Only One Throne

Many Americans and others believe that the center of all there is in Washington D.C.. Others believe it is Beijing or Moscow, perhaps even Paris or London. We look at things this way because our minds are centered on earthly things. We see things from the only perspective many have, the physical. What we are truly looking at, however, is something terribly temporary. I was watching a documentary on corn the other evening. We were told that corn is one of those things that needs man to control it or it would disappear after just a very few short years. It cannot successfully propagate itself. If an ear of corn dries and falls to the ground, most of the seeds would begin to grow. The problem is, they would be so wound together that most would die and nothing would be produced. Fewer and fewer corn plants would grow until there were none. That is what the world is like. It does not go from chaos to perfection, but from perfection to chaos. Leave a brand new house empty for four or five years and when you go back to occupy it you will find that it is full of mold and falling apart. Insects would have eaten into it; water would have damaged it and neglect would have contributed to the decay. This would happen because the physical is just temporary.

Only things of the spirit are eternal. My body, which had a beginning, will surely have an end. The earth, our solar system and the universe all had a beginning. They all came from some place. They could not have been here for eternity because the sun would have long since burned up and everything would be one terribly cold temperature. Life would not exist. Because of the great design demonstrated in the earth and the life of it, we know that it was created - or we can know this. We are without excuse, we are told in Romans chapter 1. The creation testifies that there is a God who designed and created this world.

Why are we so afraid to see that? I think it's because of two things:
1. We want to be the boss. If God is boss then we are not and we are subject to His rules. We always hear people say, "You're not the boss of me." We might have said it ourselves. We don't want God to rule. We want to rule.
2. If God rules then we have some deep responsibilities and there are consequences if we fail in our responsibilities. Who needs this?! Who wants this?

By His grace, there are many who seek the eternal and see the cross as the throne of God as the center of everything. Look at Revelation chapter four. John sees God sitting on His throne and everything circles around the throne. That is telling us where the true center is. This being so, it excludes every other throne that would try to place itself in the center.

Who Sinned?

Lisa Burley has a blog (http://burleyblog.blogspot.com/) and having read one of her articles recently it reminded me of something I think is worth sharing. When Jesus healed the man born blind (John 9) the apostles asked, "Who sinned, this man or his parents that he should be born blind?" It's an interesting question and one that many seek the answer to, because far too many believe that bad things only happen when you sin and good things happen when you are good. Believing that kind of thing forces us to live with tremendous guilt and a total feeling of being inadequate. Just before dying from his wounds, Captain Miller (Saving Private Ryan) told Ryan, in a clenched-teeth, breathy whisper, "earn it!" What?! What was he saying to him? Earn the death of the eight men who went to find him? Earn that? (I'm yelling here!!!) It's impossible, so Ryan struggled with their deaths his whole life and ended up begging his wife to "tell me I'm a good man!"

Back in John 9 Jesus explains that their view of sin and blessings is skewed and that they were ignorant of God's devices. "'Neither this man nor his parents sinned,' said Jesus, 'but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life...'" There is a passage found in Exodus 4:11 that reads, "The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD?" We don't wish to say things like this. We want to defend God and say, "Oh no! God would never do such a thing." But Jesus tells us that the man born blind was born without sight so that God might display His work in that man. Take a moment and read John 20:30-31 and see that the signs Jesus did were for the purpose of giving us faith that who He said He was He really was/is.

The above being so, we are to understand that God does not operate under our rules or ideas. He does things He knows are right, just, honest and good and that our understanding has nothing to do with it. The Apostles were wrong and Jesus explained their error. Bad things do happen to the innocent. Evil people do not always receive evil in return for their deeds. Sometimes they receive great financial gain and live in Good health their whole lives.

The truth is, and this should be everyone's world view, God is in charge and He is doing everything for the express purpose of taking us to heaven. (See Acts 17:24-28, especially 27) This world exists ONLY because God wants us to live with Him eternally. So God does things that will lead us to Him. Sometimes He even makes a person be born blind...

Should I Write It Down?

One of the problems we have when we write things down and express our beliefs on a page, blog or even an oral recording is that it’s there for everyone one to see, I know, that’s the purpose of it. The problem, however, is that we are going to grow and change. We are not going to hold to those absolutes exactly as we did the moment we recorded them. The politician who makes a statement in a speech fifteen years earlier is held to that even though he may have given a hundred speeches since that say he no longer believes that. The Biblical scholar who writes a commentary based on what he believes at the time may discover he was wrong all along, but it’s been written and people have purchased the commentary. How does one correct such a thing? Or is correction needed?

If you have seen a picture of me when I was twenty and you see one of me today I will look much differently. You may not even think they are the same person. Maturity has a way of changing us. If someone I haven’t seen in twenty years meets with me today and we have a long discussion, I hope they will end up saying or thinking, he’s not the same man I knew twenty years ago. If I’m the same man, shame on me.

So, when you read my blog today and then read what I write ten years from now, should God grant me the time, I hope you will say something about me changing and maturing. Trust me; I really don’t look today as I looked when I was twenty.

No Small People

I was teaching a class on Genesis yesterday. In reading the chapter and preparing for class I noticed what I thought was a great lesson out of chapter 35. There is one verse, written almost in passing (God doesn't really write anything in passing, does He?) about Rebekah's nurse, Deborah. It says, "Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So it was named Allon Bacuth."

Here was a lady who died almost in obscurity. She is mentioned only twice in the Bible (24:59 and here) and her name is mentioned just this once. So the truth is, we know almost nothing about her. I'm assuming she was like Rebekah's nanny and was involved with her life from beginning until Allon Bacuth. It seems to me, that though we have to speculate if we are to guess anything about Deborah, the name of the place of her burial gives us some insight. The place was named "The Oak of Weeping." Now, perhaps I'm making too great a distinction here, but weeping tells me there was a great depth to the feelings of those weeping. Crying seems, to me at least, to be that momentary thing done at the appropriate time, but is quickly over, while weeping is found in deep emotional mourning. Don't you find it better said that "Jesus wept," rather than "Christ cried"? And why would they name the place Oak of Weeping? Could it be that they were all feeling the great loss of this woman? That she wasn't just hired help or even slave, but she was family. She was involved with all that they did. But more than this, she must have been loving and kind in her dealings with Deborah and her people, if not then there would have been no real weeping.

In addition to this, it seems important to me that God mentioned her. Who was she? No one, really. At least not in the grand scheme of things. She was no Abraham or even Sarah. She wasn't Deborah the Prophetess, she was just Deborah the nurse. Yet the God of heaven chose to tell us about her. I love this. She is like the widow with two mites; another nobody, but Jesus points her out and speaks of her wonderful gift of faith. Dorcas, there's one for you. Just an old lady who sewed things for people and when she died they wept and God mentioned her. I think He's telling us something wonderful in these mentionings. He's saying that there are no small people nor small lives. We are all important and carry some influence in the lives of others. We can make a difference if we choose to and God will know it.

Picture a great gathering in heaven as all kneel around the throne and the God of the universe calls your name and asks you to step forward. Up you go and God tells everyone, "This is Mary Smith. Her neighbor was dying from cancer and Mary went to her house every day to clean it and get her two children ready for school. She made their breakfasts and packed their lunches." Mary might think, "What? It was just a little cleaning and helping out once-in-awhile, but nothing worth mentioning." That's what we all might think, but remember the scripture said, "Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So it was named Allon Bacuth."

Books You Ought to Read

One of the greatest books dealing with the purpose of suffering and loss is Celebrating the Wrath of God, by Jim McGuiggan. The question asked most by humanity is "Why?". Jim gives us some insight and helps strengthen our faith. Do yourself a favor and read this - not just once, but several times. It will help your soul. It's available used at Amazon.

A second book by Jim McGuiggan you need to read is The Dragon Slayer. Jim deals with the atonement showing its purpose and meaning for this world. It's not a book that you can just read. You have to have your Bible open and do some serious study, but the time given to the study will give your faith a great boost.

A Piece of My Life

It's not that I worship any of the stars that have fallen, whether it's Elvis or Michael Jackson. I never met either one, or any of the others that have touched my life. And though they were bigger than life they were still just people. But people, all kinds of people, these are what make life special here on planet earth. We are touched by those around us even if they are/were "superstars" they touch us and become a part of what makes us us. I was just a kid - 9th grade, Mrs. Mitchell's Algebra class, about 1:30ish on that Friday afternoon - the message came over the loudspeaker. "President Kennedy has just been shot and is being rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital..." School got out for the rest of the day shortly after that. And all American's lives changed that cold November afternoon. Not in some really dramatic way for most of us, but we changed because a piece of our lives was gone and so was a piece of America.

The day Elvis died I was driving back from Memphis, stopped in a gas station and the attendant came out. "Did you hear the King died?" "What King?" I wanted to know. "Elvis, man! Elvis." He could hardly speak it without crying and his emotion was real. It was August in Arkansas, hot; Yet I turned ice cold. Elvis was part of my youth, my life. I'd been listening to him for as long as I could remember. I sang his love songs to my wife. Part of me died that moment. I wiped tears from my eyes before I got back in the car and told my wife. We drove the last fifty miles home in silence.

Though it's a bit different now, I'm obviously much older, but the death of Michael Jackson has also affected me. As weird as it seems, I think "Thriller" is one of the best music videos ever produced. I've watched it many times. When I heard that Michael had died I felt it. As a child of God, waiting for eternal life, I was reminded that I am mortal and terribly finite as far as life here on earth is concerned. If I live another twenty years I know it will slip by so quickly that it will be gone before I realize it and so will I. And when I die, it won't be just me, but worlds will die with me. All the lives that have touched me will be gone. My dreams and hopes, my memories and earthly relationships... all gone. And those left behind will have some of the same thoughts I'm having now. One or two will think about how I was a piece of their life. And they will die just a little. We have that effect on people. I'm thinking I ought to live in such a way that many people will feel the loss when I'm gone. Not because I was a good dancer, but because I was able to make their lives just a little bit better.

Job said this in defense of his life:

When I went out to the gate of the city,
when I prepared my seat in the square,
the young men saw me and withdrew,
and the aged rose and stood;
the princes refrained from talking
and laid their hand on their mouth;
the voice of the nobles was hushed,
and their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
When the ear heard, it called me blessed,
and when the eye saw, it approved,
because I delivered the poor who cried for help,
and the fatherless who had none to help him.
The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me,
and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.

Notice that respect was paid to Job "because..." I want to be a piece of people's lives because of the becauses. Don't you?

Losing All That Others Might Have

On December 4, 2006, Pfc. Ross A. McGinnis was manning the 50 caliber machine gun on the Humvee he and four buddies were traveling in. Looking up, McGinnis saw an Iraqi toss a grenade off the roof of one of the buildings they were passing. He had ample time to jump from the Humvee and save his life. But as the grenade bounced onto the vehicle and down inside, Ross McGinnis yelled, “Grenade!” into the microphone and dropped down the hole and placed his back against the grenade. The blast killed him instantly, but it saved the lives of the four others. At 19, Pfc. Ross A. McGinnis drew his last breath and gave himself that others might have. Where does that mindset come from?
In looking at war and all of its atrocities one wonders why men are so wicked as to wage it to begin with, but when we stop to give it real thought we understand that it’s not the ones who fight that wage the war, it’s the leaders. Most of us would just as soon live in peace. Most are satisfied with a family, home, food to eat, clothes to wear and an education for our children. But there are some who demand more and will sacrifice others to gain it. So our young men go to war. Day after day they sacrifice their lives that others might have, but why? What do they get out of it? I think of the Minutemen who stood face to face with the British and took bullets for freedom. Yet when they died they left all that freedom behind. They took nothing with them. It was all for others.
Long ago Moses faced God’s anger and spoke to persuade God not to exterminate the Israelites. The golden calf and the people’s reveling were not pleasing to the Lord, but He listened to Moses and relented. Moses went down to rebuke the people and then back to seek God’s mercies. When he stood before the Lord he said, "Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written." Look at the feelings expressed by Moses. He’s not just facing some enemy with a weapon; he’s standing before the God of the universe, the creator of all things. As he stands he pours out a depth of feeling that is remarkable, especially in light of the way the people have treated Moses. What he is telling God is that he loved Israel and would die for those people.
I honestly believe that we have these depths in us because God put them there. We love, because He first loved us. We would not know love without the God of creation placing within us the capacity. And that capacity goes beyond life. It is willing to, how did the Man of LaMancha say it, “willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause”? We see this type of thing all around us and read of it regularly. A man runs in front of a fast moving truck to push a child out of its path. The child is saved, but the man meets an untimely death; a mother who runs back into a violently burning house to save her child. Pfc. Ross A. McGinnis pressing his back on a live grenade sacrificing himself so his buddies might live. Jesus the Christ willingly leaving heaven to come to a world filled with despair and anger. And here He offers Himself as the ultimate sacrifice for a people who were willingly killing Him.
I want that spirit in me. I want to be able to give myself so that others might have. I don’t mind losing it all if somewhere in my losing blessings might fall on someone who desperately needs it.