Memories and Faith

And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. (Deuteronomy 8:2 ESV)

Memories and Faith

I was absolutely sure the store was on the North side of the street. I could see it in my mind’s eye. But when I neared the location, I discovered I was wrong.

More specifically, my memory was wrong.

I do not like to admit that my memory is often wrong. I miss-remember exactly what I was told, often turning the statement into insult, where no insult was intended. I miss-remember exactly what I said, often turning my rude statement into merely describing facts. I miss-remember intentions, thoughts, words, and deeds.

When God led the Israelites for forty years in the wilderness, He knew what He was doing. He was teaching necessary lessons. He was disciplining because He loved (Deuteronomy 8:5)

But the Israelites remembered things differently. They remembered things incorrectly. Before God made His clear explanation, they said, “Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” (Exodus 14:12 ESV)

They either miss-remembered how bad things were in Egypt, or they miss-remembered God’s leadership in the wilderness, or they miss-remembered God’s goodness. God offered them, in place of their faulty memories, faith.

As fantastic as those tiny neurons that store memories and allow recall of information are, God’s memory is better. Our memories fail, but not God’s. Our memories become twisted to our selfish purposes, but God’s is Truth. Our memories, while useful, are not useful enough.

And so God asks us to have faith in Him. God asks us to believe that He IS always working for our good. (Romans 8:28) And so God gives us the faith we need to remember HIS ways.

And find peace.

Let your faith instruct your memory.

Take the faith God grants us.

Weather and Love

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater. (Isaiah 55:10 ESV)

Weather and Love

The idea of Love Languages(suggested by author Gary Chapman) makes a lot of sense to me. We show love in different ways. Some show love better by giving gifts, some show love better by acts of service, some show love better by speaking meaningful words… And we are often better at showing love in certain ways than we are at other ways.

But God is fluent in every Love Language.

It seems that weather is one of the ways He says, “I love you” to His people.

The Bible often uses a metaphor of rain to describe God’s blessing and love. (Leviticus 26:4, Job 5:10, Psalm 72:6, Hosea 10:12, Joel 2:23, Matthew 5:25 et. al.) Unless rain ruins your picnic plans, rain is usually understood as being both a blessing and a necessary thing.

After Isaiah describes the value of a good rain, he also describes our expected reaction to God’s love. He writes, “For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12 ESV)

It is a grand thing to be obviously Loved! That is probably why I enjoy rain so much.

Take the love God grants us.

Weather and Hope

So Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the Lordand Samuel. (I Samuel 12:18 ESV)

Weather and Hope

God does nothing randomly. He has purpose, and reality manifests what He has in Mind.

Even the weather is not a random event.

The first example of God’s use of weather to accomplice His purpose occurred in the Flood. Sure, it was a lot of rain. But God made it rain for a reason. At that time, not a happy one! He said, “For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh.” (Genesis 6:17 ESV)

Graciously, God has promised not to use rain like that anymore.

Now, He uses rain to bless His people, and through us, the world. (Acts 14:17)

When it comes to the weather, what does the future have in store? God will use the weather to bless His people. He will use the weather to provide, to bless, to help, to teach, to nurture, to mature, and a myriad of other good reasons.

Obviously, we do not always understand how today’s weather blesses us. Sometimes it seems harsh, hurtful, and scary. But if God is Godly (and He is…) He is always at work for the good of His people. (Romans 8:28)

Whatever weather comes tomorrow, it will be what He knows we need. When it comes to weather, we can hope.

Take the hope God grants us.

Weather and Faith

While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:22 ESV)

Weather and Faith

Weather is one of the most talked about subjects.  We discuss good weather, bad weather, weather forecasts, weather memories, weather worries, and weather hopes.

At least partially because we are insecure about weather.  Weather can be scary.  Weather can cause financial collapse.  Weather can ruin our plans.  Weather can affect history.

And weather is one thing over which we have no control.  We can not make it rain and we can not make it stop raining.  We can not raise the temperature and we can not lower the temperature.  We can not move a hurricane, a tornado, a cold front, or a drought. 

God made a promise long ago.  He promised that weather would reliably continue.  And it has.  On a large scale, weather is predictable.  Seasons occur every year. Weather cycles happen.  And while we might not be able to set our watches by the weather, we can set our calendars.

When things like the weather are obviously out of our control, we might become afraid.  But God has given us a pattern that reminds us that He is reliable.  He is steady.  He might even be predictable.

That pattern has lasted since the days of Noah.  And that pattern gives us the opportunity for faith.  We look back and recognize the seasons stretching into history… the pattern well established… the past securely in place.

So we can be at peace about things that are out of our control.  Because God has shown that He has been in control.  Even the weather has followed His plan.

Take the faith God gives you.

Threats and Love

Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife. (Ruth 4:10 ESV)

Threats and Love

The story of Ruth and Boaz is not a typical Hollywood love story. Boaz is not seduced into ‘feelings’ by mere physical attraction. Boaz does not fall helplessly into an emotional love at the mysterious power of Ruth’s beauty, inward or external. Boaz does not ‘need’ a Ruth in his life, and finally find one.

Instead Boaz chooses to love Ruth. He decides to end the threats to Ruth (Ruth 2:8,9) NOT based on Ruth herself, but based solely on Boaz’s character.

Since Boaz is a metaphor for our Redeemer, Christ, this is a good thing.

The love of Christ ends every threat we face, too. Solely, wonderfully, and necessarily because of who our Redeemer, Christ is. NOT because of our loyalty, goodness, or value.

The love of Christ is the complete answer to every threat. Consider the three enemies of God that threaten us. Christ’s love ends the threat of the flesh, our sins nailed to the cross, and physical creation’s redemption guaranteed. Christ’s love ends the threat of the world, as His resurrection ends the evil hope of every other kingdom. Christ’s love ends the threat of Satan, binding him and ending his futile attempt to usurp God’s position.

Even on a day-by-day basis, the threats we face are beaten by the love of Jesus Christ. Are you lonely? He can solve that. Are you financially troubled? He can solve that. Are the effects of your sin overwhelming? He can solve that. Are you afraid? He can solve that.

The love of Christ is the absolute and greatest answer to whatever threatens you.

Take the love God grants you.

Threats and Hope

… so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10,11)

Threats and Hope

Macbeth listens to three weird sisters (Shakespeare’s description) and is intrigued by their promises. He makes major important political decisions based on their forecast. For him, it does not end well. He listens to the wrong source of hope.

Even in our modern enlightened society, fortune tellers are popular because people want to know the future. Not only would such knowledge assist in financial decisions, but most of us would sleep better.

We tend to worry about the unknown parts of our future.

But Paul’s words here tell us a LOT about our future. Paul’s words tell us the most important thing that is going to happen. Paul’s words tell us the eventual end of any threat against Jesus’ people.

Jesus is going to win.

We face some serious threats. God’s enemies (the flesh, the world, and Satan) are very threatening. The vocal church today is threatened by legal actions, financial trouble, sinful habits, strong temptations, angry media, and an ever-strengthening centralized government.

But Paul is a true fortune teller. Better than the weird sisters.

He declares the hope that every knee shall bow. Some knees will bow joyfully… some knees will bow fearfully, and some knees will bow regretfully.

But every threat will fall.

Take the hope God grants us.

Threats and Faith

“But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:15-18 ESV)

Threats and Faith

Charles Blondin was an American acrobat who made a name for himself crossing Niagara Falls on a hi-wire. By the time he retired, he had crossed the Falls over 300 times, walking nearly 10,000 miles with his wheelbarrow on a rope stretched over the Falls.

I like to think about him on his 299th trip. Clearly, he faced a threat of death. Wind, muscle twitches, an unexpected slippery spot, and the unpredictable nature of gravity (at least in MY back yard) all combined to threaten Blondin. But while he might have been afraid the first few times, eventually, according to his journals, he was barely aware of the threat. Blondin’s history let him face threats with calmness.

Likewise, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They knew the history of God’s dealing with threats against His people. They would remember Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They would remember the threat of famine during Joseph’s time. They would remember the threat of Pharaoh. They would remember the spies who feared the threat of the Canaanites. They would remember the threat of a giant, Goliath.

And even more.

When Nebuchadnezzar threatened them, they had more than a history, they had a HISTORY. God defends His faithful people against puny threats. A fiery furnace, to God, was no big deal.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego chose the faith that God enabled them to wield.

Threats today might seem intense. But we have even more history of God’s protection than Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego remembered. We can remember what happened at the fiery furnace and the lion’s den. We can remember what happened to Babylon. We can remember how the People of God were returned from exile. We can remember what happened as the temple was rebuilt. We can remember how Jesus dealt during His earthly ministry with the threats of illness, political turmoil, jealousy, hatred, temptation, fear, and crucifixion.

And even more.

We have more reasons to choose the faith that God enables us to wield. Whatever threats are in front of us.

Choose the faith God grants us.

Food and Love

Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. (Genesis 9:3 ESV)

Food and Love

Few things say, “I love you” as obviously as food.

Mom packs lunch for Bobby and Jenny.

A couple’s first date is usually a meal together.

Chocolate… anytime.

A meal delivered to a recovering patient.

God demonstrates His love for us with food, too. As Noah’s family begins to repopulate the flood-ravaged Earth, God reminds them of the love-gift of food He gave to Adam, and then expands the gift. More love displayed.

Food reminds me that I am loved. Whether it is DeAnne’s cooking, an invitation to a meal, a celebratory restaurant experience, or a Christmas cookie extravaganza, food is a sign of love.

The next time you eat, remember the ultimate giver of all food, and realize again His sacrificial and salvific love for you, His child.

And no, I am not just being sentimental.

Jesus Himself directs us to think of this when we eat a very special meal. The New Testament manifestation of the Old Testamental Passover Feast is SHOUTING that God loves His people.

Notice the salvation (the ultimate Love) that Christ connects to the Last Supper: I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. (John 6:51 ESV)

The unconditional love of God is noticed in food. Whenever we eat, but ESPECIALLY at the Lord’s Table.

Take the Love (and its signs) that God gives us.

Food and Hope

He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. (II Corinthians 9:10-12 ESV)

Food and Hope

A stage magician once promised me that I would amaze my friends if I purchased his magic trick. I was hesitant to make the purchase. I doubted his prediction would be accurate. Even though I yearned to be coordinated, entertaining, and amazing, my clumsy attempts to perform acts of prestidigitation had not gone particularly well in the past.

Laughter, yes… rolling of eyes, yes… ‘back to the drawing board,’ yes. But a successful trick? Not likely.

But I bought the trick. And it worked! It was a mechanical trick that allowed the performer to appear to levitate small items. And the wide eyes surrounded me. No one could figure it out. The promise was fulfilled!

I admit, though, that I am still often cynical about promises.

When God promises something, we do not believe. When God declares a blessed future, we wonder. When God gives hope, we seem to prefer to doubt.

Paul reminds us of God’s promise, oft made, to supply our needs. (Philippians 4:19, Malachi 3:10, Psalm 23:1, Matthew 6:31, et. al.)We doubt that promise. We ponder questions that seem reasonable to us concerning God’s provenance. What if He needs to discipline us? What if someone else needs more than I do? What if I am not ‘helping myself’ enough, so God will not help me? What if He knows what I am REALLY like? What if He did not really mean it?

Paul gives us a reason to hope, though. Because while God does give His children what we need for the simple reason that He loves us… there is a beautiful facet that lets us better expect hope to be fulfilled.

It is not just for US that He provides… it is also for HIS glory.

If God would only grant us physical blessings (like food) because WE need those things, we might at times doubt, worry, and fear. Because we really are not gift-worthy. But God ALSO grants us physical blessings so that we see again, and again, and again how gracious He is. We see how kind He is. We see how merciful He is.

And then we say those words that He deserves, that He enjoys, that He loves to hear… and that we actually learn to love to say: Thank You.

God enables us to hope so that we can be thankful now and tomorrow.

Take the hope that God gives us.

Food and Faith

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? (Matthew 6:26, 27)

Food and Faith

My grandmother ALWAYS gave me King Peppermints.  These are a Dutch treat, and Gramma was a reliable traditionalist.  Go to Gramma’s.  Get candy.  Depend on it.

She had established a trustworthy pattern that led me to count on her generous kindness.

Jesus would have my attention already if He pointed out that God has provided for the needs of His people.  We eat.  We drink.  We are fed, ultimately by HIM.  He has fed me my entire life.

If I decide NOW to worry about my foodly needs, I look either silly, very negative, or too hungry.  I can have faith about tomorrow’s meals because He has established Himself as a reliable traditionalist. 

Of course, there MIGHT be a situation where, for the good of His people, I might need to be hungry.  But that is not the kind of anxiety Jesus is warning against. (He warns against THAT kind of urgent emergency anxiety elsewhere.) 

God has taken care of you.  And He will tomorrow, too.

We can cling to that faith not only because He has proven Himself regarding His provision of US.   But He also provides for flighty, non-industrious, silly, carefree, happy-go-lucky birds.

If He provides for them (and He does…) He obviously will provide for US, too.

God is not only concerned about the rise and fall of Kings, the rise and fall of Ideas, the rise and fall of Civilizations, and the rise and fall of Atoms and Stars.  He is also concerned about the tiny meals of tiny hummingbirds, the tiny needs of lazy snails, the tiny plans of carpenter ants, and the tiny actions of electrons changing orbits.

Comfortably in the middle of that array of God’s interests is us. 

He also proved it by providing for us through His sacrifice of His only begotten Son. (John 3:16) On the one extreme, the birds.  On the other extreme, His Son.

So don’t worry… God will take care of us.

Take the faith God gives us.

Happiness and Love

Happy are the people whose God is the Lord! (Psalm 144:15 CEV)

Happiness and Love

Love makes me happy.

Weddings are happy days. Baptisms are happy days. Birthdays are happy days. Christmas is a happy day. Postcards received make me happy. Some lovey songs make me happy. Of course, all of those days are ‘manifestation of love’ days.

Both loving and being loved make me happy.

And while we might consider, ‘happy’ a shallow thing compared to joy, or ecstatic worship, or the depth of our future experience in heaven… happiness is still a grand thing.

Most of all, happiness is a balm when unhappy things are happening around us. When our circumstances are worrisome and dark, happiness is wonderful. When our mornings and evenings remind us of sin and sin’s effects, happiness is comforting. When our eyes are bathed with tears, happiness helps.

And the shortest road to happiness is paved with love. When we know we are loved, even in the midst of sorrow, we find peace. When we find ourselves able to love someone whose suffering is as bad as ours, our attention is pulled towards the light of happiness.

And no one loves us like the Lord!

His love towards us empowers happiness.

Our love towards Him empowers our attitudes.

Take the love He provides, and be happy.

Happiness and Hope

For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tearfrom their eyes.” (Revelation 7:17 ESV)

Happiness and Hope

Tears, in some way, are a measure of sadness. While our sadness and our responses to our sadness are profoundly personal, tears are usually a fairly accurate indicator of sorrow.

In heaven… in other words, in that absolutely sure destination of each of God’s Adopted children, every tear will be wiped away. That might seem strange, because we can imagine reasons to be sad in heaven. Sorrow for unredeemed loved ones. Sorrow for earth’s continued groaning. Sorrow for regret, or shame, or unsatisfied obligations.

It makes more sense when I remember what Jesus did for us.

He did amazing things on our behalf. He was tempted with every temptation that we are. (Hebrews 2:18, 4:15) He was punished for our sins (Romans 3:21-31) He died for us. (Romans 5:8)

But He also lived on our behalf. (Galatians 2:20)

So much of what Jesus did and experienced during His 33 years, He did on our behalf. He hurt for us, He endured mocking for us, He suffered loneliness for us. He did those things so that already in God’s eyes, but eventually fully and completely… we do not have to.

Among the shortest and most-memorized verses in the Bible tells us something that Jesus did, so that when we arrive home in Heaven, we will never have to do again.

Jesus wept. (John 11:35 ESV) He also wept in Luke 19:41 and Luke 22:62. But it was not just regular weeping. That weeping, just like Christ’s temptations and suffering, was done on our behalf. Not “for” us. But so that we will not have to weep anymore. It was weeping that wipes our tears in heaven. Not because there is no reason… but because He already wept on our behalf.

Because He wept, we have hope in heaven to never weep again.

Take the hope He gives us, He already paid for it.

Happiness and Faith

Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.” And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad. (I Samuel 1:17.18 ESV)

Happiness and Faith

Hannah wanted children with her husband, Elkanah. Apparently, she was barren. Elkanah clearly loved Hannah. He was satisfied with the situation, but Hannah was not. She could not, for some reason, have children. And that circumstance made her sad.

Hannah got help from Eli, God’s priest in Israel. Eli reminded her, with careful subtlety, of a similar situation in Israel’s history. The three most famous of Israel’s Matriarchs, Sarah, Rebecca, and Rachel, had been barren. And God had granted their petition for a family. Those barren women, crying out to God, had become pregnant.

Those three women were heroines of Hebrew history. It had not taken much for Hannah to remember them, in the same way that people today think of heroines like Betsy Ross, Dolly Madison, or Harriet Tubman when events or words nudge our memories.

God granted Hannah faith based on her memory of those women. God gave them babies. Important babies. Blessing babies. And Eli promised that God would give Hannah a baby, too.

With the result that Hannah, finding herself in different circumstances, was no longer sad. Her knowledge of the past was leveraged into faith, which blossomed into happiness.

Faith can often overcome the sadness found in circumstances. We must have knowledge of God’s working in the past, of course. We must know the God who acted then. We must choose to believe that God cares and loves and helps today as well.

Like in Hannah, those things can combine to make just the right mixture that gives birth to Faith.

But when we are imbedded in circumstances that cause sadness, God offers faith. Faith that is rooted in God’s stories of the past. Faith that is connected to us today. And sadness can be changed into satisfaction, happiness, and joy.

The best part of this is that God is not saying, “Stop being sad you evil-doer!” He is saying, “here is something… faith… that you can use to help your face not be said.”

Take the Faith God gives us and rest happily.

Rebellion and Love

And the king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” (II Samuel 18:5 ESV)

Rebellion and Love

Absalom was a rebel against David, his father.

Repeatedly. Read the story (found in II Samuel chapters 13 through 19) and you will see a man was that forgiven many times, and yet continued to rebel against his father.

And yearning for his son’s repentance, David gives Absalom chances and opportunities galore. And shockingly, in the end, when Absalom’s rebellion had reached its final stages, David still loves him.

“Deal gently with him…” he begs the soldiers tasked with ending the rebellion once and for all.

Even at the end… David loves his son, Absalom. Rebel and all.

And remember. God calls David a man after His own heart. (I Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22)

We are more like Absalom than we like to think.

And God is like David.

When that knowledge drives you to repentance and renewal and revival and re-vivification of your relationship with Christ, then heaven rejoices! This is what David hoped for in Absalom.

But when your awareness of your rebellion leads you to panic, insecurity, worry, and unholy fear… then remember how God gives love as the solution to rebellion.

Your rebellion.

The solution is not simply sorrow for your sin… it is sorrow and hope in Christ. The solution is not simply aversion to your actions… it is aversion and faith in Christ. The solution is not simply hatred of the Old Man still in you (Romans 6:6)… it is loving the Son of God, and being loved by the Redeemer, Christ Jesus.

We Absaloms of the world… take comfort in what the first Absalom never did… the love of our Father.

Take the love God gives.

Rebellion and Hope

The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” (Psalm 110:1 ESV)

Rebellion and Hope

He was the wizard of ALL computer geeks. No matter how badly my screen was frozen, my hard drive was wonky, or my keyboard was stuck… JACK could fix it. When I called Jack, there was only a question of WHEN the problem would be fixed.

I faced every technological problem with trust of Jack in the front of my mind, and with his number on speed dial.

But Jesus is even better than Jack.

All of His enemies will be His footstool.

Today we need a nudge to understand the symbolism. Defeated enemy kings, princes, generals, and heroes were forced to kneel before the Conqueror. And in extreme cases, the losers were forced to lean over on all fours while the winner treated the loser like a footstool.

This Psalm assures us that every one of Jesus’ enemies will be defeated by Christ. And in fact, already has been.

It does not seem like it sometimes, does it? But when it seems like Christ’s enemies are still doing well, we can act in TRUST. Sometimes we leverage our memories of God’s past victories (the cross, for example!) into peace. Sometimes we find peace by comprehending what He is up to.

And sometimes we find hope by trusting in what God has proclaimed the future will look like.

And that trust is the foundation of hope.

Christ victorious.

God grants His people the supernatural ability to believe. Today we tend to demand logic, proof, and personal understanding. And those things are all ok.

But for the hard times… for the far too common fearful times… God also gives us hope.

Take the hope God offers.

Rebellion and Faith

Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth. (Genesis 11:9 ESV)

Rebellion and Faith

We walked through Firenze, Italy early New Years Day. Mobs had celebrated exuberantly the night before. The trash, knee deep, seemed evenly spread. This normally peaceful community erupts with celebratory violence every year at this time. Even its aftermath was unnerving.

When I was very young, race riots erupted a couple of miles from my home. I barely remember it. But I recall huddling in the basement. Afraid of something.

In London, my family accidentally walked through a protest. A crowd was angry at the British government for a recent judicial ruling. We were surrounded by yelling, fist-waving, angry people. Until the Bobbies showed up we were very alone.

Individual rebellion and violence can be frightening. Mass rebellion and violence is beyond terrifying. In some ways, it is the most deadly thing on earth.

God had observed, some years after the flood, that earthlings had begun to rebel, not merely as individuals, but in one large group. God noted that when they banded together, no violent act was beyond them. Their rebellion against Him would be humanly unstoppable. (Genesis 11:6 ESV) So God dealt with them.

He made it difficult for them to plot, plan, organize, and unite. That restriction continues even today. (And also gives rise to the academic department of Language Studies…)

God’s people can take comfort in God’s past Babel-making. God dealt often with crowds. Not only at Babel, but at the flood(Genesis 6:11;) in Egypt (Exodus 12:30;) in Assyria(Joel 1:4;) in Jerusalem (Mark 5:21; ) on Jesus’ way to the cross (Matthew 27:23; ) threatening Paul (Acts 21:28-31;) and in the book of John’s Revelation (Revelation 12:15; ) describes crowd after crowd.

But crowds can not stand before God. Multiplied evil is still just evil. And God dealt with evil repeatedly, and ultimately with His Son’s death.

When our community, society, and civilization seem on the verge of upheaval, remember that they are mere crowds. God has dealt with them before.

Remember the past and take comfort.

Remember the past and grasp faith.

Family and Love

And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” (Genesis 4:25 ESV)

When playing bridge, I was taught to play each hand as if my partner across the table has exactly the cards that we need to win. It seemed risky at first. But eventually I agreed that I could either play with hesitancy or doubt… or with the idea in my mind that together we have what we need.

Maybe God is like the perfect bridge-partner. Except when we need Him to play the right card, He always does. Even better, He is a good enough bridge player to play the card that we really need… not merely the card we desire.

Adam and Eve must have been devastated by the murder in their family. Disappointment, anger, guilt, and fear were just a few of their likely and reasonable reactions. They had lost both sons, really. With one son dead, and one son outcast, how could the Messiah come? Despair had moved in with them.

They needed something, but probably could not even articulate their need.

But God gave them the exact right thing. You might think I refer to Seth, but it is more than that. In giving Seth to Eve and Adam, God was giving something even more useful and appropriate. God played exactly the right card.

He thrust love into their crisis. He loved them by giving them a third son. Eve’s comment shows that she sees this. But He also loved them by giving them someone to love.

Because love is often the exact answer to our problems. Loving someone redirects our attention from selfishness. Loving someone fills the empty spots that loss leaves in its wake.

The love that Eve had towards Seth enabled her to love God. The love that Eve had towards Seth enabled her to revive her future. The love that eve had towards Seth enabled her to be human again, as humans were created to be.

Loving someone justifies faith and brings hope. For us, just as much as for Eve.

Take the love God offers.

Family and Hope

When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.” (Genesis 5:28,29 ESV)

I usually roll my eyes at the opening line of one of Whitney Houston’s songs, “I believe that children are the future…” The concept is so obvious that it seems silly to sing about it.

But today, I see that Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, and Lamech would have agreed with Whitney. They were experiencing God’s curse, and they were tired.

But they knew that things were going to get better. They knew that God had promised relief. And so as they observed the extension of the family tree was a repeated promise. Down the branches of this tree lie hope.

Noah means, “rest.”

As the aging men (and they all were alive at this time) gathered around the baby, Noah, they saw hope. They knew that rest was coming. And they saw it in their family.

They were right, more than they knew.

God gives us a similar hope. The shift, though, is that we find hope in our Brother. While we hope FOR our children’s children, we hope IN our Brother.

Whether we need rest, relief, healing, strength, blessings, peace, comfort, or joy, God gives hope in THAT family. Whether we need faith or love, God gives hope in THAT family.

Take the hope God offers.

Family and Faith

Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” (Genesis 13:8-10 ESV)

Family and Faith

If I admit that worry is a sin, then a common temptation for me is worrying about my family. Whether it is family traveling, family struggling with employment, family making strange decisions, or just simply family being too far away, it is easy to slip into worry. But God gives an answer to those worries. He offers faith.

Uncle Abram could have been worried about Lot. Lot had attitude problems. Lot had business problems. Lot had family problems. I might say Lot had lots of problems.

But as Abram stood on that hill and suggested a risky idea, he spoke from faith. Lot might choose the better land. Lot might wander from Abram in heart as well as body. Lot might fall in with some suspicious people.

But Abram chose faith. Remembering God’s help as Abram had wandered, Abram had faith that God would help Lot. Remembering God’s protection as Abram encountered enemies, Abram had faith that God would protect Lot. Remembering God’s presence with Abram no matter how long the road, Abram had faith that God would be present with Lot.

The results of Abram’s faith are astonishing, although they should not be. God did help Lot… He even sent angels. God did protect Lot… He even brought Lot out of Sodom in the nick of time. God was present with Lot… even when Lot was unfaithful.

But the most astonishing result did not happen for many years. Abram’s faith that God would love Abram’s family ended up with a young Moabitess (the nation of Moab were descendants of Lot) named Ruth.

Who found faith, too.

And Ruth begat Obed… who begat Jesse… who begat David.

And David led to the Christ. The Savior.

When it comes to your family, take up faith instead of worry.

Surprises and Love

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. (Genesis 1:31)

Surprises and Love

A friend in elementary school received a watch as a gift.  I do not recall the brand, but it was much more than a Timex.  It had an elegant, simple face.  It did not require winding.  And best of all it enabled him to know what time it was!  At ANY time!

I wanted one.

But John did not care for that gift.  Unlike me, he previously owned a watch, and found it boring.  John liked G.I. Joe accessories, and found the watch boring.  John’s siblings all owned watches, watches were nothing special, so watches were boring.

I informed John that the watch was a good gift.  He disagreed.

The goodness of a gift is in the heart of the receiver, usually.

But God dispels all doubt when He creates creation.  God made all things. And He declares that creation was good.  He said it five times, and when He was all done, He pronounced that it was VERY good.

Gifts are given because of love. 

God’s gift of creation, while twisted and tainted by Adam’s and our sin, is still a very good gift. 

But we do not often see it that way.  Like my friend John, we do not apprehend the goodness of God’s gifts to us.  And we therefore do not notice His love.

We complain about the rain instead of being grateful for the process of plant-growth.  We complain about the heat instead of being grateful for the wonder of season-change.  We complain about the dullness of a drive through the prairie instead of being grateful for the fantastic variety of biosphere and environment.

And best of all, God created the gift of creation for the simple reason that He loves His people.

Even though He created creation thousands of years ago, it is a gift of love to us today.

Even though He created a creation that will endure (with major re-adjustments when time ends, and all is made new!) forever. (Ecclesiastes 1:13) It is a gift of love to us today.

When we are feeling unloved, or less loved, or not loved enough, look around.  A very good gift surrounds us.

Take the love God offers.