Be Still..................

"God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.
The holy dwelling places of the most High.
God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered;
He raised His voice, the earth melted.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold.

Come, behold the works of the LORD,
Who has wrought desolations in the earth.
He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariots with fire.

'Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.'

The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold."
(Psalm 46)

I love this Psalm. It paints such a powerful picture of God, explaining His works, and His sovereign activity in the earth. He has "wrought desolations", ended wars, and His voice melted the earth.

And this one statement that He makes, telling us to "cease striving" (or "be still" in other versions) is like a reassurance from Him. As though He is saying, "don't worry, I am God Almighty. Be assured of this, there is no other, there is none like Me. I do all these things and more, and every nation in the earth will come to acknowledge Me."

I have to say that the more I learn of Him, both in His word and in personal experience of Him, the more I am feeling like this little girl (my grand daughter) in the picture. She sleeps so sweetly, oblivious to all the activity around her. Not a worry or a care, she trusts me enough and knows me enough to settle on my lap and let sleep overtake her. She knows I am much bigger, older and stronger than she is. She depends on me for all kinds of things, and believes I will give her all the protection and care that she needs. This is not unlike my trust in God.

There is one difference, however. As she grows and matures, my grand daughter will come to realize that I have limitations. She will see me make mistakes, be afraid, and disappoint her. Not so with our Father. The longer we know Him, the more we will see His power and perfections. He is limitless in all His attritubtes, so far above our way of thinking and comprehension. We never have to worry that one day we will realize He has abandoned us, or lied to us, or forgotten a promise.

In my Bible (NASV), in the sidebar is written "let go, relax" as an alternate translation for "cease striving". Be still. Don't worry about anything, just know and trust that I am Who I say I am. I will do all that I have said I will do.

If we are His, we have the greatest refuge, the deepest comfort, the sweetest rest. Though all powerful and all sovereign, He cares for us with the attention of a loving father. I hope you will rest in Him today!

A Word of Caution

I have had some interesting interactions here and on another blog regarding the need for solid "doctrine" from the scriptures. My conviction is that we do need it. It seems that for a lot of folks who have left the church system, the importance of the Bible and correct doctrine has slipped down the scale a few notches. In their "release" from the constraints of organized religion, they have embraced a freer, less "dogmatic" understanding of who God is, and how He relates to us. There is a move toward letting subjective experience be the guiding rule in what we believe about Him. Put another way, it is a trend toward letting personal experience and interpretation of that experience define our theology.

One thing that always sets off alarm bells for me is reading or hearing people gush over a certain book, stating that it changed their life, or gave them a brand new revelation of God. Whoa.....what's wrong with the "old" revelation of God? The one that Jesus Christ gave us, through the Scriptures? Yes, I know that "church" has done a number on some folks, in that it has emphasized particular doctrines over others, and in some cases given false information about God. But we are only going from the frying pan into the fire when we turn our back on solid biblical truths and listen instead to the personal opinions and interpretation of men instead. God left us the Bible for a reason. It was written by men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. It was written by men who had direct contact with Jesus, and men that God chose to pen the revelation of Himself and His Son. The books that are being written now are not God breathed.

It disturbs me to see so many following after authors and teachers, seemingly preferring their "version" of God to what has already been revealed to us. I fear it has the potential to lead many into something that may lose all Scriptural validity.

Here are some examples of what can happen when men begin to veer away from essential truths of Scripture.

Jehovah's Witnesses

Charles Taze Russell (February 16, 1852 – October 31, 1916), or Pastor Russell, was a prominent early 20th century Christian Restorationist minister from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA and founder of what is now known as the Bible Student movement,[1] from which Jehovah's Witnesses and numerous independent Bible Student groups emerged.
Beginning in July, 1879 he began publishing a monthly religious journal Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence. The magazine is now published semi-monthly under the name, The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom. In 1881, he co-founded Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society and in 1884 the corporation was officially registered, with Russell as president. Russell was a prolific writer, producing many articles, books, pamphlets and sermons, totalling 50,000 printed pages, with almost 20 million copies of his books printed and distributed around the world.[2] From 1886 to 1904, he published a six-part series entitled The Millennial Dawn, which later became known as Studies in the Scriptures. (A seventh volume was published in 1917 after Russell's death.)
Russell was a charismatic figure, but claimed no special revelation or vision for his teachings and no special authority on his own behalf.[3] He claimed that he had not sought to found a new denomination, but that he instead intended merely to gather together and teach his Bible Students.[4] He wrote that the "clear unfolding of truth" within his teachings was due to "the simple fact that God's due time has come; and if I did not speak, and no other agent could be found, the very stones would cry out."[5] He viewed himself—and all other Christians anointed with the Holy Spirit—as "God's mouthpiece" and an ambassador of Christ.[5] Later in his career he accepted without protest that many Bible Students viewed him as the "faithful and wise servant" of Matthew 24:45,[6] and was described by the Watch Tower after his death as having been made "ruler of all the Lord's goods".[6]
After Russell's death, a leadership crisis arose surrounding the new president of the Society, Joseph Rutherford, resulting in a schism. As many as three-quarters of the Bible Students who had been associating in 1917 had left by 1931,[7] resulting in the formation of several groups that retained variations on the name Bible Students. Those who maintained fellowship with the Watch Tower Society adopted the name Jehovah's witnesses in July, 1931. Several denominations later formed around, or adopted some style of, Russell's views, among them the Worldwide Church of God, the Concordant Publishing Concern and the Assemblies of Yahweh. Off-shoot groups of the Bible Student movement include the Pastoral Bible Institute, the Free Bible Students and the Layman's Home Missionary Movement.

Some of his teachings:

Following his analytical examination of the Bible, Russell and other Bible Students came to believe that Christian creeds and traditions were harmful errors, believing they had restored Christianity to the purity held in the first century. Such views and conclusions were viewed as heresy by many Church leaders and scholars in his day. Russell agreed with other Protestants on the primacy of the Bible, and justification by faith alone, but thought that errors had been introduced in interpretation. Russell agreed with many 19th century Protestants, including Millerites, in the concept of a Great Apostasy that began in the first century AD. He also agreed with many other contemporary Protestants in belief in the imminent Second Coming of Christ, and Armageddon. Some of the areas in which his Scriptural interpretations differed from those of Catholics, and many Protestants, include the following:

The Chart of the Ages
Hell. He maintained that there was a heavenly resurrection of 144,000 righteous, as well as a "great multitude", but believed that the remainder of mankind slept in death, awaiting an earthly resurrection.
The Trinity. Russell believed in the divinity of Christ, but differed from orthodoxy by teaching Jesus had received that divinity as a gift from the Father, after dying on the cross. He also taught that the Holy Spirit is not a person, but the manifestation of God's power.
Christ's Second Coming. Russell believe that Christ had returned invisibly in 1874, and that he had been ruling from the heavens since that date. He predicted that a period known as the "Gentile Times" would end in 1914, and that Christ would take power of Earth's affairs at that time. He interpreted the outbreak of World War I as the beginning of Armageddon, which he viewed to be both a gradual deterioration of civilized society, and a climactic multi-national attack on a restored Israel accompanied by worldwide anarchy.
From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Taze_Russell#Theology_and_teachings

Mormonism

Joseph Smith, Jr. (December 23, 1805 – June 27, 1844) was the founder and prophet of the Latter Day Saint movement. In the late 1820s, Smith announced that an angel had given him a book of golden plates engraved with a religious chronicle of ancient American peoples in an unknown language. He also said he had received a pair of seer stones in which he could see the translation, which he published in 1830 as the Book of Mormon. On the basis of this book and other revelations, he founded a church in western New York, claiming it to be a restoration of primitive Christianity.
Moving the church in 1831 to Kirtland, Ohio, Smith attracted hundreds of converts, who came to be called Latter Day Saints. Some of these he sent to establish a holy city of "Zion" in Jackson County, Missouri. In 1833, Missouri settlers expelled the Saints from Zion, and a paramilitary expedition Smith led to recover the land was unsuccessful. Fleeing an arrest warrant in the aftermath of a Kirtland financial crisis, Smith joined the remaining Saints in Far West, Missouri. However, tensions escalated into a violent conflict in 1838 with the old Missouri settlers. Believing the Saints to be in insurrection, the governor ordered their expulsion from Missouri, and Smith was imprisoned on capital charges.
After escaping state custody in 1839, Smith led the Saints to build the city of Nauvoo, Illinois on Mississippi River swampland, where he became mayor and commanded a large militia. In early 1844, he announced his candidacy for President of the United States. That summer, after the Nauvoo Expositor criticized his power and new doctrines, such as plural marriage, Smith and the Nauvoo city council ordered the destruction of the newspaper as a nuisance. In a futile attempt to check public outrage, Smith first declared martial law, then surrendered to the governor of Illinois. He was killed by a mob while awaiting trial in Carthage, Illinois.
Smith's followers believe he was a great prophet who saw God and angels, and they regard his revelations as scripture. His teachings include unique views on the nature of godhood, cosmology, family structures, political organization, and religious collectivism. His legacy includes several religious denominations, which collectively claim a growing membership of nearly 14 million worldwide.[1]
Some of His Teachings:

Smith taught that all existence was material,[310] including a world of "spirit matter" so fine that it was invisible to all but the purest mortal eyes.[311] Matter, in Smith's view, could neither be created nor destroyed;[312] the creation involved only the reorganization of existing matter.[313] Like matter, "intelligence" was co-eternal with God, and human spirits had been drawn from a pre-existent pool of eternal intelligences.[314] Nevertheless, spirits were incapable of experiencing a "fulness of joy" unless joined with corporeal bodies.[315] Embodiment, therefore, was the purpose of earth life.[231] The work and glory of God, the supreme intelligence,[316] was to create worlds across the cosmos where inferior intelligences could be embodied.[317]
Though Smith at first taught that God the Father was a spirit,[318] he eventually viewed God as an advanced and glorified man,[319] embodied within time and space[320] with a throne situated near a star or planet named Kolob, and measuring time at the rate of a thousand years per Kolob day.[321] Both God the Father and Jesus were distinct beings with physical bodies, but the Holy Spirit was a "personage of Spirit."[322] Through the gradual acquisition of knowledge,[323] those who were sealed to their exaltation could eventually become coequal with God.[324] The ability of humans to progress to godhood implied a vast hierarchy of gods.[325] Each of these gods, in turn, would rule a kingdom of inferior intelligences, and so forth in an eternal hierarchy.[326]
The opportunity to achieve godhood extended to all humanity; those who died with no opportunity to accept Latter Day Saint theology could achieve godhood by accepting its benefit in the afterlife through baptism for the dead.[327] Children who died in their innocence were guaranteed to rise at the resurrection and rule as gods without maturing to adulthood.[328] Apart from those who committed the eternal sin, Smith taught that even the wicked and disbelieving would achieve a degree of glory in the afterlife,[329] where they would serve those who had achieved godhood.[330]

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Smith,_Jr.#Distinctive_views_and_teachings

What is frightening is that each of these cults started out with one man and his own personal "revelation" of truth. Today their members number in the millions. We might sit back and wonder how so many could be duped. I can give the answer: they believed a lie from a man rather than truth from God. They preferred a different god than the one found in Scripture. How many today are following that same path?

Do We Need Sound Doctrine?

My previous post has generated quite a discussion in the comments section. It seems too big, and too important, an issue to leave there. So I am posting this one. My conviction is that we DO need sound doctrine, and will find it in the written word of God, as revealed by the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, we might end up following people like the one above, or like this one

or any one of a plethora of false prophets/teachers that abound today. Not to mention the multitude of scriptures that tell us how necessary the written word is. Yes, Jesus Christ is the Word in the flesh, but He speaks to us through the Bible. If I don't know what He is saying there, I will believe anything my itchy ears want to hear. The proof of that is out there; it is happening just as He said it would:

"But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgement from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep." (2Peter 2:1-2)

Contrary to post-modern belief, there IS such a thing as truth. And yes, it is black and white. Jesus prayed a beautiful prayer on our behalf in John 17. This is part of it:

"But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth." vs. 13-17

Halting Between Two Opinions

How long will you halt between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him. (1 Kings 18:21)

Ahab was King of Israel, and the Kingdom was in a most deplorable condition, perhaps a condition darker than any other in history. Ahab was the incarnation of evil, and his influence combined with that of Jezebel, had been blighting and spoiling everything of potential greatness for God’s people.

There were clouds of darkness all over the land. Images of Baal and Ashtaroth were everywhere. Temples of idolatry had been erected and the altars of God torn down. Just when evil seemed to be at its height a most remarkable man appeared on the pages of history. He was one of the most outspoken and fiery of all the prophets; Elijah the Tishbite. That is how he is introduced in the previous chapter, “Elijah the Tishbite.” That’s all we know of him.

So, this man from somewhere, no one knows where, somehow, for what reason we do not know, broke in upon the scene with a message that was fiery and forceful, a message from God, a message of judgment, a message for which he made no apology, and offered no conditions, and suggested no compromise.

The message was briefly this; As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before Whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years but according to my word. And having delivered that message, Elijah vanished.

But the Word of the Lord, which is ever powerful, which never returns to God void, but is brought into actual fulfillment, that there should be no rain and no dew for three years, came to pass. And the people, who in their material prosperity had not only forgotten their God but had actually rebelled against Him, were now brought back face to face with God through this process of judgment which had been foretold by the prophet.

Our story is that of the hour in which Elijah faced Ahab. It is a wonderful story, dramatic and startling. Ahab at last stood face to face with the man whose predictions having been fulfilled, had brought such havoc on the nation.

Ahab asked him, Is it you, you troubler of Israel? And with quiet, calm dignity, he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but you, and your father’s house, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and you have followed Baal.

We view this event in history through the lens of time and distance and feel pleased that we are not caught up in idolatry of any kind. We do not, in our generation, in our culture, worship idols of golden calves or pagan gods. We leave that to other times and other lands. But are we free from idolatry? Isn’t an idol something, anything, that takes the place of the One True God in our affections? Isn’t it anything that is more important to us than God Himself? Therefore is it not possible for self to become an idol, when, in this generation, we spend our days in search of finding and fulfilling only ourselves?

I wonder if individual freedom and human rights have become the idol of this generation when we set aside the pursuit of God and replace it with the pursuit of self. We want to be free to follow our passions and desires that flow from self wherever it may lead. And so we question the necessity to have values that are founded in anything else than ourselves, and so the people of our time, live as though the essence of morality and behavior is to be free from any values that do not fulfill their own desires.

Even in evangelical churches, at times, there seems to be a bias against the intellect and against theology, and a subservience to personal fulfillment. The reason that the people of Elijah’s day fell into idolatry was that they didn’t or wouldn’t differentiate between revealed truth and pagan belief and made decisions based on desire rather than truth as revealed from God. Our biblical faith is about truth. God has revealed Himself through the Scriptures and has spoken concerning our responsibilities to Him, and to disregard that is presumption and disrespect of the highest order.

Without this teaching in the church, there can be no church, because the teaching of the Scriptures defines the church. When we empty ourselves of an interest in the Scriptures we have emptied ourselves of any serious consideration of who we are. We have lost the vision of God as holy and are being consumed by a world that hates Him. When we have emptied ourselves of serious theology and serious worship then we have allowed popular sentiment to define truth. In our culture there are all kinds of groups and organizations involved in raising money for this and that cause, and good works are seldom offensive to anyone. It is belief in the truth that is troublesome.

Lord help us to be faithful to Your word and define truth according to Yourself. Even though our lives may be an enigma to others help us to be faithful and learn that self denial is the prerequisite for discipleship. We cannot serve ourselves and You as well. May we learn to deny ourselves daily, take up our cross and follow You.

May 2010
Arthur Franklin

This article was written by a member of my writing group ( see our blog here: http://www.writerscrucible.blogspot.com/ ) and he was gracious enough to give permission for me to post it here.

The Promise

The farmer straightened up from his stooped position, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. He squinted up into the sky to check the sun’s position. It was almost time for the midday meal. He hoped that his wife would bring it to the field; lately she was doing this less and less, and time was taken up by his walking back to the tent to eat.

Laying his hoe aside, he took a drink from the skin water bag that he had set nearby in the dirt. For so much work, the return seemed meagre. Again, for perhaps the thousandth time, he thought back to the days “before,” when everything had been so incredibly different. In those days, work had seemed a pleasure, and the fruit of his labour had been immediate and plentiful. Now, he scraped and dug the earth in an almost desperate manner; if the rain did not soon come, the harvest would be scant at best. Nothing was a sure thing anymore, least of all the weather.

He fought the old urge to blame his wife. If only she had done the right thing, and obeyed their instructions. He knew it was no less his own fault, as he had succumbed to the same temptation, only with a clearer understanding of what it meant. He knew that his was the greater responsibility. But he was finding it hard to bear her presence. She was changing from the gentle helper that she had been into a bitter and complaining woman. They both knew the reason for their present plight, and it remained a huge stumbling block between them. They often resorted to blaming one another with cruel accusations that left wounds for days. He seemed to have no control over the things he thought, and so often he would blurt them out, horrified that he could even think such things, let alone hurl them at her like stones.

Everything was different now. Before there had been peace, and a feeling of security, of being “right” that had completely evaporated. Their days were now spent trying to survive in this harsh wilderness. In the garden, there had been much contentment, and a sense of purpose. That had disappeared, and time was now spent in getting by and dealing with the many difficulties that arose each day, from the bad weather, to physical ailments, to the fights and squabbles that broke out almost daily amongst their family.

Most of all, he missed the relationship that they had enjoyed with the Master. There had been nothing between them but the sweetest companionship and trust. That was gone, totally obliterated now. And he knew that there wasn’t anything that he could do to restore it.

In his mind’s eye, he looked down the long years ahead, seeing what might have been, and what the reality was now. Everything had been spoiled, tainted, ruined. Even the air was less fresh, the sky less blue, and the trees not as lush and green. Before the sun had gently warmed; now it burned with a fierce, oppressive heat. The rain that had softly fallen to refresh and renew would now sometimes pelt down with a force that threatened to wash away any frugal start that his planting may have made.

The farmer forced himself to leave this train of thought. It only ended in a sense of utter futility that sometimes immobilized him, and he had to keep going for the sake of those who depended on his efforts.

“Ah, there she is,” he said to himself as he saw his wife approaching, a basket over her arm. He put a welcoming smile on his face as he took the basket from her.

“How is your day going?” he asked, peering into the basket. “It is hot, isn’t it?”
“Yes, too hot,” she grumbled. “I have spent the morning down by the stream, bathing the younger children and letting them frolic about. They don’t seem to mind the heat.”

“Will you join me for the meal, or do you have to go back now?” he asked.

“I guess I could stay,” she answered, almost reluctantly.

They sat down on a patch of grass nearby, under the small shade of a sycamore tree. He looked at his wife, noticing the new lines forming around her mouth and eyes, and the look of weariness that was now her constant demeanour. He felt shame and remorse for the cruel words he had spoken during their quarrel the night before. Now seeing her with pity, he wanted desperately to somehow cheer her.

“You seem so sad,” he commented in a soft voice. “Have you been to the burial place?”

Looking downward at her lap, she answered with a choke in her voice. “Yes, I was there just now. I know I shouldn’t go so often. It is so difficult, yet at the same time I find a small scrap of comfort there.”

He broke off a piece of the loaf and handed it to her. “I wish I could make it better, take away your pain.” He would have gladly borne it for her. “I am sorry,” he said. “I have wished so many times that things could be different.” He stopped speaking, and stared blankly into his bowl of stew. There seemed nothing more to say. They both ate in silence for several minutes. For the moment, at least, they refrained from the old dialogue of bitter blame that had become their usual discourse.

They had lost two children. One as an infant, from a fever, and the other as a young man. He had been murdered by his elder brother.

There had long existed a rivalry between the two boys, mostly on the part of the elder. He had a jealousy of his brother that had become apparent even as he was a toddler and the younger not yet crawling. The rivalry had increased as the years went by, and climaxed one day, when bitter envy and rage erupted into violence that left the younger man dead in a nearby field. The farmer himself had come upon the body. Confused, he had turned his son over, trying to rouse him, thinking at first he was only asleep. Then he saw the blood, and the great sunken wound on his head. The pain from that memory was as intense today as had been first realizing that his son was dead.

As well as losing their son to a violent death, they had lost the elder as well. He had run off, and they had not seen him again. Eight years had passed since then, and it seemed that their grief grew no less.

“I will be going back now,” said the woman, gathering up the remains of their lunch. “Don’t stay late today. The sun is too hot.” She touched his arm, and taking his hand, gently placed it on her abdomen.

He looked questioningly at her, and then realized what she was telling him. “Another?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said with a shy smile. “I have known for some time. I know it is soon after the last one, but I am glad. They bring me such pleasure; they are like an ointment to my broken heart.”

“Then I am glad as well,” he said, taking her in his arms. She returned his embrace, and trembling, began to weep.

“I’m sorry,” she said, looking up into his face. “I really am happy. I know the children are gifts from God. He continues to bless us, even after our disobedience. He is so kind to us.”

“I know what you mean,” replied her husband. “I am thankful, truly thankful. I only wish I could change everything back to the way it was before. I know that is what you want as well. I am so sorry that I cannot make it happen for you. Please forgive me for my cruel words. I forgive you; I do not blame you for what happened. I take the blame for myself. Please, let us not quarrel any longer. It is done, but we go on. God has not abandoned us. Remember His promise......’the Seed of the Woman’. I will walk you back. Here, I will take the basket.”

As he was speaking, his wife had slowly relaxed into his arms. Now she wasn’t holding back her tears. They came in torrents. “I do forgive you, and I have been waiting for so long for you to say that you forgive me,” she managed to say between sobs. “Every day has been full of pain and regret. But if you forgive me, and God can forgive me, then I can once more know some hope and joy.”

As her tears abated, she handed the basket to him, and they walked slowly back toward their tent, arm in arm. Peace, long absent between them, settled in their hearts, as each said a silent prayer of thanksgiving.

“Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him." Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.
The man said, "This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man."
For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:18-24 NASB)

Maureen Breakspear
2007

What Are You Waiting For?

Do you find that you spend a lot of time waiting? Perhaps not consciously, as waiting for a kettle to boil, but unconsciously we are all waiting for one thing or another. For the weekend, for retirement, for graduation, for the birth of a child….the list is endless. We wait in lines to be checked out at the supermarket. We sit in doctors’ and dentists’ offices, waiting for appointments. We wait for the all-important phone call or cheque in the mail. We wait in hope, in fear, in excitement, in expectation of good or bad results.

I recently spent a whole year at home, waiting to be well. I waited for appointments, test results, answers, and new treatments. In hindsight, it feels as if I lost that year. But the reality is that life carried on, even though I was unable to live it the way I would have liked to. And if I did “lose” any time, it was because I lost it by focusing on that thing that was in the future, and not on the things that were taking place in the present.

I am back to work now, and grateful to be there. Yet I find myself falling into the old habit of counting the days till the weekend. I suppose we all do it. We might love our jobs, yet our lives outside of work are more important. That is only natural. But in the meantime, during those five days at work, there is much life to be lived. I don’t want to simply “put in time” at work; I have realized that during that 5 day period, I spend as many waking hours at work as I do at home. That is a big part of my week, and of my life. I want it to count too, not just be something that I endure until my “real” life can resume.

It’s easy to do that, to get caught up in what is yet to be, and to let it overshadow everything else. To allow that one hoped for yet unrealized thing rob you of living in the moment, stealing joy, opportunities, or sleep.

It’s good to have goals, and to save for retirement, plan families, education and careers. But in the meantime, there is so much life to live. Are you waiting for that one thing? Are you hoping that when you retire, graduate or meet that “special someone” that life will be so much more worth living? Don’t wait till then. Live all the life you can right now. Every moment is a gift from God. You see, life is what happens, while we wait.

“I will praise the LORD while I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.” (Psalm 146:2)

Spiritual Footprints

“What kind of carbon footprint are you leaving?” If you haven’t been challenged with this statement, you don’t own a television or read a newspaper. It is today’s buzz phrase around the state of the environment. I don’t know if it is listed in Webster’s dictionary yet, but my interpretation would be that it refers to the result an individual’s personal use of our planet’s limited natural resources.

Though I am skeptical about the reality of “global warming” as it is presented in the media and elsewhere, the attention it is getting has caused me to consider my own use of those resources that God has provided to make life, in terms of energy, air, water and food, possible. In principle, I believe that waste of any kind is wrong. And if my wasting robs another of what they need to survive, then I ought to reconsider how I am doing things. In short, I ought to use only my fair share.

In all the hype and talk and warning of global disaster, however, there is missing a critical element; the inclusion of a sovereign, creator God into the equation. Environmentalists, so far as I have observed, leave Him out of the picture entirely. Their viewpoint focuses only on how we as humans can save our planet for generations to come. There is no consideration given to what scripture has to say regarding the God of Creation, a sovereign God Who already has put His own plans in motion regarding the fate of our world. There is no eternal perspective, of more life to be had than what we live out now on earth.

In scripture, we read of the eventual fate of this planet we live on. “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. (2Peter 3:10)”. And then, “But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells (vs. 13)”.

Now, I don’t mean to imply that it is pointless to wisely use our resources. Though I don’t believe that Christians are meant to be “tree huggers”, we do have a responsibility as stewards of God’s gifts to us. I recently watched a program where it was stated that if the rest of the world were to live as we live here in North America, we would need five more planet earths’ worth of resources. Staggering, isn’t it? We have so much. That alone tells me that I need to remind myself of what great blessings we have in this country, and to be mindful of how I use them. How we respond to the reality of our wealth and others’ lack is between each of us and our God.

But what about eternity? If I believe what the Bible says, my “carbon footprint” will eventually be redundant. This ‘ole planet will be destroyed and replaced with a brand spanking new one that has been restored to the state of perfection that God originally created it in. All of the things that consume us, and scare us, regarding climate change and disease and economic disaster will be forgotten. All those efforts to control and cure and correct, however well intentioned and successful, will not matter one bit. The slate will be wiped clean, and our sovereign, creator God will once again have the world He made in the beginning, to the praise of His glorious grace.

Before I became a Christian, I had a longing to do something that had an impact. Something that made a difference. Not just for here and now, but forever. I believe that this is because we are created as eternal beings. Whether we know God or not, He has placed in us a consciousness of something beyond the here and now, something that transcends what we see and hear and feel of this present life. It is a call to eternity. When I was born again, a door was opened to my understanding. I knew that I had an eternal purpose. I am only here for a short time. But as God’s child, as His instrument, and servant here on earth, I can have an impact that lasts forever. I can make spiritual footprints, as I walk through my life. I can influence others for eternity, as I share the life of Christ that is within me. I can give them hope, in the face of all the doom and gloom forecasting that we are subjected to every day. I can direct them to the One Who has made us all, and Who is the sovereign controller of every outcome. I can focus on things above, and be a witness to things eternal, the eternal life that we can have in Jesus Christ. I can make that difference that will last forever.

What about you? Have you let the nightly news and daily newspaper keep your thoughts and concerns chained to world events, the price of gas, and the latest prediction of global disaster? Or do you get up each day, asking God to show you what He would have you do? What can we do for Him, in spite of so much focus on man’s destiny as seen through the eyes of those who know not nor acknowledge the existence of the One you know to be above and beyond all of their forecasts and inflated sense of ability to heal our world? What attitude will you put on, what spiritual footprint will you leave for all eternity?

“Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, (2Peter 3:11).”

God grant us the faith and courage to live in light of His Kingdom, which is now and forever will be.

© 2010 Maureen Breakspear
Originally published in “Testimony” Magazine