Bema of Christ will be a day of happiness, rejoicing, and thanksgiving for all believers. One reason is the promise that in heaven there will be no more sorrow, crying, or pain. Another reason is this is a family affair and none of us will be burdened with a sin nature so we will be able to unreservedly love our family and celebrate their good fortune.

As mortal believers we are given the opportunity to walk by faith and enjoy the fruit of the Holy Spirit; I believe our normal perspective in heaven will always reflect the fruit of the Spirit as specified in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

It is these feelings that will dominate our reaction as the rewards in heaven are being given. It is these feelings that will cause us to rejoice with gratitude as our beloved brothers and sisters in Christ are given their rewards.

The Judgment Seat of Christ will be a time of great rejoicing, a time of thanksgiving for all of God’s children as members of the family are recognized; what a blessed way to start our eternity with God.

 Gap or Day Age

In Part 2 I mentioned two better known alternatives that attempt to reconcile the Biblical account of creation with the theory of evolution, the gap theory and the day age theory.

The gap theory proposes a gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 which would account for the millions or billions of years required by evolutionary theory. The day age theory suggests that the reference to a day is equivalent to a geological age so one day could be millions or billions of years as required to accommodate the theory.

What puzzles me about adherents of both of those theories is their feeling that reconciliation is needed. Have they been so influenced by this secular humanist theory of evolution that they feel compelled to strive for reconciliation?

I believe the God of the Bible could have created the heavens and the earth in six seconds if He had so desired; He took six days simply because it pleased Him to take six days. There are a number of reasons I believe this completely and confidently but I will only mention two.

The main reason I believe it is because the Bible says it is so; this is stated in the same Bible that tells me if I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ I will be saved. To deliberately reject part of the Bible as the accurate revelation of God is to cast doubt on the rest of the Bible.

I do not recall any Christian saying that Adam and Eve were created as infants as it is evident from Scripture they were adults; although newly created, they had the appearance of age. I believe God would have no problem doing the same with any other part of His creation including the light emanating from the distant stars.

Can All the Bible be Trusted? 

I believe the entire Bible from Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21 is “the word of God and is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” Hebrews 4:12.

The second reason I believe the Genesis account of creation is the fact that all of creation as it now exists is going to be destroyed, every galaxy, star, planet, asteroid, meteor, and comet is going to be destroyed by the Lord Jesus Christ and replaced with a new heaven and earth.

I’m convinced that all it will take is for the Lord Jesus Christ to release His grip on creation, because “in him all things hold together” Colossians 1:17b, “and the elements shall melt with fervent heat” II Peter 3:10b. This will take place before the Great White Throne Judgment in my opinion.

We’re Getting a Brand New Universe

Part of my second reason is my confidence that the new heaven and the new earth will be created very quickly; I am sure we won’t be waiting around millions or billions of years for the Lord Jesus Christ to create the new heavens and the new earth by allowing the processes of evolution to run their course.

To me the notion of millions or billions of years in the creation process is ridiculous; as has often been pointed out the Genesis account of the flood better explains what is found on the ground today than the theory of evolution but we may get into that later.

If you have ever had any doubts about the accuracy of the Biblical account of creation, I invite you to join me in accepting the entire Bible as the word of God, both Old and New Testaments; the Biblical account of creation being as equally reliable as the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.