Monday, May 28, 2012

Through the Night with the Light from a Bulb

"The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men; from His dwelling place He looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who understands all their works" (Psalm 33:13-15)

I cannot say with certainty, beloved, but I am pretty sure that it was my youngest sister who as a child once rewrote the words to "God Bless America," declaring that God guides this great nation "through the night with the light from a bulb."  Makes sense, doesn't it, at least to a child?

The unchangeable truth is, though, that God does indeed guide this land which is our home and for which we feel such gratitude and patriotic pride.  We do know, however, that He does not lead us with the light from a "bulb" but with a light from "above."  And that divine light of His sovereignty and His love has been guiding us throughout our history.  That single truth is what will see us through these difficult times in which we presently find ourselves as Americans.

What ever happened to the "pursuit of happiness"?  When did it become a line that you can stand in to receive what is owed to you by the right of citizenship?  What has happened to our entrepreneurial spirit and to the pride of personal accomplishment?  It seems to me that if the "pursuit" is removed, all that is left is the handout!  Is that really what the founding fathers intended for us as a people?

In the midst of all this chaos, we look about in search of one constant, just one, to which we may anchor our souls and the lives of our families.  We want one rock upon which we can plant our feet and stand for what is right and just and true.  And that one constant, beloved, is the fact that God is never-changing and that God is ever-ruling.  Come what may, God reigns over the affairs of men.  Whether we can see His hand at work or not it is at work nonetheless.  As the song says, when we cannot "trace His hand" we can "trust His heart"!

Let me encourage you, then, to set your feet solidly upon the Rock that is Jesus Christ and your faith in Him.  Let me urge you to stand with all your might for truth, God's truth, and nothing else.  Let me further encourage you to love what is still right about this country and to stand against what is wrong.  As the psalmist made so very clear, God "sees all the sons of men."  He sees and He knows and He ever moves to accomplish His purpose in our lives.

God bless America, land that I love!
Stand beside her and guide her
Through the night with a light from above;
From the mountains to the prairies to the oceans white with foam-
God bless America, my home sweet home!

Ron  

Sunday, May 13, 2012

What Does God Think?

"For the wicked boasts of his heart's desire, and the greedy man curses and spurns the Lord.  The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seek Him.  All his thoughts are, 'There is no God'" (Psalm 10:3-4)

We are being bombarded today, beloved, with words that sound to so many to be right and just and good.  Words like "EQUALITY" and "FAIR" are being waved in the faces of followers of Christ even as we are being touted as "narrow-minded" and "bigoted" and even "hate-mongers."  And it is all because we have taken a stand for the real "right" - not what man says is right but what God says is right.

And in the midst of this hullabaloo I personally have yet to hear a single individual shouting such political buzzwords ask one key question: "What does God think?"  The simple reason tragically is that no one cares.  Ignoring what God thinks has become a way of life in our society, beloved, and is certainly nothing that began with us.  Note here what King David of Israel said about the God-haters of his day.  He first boasted of his heart's desire.  Does that sound vaguely familiar to any one today?  It should!  Stop long enough to really pay attention to what is being said and you will quickly discover that man today thinks that this life is all about him.  What I want, what I believe, what I can rationalize is all that matters.  I am free, so they say, to do anything that makes me happy.  That, they say, is my "God-given right."

But David said also about sinful man in his day that in a haughty manner he refused to seek what God thinks.  David went on to say in later verses in this same chapter that, even for those who acknowledged the existence of God, his thought was that God has forgotten; He has hidden His face; He will never see it (v. 11).  Very simply, beloved, no one is asking today what God thinks.

If ever there was a time in human history, especially here in our own society, for Christians to stand up for what God both thinks and declares in His Word, then that time is now!  You see, we serve God by serving those among whom He has placed us.  That is, after all, the reason for His putting us where we are!  When we ignore what is going on around us morally, when we go into our churches and shut ourselves in and the world out, we are not serving man.  And by not serving man among whom God has placed us and for whom Christ died, we are no longer serving God.  We are here to proclaim clearly what God thinks, beloved, and what God says.  We are here to proclaim the good news of God's grace and forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

So what does God think according to you?  And even more important a question than that is: "What do others know about what God thinks because you as His messenger are not silent?"

Ron