Who is God?

A thought occurred to me recently as I was asked the question “Who is God?”

Who is God?

As we stand among the beauty and majesty of nature, among the wide sky and the rolling terrain, among the calm breeze and the mighty storm, among the deep sea and the glimmering stars, we stand in the presence of the very One who spoke and created all things- from the highest peak to the lowliest pebble. This world in which we live is a monument to the wondrous and awesome power of the mighty One who shaped it from nothing.

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.

There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.

Who is God?

When we consider the miracles and marvels this One has performed among us, we are faced with the fact that this Creator did not simply create, but is active in His creation, and His actions show His power and might. Might so strong, it rained fire down from the sky. Power so terrible, it drowned the world that it had created. The Master Architect of the world reveals Himself to us- creatures so weak, so helpless; creatures that, when confronted with the mighty power of the One we may only stand in awe. The sun has stood still, the sun has gone out, and the Son has come.

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”

At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”

Who is God?

Finally, when we contemplate the Son, and that lonely silhouette hanging on a cross, we know the full power of our Creator and Lord. In that single scene, we see the strongest power of them all. He can create and He can destroy, but our God can also love, and that His love is so strong, and so perfect, that He sent His only Son to become His perfect sacrificial lamb.

He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

Who is God?

In the story of the crucifixion, the three facets of the power of God come together. Love sent the Son, Destruction killed Him, and Creation raised Him. This is the most wondrous sign of all- that God would send His son for sinners, and that God would have so much love that he would forgive His killers and raise them to Him, not just to be His subjects, but His children, and His heirs. Such love is incomprehensible- that One so mighty should love us, creatures impossibly meek. A more reasonable question to ask might be: who are we?

Who are we? We are a horrible, despicable people. We have abandoned our Creator in favor of worshiping ourselves, and, valuing ourselves more than Him, we have killed His very son. And who is God? He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lord, the mighty Creator and Master Architect behind this world, and, in the end, the sole Sustainer of it. He has power so mighty, strength so terrible, that we mortals could not hope to comprehend a fraction of it. Yet we spat in His face, destroyed His holy Lamb, and abandoned Him. We deserve to be dead and destroyed.

And yet He loves us, and we are not dead, and not destroyed, because He loves us. The very one we renounced and turned away from continues to be our future and present hope. We cannot understand it, but we do not need to. Something so vast, so unimaginable as God’s love cannot be comprehended, but only immersed in.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Who is God?

God loves you.

After a Little While

I recently was reading through 1 Peter, and chapters four and five caught my eye.

Starting with 1 Peter 4:12 (from the English Standard Version):

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

Much of Peter’s first letter deals with suffering, especially for Christ. I find it interesting that Peter tells the recipients that they should not be surprised when trials come their way. According to him, trials are nothing out of the ordinary and should be expected.

The book of Acts chronicles the years after Jesus’s ascension into Heaven and the growth of the early church. Everything goes more-or-less well for the church suffering-wise until chapter six. In this chapter, Stephen, a man who was “full of grace and power,” “doing great wonders and signs among the people” was seized by a mob that included the “synagogue of the Freedmen” as well as Jewish elders and scribes. The mob brought him before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court, and charged him with speaking against the holy place and the law. In a speech consisting of most of chapter seven, Stephen refuted their accusations and claimed that his accusers were guilty of committing the very crimes they charged him with.

Naturally, this didn’t go over well, and the mob cast him out of Jerusalem and stoned him. The beginning of Acts 8 says that “there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.”

Some scholars think that the early church had stayed for too long in Jerusalem, thus disobeying what Jesus had told them at the beginning of the book, that when the Holy Spirit comes upon them they are to be witnesses not only in Jerusalem but “in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” God didn’t necessarily send the persecution on the church, but He used it to get them going. If this interpretation is true, it should serve as a strong warning for the church in America.

Now Peter, being an apostle, stayed in Jerusalem. This probably was a very dangerous thing to do. The Jewish Pharisee Saul (the very man who the killers of Stephen laid their garments at the feet of) was, according to Acts 8:3, “ravaging the church, and entering house after house,” and dragging off men and women and sending them to prison. Soon, in chapter 12, the apostle James would be executed by Herod, and in that same chapter Peter himself would be put in prison, most likely to await a similar fate after the Passover celebration ended.

Even though he was ultimately rescued by an angel of the Lord in this episode, these events and others should give Peter ample authority to speak on the issues of persevering through trials and suffering for Christ. And Peter says we should not be surprised when “fiery trials” come our way.

Moreover, it is important to note that Peter didn’t always persevere and succeed in the face of trials. Much earlier, back during the trial of Jesus, Peter was questioned three times if he knew Jesus. Peter, probably very afraid because of the recent events, denies his association and friendship with Jesus three times, each time getting more defensive and violent. Jesus had predicted he would do this, and after he denied Jesus, according to Mark 14:72, Peter “broke down and wept.”

Peter definitely knew what he was talking about when it came to suffering. He was both one who fails under trials and one who withstands them. So what advice does Peter give about suffering? The next verse, 1 Peter 4:13 says:

But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

He reminds us that Jesus also suffered. He was hated and reviled by the world He came to save. At least two of his closest friends betrayed Him. He ultimately was killed. But He rose from the dead, and He is with us again. He will not let our suffering, especially our suffering for His name, go unrewarded. When He comes back to earth, He will reward us for the trials we underwent. As 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 says:

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Peter ends chapter four by saying:

Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

Remember that suffering is not in vain, and, according to this verse, it is “according to God’s will.” Maybe suffering tests us. Maybe it drives us to action to do God’s will. Maybe it shapes us into something closer to who God wants us to be. Whatever the reason, we need to “entrust out souls to a faithful Creator.”

“Entrust” implies assigning responsibility to something or someone and depending on that entity completely for protection. God promises to protect our souls if we trust Him to guide us. He is a “faithful Creator,” someone who never backs down on promises, and who knows us better than anyone; He created us. Finally, while trusting God, we need to continue doing good, and not let our trials keep us from helping others with theirs.

1 Peter 5:6-11:

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Come Home

Recently I’ve been thinking about the attitude regarding evangelism or invitation I’ve had on the site, in the comments and in posts. Right now the current thoughts I’ve wrote about can be summed up in this quote from a post I wrote a month ago titled “The Perfect Judge and Amazing Grace”:

Christians are called to preach the good news, not fire and brimstone. Although warnings may be necessary at times, we need to keep ourselves from passing judgments on others by ordering them to get saved or face hellfire. However, I know that I personally am not even close to perfect, and that I need forgiveness from my sins; I need a savior. We shouldn’t require this feeling of others, but simply spread the good news that, if they also need forgiveness from their sins, they shall find a savior in Jesus Christ the Messiah.

I’m not entirely sure if this is the right stance to take. It may be too lackadaisical or apathetic; what I’m essentially saying is “If you need Jesus, He’s here. Just come to Him whenever you want to, if you feel like it.” This is not how it should be at all.

The message of the Gospel is an immensely important message, and an urgent mesage. If we Christians are correct, we are dealing with the fate of immortal souls. Souls that are in danger, and will be hard pressed to save themselves. Even if one ultimately ends up rejecting Christianity, the extreme and dire claims that it makes, coupled with Chrisitan apologetics, should at least persuade someone to think very long and very hard about the issue.

We should look to the Bible for examples of how we should evangelize. When Jesus began His ministry in Mark 1, He “came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” Jesus wasn’t simply calling those who felt they needed a savior, He was convicting and then calling everyone.

Three years later, soon after Jesus had been crucified, and after His resurrection and ascension, the apostle Peter finished preaching to a gathering of Jews at the Jewish feast of Pentecost:

“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Peter wasn’t saying “Come to Jesus if you need to, and if not, that’ll be fine too.” No, Peter was saying, warning, pleading that his audience come to Christ. He knew the dire consequences of rejecting Christ, so out of love he begged people to turn to Christ.

That is a very important point to remember. The Gospel is a message of urgency, but it is a message of love. “Love your neighbor” is the second greatest commandment (only behind “Love God”), and the Parable of the Good Samaritan certainly shows that it applies to those we evangelize to. We must make sure to preach the Gospel with love, not with threats.

How then should we preach the Gospel? This urgent message can’t be preached by simply saying “Jesus is here if you need Him,” but we also have to be sure to spread the good news in love. What is the solution?

I believe the old, well-known, and well-loved hymn “Softly and Tenderly” states the answer better than I have the ability to do. Here are the lyrics, and the melody available at The Cyber Hymnal here (beware of auto-playing music):

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling for you and for me;
See, on the portals He’s waiting and watching,
Watching for you and for me.

Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,
Pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not His mercies,
Mercies for you and for me?

Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,
Passing from you and from me;
Shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,
Coming for you and for me.

O for the wonderful love He has promised,
Promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon,
Pardon for you and for me.

Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!

Jesus is calling, waiting, watching, pleading for you to come to Him. You don’t have forever; we know that life is but a vapor that vanishes in an instant – either tomorrow, or today, or eighty years from now. Nothing can save you from the wrath of God against your sins except the blood of Jesus, which he freely offered out of love for you. Don’t tarry. Accept the gift. It is an issue of urgent and vital importance.

Pale Blue Dot

I use the title with apology to Mr. Sagan.

It’s been a little while since I last posted, and I apologize for that. I’ve been out of town a lot recently. I still have more traveling that I have to do, so my posting may be irregular until I get settled down again. (I encourage those of you who manually check blogs to learn how to use an RSS Reader- it makes things much easier and saves an incredible amount of time.)

I came across an interesting thought while reading a post on rhetoric sans pareil, Ubiquitous Che’s blog. (Sorry Che, I don’t plan to respond to every one of your posts, but they do get me thinking).

For those of you who don’t remember or are new readers, Ubiquitous Che is a “bright,” or an atheist who, instead of attacking theism, aims to promote the positives and beauty a naturalistic worldview.

In the post, Che makes a culinary analogy: he compares religion to a primitive dish, and natural science to a gourmet meal. People who cling to religion are only eating fast food, and cannot grasp the taste of a fine meal without trying it.

He makes it his goal to prepare an elegant meal to showcase the Bright worldview, and then posts a video of Carl Sagan. For those of you who aren’t familiar with PBS stars from the eighties, Carl Sagan was a very famous astronomer and skeptic of religion. He wrote the book Contact, which was later made into a movie. Here is the video Che posted:

First of all, I just want to make sure people understand, religion and science are not enemies. Theists should not treat science as a threat to be destroyed, and it is very, very important for theists to remember that, whatever part of science is currently in the scope of religion, be it evolution or abiogenesis or whatever, if science is correct on the issue it is part of God’s marvelous creation and deserves to be treated as such. I don’t claim to know all the ways of the Almighty, and certainly won’t tell Him how I think He should have done something.

What’s funny is, I see no incompatibility with this video and theism. On the contrary, this video actually superbly illustrates an oft-overlooked facet of theism: God is immense and powerful. His being is larger than we can ever know in this earthly shell. He is bigger than us. To Him, we are insignificant, we are nothing.

Except that, to Him, we are something. Although we are nothing more than a speck of dust, He loves us, and sent His son to die for us. The Creator and Lord of the Universe, sent His only Son to die, so that a pale blue dot would not have to suffer for its own crimes.

Frederick William Faber, a British hymn writer in the 1800s, wrote these words:

Great God! our lowliness take heart to play
Beneath the shadow of Thy state;
The only comfort of our littleness
Is that Thou art so great.

As Carl said in the video, astronomy is a humbling experience. “Humbling” is the perfect word to describe this. We need to remember that we are not as great as we sometimes think we are, and all of our doings, all of our accomplishments, all of our failures, all of our daily rituals, all of our trials, all of our problems, all of our worries, take place on a pale blue dot, a mere speck suspended in the presence of the Lord of the Universe.

But this Lord of the Universe, this God, will take care of the dot.

Fireworks

Yesterday was the Fourth of July, which, for the international readers, is the day America celebrates her succession and independence from Great Britain, which took place on July 4th, 1776.

A traditional part of this celebration is fireworks. Firework shows are put on by different cities, municipalities, and even private parties. I live in an area with lots of small suburbs, so many different shows were going on at once. From my back yard, you could stand and have fireworks exploding all around you. It was a very beautiful sight.

A thought occurred to me as I watched them: fireworks are happy things. While they have their dangers, watching colorful explosions in the sky is something most people find entertaining. They are just innately happy.

It feels like I’ve been writing a lot recently about how uncertain the present is, and how bad things could happen very suddenly. Perhaps people think that Christianity is an unhappy or depressing worldview, always fretting about how unsure tomorrow is, and never able to see the fireworks.

This is not the case at all. A central idea of Christianity is “good news.” Yes, this world is uncertain, yes, troubles do come, and yes, Christians should keep theirs eyes forward and looking up. But that does not mean they cannot find happiness within the present. A Christian’s happiness within the present, though, comes from acknowledging the fact that the present is uncertain, but enjoying it anyway, knowing that whatever changes and troubles come our way, our lot is with God, and our end is with Him. All our current and future trials are quick and fleeting, so we need not worry about them in the present.

It makes me think of one of my favorite hymns, “Farther Along.” You read the lyrics and hear the melody here (beware of auto-playing music). Here is the chorus:

Farther along we’ll know all about it,
Farther along we’ll understand why;
Cheer up my brother, live in the sunshine,
We’ll understand it all by and by.

A line that always stuck out at me was “cheer up my brother, live in the sunshine.” The song talks of encouragement, and how in the future we’ll understand our present troubles. And then it says that line; we should cheer up even in the present, because in the end we’ll know why we had to undergo the trials and we’ll see the entire picture.

A Christian does not need to dim to present with fears of the future. Instead, one may relax and be content with the present, and enjoy the fireworks, knowing that whatever may come, we will eventually reach an eternal glory.

Whatever Lot

Recently I was looking at the statistics for this blog that are provided by WordPress. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m getting 5-12 views per day (with spikes when I post something new). I have no clue how many of these views are humans and how many are web crawlers (and how many are repeat views), but nevertheless it’s encouraging.

Although the views-per-day mostly fluctuate between 5-12, sometimes it dips down. Just looking at the graph they provide of views, it looks like sometimes it dips down to nothing. However, when I mouse over the point on the graph (which displays the number of views for that point), it still always says something like two or three views.

As some of you may guess, that got me thinking. (This is a strange source of inspiration, but I need an idea and I’m rolling with it.)

An accepted fact of life is that it has ups and downs- mountains and valleys. Good times come, but bad times come too. It reminds me of the graph, sometimes spiking, sometimes having a low point.

During His earthly life and ministry, Jesus had His ups and downs too. When He started, things were reasonably good. People were coming to Him, and He was preaching sermons on mountains. However, things started to get bad. He fell very quickly into disfavor with certain people in places of power. Ultimately, after roughly three years, they finally were able to maneuver into a position where they could kill Him- and they did. Jesus was executed by crucifixion, one of the most gruesome and cruel methods ever used.

Certainly times looked very dark for Him and His disciples as His lifeless body hung on the cross while a Roman soldier impaled Him with a spear to make sure He was dead.

However, as we know, this was not the end. Three days later, Jesus would rise again to life, and His resurrection would provide hope to anyone looking for meaning and hope in this sinful, broken world.

We all know this story. We also should remember that it applies to our own life. We all go through hard times and trials. When troubles come, though, it is often hard to remember that the storm will soon pass over and good time will return once again.

On the violent sea that is life, we should draw on the strength of the Lord and trust in Him, for we know that, according to Romans 8:28, all things work together for good for those who love the Lord.

One thing we need to remember and understand is that, while we cannot see the entire picture, God can. Sometimes we question His methods. We need to understand that, no matter what, God knows what He is doing.

Instead of questioning God when thinks work out differently than how we think they should, we should remember Psalms 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God.” We’ve all heard this verse- now look at the entire Psalm 46 (taken from the New Living Translation):

God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.
So we will not fear when earthquakes come
and the mountains crumble into the sea.
Let the oceans roar and foam.
Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!

A river brings joy to the city of our God,
the sacred home of the Most High.
God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed.
From the very break of day, God will protect it.
The nations are in chaos,
and their kingdoms crumble!
God’s voice thunders,
and the earth melts!
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us;
the God of Israel is our fortress.

Come, see the glorious works of the Lord:
See how he brings destruction upon the world.
He causes wars to end throughout the earth.
He breaks the bow and snaps the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.

“Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.”

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us;
the God of Israel is our fortress.

We have the God of the heavens and the earth on our side, the God who flooded the earth but protected Noah, kept His promise to Abraham, rained fire on Soddom and Gahmorra but saved Lot, blessed the life of Joseph, delivered Moses and the Israelites from Egypt, crumbled the walls of Jericho, blessed the armies of Gideon, gave Samson his strength, forgave David, gave Solomon his wisdom, and so much more. He offered His son to die on the cross, to become sin and face His wrath, for us.

When trials come our way, depend on the Lord, and trust Him to know what He is doing. Whatever troubles you may undergo, remember that it will all work out for good in the end, if you simply be still. Remember the hymn:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Seafaring

I recently went on a sailing trip to the British Virgin Islands (for those of you who wondered why I haven’t posted anything in two weeks). It was great, and I thank God for giving me the opportunity to go and see a marvelous part of His creation.

While sailing around the islands, I was reminded of an old English poem I read once in a British Literature class, called “The Seafarer.” You can read a translated text of the poem here, and I encourage you to do so, but first read another verse we read in that class, titled “Three Sorrowful Things”:

If I think on matters three
I can never happy be.
The first is that I must away.
Then, that I do not know the day.
The third, it is my greatest care
I know now whither I shall fare

In this, the poet is lamenting three things, that prevent his happiness. He must go away, but he doesn’t know when, and he doesn’t know where. It is not hard to make a connection to death. The truth is, none of us know when we will die. Although we take tomorrow for granted, the truth is the future is very uncertain for us. James writes about this in James 4:13-17:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” — yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

The fact that our future is uncertain, and that we could easily die very soon, obviously distresses the poet very much- he can never be happy because of it. I think many people today share the same sentiments. Many people today live in a constant state of fear, doing whatever they think will grant them a shred more security in this world. The problem is, it doesn’t matter how many safeguards you put in place, there’s always another new danger.

There’s more uncertainty to life than just our own deaths, though. Everything in this world is temporary and uncertain. We have no way of knowing what the future holds, and have no assurance that tomorrow will be free of hardship. We devote time and energy to protecting and securing our belongings and lives, but even with all of our toil, they could be swept away in any number of ways.

This world is volatile. Life is like a vast ocean, constantly changing and never sure. In a sense, we then are all seafarers, struggling and fighting against the vast maw of water, trying to keep our tiny vessel afloat atop the great deep.

If you haven’t already, read “The Seafarer.”

The poet starts off describing his trials at sea- the cold, pain, and loneliness. He states that there is not a man in existence who does not fear when the sails unfurl, who does not tremble in the face of the mighty ocean and what fate might befall him. Later he talks of how the kingdoms of Earth have faded from glory, and how material things do not offer any protection from death.

And then, in the last part of the poem, he offers a solution. The poet begins to talk about God, the only thing in this world that offers security and stability. He ends by praising the “eternal, unchanging creator of earth.”

The elegy phrases it more eloquently than I could ever hope to do. In the stormy seas of life, the only steadfast thing, the only anchor we have, the only thing that can offer any sort of stability and security amidst the crashing waves is God, the Eternal, and the Unchanging, the One who calms the storms.

The End of the Story

I’ve recently been thinking about worry and stress. Certainly in today’s world we seem to find much to stress about.

It’s important to remember that, even Jesus, during his time here on Earth, underwent stress, as described in Luke 22:39-46:

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”

Jesus was preparing to undergo something that I will venture to guess that none of us will ever have to go through- the very violent death that was crucifixion at the hands of the Romans. Also, not only was He preparing for earthly torture, but also for the spiritual burden of taking on the monstrous expanse of the sins of humanity. He certainly had a little to be stressed about.

Compared to the trials of Jesus, our present worries seem to lack significance. However, we should still follow Jesus’s example of responding to stress.

And what did He do? He prayed, not that God save Him from death, no matter the cost, but instead “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” He commended Himself totally to God.

He also instructed his disciples to pray that they not fall into temptation. They too were very stressed (they were “exhausted from sorrow”), and Jesus needed them to be strong for the trials that were soon coming.

What happened after Jesus prayed for God’s will to be done? Did things get instantly better? On the contrary, things got very bad very fast. While He was still speaking, a mob came up and seized Him, and while He was taken away, Peter, one of His foremost disciples, denied ever having anything to do with Jesus. Jesus was then mocked and beaten by guards, given a sham trial, brutally flogged, taunted by a vicious crowd, and ultimately crucified.

If we end the story there, we have a pretty bleak picture. After praying for God’s will to be done, what is arguably the very worst thing that could of happened did. If we stopped there, we could glean very little comfort out of knowing that God is in control of everything.

However, the story does not end there. After all these disastrous events took place, people then thought the story was over too. It was far from it, though. After lying dead in the tomb for three days, Jesus Christ rose to life, and with His resurrection He triumphed over His enemies and brought the central event in the ultimate plan of God. If an observer had turned away at any point before this, he would only know of the dark happenings and never learn of the glorious finale.

We need to remember this in our lives. No matter what stresses we’re going through, no matter what worries plague us, no matter what seemingly endless trials we’re being subjected to, we need to understand that, beyond our present troubles, is something so wonderful, so amazing, that the moment we finally catch sight of it, all our stresses, all our worries, will vanish in an instant.

And I know this comfort is dulled in the middle of stress and worries. When undergoing trials, our sight is blinded to the end, and the thought of “this won’t matter in the future” is little help in surviving the present. However, we still need to pray for God’s will to be done.

Remember, God isn’t some uninvolved king ruling from a vast distance. Jesus came down to earth, and He knows what it is like to be overwhelmed by stress. He sweated blood, and was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. He knows exactly what we’re going through, and He wants to help. As the famous hymn goes, what a friend we have in Jesus.

One of my favorite passages of scripture is 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 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

All the stresses, all the worries, all the trials we go through on this earth, no matter how big, and no matter how small, are temporary. They are simply light and momentary troubles.

Remember that our story does not end with them, but with an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

Christian

I was talking with someone about a conversation she had with a friend of hers. I don’t remember the details, but it involved the use of the word “Christian.” The person I was talking to said how she had a “Christian” upbringing. This offended her friend, as she felt that her own upbringing was being called “not Christian.” Her friend also talked about how she was offended when the person I was talking to talked about how her children had “Christian friends.” Her friend seemed to think this implied that Christian friends were better.

Her friend felt like her upbringing was “Christian” too. She wanted to be called a “Christian.” When asked if she believed in Christ, she said no, but didn’t think that made a difference.

This (of course) got me thinking about the word “Christian.” In modern society, the word “Christian” has started to become trivialized. In his book Mere Christianity (a very good book, by the way), C. S. Lewis talks about this problem of abuse of the English language. You can read the passage here.

Lewis compares the word “Christian” to the world “gentleman.” He talks of how “gentleman” used to mean something simple- one who had a coat of arms and property. However, the meaning has changed, from the actual definition of the word, to instead describe the qualities a gentleman should have. This is a very important idea.

The first time a group of disciples were called “Christians” is chronicled in Acts 11. The second half of the chapter describes the church in Antioch. The text of Acts 11:19-26 reads:

Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

The transliterated Greek word for “Christian” used here is “Christianos,” which literally means “a follower of the Anointed [that is, Christ].” Looking at the above passage, we can determine several qualities that the Christians at Antioch possessed.

First of all, the message at Antioch was preached to both Jews and Gentiles. We read that the Lord was with them, and many “turned to the Lord.” Perhaps more importantly, Barnabas there saw “evidence of the grace of God.” They were also “true to the Lord with all their hearts.”

So, according to the passage, I would venture to say that, for one to be considered a Christian in the true sense (as opposed to whatever the whims of culture consider it) he or she must be a believer and follower of God (being the true God), be true to Him with all his or her heart, and have His grace for the times when they fall. Therefore, unless another way has been found to earn the grace of God besides through the death of Jesus (or a way has been found to live a perfect life that is free of sin), the only way to be a Christian is to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

One final thing: why are people in secular society so anxious to earn this title of “Christian”? Why would people want to be considered Christian if they do not follow Jesus Christ?

Just like “gentleman,” people like the qualities associated with being considered “Christian.” This is actually very good. People recognize “Christian” as something good, and if you are not “Christian,” then that is something bad.

True Christians need to seize this opportunity to tell others just why being a Christian is so good. And, above all, we need to continue behaving as Christians should.

Elderly Woman Witnesses to Robber

This is a great story. It’s not exactly new, but if you haven’t heard the story of Pauline Jacobi, watch this news bulletin.

Nice to have a truly happy news story. I thought they ruined it towards the end, though, by stating that they are still searching for the guy. Question for readers: should they still have continued to look for this man?

Also, this example shows that apologetics, while useful, are often unnecessary. When witnessing to this man, Jacobi didn’t break down the Cosmological or Teleological Argument; she didn’t start talking about extra-biblical evidence of the life of Jesus or 1 Corinthians 15. She merely convicted the man and got him to acknowledge his sin. He obviously knew what he was doing was wrong, and when his sin was brought to the light, and shown for what it really was, he broke down.

Maybe he had robbed before, or maybe this was his first time. The point is, he realized that he had stooped so low as to threaten a sweet, grandmotherly old lady with death if she didn’t give him money.

So many times we are like the man, secretly knowing we are sinning but refusing to acknowledge our sin for what it is- as we continue to move further and further away from God until we reach the point of threatening to kill an old lady for whatever cash she may have on her. Pray that we stop this.

Hat tip: Joe Carter at the evangelical outpost