« March 2008 | Main | May 2008 »
What is God like? Perhaps the reason Bailey's question stumped me initially is because, aside from parents, there are very few things in this world to which God can be compared. As our cosmic parent, he nurtures us continually. And as powerful as parental love is, this is a mere reflection of the one who is love.
Any comments or testimonies today?
If you can still imagine yourself as a prisoner, think about what the scene at Golgotha reveals. Being nailed to a cross was an invention of the Romans, considered the most painful death imaginable, with prolonged suffering often lasting hours. None of us can get out of our minds the grisly portrayal of the crucifixion in Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ. Watching that film was one of the most sobering and convicting experiences of my life. Prisoners can really relate when they realize that Jesus went through that horrific experience for them, as He endured it for all of us. I see the truth register in their expressions: Jesus suffered like this just for me? Yes.
Any comments or testimonies today?
We want to be holy because we know that to be holy is to be like God and to be near him (see 1 Peter 1:14-16). But sometimes we drift. Pleasure entices us. Troubles mount. Sin calls. The world beckons. We wonder why our hearts seem empty and cold. What happened to the zeal we had? What happened to our desire to live an extraordinary life? Why are we sliding back into old habits? These may be questions the Holy Spirit is urging us to consider. Perhaps he is right now shaking us awake from our spiritual torpor, reminding us that without holiness no one will see the Lord (see Hebrews 12:14). Today let us ask God to help us live out our faith with passionate commitment fueled by a hunger for holiness that reflects our love of God and his greater love for us.
Any comments or testimonies today?
At every turn, the things which are uniquely Christ leave us no room to compromise. It's not just that he has given us hard things to believe or a penetrating moral philosophy to live by. Others have also done that. It is not just that he makes moral demands which stretch our lifestyles beyond our comfort zones. He is unique because he calls us into the unbelievable. Jesus is credible in part because everything about him is incredulous, and only people who follow him where other gods have not gone will discover precisely how credible he is.
Any comments or testimonies today?
After the death of her husband to cancer, Madeleine L'Engle writes, "We do not have to understand God's ways, or the suffering and brokenness and pain that sooner or later come to us all. But we do have to know in the very depths of our being that the ultimate end of the story, no matter how many aeons it takes, is going to be all right." Embracing mystery brings peace.
Any comments or testimonies today?
NBC news anchor John Chancellor once quipped, "You want to make God laugh, tell him your plans." God has much greater ambitions for us than we have for ourselves. He laughs at our paltry plans, then plots to surprise us with the greatness of his grace.
Author C. S. Lewis referred to God's extravagant nature when he said, "You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage? God wants to make of your life a palace!" Of course, we have to learn to live with the rain while we're waiting for our skies to clear up and God's glory to be revealed. But rest your hope upon the grace that will crown your life when Jesus' plan unfolds. With the touch of a button he will draw you under the protection of his umbrella where you can enjoy sunny skies forever (see Job 42:7-17).
Any comments or testimonies today?
If the Lord is with us, what do we have to fear? What do we lack? How can we lose? The same Lord who walked on water, healed the sick, and rose from the dead is saving us, watching over us, guiding our steps (see Psalm 139:7-10). Knowing this, why don’t we dance in the streets and throw more parties?
Any comments or testimonies today?
Jesus is Lord not because Christians say so but because he is. His lordship is not a truncheon with which to beat other people; it's a biblical truth best understood when offered with as much humility as we can muster. Christians who believe that gratuitous offensiveness against other gods is a mark of Christian witness should make a special note: Paul did not rubbish the goddess Diana (see Acts 19:37). Our primary calling is not to put down other people's gods. It is to lift up Jesus Christ.
Any comments or testimonies today?
Belief in God is not just about evidence, or at least not in the sense that we usually think about evidence, where, say, data from science, history, or some other source are used to justify a position on an issue. Most of us believe in God because of personal experience. Yes, the reality of God is confirmed by everything from design in nature and big-bang cosmology to near-death experiences and the commonsense belief in moral values. But what really compels most of us is our sense of God's presence with us.
Any comments or testimonies today?
If God would want anyone to live, surely [my friend] Baker qualified. Surely a man with a mission like Baker's would not be bested by leukemia. Surely a smile like his doesn't die easily. Yet Baker is dead. And his grave ought to give unrest to us all and shake us from our arrogance. If Baker could die, so can, and will, we all. None of us can be complacent. None of us is "safe." It should give us pause to think that one so full of life is gone—and so quickly.
The world that is does not permit a guarantee of protection. Evil and its counterpart, death, do not allow for that possibility. And if I demand from God what he has not promised, I risk corrupting my faith with bitterness and resentment when God fails to come through as I feel he should. I will never experience God as good in my pain if I am forever suspicious of his having allowed my pain in the first place. Baker knew physical safety was no guarantee. Thus, he was never angry at God. Rather, he experienced God as deeply, wonderfully good, right to the end.
Any comments or testimonies today?
