Category Archives: Religion

February 24, 2016 · 2:12 am

Heartbeat

The weather was great.

The lodge was beautiful.

He enjoyed the tour.

Cibolo Creek Ranch is an exclusive resort in West Texas, not far from the Mexican border.

He was here for the weekend to do what he loved just about more than anything else – hunt.

He dined with the other guests Friday evening and was his usual animated and jovial self.

Still, he was tired from the trip and at around 9:00 PM, he graciously excused himself and retired to his bedroom. The next morning he failed to join the others for breakfast but they thought he had chosen to sleep in. After he didn’t show later, there was concern.

When someone knocked on his door there was no answer.

Upon entering his room, they found him lying in bed, clad in his pajamas.

“He was very peaceful,” the resort owner later told NBC News.

Somewhere in the night the well-ordered and monumental life of Antonin Scalia came to an end. His incredible mind, unconscious in sleep, would think no more. His passionate heart, courageous, convicted and filled always with joy and the love of life, beat its last.

Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Scalia, 79, was the brilliant intellectual anchor of the conservative wing of that Court. Widely regarded as Ronald Reagan’s most significant appointment to the bench, Scalia served nearly thirty years. His eloquent opinions, often as a dissent from the Court’s majority, were the stuff of legend. His arguments were powerful, his logic incisive and his manner cordial but direct.

Scalia, a proud and devout Roman Catholic from a Jesuit background, loved his family, his faith and his country.

He also cherished the Constitution and thought the founders who wrote it should be heeded.

He was a conservative icon.

He leaves a rich and historic legacy as arguably the most consequential jurist of our time. There is now a silence on the Supreme Court – and a void – that will not be easily filled.

For all his brilliance and influence, Antonin Scalia could not order the time or circumstances of his step into eternity. He had made his weekend plans but God had made his own long before.

In every unexpected death, especially one so notable, you and I are reminded of the uncertainty and brevity of life and the sovereignty of God.

“We can make our plans,” Proverbs tells us, “but the Lord determines our steps” (Proverbs 16:9, NLT). “For what is your life?” James asks. “It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away” (James 4:14, NKJV).

“… a puff of smoke, a mist …” (The Amplified Bible).

Our lives – even the lives of the great and mighty among us – are so terribly fragile. Someday for every person the silver chord shall break. The time and cause of that separation have been determined with the same divine precision that set our entrance into this life.

God knows – and he alone declares – the end from the beginning.

You and I have a rendezvous with death and eternity. It is an appointment we must keep, all our other plans notwithstanding. We shall not be late; we shall not be early. And we shall not know.

Woody Allen famously remarked, “I don’t mind dying, I just don’t want to be there when it happens”.

But he will.

The word “appointed” in Hebrews 9:27 of the King James Version is pregnant with meaning. Our death in this world was specifically arranged before this world was formed. Our appointment cannot be canceled, postponed or re-scheduled.

Justice Scalia kept his at a ranch in West Texas.

Scalia’s death not only reminded us of life’s uncertainty. It also set off a political firestorm that has dramatically raised the already high stakes of this presidential election. It reads like a fast-paced novel.

The senior conservative justice on the Supreme Court dies unexpectedly while on a hunting trip in West Texas. The White House is occupied by a liberal lame duck Democrat who is African American. The United States Senate is controlled by the Republicans.

This sudden shift in the Court’s ideological balance takes place against the backdrop of one of the most contentious and bizarre presidential campaigns in American history – starring a controversial former Secretary of State, a card-carrying Socialist and a bombastic billionaire.

Get some popcorn and grab a front-row seat!

Truth is so often more exciting and implausible than fiction.

You can’t make this stuff up.

Watching this drama unfold over the coming weeks and months, we’ll all get a refresher in civics.

The President has the constitutional right to nominate a justice, just as the Senate has the constitutional right to confirm or reject that nomination. Madison and his colleagues called this “advise and consent”. It’s the delicate checks and balances they built our government on.

Yes, the stakes are incredibly high this year.

Christian leaders – and especially pastors – need to realize this and urge their congregations to pray and pay attention. If there was ever a time to reject the high cost of indifference this is it.

Generations will be indelibly shaped by what happens in the next ten months.

Old Ben Franklin reminded us that “God governs in the affairs of men”.

We have just seen his hand again. You may be sure he has a purpose.

Strange how much history can hang on a single heartbeat.

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February 5, 2016 · 12:31 am

The Singer and the Drunk

Martin Ross was a drunk.

He wanted no part of religion.

But Bertha Ross was a praying wife.

She didn’t condemn her husband, nor did she give up on him. She loved him, remained faithful to him through his frequent bouts with alcohol – and she never stopped praying for Martin.

Bertha trusted God for Martin’s salvation and deliverance.

So did her family and friends.

One day, Martin gave his life to Jesus Christ. He finally found his deliverance from those inner demons. But Martin Ross didn’t believe in going half-way. Not only did the man become a Christian. He entered the ministry and became pastor of the Baptist church in Brooktonville, New York, a small upstate community about eight miles outside Ithaca.

Some years later, Martin’s daughter, Rhea Miller, was taking a stroll through the beautiful back fields of their Brooktonville home. She reflected upon her father’s life, her difficult childhood while he was drinking and God’s miraculous rescue of her dad.

Rhea recalled his stirring testimony. Martin Ross often said he would rather have Jesus than all that the world could offer; he would rather walk with his Lord and be guided by him than to possess all that money could buy.

This was, Rhea knew, her dad’s full and unconditional commitment to Christ – his unending gratitude for God’s gift of a new life and a fresh start. The world’s material wealth could not begin to compare to what Pastor Martin Ross had found while in the depths of his own despair: the overflowing abundance of God’s amazing grace.

Martin was a truly rich man. He would never forget that.

Moved in a strange way, Rhea, who loved poetry, later wrote some verses about her father’s devotion to Christ.

It was 1923 and Rhea Miller was 30 years old.

More than a decade later, in another update New York home, another praying woman was asking God’s certain guidance for her young son. He was dashing and musically gifted, possessing a rich baritone voice, perfect diction and a confident yet humble presence.

The son had auditioned on some secular radio programs. Fred Allen’s NBC radio show was very impressed. This young man was wowing both critics and fans alike. Gifted and attractive, he was told he could really go places.

It was heady stuff for one so young.

He had been raised in a Christian home. While the lucrative opportunities tugged at his pride and ambition, he was still uncomfortable in this secular setting. The pressures were not only on the outside, he struggled within.

He was torn.

His saintly mom observed; she knew and she prayed.

Then somehow, somewhere, she came across a poem. Reading it, she prayed to God that its powerful message might have an impact on the undecided boy she loved. So one night she placed it gently on the piano she knew he would play. When he read it the next morning, he was so struck he decided to put music to its words.

His mother urged him to sing it in church that next Sunday.

He did.

I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold,
I’d rather be His than have riches untold;
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands,
I’d rather be led by his nail-pierced hands.

I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause,
I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause;
I’d rather have Jesus than worldwide fame,
I’d rather be true to His holy name.

Than to be a king of a vast domain
Or be held in sin’s dread sway.
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.

It was the poem written by Rhea Miller as a tribute to her dad.

When Mrs. Miller died in 1966, George Beverly Shea, the young man who had been influenced by her words to choose a career in Gospel music, had already sung her poem to millions around the world. In 1940, Shea had met another young man named Billy Graham. Graham told Shea he liked his singing and invited him to join his fledgling evangelistic team. Before he died at the age of 104, George Beverly Shea had sung before an estimated 200 million people worldwide.

One of his signature songs was I’d Rather Have Jesus.

It’s a song taken from a poem written by the daughter of a Baptist preacher in a small town in upstate New York – a preacher who used to be a drunk.

The Bible tells us that God alone declares “the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10, KJV).
His plans – made in eternity past – are inscrutable to mortal man. Human eye cannot see, nor can the ear hear the extraordinary things God has prepared for those who love him.

What an ironic God! What a surprising and sovereign Creator! In what divine ways he works! What rich and indescribable grace!

When we wait on him, when we trust him, when we deliberately choose to follow him, God will never cease to amaze us.

Paul said it well in his letter to the Romans:

“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33, KJV).

Martin Ross and Bev Shea would give a unanimous “Amen” to that.

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January 29, 2016 · 3:11 am

Socks

Admittedly, it was frustrating.

I almost put them on unaware.

Then I looked more closely and held them under the light. It was pretty hard to tell at first.

Yep. My suspicions were confirmed.

These socks did not match. One was dark blue, the other was black. And, while subtle enough, upon closer inspection I also observed that the patterns were slightly different.

I realized that nobody was likely to notice but I just couldn’t wear them mismatched. They didn’t belong together. They weren’t made to go together. The manufacturer didn’t intend it and I wouldn’t go along with it.

It would be tantamount to sartorial sacrilege.

No one else would know – but I would. If I met a horrible misfortune, the first thing the doctor or the undertaker would notice was my mismatched socks. “What a loser” they’d think.

I proceeded to search for the true partners but alas was unsuccessful. So I grabbed another matching pair. Off to my meeting I went, confident that while I might not slay dragons on this day, deliver the State of the Union address or even raise any money for my ministry, at least my socks would match.

But when it happened again, about two months later, I knew I had to solve this.

I was walking through a clothing store one day and noticed some men’s socks. They sported dazzling colors and bold, distinctive patterns. They were cheerful.

Here was my answer!

Who could ever mismatch these colorful socks? They were named Happy Socks. They looked happy. And since I’ve always loved color, these socks made me happy. So I bought some.

It took a bit of courage but I wore them to church.

“I like your socks” one lady said with a smile. “I noticed them right away”. I gradually got used to wearing these different stockings. Sure they stood out, but what’s wrong with that?

And there have been no mismatched socks since. How could there be?

I’ve added to my collection of these cheerful, colorful socks. I like them because they’re different and because I can easily tell them apart from the others. I know which ones go together immediately. And which ones don’t.

Distinctiveness is like that. It makes a difference because it is different.

Our lives as followers of Jesus Christ should be distinctive. In a gray cold world filled with despair and hopelessness; torn apart by hatred, violence and immorality; pressured by drab conformity and shallow popular opinion, you and I ought to stand out from the crowd.

There’s a positive way to stand out – and a negative way. The Bible mentions both.

Amos the prophet puts it plainly: “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3, KJV).

“Don’t team up with up with those who are unbelievers,” Paul tells the Corinthians. “How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?” (II Corinthians 6:14-15, NLT).

Good questions and we know the answer.

The chasm is yawning and getting wider.

In a culture grown increasingly hostile toward Christian values, the believer faces the reality of being hopelessly mismatched with a world that is not our home. Loyalty to Christ means a separation from – and at times a confrontation with – this world and its values.

It means standing out. It means being different.

We cannot love God as we should if we fall in love with the world as it is.

The scriptures also offer a positive alternative to simply condemning the world and retreating from it. Self-righteous withdrawal has never been God’s plan. That wasn’t the prayer of Jesus for his church.

Jesus says we must let the light of our love and faith shine before others in such a way that the watching world will take note of our distinctiveness. And that distinctiveness in the way we live will bring glory to God.

Paul speaks of the personal virtues of Christianity in his letter to the Galatians. He describes these virtues as “the fruits of the spirit”. They bring color and difference to our lives.

They make us stand out in such a winsome and compelling way that we could never be mismatched with the world.

You and I have the exciting opportunity – and Christ-honoring duty – to let God’s Holy Spirit color our lives with the deep reds of love, the bright yellows of joy and the serene blues of peace. We add to this positive pattern the royal purples of goodness and faithfulness, the effervescent greens of patience and kindness and the soft lavenders of gentleness and self-control.

Our lives in Christ are to be distinctive. In this fallen world we can never be perfect but we should always desire to be different and to make a difference. To think and act as the world does is, for the Christian, to be forever mismatched.

By God’s grace working in us, you and I can display the unique colors and patterns that mark us as his, match us with him and help us to stand out from the crowd.

And this, in the end, is what makes us truly happy.

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January 22, 2016 · 5:05 am

The Big Picture

Do you see him?

He’s sitting at the table in the corner, hunched over, and writing on a scroll.

He’s a small man with a prominent nose, intense dark eyes and a craggy face furrowed by the deep lines of persecution and hardship he has suffered since he gave his life to Christ.

The room is cold and damp because this is a prison. The man who writes is chained to a Roman guard.

Paul the Apostle is writing a letter to his fellow Christians living in a small Roman colony called Philippi in the province of Macedonia. They have, like him, suffered persecution for their faith in Jesus.

Paul wants to encourage them.

So he writes this letter.

In time Paul’s letter of encouragement to the Philippians would make its way into the New Testament and remain a source of comfort and strength to the Christian Church through the centuries. The great apostle writes about many subjects in this letter, but always from the perspective of joy and gratitude.

Paul writes his warmest encouragement as he sits surrounded by the harshest of conditions.

It’s one of several beautiful ironies we discover in the Bible.

A brilliant and ambitious man is suddenly confronted by the mighty power of Christ while on his way to arrest Christians. That same power transforms Paul’s brilliance into wisdom and his ambition into humility. He is imprisoned for preaching the same faith he once opposed with a fury. Having suffered so much for Jesus Christ and now finding himself chained to a soldier in a cell, Paul bursts forth on the written page with an irrepressible joy.

Most of us wouldn’t have found this an occasion for praise and thanksgiving. Paul did and he explains why.

One of the most moving passages of his letter to these Philippian believers is when he writes about his imprisonment. Paul takes the long view. He has this unusual capacity to take a step back from his immediate situation – no matter how difficult – and see the big picture of God’s providential purpose for his life. Paul knows that the key issue is not what has happened to him. It’s not his imprisonment. It’s not his deprivation or his suffering. It’s the cause of Christ and his gospel that truly matters.

Paul writes:

“I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows I am in chains because of Christ. And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear.” [Philippians 1: 12-14, NLT].

Amazing – a prison ministry from the inside out!

“Everything that has happened to me” has happened in order that God may accomplish a much larger, more glorious and more lasting achievement. Paul never forgets this larger context. He never lets this thing be about him. He never permits himself to wallow in despair and self pity. Paul chooses to think and to believe differently about his circumstance.

Paul joyfully embraces another perspective.

Romans know the truth. Christians find their courage. And because of this Paul rejoices – even in prison.

Paul also celebrates despite the fact that some area preachers are insincere, jealous and selfish in their motives for proclaiming the gospel. Imagine ministers being like that!

“But that doesn’t matter,” Paul says. “Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.” [Philippians 1: 18, NLT, emphasis added].

Suppose you and I decided to more fully embrace Paul’s positive perspective – every day, in every situation of our lives?

Suppose we decided to see life from a longer and larger view – God’s view?

What if we took our pride and our hurts, and our easily wounded egos; and we gathered up our self-centered “needs” and our fears and our paranoia – and we surrendered them all to the greater good and glory of Jesus Christ and his kingdom?

Suppose we resolved to do this no matter what happens to us?

God wants to make this sizable difference in our hearts, in our minds – and in our lives.

God doesn’t want to reform our thinking – he wants to radically transform it.

God want us to have a clearer view of ourselves and our place and purpose in this world he made. He wants us to have a better understanding of his grace in our lives. He wants us to see him, high and lifted up, as Isaiah did on that day when he saw the Lord.

And when God makes this change in us, you and I will discover real joy – and in that joy rise above the circumstances of our lives.

Just like Paul, God wants you and me to get the big picture – and to joyfully embrace it.

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January 15, 2016 · 10:58 pm

If We Can Keep It

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven”.

It is the hour of decision. The time for this noble purpose is upon us.

You and I must choose.

Let’s not kid ourselves. The stakes have seldom been higher.

Our families. Our faith. Our freedom. Our future.

Our country and today as never before, yes, the world.

We enter upon our quadrennial season of presidential politics blessed as no people on earth have ever been blessed – with the individual right and collective duty to determine the destiny of our American Republic.

Men gave their lives to defend our freedom of self-determination. They fought and died so you and I could quietly mark a secret ballot and have a voice in deciding who one of the most powerful people on earth will be.

Only three men have occupied the Oval Office for the past quarter century. The American voters have elected each of them twice.

Their longevity in the White House makes this election even more important – perhaps the most significant of our lifetime.

Americans enter this political season angry, fearful, disillusioned and deeply divided.

The Christian voter looks to God, places ultimate trust in Jesus Christ and embraces hope over despair.

How then, shall we vote?

1. We must think for ourselves and never let anyone else take the place of our own judgment, aided by prayer and reliance upon the God of the nations. There are those who would earnestly and with sound conviction seek to influence our vote. Some are less sincere. They seek power and boast of their “numbers”. But while our vote may be informed by others it must never be manipulated or taken for granted.

If you value your citizenship, then pray, read, study and mediate – for yourself. No one should speak for you – not your husband, not your wife and not your minister. Beware of endorsements. God’s not endorsing anyone. It may take more work, but thinking independently is worth it.

If you do that when you buy a car, why not when you vote for the leader of the free world?

2. Where a candidate stands on the issues matters more than where he attends church. A candidate’s religious beliefs, likes yours and mine, is a question best left to himself and God. The founders were wise to prohibit a religious test for public office and even wiser to insert that prohibition in our Constitution. They rightfully feared both prejudice and pandering.

Let faith be weighed among other considerations but never alone. Martin Luther said he’d rather be governed by a competent Hun that an incompetent Christian. Luther was right.

3. On abortion and gay marriage the next president will be able to do little, if anything. While they matter deeply to Christians as issues of biblical morality, these divisive questions must not determine the Christian’s vote at the expense of other public policy concerns.

What a president believes about the definition of marriage won’t matter much if he makes a mistake with North Korea, Iran or Russia.

4. Where a candidate stands on non-economic issues, however, still matters deeply. A president’s views on family, social responsibility, crime, gun control and religious liberty will help to shape the direction of our nation in many ways that transcend mere economics. His or her views on the judiciary, for example, could determine the makeup of the Supreme Court for decades.

5. Nothing matters more than a person’s character. And when that person is the President of the United States, his or her character can be paramount in charting the nation’s course. Our country’s greatest leaders have been men of courage, compassion, vision and integrity. If there is one moral issue that should loom large for the voter of faith, this is it.

The next president will face staggering domestic and foreign policy challenges. Among these are creating opportunities for economic growth, rebuilding a dangerously weakened and obsolete military, forging a just immigration policy, reducing the deficit, restraining an arrogant and bloated federal bureaucracy, reforming entitlement programs, and restoring the trust of America’s allies.

Any two or three of these would test the ability of the most gifted executive.

So our next president would do well to remember the humility of a new leader’s ancient prayer for “an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?” (I Kings 3:9, KJV).

Following the vote in Philadelphia approving the new Constitution, an anxious observer standing on the steps of Independence Hall asked Benjamin Franklin what kind of a government had been created, a monarchy or a republic. Dr. Franklin, who had wisely guided his younger colleagues in designing the greatest document of self government in the history of the world, smiled and told the lady, “A republic, if you can keep it”.

If we can keep it.

Preserving our Republic is what this next election is all about.

Nothing less is at stake.

This summons the thoughtful, well-informed, active and sober engagement of every Christian citizen.

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January 8, 2016 · 12:24 am

Our Little Fin

Monday evening, December 28, will live in my heart and mind forever.

Finley Cooper Morgan, two years old and the youngest of our daughter Suzanne’s and husband Casey, had been looking a bit pale. He had an ear infection and had recently gotten over a cold.

Kids get colds and ear infections, that’s normal, and Finley’s appetite, I noticed, was in fine shape. But Beth mentioned his lack of color to Suzanne and she decided to have it checked out.

“Probably an iron deficiency or something like that,” they agreed.

Like most grandfathers, this came to me by reports and I didn’t think much of it.

“Yep, probably should have it checked out just to be sure”.

Kids – there’s always something and you’ve got to be diligent.

Suzanne told her mother that the doctor said the initial tests showed a precipitous drop in Finley’s blood count, from 11 to 4 since last year. Better see another doctor. After taking more blood, the second doctor explained that if there is just one number that’s dropped, it could be an iron deficiency or some other issue. If all the numbers came back low, it could be more serious.

But that’s highly unlikely.

“We’re going to Suzanne’s to be there when the doctor calls”, Beth told me. Casey was out of town.

I wondered at this urgency but remained optimistic and expected good news. We prayed for that. We sat in Suzanne’s living room waiting for the doctor to call. We played with Ava and Jackson – Finley seemed fine to me.

The phone rang. Suzanne went into the other room to take the call. It seemed longer than it was and we couldn’t hear the conversation.

Then Suzanne said, “Mom, come in here”.

In that instant I knew.

I heard Suzanne sobbing. We hugged her. The numbers were all very low and she must bring Finley to the emergency room of Dallas Children’s Hospital immediately. We gathered around Fin and prayed while his tearful mom held him. Beth went with Suzanne; I stayed and tried to concentrate on babysitting.

After the kids were in bed I sat on the couch and wondered about what had happened. The unthinkable was at our door and it was turning the knob. This couldn’t be. I prayed hard.

At 11:30 PM Beth called me from the hospital.

“Finley’s got leukemia”.

He was one of fewer than 3,000 children who were diagnosed with this cancer last year – in a country of more than 340 million people.

I lay in bed that night wondering why God would do this to a young couple who had tried hard to honor him; a beautiful mom who adored her kids and was so conscientious in teaching them about him; a dad who was faithful and working hard to provide and to provide an example.

I suppose, in those dark moments of fear and sadness, I was like the older brother in Jesus’ story – “all these years I’ve served you …” It wasn’t a very flattering reaction but it was an honest one.

As you may have said or thought on more than one occasion, “This just isn’t right”.

I thought of losing Fin. I didn’t sleep much.

We learned the next day that Finley has the less aggressive of the two types of leukemia and his cure rate is 90%. I never thought I could be so ecstatic over such news.

Finley’s prognosis is good, praise God!

The three years of chemotherapy will be a long and difficult journey but God will go with us every step of the way. This we know.

And so will many others. Their support, their encouragement, their love and their prayers will sustain us on the road ahead and will make lighter the burden.

Our friends Tom and Chris have a daughter who is a vibrant, healthy and beautiful young woman expecting her second child. When she was Finley’s age, she had leukemia. They know and they will be there for us.

Over lunch on New Year’s Eve, my friend Andrew told me, “Jack, everybody’s got something. Nobody goes through life untouched by hardship or pain”. For Andrew and Kayla I learned it was a son who had a rare and serious heart condition that took five years to cure.

On this journey we call life, the Lord our Good Shepherd sometimes lets us lay down in green pastures. Sometimes he leads us by the still waters. Life is good. But there are other times, quite unexpected, when we find ourselves walking through the dark valleys. In those times he is close by our side, protecting us, comforting us and being our God.

And we will see too the tender hearts of others as never before.

Yes, “everybody’s got something”.

Remembering this binds us together as mere mortals and makes bearing one another’s burdens not only possible but a thing of joy and beauty.

“He comforts us in all our troubles,” Paul writes, “so that we can comfort others” (II Corinthians 1: 4, NLT).

Is this not central to our understanding of all human suffering? It is part of the meaning – and the glory God will receive – in Finley’s illness and long recovery.

For the Christian it is the triumph of many a tragedy.

In this we rejoice and thank God.

Thank you for praying for our little Fin.

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January 1, 2016 · 6:14 am

Finding His Hand

The tall, slender and dignified man dressed in the Admiral’s uniform sat at the table staring at the two microphones in front of him. He nervously reached out and adjusted one of them, moving it slightly closer.

Then he stared some more.

They represented an intimidation, these two microphones. They symbolized the great obstacle he had, with persevering struggle, learned to overcome: a life-long impediment of speech – stuttering.

And now, on this momentous occasion, King George VI prepared to address the English people. All the ears of the Commonwealth were attentive to this live radio broadcast.

It was Christmas Day, 1939.

Three months earlier, Adolph Hitler had invaded Czechoslovakia and World War II had begun. Fear and uncertainty gripped the civilized world – and especially England, which stood alone, directly in the path of powerful Nazi aggression. To this once stuttering king fell the duty to both comfort and rally one of the great nations of history in its hour of maximum danger.

King George spoke in a clear and measured tone. There was deliberation but no hesitation in the strength of his voice. He praised England’s “gallant and faithful allies” for their determination to defend the “cause of Christian civilization. On no other basis can a true civilization be built. Let us remember this through the dark times ahead of us.”

Then the King, with a simple and direct eloquence, beckoned his people to look toward the darkness of a grim and unknown future – and in fact to see beyond it:

“A new year is at hand. We cannot tell what it will bring. If it brings peace, how thankful we all shall be. If it brings us continued struggle we shall remain undaunted.”

Then the King closed his flawlessly-delivered broadcast by quoting the words of a poem, written by a retired lecturer at the London School of Economics, Miss Minnie Louise Haskins, in 1908:

“And I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year: ‘Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.’ And he replied:

‘Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.’”

Once again, “a new year is at hand. We cannot tell what it will bring.”

Apocalyptical events – natural disasters, increasing violence, extreme weather – have led some folks to talk about the end of the world like there’s no tomorrow. It’s coming but Jesus warned us plainly against the temptation of date-setting.

Yes, it’s a safe bet that the coming year will bring more trials and difficulties for our world.

There will be no spiritual revival in America in 2016 – our cultural slide, marked by banal entertainments and moral nihilism, will continue. Our economic challenges will mount. The Middle East will remain a tinderbox of violence and upheaval.

Terrorism and racial tensions are not going away.

All these things must first come to pass.

So, for the follower of Jesus Christ, is there any good news? Is there any hope?

Yes, the most important news of all is great!

The wise counsel of a fearless king is steeped in scripture:

“Put your hand into the hand of God.”

No matter what happens to us – politically, economically, internationally, or personally – God is still on his throne. He has a perfect plan that he is working in his perfect way, time and circumstance. Nothing that happens in this coming year will catch God off guard nor will he ever be out of control.

He’s had this coming year mapped out in every detail from before he created the heavens and the earth.

No matter what happens in 2016, this fact alone should give us hope to face the unknown future.

Nor shall God ever stop caring for you, guiding you or loving you.

Not ever.

That should make every year happy for the Christian.

“I have cared for you since you were born,” God tells Israel. “Yes, I carried you before you were born. I will be your God throughout your lifetime – until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.” (Isaiah 46: 3-4, NLT).

“For that is what God is like,” the psalmist reminds us. “He is our God forever and ever, and he will guide us until we die.” (Psalm 48:14, NLT).

God alone has been our help in ages past. He alone is our hope for all the years to come.

“When the country goes temporarily to the dogs,” wrote Garrison Keillor, “cats must learn to be circumspect, walk on fences, sleep in trees, and have faith that all this woofing is not the last word.”

If this coming year “brings us continued struggle we shall remain undaunted.”

Forget what is behind, Paul says. Instead, let us face the future with confidence and, looking unto Jesus, let us “press on!” (Philippians 3: 13-14).

Our God reigns! And trusting him is “safer than a known way”.

“So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night. And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.”

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December 25, 2015 · 2:05 am

What Child is This?

“We’re in territory we’ve never seen in December.”

“The enormity of this … cannot be overstated. This is a true watershed event.”

“I don’t have enough adjectives in my arsenal to describe how massive this is.”

It’s “unprecedented.”

A senior media analyst was trying to describe the record-breaking turnout for the latest Star Wars movie.

The irony, of course, is that Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiered one week before the world would celebrate a far greater event – more massive and unprecedented than anything the earth had experienced before – or since.

Guided by a star, kings would come bearing gifts for the new-born Prince of Peace. All of heaven and earth would awaken to the coming of the greatest Force in the universe.

The arsenal of adjectives would be nearly depleted as humankind strained to describe the wonder and the joy; the majesty and the glory of the birth of the Messiah, Christ the Lord.

George Frideric Handel, composer of the immortal Messiah, nearly collapsed in his joy-induced fervor.

The enormity of this cannot be overstated.

This was a true watershed event.

Seven-hundred years before Bethlehem, the prophet Isaiah punctuated his condemnation of apostate Israel with a promise amazing in its detailed beauty.

After describing the encroaching anguish and darkness, Isaiah wrote of the advent of a “great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined” (Isaiah 9:2, KJV).

What was this light? What was this promise?

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given …” (9:6, KJV).

A baby would be born to us.

A son would be given to us.

He would be given as a gift to you and me – and to all those who would believe and receive.

The Apostle Paul – reaching for an adjective – called the gift of our Savior “unspeakable” (II Corinthians 9:15, KJV).

It is indescribable – there simply weren’t enough adjectives in Paul’s arsenal to fully express the mystery and profundity of the coming of Messiah.

When the angels of heaven came down to the shepherds that night to make their announcement, they mirrored Isaiah in the intimacy of the gift:

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11, KJV).

“For unto you…”

But not just to the shepherds – Jesus was born to all of us and to each of us.

Christmas is a holiday for families. There is no other time of year when the sense of community – of shared humanity and togetherness – is as great. We cherish those traditions and the love they represent.

At the same time, Christmas is a very intimate and personal celebration. For this child was not only born to the world – he was born to you. This Son has been given to you.

Had you been the only person who ever lived on the earth, Christ Jesus the Lord would have come here for you – such is the depth and breadth and the wonders of God’s love.

This is joy to the world, yes, and the weary world should rejoice and fall on its knees. But it is also a deep and abiding joy for every individual who has trusted him and made him Lord.

Upon the shoulders of this child, upon this Son, says Isaiah, the government shall rest.

At a time when the world is witnessing a widespread crisis of leadership; and in our own nation we despair of finding courage and integrity in our leaders, it is good to remember that Jesus Christ is our ruler and our authority. He reigns supreme over all. He is the King of all kings; he is the Lord of all lords.

“He’ll take over the running of the world” (9:6, The Message).

Of his government, declares the prophet, “there shall be no end” and he will “order it” and he will “establish it with judgment and with justice … forever” (verse 7, KJV).

Truth and righteousness are the twin pillars of his eternal reign.

No term limits.

So while we are properly concerned, we need not panic or distress over the outcome next November.

What child is this who has been given to us?

He is the mighty King. He is over every civil authority on earth.

Isaiah writes that this child shall be called “Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (verse 6, KJV).

The full and uncompromising deity of Jesus Christ was set forth seven centuries before his birth.

We rejoice.

In the midst of threats and turmoil and the coming turbulence of an unknown future, we look at this child and we give thanks that he is our Lodestar – the anchor of our faith, the strength of our courage, the comforter of our souls and the hope of our hearts.

Forever.

On the night he was born, the earth shouted its joy; the sea proclaimed its praise and all living things joined in. The rivers clapped their hands in glee and the hills sang out their songs of joy before the Lord (Psalm 98: 7-9).

And heaven and nature sang.

“O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord”

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December 18, 2015 · 3:10 am

The Force

Tomorrow Hollywood will make history.

It’s the opening day of what could be the biggest film ever made.

Some are saying it could eventually earn $3 billion worldwide.

Advanced tickets have already earned more than $50 million. One of those tickets was purchased several weeks ago by a long-time fan. Gil is my beloved son-in-law and he’s been counting down the days like it was a space launch.

Well, it is, sort of.

Unless you’ve been under a rock for the past month, you know that Star Wars: The Force Awakens is finally here. The wildly anticipated seventh film in the iconic franchise has reawakened (sorry) familiar words and images for those of us who remember seeing the first Star Wars in theaters 38 years ago.

We were introduced to Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia and a mysterious but very wise hooded hermit named Obi-Wan Kenobi. We met a couple of interesting robots (droids) called C-3PO and R2-D2.

And then there was Luke’s dark diabolical father, Darth Vader, whose true identity is hidden until a later movie.

I enjoyed holding my hand beneath my nose, breathing heavily and imitating James Earl Jones to my daughters – or my friends.

“Luke, I am your father,” I’d slowly intone, like a baritone on oxygen.

Now a whole new generation is excited about this enduring saga.

Why? What’s the hold? Why does this story captivate the imagination so powerfully?

Star Wars is nothing more – and certainly nothing less – than an old-fashioned morality tale in science fiction garb.

The forces of good are arrayed heroically against the forces of evil. Greed, ambition, power and control are all manifest in the struggle – so is courage, perseverance, sacrifice and nobility.

Set in space, the conflict takes on cosmic dimensions. It seems almost a battle for the universe.

At the center of the action there is the ubiquitous Force.

Obi-Wan – later known as Ben – explains this to young Luke:

“Well, the Force is what gives a Jedi (a warrior) his power. It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together”.

When once asked where he got the idea for the Force, Star Wars creator George Lucas mentioned a conversation between artificial intelligence pioneer Warren S. McCulloch and a cinematographer named Roman Kroitor – who later invented IMAX. McCulloch argued that human beings were nothing more than highly complex machines.

Kroitor disagreed:

“Many people feel that in the contemplation of nature and in communication with other living things, they become aware of some kind of force, or something, behind this apparent mask which we see in front of us, and they call it God.”

Lucas said his idea for the invisible but powerful and ever-present Force was “an echo of that phrase”.

In his artistic creative genius, here is man grasping for some transcendent meaning in his life. Through the medium of film he explores a higher power “behind this apparent mask which we see in front of us”.

Lucas may not have intended to create a spiritual film but in some important ways Star Wars has rich spiritual implications for the Christian. The fact that it is set in outer space and on other planets underscores the cosmic nature of our spiritual warfare. Paul reminds the Ephesians of the invisible forces of good and evil in heavenly realms that battle on a daily basis.

In the movie, the Jedi warrior is trained for this battle and joins it.

So too the Christian soldier is prepared and exhorted to battle evil. We are told to put on our spiritual armor and stand for that which is good and right. There is no more pervasive metaphor throughout the New Testament for the Christian life than that of conflict, struggle and victory.

It is the empowering presence of the Force within that makes all the difference. And so the exhortation “May the Force be with you” entered into the lexicon of American pop culture.

It is only fitting that this latest Star Wars film open one week before Christmas.

Recent events in our world have created an odd juxtaposition.

There is fear and sadness in the world as we celebrate joy. There is despair as we celebrate hope. There is doubt and uncertainty as we celebrate faith. There is hate as we celebrate love.

But the Dark Side can never win.

Paul told us that faith, hope and love would outlast doubt, despair and hate. He told us these virtues of the spirit would endure and never end.

At Christmastime we celebrate the promise and the hope of the greatest Force in the universe – the love of God.

Christmas tells us that the Light of God’s love shall one day vanquish the darkness of hate.

The baby in the manger is the King of kings before whom one day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord.

Long ago – before the worlds were made – in a heaven far, far away, God loved you and me.

No power of evil can ever separate us from the love of God. His love surrounds us and penetrates us.

God is with us.

He is our life’s force.

This is the true meaning of Christmas.

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December 4, 2015 · 3:44 am

Incognito

I’ll admit it.

I’m not much into reality TV.

I like heroic characters and happy endings. There’s just too much reality in reality TV. What’s not boring or silly is irritating and painful.

But there is one show I find quite entertaining. It’s called Undercover Boss.

The president of a large company decides to go undercover to work among his employees. He changes his appearance and enters incognito. He becomes just another new employee, learning the ropes. He has a boss and must take orders and pay attention to instructions. Sometimes he does OK but sometimes he doesn’t and everyone has to be patient with him.

Sometimes he gets yelled at. It’s very humbling.

He learns a lot by working with the workers. He observes and listens. He discovers special needs or wishes that some of the employees have. He is moved to compassion and impressed by their dedication.

Nobody knows who he is. Nobody knows he’s the boss. Nobody recognizes him.

At the end of the show, he gathers his entire workforce together and reveals his secret experiment – and his experience. He tells his workers how grateful he is for them and what he has learned from them – and about them.

He meets privately with the very employees he’s been interacting with. How surprised they are to learn his true identity. He remembers what they told him about their lives – their hopes and dreams and challenges. They are moved to tears by his kindness and generosity.

He helps each one.

It’s his way of showing his appreciation for their faithful service.

When God decided to enter the world he had made, he came incognito.

Nobody expected the Ruler of the universe to come through the virgin womb of a peasant girl by way of a cow stall in a cave. That’s not the way the Queen of England gets around; it’s not how the President travels.

The King of kings and Lord of lords went undercover. From his ivory palaces in heaven, our Messiah chose to come here in poverty.

On the night of his birth, with the exception of an angelic visitation to unknown shepherds in desolate fields, things went on as they had. Bethlehem bustled because of the coming census.

Nobody paid much attention to his birth.

Nobody knew who he was. Nobody recognized him. Nobody knew he was the King.

Some did perhaps. They had inklings. Mary and Joseph had a sense; old Simeon who heard the baby cry in the temple; the shepherds maybe; the three kings from the orient who followed that strange star.

But Jesus Christ entered history in the most unlikely manner.

It’s not the entrance we would have planned for the Creator. But we’re not God and this was his plan.

The way Jesus came was the precursor to his life and ministry among men and women.

He forgave prostitutes and touched lepers. He healed those marginalized by society; embraced crooked tax collectors, picked uneducated fishermen and owned nothing but a cloak. He was the scourge of the hypocrites and self-righteous but loved by sinners, to whom he came. The despised half-breed Samaritans seemed always to win his attention and his favor.

This is the irony of God. It is the wonder of Christmas.

In his letter to the Philippians, the Apostle Paul beautifully describes the miracle and glorious mystery of the Advent.

Jesus Christ is in the very “form of God” and “thought it not robbery to be equal with God” (Philippians 2:6, KJV).

In the meaning of the original Greek of the New Testament, Paul tells us Jesus is “essentially one with God … possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God; he did not think this equality with God was a thing to be grasped or retained” (The Amplified Bible).

Jesus “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant …” (verse 7, KJV). He “stripped Himself of all privileges and rightful dignity so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being” (The Amplified Bible).

The King of glory washed the feet of men.

And before his life on earth was over, Jesus would humble himself further to die a painful and shameful criminal’s death on a cross.

For you and for me.

This is what we celebrate. This is the true reason for this season.

Jesus Christ emptied himself of his eternal power and position in order to become one with us.

The heart of Christmas is the incarnation. The heart of the incarnation is the Kenosis – the voluntary self-emptying of our Savior.

God humbled himself.

In his Son and in coming to earth, God gave up the independent exercise of his divine power and privileges. He consented to the limitations of human form.

He became one of us that he might save us – and that in our times of pain we would know that he knows.

In Christ God went undercover.

This is the joy of Christmas. This is the meaning of Immanuel.

This is the beauty of God With Us.

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