Landing Gear

You know I have recently been reading Keller’s book “King’s Cross”. It is a wonderful journey through the book of Mark and provides some great insights. Last week I was finishing the book up as I was traveling; flying to Atlanta to visit family.

I was reading about spiritual darkness and how in a world gone awry we lose sight of eternal things; we are spiritually blind. We are blind to eternal things, to eternal hope, to the eternal and infinite love of God.

In this broken world there are broken things, there are evils and trials; there is suffering that is unexplainable. Keller points out that Christianity is the only faith that says that God himself actually suffered, but that when we really stop we can come to understand that this was the greatest act of love, power and justice. We can come to understand that God actually entered this world, suffered, crucified on a cross just to rescue us. Oh, what an infinite love!

Keller points out that as we go through trials and suffering that; “you may be completely in the dark about the reasons for your own suffering…But the cross tells you what the reason isn’t. It can’t be that God doesn’t love you; it can’t be that He has no plan for you. It can’t be that He has abandoned you…The cross proves that he loves you and understands what it means to suffer. It also demonstrates that God can be working in your life even when it seems like there is no rhyme or reasons to what is happening.”

However, as God becomes the light of our life there is a peace, a comfort, hope! Philippians 4:17 tells us; “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Keller shares that he once had thyroid cancer and while it was treatable part of the treatment was surgery. As you might imagine there was still some concern and as he was undergoing anesthesia he couldn’t help but wonder what would happen. But it came to him that because of Jesus’s death evil and suffering are but a temporary, passing thing; that there is hope and love forever and eternal. Keller resolved it didn’t matter what happened in surgery – “it was going to be all right”.

In all seriousness, as I finished up that section of the book, the captain came over the PA and said; “ladies and gentlemen, it seems we may have a problem with our landing gear.” It seems there was a warning signal that our landing gear was not properly locking into place. It was going to required some in flight testing. Actually, there was no real panic in the aircraft, but certainly some concern. But as I think about it I can remember a tremendous peace coming over me. I looked at my wife and simply said; “it is going to be all right.”

And you know what; it was!

Father, thanks so much that when you are the light of our life there is such peace, such love and such comfort in our lives. That by your light we can get beyond the spiritual darkness of this world. That through Christ we can see that death and suffering are but temporary things and that no matter what, no matter the trial, no matter the suffering – it will be all right! Amen…

Grace and Peace!

Without Excuse

Romans 1:20

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

You know man is truly without excuse. Just this weekend, I had the privilege of being in creation. My senses were heightened for some reason; I was hearing and noticing things that would typically go un-noticed. I saw a sky of deepest blue, with some majestic clouds glowing from a huge late afternoon sun. I could hear the splashes of mullet jumping for joy, birds singing and a warm gentle afternoon breeze.

I started looking around and saw blue heron hunting for an afternoon snack. I heard the call of an Osprey high above lighted in a tree with a fish in its talons. I saw a flock of roseate spoonbills and their brilliant pink coloring flying in formation; pelicans roosting on top of poles, seagulls screeching and flying all about.

As the day continued to move toward night brilliant colors were all around; pinks, blues, orange. Shadows from trees grew and the few clouds seemed to explode in brilliance. The sun highlighted several palms gently swaying in the breeze. Oh my!

How great is our God.

Father, how could anyone doubt your existence? Man truly is without excuse. And there is nothing more beautiful than your plan for our redemption through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Father, thank you for your grace and by the power of the Holy Spirit may our senses be heightened, may we never fail to see the beauty of your creation, and may that beauty leads us to recognize the glory of our great God.

Here I am to worship; Here I am to bow down; Here I am to say that you’re my God. You’re altogether lovely, Altogether worthy, Altogether wonderful to me.


Grace and Peace!

Current of My Desires

2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us; Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

As I think of this verse it gives me great comfort, it excites me, but it also gives me pause. If the new is here in me, why do I still fall short? Why do I amaze myself by my broken ways? I know there is hope, thankfully I know there is grace, but how do we know if the new is truly here?

I have a very good friend and we have deep discussions. Early on in our conversations he inquired; “how do you know you are Christian?” I think that is a remarkable question, one that requires thought and prayer. Yet, I also believe it is a simple and straightforward question.

I really have come to believe that if anyone is in Christ the new is here and as such there is evidence. The evidence may be small traces, but nonetheless there. I recently came across a discussion of this in Tullian Tchividan’s book; “Do I know God”. Tullian states that one of the ways we know God is that how we live begins to look different; radically different in some ways. He points to the missionary Henry Martyn. A man born in 1781, who studied at Cambridge, and was a brilliant mathematician and a man skilled in languages, a man that intended to become a lawyer. A man who saw his life transformed and instead went to India as a chaplain in 1806. During his ministry, he translated the New Testament into Hindi and Persian.

Henry Martyn did amazing things and while that in and of itself is amazing, that is not the point. Martyn explains the new creation and new life of believers so well! He wrote to a friend;

“As I have this day been constrained to adore the mercy of God who hath saved me from recent snares, so will I now praise him for having turned me from a life of woe to the enjoyment of peace and hope. The work is real. I can no more doubt it than I can my own existence. The whole current of my desires is altered, I am walking in quite another way, though I am incessantly stumbling in that way…”

Martyn shows us that as we become a new creation in Christ our desires change and even though they change we stumble, we have set backs, but we also turn back to Christ! I love the imagery of the current of the river of our lives and as we plod along in the current, the bottom can be slippery, we can slip and fall, but by God’s grace,the atoning sacrifice of Christ, and by the power of the Holy Spirit we get back up.

Lord, we thank you that by your grace the current of our desires change; forgive us as we stumble and we praise you that through Christ the old has gone and the new is here! Amen.

Grace and Peace!