In March 2003 our house burned. On Thanksgiving Day we had our Thanksgiving dinner in a new house built on the same site. In the spring of 2004 Mr. and Mrs. Dove built their nest in a birch tree, not far from our new front porch. They didn’t know that the heat from the burning house had practically killed the tree, leaving only a tuft of leaves on a small branch facing my study window, without any leaves above it. We had a rainy spring and Mrs. Dove had an inadequate canopy as she sat on her nest. Nevertheless, she was faithful in waiting for her eggs to hatch. The rain came and the wind blew but she was always there. Eventually, some of the leaves fell off and both she and her nest got wet. Then one day I observed two babies and a faithful mother who sat in the rain sheltering them. When they had grown so big that the nest could hardly hold them, part of the nest gave way and fell to the ground. Good mother dove stood on the edge of the damaged nest, or else on a branch and did her best to shelter her babies. When they were about ready to leave the nest, one of them fell out and wandered about on the ground for a day or two. Then the other one and its mother left the tattered remnant of a nest. This good mother had endured a hard season, but she was faithful.
I watched these doves with great interest—and compassion. I thought, what a model this is for humans in this day of family disintegration, with homes falling apart and children falling out of their nests. I thought about my youthful rebellion and how I left home against my parents’ will to join the Navy in 1941. We are intelligent beings with understanding and reasoning powers, while other creatures of God live by instinct. I can imagine them looking down on us as an inferior species. Take the conversation between the robin and the sparrow for instance.
Said the robin to the sparrow, “I should really like to know
Why these anxious human beings rush around and worry so.”
Said the sparrow to the robin, “I don’t know but it must be
That they have no Heavenly Father such as cares for you and me.”
Or consider the monkeys talking about the “ornery human beings.” One of them said, “Yes, man descended, the ornery cuss, but he didn’t descend from us.”
Circumstances are hard on human “nests” also, but the greatest damage is done by carelessness and neglect. In the spirit of Ezekiel who said, “Cast away from you all the transgressions you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord God; so turn and live” (Ezek. 18:31, 32). I ask parents, why do you neglect your children? Why can’t God’s highest creation, protect and preserve their homes like the dove cares for hers? And children, why do you grieve your parents and destroy the home they have provided for you? Don’t you know that God is asking you to cast away all your transgressions and get yourself a new heart and new spirit? Why will you die, O house of America? So turn and live.
Mr. and Mrs. Dove went on to build nests and care for their young during the following years. Many good fathers and mothers have done the same. Circumstances have been hard at times, yet they, like the doves, have been faithful. And they have been rewarded.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
Blessed Assurance
On a summer day years ago, I heard children at play on a schoolyard. One little boy who wanted to be noticed kept shouting, “Hey, look at me!” I know he wanted to be noticed, otherwise why would he have been calling for attention? The following Sunday I preached a sermon on the human need for recognition and acceptance. One Sunday as I drove from Parkersburg, WV to Spenser to preach, I picked up a sad looking man who was hitching a ride to the hospital. He said he was an alcoholic who had been in the hospital several times but had left every time, thinking he could make it on his own. I noticed that his arms were covered with tattoos. Realizing that I had only those moments with him, I told him why I was going to Spencer and commented on my sermon. Then I asked, “Do you know why you have those tattoos on your arms? He didn’t seem to know why, so I said, “They are there because you need to be noticed. You have felt inadequate and the tattoos call attention to you. People wouldn’t notice that you had arms if you didn’t have tattoos on them. When I stopped at the hospital to let him off, he thanked me for the ride and especially for talking to him. He said I had helped him more than the doctors had. I had given him hope by directing his attention to Jesus. The boy shouted, “Hey, look at me” and the man’s tattoos cried as loudly for attention.
During those days I was having some problems in ministry, which had caused me to question my calling. Sharing my situation with a friend I said, “I wonder why men chose the ministry. Could it be that they preach for recognition and personal fulfillment?” He replied, “You don’t have a very high opinion of yourself, do you?” I had been sure of my calling and dedicated to it for years, but I had also become aware of my inadequacy. Could it be that the little boy, the alcoholic and the preacher all had a felt need to be heard and accepted? Each person should check his motives for what he does and find his fulfillment outside himself. The happiest people in the world think of others rather than themselves. Wasn’t that the way Jesus and his apostles lived? Isn’t their preaching and writing full of exhortations to self-denial and concern for others?
“Fix your eyes upon Jesus; look full in His wonderful face, “And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glorious grace.”
Fanny J. Crosby wrote. “My friend, Mrs. Joseph F. Knapp, composed a melody and played it over to me two or three times on the piano. She then asked what it said. I replied, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!” Then Ms. Crosby wrote the following words for the music.
Blessèd assurance, Jesus is mine!O what a foretaste of glory divine!Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
Perfect submission, all is at rest,I in my Savior am happy and blest, Watching and waiting, looking above, Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.
Don’t say, “Look at me!” Say, “Look at Jesus and others “in the light of His glorious grace.”
During those days I was having some problems in ministry, which had caused me to question my calling. Sharing my situation with a friend I said, “I wonder why men chose the ministry. Could it be that they preach for recognition and personal fulfillment?” He replied, “You don’t have a very high opinion of yourself, do you?” I had been sure of my calling and dedicated to it for years, but I had also become aware of my inadequacy. Could it be that the little boy, the alcoholic and the preacher all had a felt need to be heard and accepted? Each person should check his motives for what he does and find his fulfillment outside himself. The happiest people in the world think of others rather than themselves. Wasn’t that the way Jesus and his apostles lived? Isn’t their preaching and writing full of exhortations to self-denial and concern for others?
“Fix your eyes upon Jesus; look full in His wonderful face, “And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glorious grace.”
Fanny J. Crosby wrote. “My friend, Mrs. Joseph F. Knapp, composed a melody and played it over to me two or three times on the piano. She then asked what it said. I replied, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!” Then Ms. Crosby wrote the following words for the music.
Blessèd assurance, Jesus is mine!O what a foretaste of glory divine!Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
Perfect submission, all is at rest,I in my Savior am happy and blest, Watching and waiting, looking above, Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.
Don’t say, “Look at me!” Say, “Look at Jesus and others “in the light of His glorious grace.”
Friday, August 15, 2008
The Human Will
Jesus said, “If any man will do His (God’s) will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself” (John 7:17). This essay is not about man’s will versus God’s will, it is about what one attempts to “bring about by the exercise of his mental power.” What do you intend to bring about in your future? What do you hope to accomplish? What do you strive after? The thought is usually phrased, “the will to… (Write in a word that describes the object of your intention, such as power, pleasure, meaning, self-esteem, prosperity or self-denial). I present six men who advanced the above belief systems and gained a considerable following.
The will to power: Friedrich Nietzsche dreamed of a world of super people and thought that by teaching people his philosophy he could produce it. He wrote about “the will to power.” Everyone is in a quest for power, he said. Hitler took up Nietzsche’s philosophy, added brutality in order to eliminate the nonconformists, and set out to create a “super race.” Millions were influenced by Nietzsche, and millions more were exterminated by Hitler. Karl Marx and his successors, Lenin and Stalin, made the same use of power in an attempt to create a communist world, first by philosophy and then by elimination. Little men who do not understand the purpose of life are still engaged in a “power grab.” Search your heart and see if you are a controlling person? Do you try to manipulate or control others? If so you hold the same philosophy Nietzsche and Hitler had; the only difference is the degree of control you use.
The will to pleasure: Sigmund Freud made pleasure his quest. He believed that pleasure is the motivational force of life and suggested that people live for pleasure, long before the hippy “me generation” said, “If it feels good, do it.” His philosophy of pleasure corrupted generations and is still believed and practiced. Again, search your heart and be sure that, in this “I” (like in i-pod, i-phone, i-everything) generation, your will is not set on yourself and your pleasure.
The will to meaning: Viktor Frankyl, the Viennese psychologist, spent more than three years in Hitler’s forced labor camp thinking about the meaning of life. He put his thoughts in books after the war. I was quite impressed with his book, The Will to Meaning, and have used some of his insights in private counseling. From Frankyl I learned that life’s greatest values are “attitudinal values.”
The will to “whatever you can believe for”: Kenneth Copeland, following his prosperity cult predecessors and enlisting a great following himself, has been saying for years that “God wants all of His children to be rich.” He says that anyone can have anything he can believe for. He and his wife Gloria have believed for an expensive ranch, a private plane and a combined annual income of more than $400,000. I have never heard him say why his prosperity gospel doesn’t work for people in poverty stricken nations. Would more “faith in faith” really bring them out of their poverty? Perhaps the gospel of wealth only works for God’s privileged (or opportunistic) children in wealthy nations.
The will to self-esteem: Robert Shuler wrote a book in 1984 with the title, Self-esteem, the Last Frontier. I went to the Crystal Cathedral bookstore that year with the thought of buying a copy. Thumbing through it, I observed that Jesus desired fulfillment and died on the cross to “sanctify His self-esteem.” I put the book back on the shelf, marked Shuler off of my worthwhile reading list, and left the store.
The will to self-denial and humility: Jesus said, “If any man will (wills to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). He also said, “Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted” (Luke 14:11).
What is your will for the future? Is it power, pleasure, meaning, whatever you can believe for, or self-esteem; or is it self-denial and humility like Jesus, who says, “If you want to be like me, follow me.”?
The will to power: Friedrich Nietzsche dreamed of a world of super people and thought that by teaching people his philosophy he could produce it. He wrote about “the will to power.” Everyone is in a quest for power, he said. Hitler took up Nietzsche’s philosophy, added brutality in order to eliminate the nonconformists, and set out to create a “super race.” Millions were influenced by Nietzsche, and millions more were exterminated by Hitler. Karl Marx and his successors, Lenin and Stalin, made the same use of power in an attempt to create a communist world, first by philosophy and then by elimination. Little men who do not understand the purpose of life are still engaged in a “power grab.” Search your heart and see if you are a controlling person? Do you try to manipulate or control others? If so you hold the same philosophy Nietzsche and Hitler had; the only difference is the degree of control you use.
The will to pleasure: Sigmund Freud made pleasure his quest. He believed that pleasure is the motivational force of life and suggested that people live for pleasure, long before the hippy “me generation” said, “If it feels good, do it.” His philosophy of pleasure corrupted generations and is still believed and practiced. Again, search your heart and be sure that, in this “I” (like in i-pod, i-phone, i-everything) generation, your will is not set on yourself and your pleasure.
The will to meaning: Viktor Frankyl, the Viennese psychologist, spent more than three years in Hitler’s forced labor camp thinking about the meaning of life. He put his thoughts in books after the war. I was quite impressed with his book, The Will to Meaning, and have used some of his insights in private counseling. From Frankyl I learned that life’s greatest values are “attitudinal values.”
The will to “whatever you can believe for”: Kenneth Copeland, following his prosperity cult predecessors and enlisting a great following himself, has been saying for years that “God wants all of His children to be rich.” He says that anyone can have anything he can believe for. He and his wife Gloria have believed for an expensive ranch, a private plane and a combined annual income of more than $400,000. I have never heard him say why his prosperity gospel doesn’t work for people in poverty stricken nations. Would more “faith in faith” really bring them out of their poverty? Perhaps the gospel of wealth only works for God’s privileged (or opportunistic) children in wealthy nations.
The will to self-esteem: Robert Shuler wrote a book in 1984 with the title, Self-esteem, the Last Frontier. I went to the Crystal Cathedral bookstore that year with the thought of buying a copy. Thumbing through it, I observed that Jesus desired fulfillment and died on the cross to “sanctify His self-esteem.” I put the book back on the shelf, marked Shuler off of my worthwhile reading list, and left the store.
The will to self-denial and humility: Jesus said, “If any man will (wills to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). He also said, “Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted” (Luke 14:11).
What is your will for the future? Is it power, pleasure, meaning, whatever you can believe for, or self-esteem; or is it self-denial and humility like Jesus, who says, “If you want to be like me, follow me.”?
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Controlled by Love
Something has gone terribly wrong with the good world God created. “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” Much of what He has made has become very bad. It is polluted, full of immorality and lawlessness, hatred and warfare. Something also has gone wrong with our good nation. The “land of the free” has thousands of its citizens incarcerated. There is ugliness and crime on every hand, and sin is so prevalent that it has affected all of us. And what went wrong with our homes? Half of the marriages end in divorce, millions of children are aborted and millions who are born are unwanted. Even the churches are guilty. Some have become so committed to progressive theology and wayward living that they have become entirely different from what Christ intended. Josh McDowell, with the permission of a pastor, passed out a questionnaire asking his happy, hand-raising young people how many of them were sexually active. Almost half of them said they were. He concluded that promiscuity among young people in some of the churches is almost as prevalent as it is outside the church. Our world, our nation, our families and our churches seem almost out of control. Each of us has been affected by this abnormality in one way or another, and most of us lack the conviction and the strength to do anything about it. Or perhaps we just don’t know what to do.
Is there some way that everyone could get out of this maddening maze and have a peaceful, productive life? Yes, there has been a way provided ever since Jesus came into our world. It is a way that always works wherever it is practiced. Angry Saul became the apostle Paul after he learned of it. Nations, families and millions of individuals have been changed by it. Paul tells us what it was that changed and fulfilled his life and the lives of his fellow Christians. He said, “The love of Christ controls us” (2 Cor. 5:14). If anyone will “renounce his stubborn will,” as the hymn says, and submit to the will of God, he will experience the same deliverance and freedom. Paul wrote, “The love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all…And He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf….Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. (God) made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:14-21). He also spoke of “Our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace” (2 Thes. 2:16). There you have it plain and simple. As Christians, we are new creatures, righteous and controlled by the realization that Christ loves us. We have covered up this truth with traditions, taboos and trifles and have all but forgotten it. One goes free when he accepts God’s love gift; he remains free by allowing the Love of Christ to controls him. Paul also said that no created thing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:39).
In his sermon on love, “The Greatest Thing in the World”, Henry Drummond wrote of a boy who was very ill and about to die. He had become unresponsive to his surroundings. Someone who loved the boy very much put his hand on his head and said softly, “God loves you, son.” Hearing these words, the boy sprang up in bed shouting, “God loves me! God loves me!”
If you are controlled by self-will and a multitude of distractions, you may suddenly realize that God loves you, and when His love becomes real to you, you will also shout for joy and be able to say with Paul, “The love of Christ controls me.” Furthermore, if you are concerned about the loneliness and suffering of those about you, tell them gently and show them sincerely that God loves them, and that the love of Christ will control their lives if they will submit to Him. But you must demonstrate this truth by your life or else your words will have no meaning. “We love (both God and others) because He first loved us (I John 4:19).
Is there some way that everyone could get out of this maddening maze and have a peaceful, productive life? Yes, there has been a way provided ever since Jesus came into our world. It is a way that always works wherever it is practiced. Angry Saul became the apostle Paul after he learned of it. Nations, families and millions of individuals have been changed by it. Paul tells us what it was that changed and fulfilled his life and the lives of his fellow Christians. He said, “The love of Christ controls us” (2 Cor. 5:14). If anyone will “renounce his stubborn will,” as the hymn says, and submit to the will of God, he will experience the same deliverance and freedom. Paul wrote, “The love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all…And He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf….Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. (God) made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:14-21). He also spoke of “Our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace” (2 Thes. 2:16). There you have it plain and simple. As Christians, we are new creatures, righteous and controlled by the realization that Christ loves us. We have covered up this truth with traditions, taboos and trifles and have all but forgotten it. One goes free when he accepts God’s love gift; he remains free by allowing the Love of Christ to controls him. Paul also said that no created thing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:39).
In his sermon on love, “The Greatest Thing in the World”, Henry Drummond wrote of a boy who was very ill and about to die. He had become unresponsive to his surroundings. Someone who loved the boy very much put his hand on his head and said softly, “God loves you, son.” Hearing these words, the boy sprang up in bed shouting, “God loves me! God loves me!”
If you are controlled by self-will and a multitude of distractions, you may suddenly realize that God loves you, and when His love becomes real to you, you will also shout for joy and be able to say with Paul, “The love of Christ controls me.” Furthermore, if you are concerned about the loneliness and suffering of those about you, tell them gently and show them sincerely that God loves them, and that the love of Christ will control their lives if they will submit to Him. But you must demonstrate this truth by your life or else your words will have no meaning. “We love (both God and others) because He first loved us (I John 4:19).
Saturday, August 2, 2008
That Was the Week That Was!
On an outing recently, Rea and I were discussing the burdensome events in the news and the negative way they are reported. We remembered the 1964-65 TV program, “That Was the Week That Was?” (It was a satirical program that lampooned persons and events in the news the previous week). Realizing that we were watching too much TV and taking it too seriously, I suggested that we need such a program now to put a little jest and joy into our lives.
From this, the conversation turned to the beauty of the day and the wonders of God’s creation. We thought it interesting, even humorous, that God should create such a variety of interesting things. We concluded that He enjoyed creating and that He was pleased with His work. I knew that we had just discovered the subject of my next essay. “God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. God saw that the light was good.” On and on He went through the six days of creation, always looking on what He had made and seeing that it was good. But He rested on the seventh day and looked back on the previous week with a great degree of satisfaction. “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” (Gen. 1:31). As we shared creation thoughts, we marveled at the variety of shapes and colors in the things God made. Creation is such an awesome sight, so full of wonders, surprises and humor that we supposed God may have laughed aloud upon seeing some of the things He made. He may have even surprised Himself.
God does not express His joy, but those who knew Him best tell us He was pleased. David said, “He makes the clouds His chariot; He walks upon the wings of the wind…You covered (the earth) with the deep as with a garment; the waters were standing above the mountains. At Your rebuke they fled…the mountains rose; the valleys sank down to the place which You established for them…The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His work…He made the moon for the seasons; the sun knows the place of its setting… O Lord, how many are your works! In wisdom you have made them all…Let the Lord be glad in His works” (Psa. 104). “I know every bird of the mountains, and everything that moves in the field is Mine…For every beast in the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. The world is Mine, and all that it contains” (Psa.50). Can’t you imagine God frolicking across the clouds, looking down with great satisfaction on his handiwork? He knew that we would spend our lives trying to take it in, laughing at the funny things and filled with awe at the marvelous thing He had made for us.
At an annual meeting of my church we shared our concern about finances. A good brother said, “We are concerned but God is not; He owns cattle on a thousand hills; if he wants to he can sell a cow and take care of our need.”
All that God had created joined in praising Him and sharing His joy. “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar and all it continents; let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the Lord” (Ps. 96:9). Shouldn’t we, in our turn, join in the praise and joy of our Creator? “As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride, so your God will rejoice over you” (Isa 62:5). “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth, Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens! When I consider the heavens, the works of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; what is man that you take thought of him…O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth” (Psa. 8).
God enjoyed His creation week and looked upon it with delight. We should also look back on our past weeks with joy and satisfaction. A hilarious week in the 1960’s was not the week that was; the glorious week of creation— “That Was the Week That Was!” And so is every week that we are privileged to live on God’s good earth and share His creation joy.
From this, the conversation turned to the beauty of the day and the wonders of God’s creation. We thought it interesting, even humorous, that God should create such a variety of interesting things. We concluded that He enjoyed creating and that He was pleased with His work. I knew that we had just discovered the subject of my next essay. “God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. God saw that the light was good.” On and on He went through the six days of creation, always looking on what He had made and seeing that it was good. But He rested on the seventh day and looked back on the previous week with a great degree of satisfaction. “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” (Gen. 1:31). As we shared creation thoughts, we marveled at the variety of shapes and colors in the things God made. Creation is such an awesome sight, so full of wonders, surprises and humor that we supposed God may have laughed aloud upon seeing some of the things He made. He may have even surprised Himself.
God does not express His joy, but those who knew Him best tell us He was pleased. David said, “He makes the clouds His chariot; He walks upon the wings of the wind…You covered (the earth) with the deep as with a garment; the waters were standing above the mountains. At Your rebuke they fled…the mountains rose; the valleys sank down to the place which You established for them…The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His work…He made the moon for the seasons; the sun knows the place of its setting… O Lord, how many are your works! In wisdom you have made them all…Let the Lord be glad in His works” (Psa. 104). “I know every bird of the mountains, and everything that moves in the field is Mine…For every beast in the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. The world is Mine, and all that it contains” (Psa.50). Can’t you imagine God frolicking across the clouds, looking down with great satisfaction on his handiwork? He knew that we would spend our lives trying to take it in, laughing at the funny things and filled with awe at the marvelous thing He had made for us.
At an annual meeting of my church we shared our concern about finances. A good brother said, “We are concerned but God is not; He owns cattle on a thousand hills; if he wants to he can sell a cow and take care of our need.”
All that God had created joined in praising Him and sharing His joy. “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar and all it continents; let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the Lord” (Ps. 96:9). Shouldn’t we, in our turn, join in the praise and joy of our Creator? “As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride, so your God will rejoice over you” (Isa 62:5). “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth, Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens! When I consider the heavens, the works of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; what is man that you take thought of him…O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth” (Psa. 8).
God enjoyed His creation week and looked upon it with delight. We should also look back on our past weeks with joy and satisfaction. A hilarious week in the 1960’s was not the week that was; the glorious week of creation— “That Was the Week That Was!” And so is every week that we are privileged to live on God’s good earth and share His creation joy.
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