• “O Saviour, as my eyes behold the wonders of thy might untold,
  The heavens in glorious light arrayed, the vast creation thou hast made,
  And yet to think thou lovest me – my heart cries out, how can it be?”
• “As at the cross I humbly bow and gaze upon thy thorn crowned brow,
  And view the precious bleeding form by cruel nails so bruised and torn,
  To know thy suffering was for me, in grief I cry, how can it be?”
• “How can it be?  How can it be?  Was ever grace so full and free!
  From heights of bliss to depths of woe, in loving kindness thou didst go,
  From sin and shame to rescue me, O Love Divine, how can it be?”
• Chorus: “How can it be?  How can it be?  That God should love a soul like me?  O how can it be?”

                                                                   Avis B. Christiansen 1895 – 1985

It is not hard for me to believe the Bible.   After all it claims to be God’s word.  Either it is or it isn’t.  I believe it is.  If you haven’t investigated for yourself, you’re making a foolish mistake.

By investigating for yourself, I do not mean that you collect other men’s opinions about it or you believe that whatever religious organization you belong to has the right idea about the Bible.

Investigating for yourself means you have personally read the Bible, seeking honest answers, and asking God to show you the truth.  

You owe it to yourself and to your children because, if it is true, your soul and the  souls of your children are at stake.  “What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world, but lose his own soul?”

A well known preacher, years ago, put it this way; “If you’re a gambling man, you would figure that there is a fifty per cent chance that I’m wrong about believing the Scripture.  If you choose not to believe and you’re wrong, you lose your soul, for eternity.  If I choose to believe and I’m wrong, I lose nothing.  I’ve lived a good life with few regrets.”  Who do the odds favor in this situation?  Are you willing to gamble with your soul?

The stakes are high; eternal life or eternal death.  The apostle Paul said, “To be absent from the body (for the believer), is to be present with the Lord.”  Eternal life starts when one trusts Jesus Christ and His merit alone as one’s only hope of salvation.  Eternal death is referred to in Scripture as eternal damnation or everlasting punishment.  

Something that is eternal does not start and stop, it never ends.  If one leaves this life without security in Christ alone, there is no hope according to the Scriptures.

Do you really believe this?  Have you warned anyone?  Have you warned your family, your friends, your neighbors, the people you rub shoulders with every day?  Do you live in such a way, that your life gives credibility to the message?  When a person truly believes something, it will show up in his or her life.

In Luke chapter 16 there is an account that Christ gave about the rich man and Lazarus.  Just before He gave this account, Christ addressed the Pharisees as follows: “For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”  

In accord with their keeping up of appearances, the Pharisees most likely regarded the rich man as blessed of God.  The plight of Lazarus as the down and out beggar surely disgusted them.  He was a sinner and God was his judge.

The rich man fared well, dressed well and ate well.  Lazarus laid at his gate desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table.  Moreover, it says, the dogs came and licked his sores.

 Lazarus died and went to heaven (Abraham’s bosom) while the rich man also died and was buried.  “And being in torments in Hades (hell), he lifted up his eyes……..then he cried and said…..send Lazarus that he may dip his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.” 

Abraham replied; “…..between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.”   

The rich man then asked Abraham to send Lazarus to his father’s house, because he has five brothers; “…that he, Lazarus, may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.”

Abraham replied; “they have Moses and the prophets (Scripture); let them hear them.” 

The rich man countered; ”…but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” 

To which Abraham gave this final answer; “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets (Scripture), neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.”

So what are you waiting for; a sign, some miracle, a voice from heaven?………..Why not just read the Bible?

“For the word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  Hebrews 4:12

When it was discovered that our daughter had a mass in her chest that needed to be removed, I wanted to do for her what I think most parents would want to do for their child; I wanted to take her place.  I asked God for this.

Perhaps you may be thinking that this would be impossible.  I guess that would depend on who you worship.  I worship the living God; He who spoke the universe into existence and who holds it together by the word of His power.  

With man, such a request would be impossible but with God nothing is impossible.  All He had to do was to will it so, or to speak the word and it would be so.

I remember the day before our daughter’s surgery, consciously breathing in measured breaths to see if her symptoms were now mine.  On the day of her surgery there came a point where I realized that God was saying “no” to my request.  

This would be our daughter’s burden to bear. This would be her suffering to endure.  This is what God was going to use to continue the work in her life that He had begun when she became a Christian.

There has only been one other time in my life, that I can remember, when I prayed this way for someone.  The other individual, however, was not a believer.  He was terminally ill.  

I was willing to take his place if it would have allowed him more time to make things right with God.  I am saved.  I know that I have eternal life. The only thing better than death for a believer is the Rapture.

The apostle Paul said, For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: who are Israelites; Romans 9:3&4.  

While I have a burden for the lost or unbelievers, I have not been able to say, as Paul did, that I could wish myself accursed on their behalf.  I have a long way to go in my spiritual growth.

I do, however, know the One who actually did that for us.  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. I Corinthians 5:21.  

Jesus Christ took upon Himself the curse of our sin, paying our sin penalty and redeeming us, who believe, from the curse of the law. He took my place.  Will you accept that He took your place too? Will you accept God’s provision for your sin?

He was buried and rose again from the dead triumphant, offering salvation, forgiveness, and eternal life to all who would believe on Him and His merit alone for salvation.

The Lord’s love for us makes it possible for believers to intercede on the behalf of unbelievers and in so doing, become more like Him.

For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8.

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; “

“Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;”

“Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.”

“For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:”

“For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”

“If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.” I Timothy 4:1-6

When our daughter was diagnosed with a mass in her chest in May (see blog dated 7-14-15), the initial prognosis was not encouraging. She and our son-in-law are the parents of two small children.  

We were crushed by the news……what if they can’t…?  What exactly is this mass…..what if it’s….?  This condition is extremely rare….what if it is not…?  How much damage has been done….what if she is….?  Will they be able to remove the mass…..what if they….?  Will she be able to resume a normal life……what if she….?

As you can see, the “what ifs” were killing us but these “what ifs” were really just speculation founded upon fear .  We had to overcome the “what ifs” and our fears in order to get through this.  

We overcame the “what ifs” by permitting ourselves only to be concerned with definite/concrete information.  Definite/concrete information is information that we know to be true at this very moment, not information that we fear maybe true.  

For instance, we did not know whether or not the mass was cancerous.  The biopsy was inconclusive.  Rather than fearing the worst, we could not allow ourselves to worry about “what if it is cancer?”  Until it was an established fact, we would be “anxious for nothing”.

There were unspoken fears about whether or not she would survive the operation and about what quality of life she would have if she did survive.  There were unspoken fears about the grandchildren not having a mother and about how our son-in-law would survive and raise two babies if she did not survive.  

Each of these fears was based upon uncertainty.  These speculations or fears were situations that did not exist at that very moment.  They were not real at that given time.

We could not allow ourselves to speculate.  We simply had to acknowledge that this was not a surprise to God, that He was in control, and that He would take us through it one day at a time………..and He is doing exactly that. 

Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true,…think on these things.  Philippians 4:6-8

One of our kids always wanted to debate with me about the location of heaven.  His contention was that if I pointed up towards heaven and someone on the opposite side of the earth was pointing up to heaven, we would be pointing in opposite directions.  I’ll leave you to figure it out from there.

The location of hell may not be so complicated.  If it is beneath our feet in the center of the earth, then individuals on opposite sides of the earth would point in the same direction.  

There are many references in Scripture which speak of going down into the pit or into hell.  Some of them are merely references to the grave and some are references to a literal hell into which one would descend.  

Hell is described as a place of fire and darkness.  There are also references to a lake of fire.  Hell is described as a place from which there is no escape.  Each of these descriptions is compatible with a center of the earth location.

There is a passage in Scripture that says, “Hell hath enlarged itself.”  I often think of this verse when I hear of volcanic eruptions and I wonder if hell is indeed enlarging itself under our feet.

Another consideration for hell’s location could simply be a black hole.  This frightening cosmic phenomena reminds one of an oceanic whirlpool which sucks everything within reach down to destruction.  The black hole pulls in everything including light. There would certainly be no escape from such a thing as that.

Hell is more frightening than a black hole because it is eternal (unending) and it is able to confine that which is of a spirit nature.  Satan and his demons are spirit creatures.  Man is a spirit creature who will live somewhere forever when his physical body expires.  The hell of Scripture has the ability and capacity to contain, confine, and restrain spirit beings.  

We could engage in endless debate and speculation about hell’s location, but we can only rely on what the Scripture reveals to us. A piece of literature from the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago contains a simple but profound description of where hell is.  It says simply this: “Where is hell?  Hell is at the end of a Christ rejecting life.”

Most parents do not want their children to experience suffering.  I have always prayed for our children’s protection and safekeeping. I have prayed for them to have wisdom and to make good decisions.  I have prayed that God would deliver them from temptation and evil.  I have prayed over the years for their testimony of salvation to be genuine and for them to grow spiritually, but I have never prayed for them to suffer.

My wife and I dedicated each one of our four children to the Lord before they were born, but somewhere along the line I took them back.  It is interesting that we can trust God for so many things, but not our children.  We are very specific with God about what can happen and what cannot happen in their lives.  It’s as if God is an authority on everything except knowing what is best for our kids.

I want our children to grow spiritually.  I want to see evidence in their lives that they are genuine believers.  I want them to be strengthened with His power and might.  I want them to be able to encourage others and to lift up the fallen, but I was not willing to let God use suffering to bring it about, even though that is His way.

In May (2015), I was praying for our children on the way home from work, and I wrestled with God.  I realized that I was asking Him to do things in our children’s lives that were diametrically opposed to each other.  I was asking for growth and fruitfulness,  without the pruning.  I was asking for evidence of ownership without the burning of the brand.  I was asking for purity  without the fire.

When one wrestles with God, it is about control and surrendering to Him.  I wept as I drove and as I gave them back to Him.  I surrendered my children, because in reality as believers they are really His, and He knows what they need so much better than I.

On the Friday of that very same week, our daughter found that she had a mass in her chest that was completely blocking the superior vena cava (vein) that serves her upper body.  She is in her late twenties with a 2-1/2 year old and a one-year-old.  The initial prognosis was not encouraging.   We were crushed.

The following week our daughter and her husband traveled to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN for tests and consultation.  Her condition was extremely rare and she would become only the sixteenth individual to be operated on for this condition between the Mayo Clinic and one other research hospital. The condition was brought about by her body’s auto-immune system reaction to a probable respiratory infection she had approximately ten years ago.

Our daughter and son-in-law’s church helped them to move in with us until she recovers and they can regain their financial footing.   She has gained some and lost some physically.  The damaged portion of her superior vena cava has been replaced.   Her hands and feet have been warm for the first time in years.  The nerve controlling her right diaphragm was lost.  She lost twenty per cent of her right lung.  She probably doesn’t have asthma after all.  She grapples every day with pain control, but every day there is improvement and healing.

We have bonded even more so with our grandchildren and have also realized why God gives children to younger people.  Now you know why my posting has grown quiet for the past two to three weeks.

One may be tempted to question why anyone would turn their children over to God for something like that?  On the contrary, I think that God was waiting for me to surrender to His will concerning our children.  The tragedy would have been in waiting longer or in not surrendering at all.  As it was, He gave her back to us, just somewhat repackaged.

God says in His word that He will do whatever we ask, but for what are we asking?  Are we asking for our will or for His will to be done?

“Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” I Peter 4:19

“Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” (Genesis 3:16b)

One of the results of the fall into sin, for men and women, is a struggle for control in the marriage relationship.  The woman will try to control the man through manipulation.  The man will try to manipulate the woman by his strength.  Because the woman was deceived by Satan, God designated the man to rule over her.

Before Deb and I became engaged, I discovered three scriptural principles that I wanted to find in the woman I would marry.  I used the verse above with the idea that the woman’s desire would be to support her husband in whatever endeavor the Lord called him to. I was looking for someone who fit that principle.  While the principle was good, the proof text above was a poor choice.

I was to learn later on that the above verse means about the opposite of what I wanted it to mean.  Our pastor has pointed out that the Hebrew words used here are the same as used in Genesis 4:7 where it shows that sin’s desire is to dominate and control man. The same conflict is demonstrated in the above text.   Just as sin desires to dominate and control man, so will the woman.

Although God appointed the man to rule, a man who is not a Christian, or is a Christian but not walking in the Spirit, often resorts to his strength to rule by intimidation or by plain old bullying.

The solution to this conflict is in living the Spirit filled life (see the blog articles; “Walking in the Spirit” & “For Christian Husbands”.  One of the characteristics of a Spirit filled believer (Ephesians 5:21) is “submitting one to another”.  

A Spirit filled Christian husband submits to his wife by loving her as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her,  by loving her as he loves himself, and by loving her as he loves his own body.  (Ephesians 5:25, 28 & 33)

The Spirit filled Christian wife submits to her husband as the church is to submit to Christ and she is to see that she respects her husband.  (Ephesians 5:22, 24, & 33)

God’s solution is not about controlling one another.  This is about mutual submission that comes from submitting to God first.  It is evidenced by yielding to and obeying His word.  

The husband is able to lead effectively because the Spirit filled wife is choosing to follow and willingly submit to his leadership. The wife is willing to submit because she knows that the Spirit filled husband loves her unconditionally.   They both can do God’s will because the Holy Spirit is controlling and enabling them.

So……, who is in control?  God should be, through the Holy Spirit controlling the lives of His yielded and obedient children.

Is your home a war zone?  Is there a battle going on for control? This is the natural condition of fallen man, but God has a better way.    Let it begin in your life today.  

• Consistency is a key and it is achieved by dying to self daily and by filling one’s heart with the word of God.  Let His word dwell in you richly on a daily basis.
• You must not focus on what the other half is doing or not doing. You must focus on walking in the Spirit yourself.  The other half is won over by what God is doing in your own life.

What did the Lord mean when He said we should take up our cross daily and follow Him?  What is the purpose of a cross?  Did you know that a cross is for the purpose of dying?

The Christian’s cross is for the purpose of dying to self.  Having trouble obeying God’s word?  The flip side to the coin of obedience is death…….dying to self.  The song writer put it this way; “Not my will but thine Lord,…..lead me to Calvary.”

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Gal. 2:20

How many times must we be born again?

In a recent conversation I asked a gentleman if there had ever been a time in his life when he had invited Christ into his heart.  Oh yes, he replied, many times.

Lets back up to our physical birth.  How many times do our mothers give birth to us?  Count’em….one!  How many different dates do we have as birth dates?  Count’em again….one!  Why would being born again be any different?  When we are born physically, we have physical life.  When we are born again, we have spiritual life.

What kind of spiritual life does God give us?   “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).  What kind of life?  Everlasting life.  Is that the same thing as eternal life?  Yes.  If it were to go away, would it be everlasting?  No, it would not be everlasting.

If we have invited the Lord Jesus into our heart, if we have received Him as our personal Saviour, He has given us power to become the sons of God (John 1:12), which means we have been born into God’s family.  If we have received eternal life by believing in Him, would we need to receive Him again?

Let me illustrate.  If we hold the door open to our house and invite someone in and they come in, wouldn’t it be silly to invite them in again after they are already in the house?  They would think we were nuts!  They would probably run away.  Why do we do that very thing to God?