Up to the time I was 8 years old, grocery stores were closed on Sunday, aka, the Sabbath. If you lacked ingredients for Sunday supper, you were out of luck. And since restaurants, theaters, and the Sears Roebuck were also closed, people stayed home and spent time with their families.
By the time I was in junior high, stores and restaurants were beginning to open on Sundays—at first, only in the afternoons (when church got out). But within a few years, they were open all day; and nowadays, no one thinks anything about shopping, going to movies or eating out on what-used-to-be-called the “Sabbath.” It has been normal for so long, no one remembers when it wasn’t. I’m sure you all think it’s harmless, right? But is it possible we’ve lost something in not keeping a day of rest?
One of the greatest problems of our age is unrest (not to be confused with tiredness). When God rested on the seventh day, it was not because he was tired; He was enjoying His creation and Himself (Prov. 8:31). Do we not also need a day to desist and rest, and enjoy our Creator? "If you keep from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day; if you call the Sabbath a delight, and if you honor it by not going your own way doing as you please, you will find your joy in the Lord” (Is. 58:13-14). It occurs to me the Sabbath is not a “day” of rest anymore; it is a state of rest. Is anyone keeping Sabbath anymore?
Yesterday, I read in the paper that scientists are on the brink of finding what holds the universe together: a never-before-seen subatomic particle thought to be a fundamental building block of the universe. Its nickname is "The God particle"—coined by the author of the 1993 book, “The God Particle: If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question?” Since 1960, scientists have hypothesized that the “God particle” explains how, after the Big Bang, matter obtained mass. As such, it was the agent that made the stars, planets, and life possible; hence the nickname "God particle."
Today I read in the Bible, “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through Him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see...Everything was created through Him and for Him. He existed before anything else, and He holds all creation together” (Col. 1:15-17 NLT).
Extreme weather has become the lead story on the “evening news” this year—hasn’t it! With unprecedented floods along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers and the worst tornado season since the 50s, Mother Nature’s name is evoked more and more. This female personification of nature is rooted in pagan worship. From Greeks to Aztecs, every culture had its earth goddess. That begs the question: For Christians, where does God fit in the picture? Well, the answer to that formidable question would take more than a blog post. But here’s something to ponder on your next rainy day.
When God created the world, it was perfect—it was all good! But when sin entered the world, things began to work differently, the way a body deteriorates from cancer. The Fall of man affected the earth. Paul says as much when he writes that we humans are not the only ones in bondage due to sin. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God's curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay. (Rom. 8:19-21 NLT)
So there you have it: the earth is waiting to be released from the affects of sin! So Satan, who is called the god (or goddess?) of this world, is behind these destructive forces in nature (that doesn’t mean, however, that God doesn't use it for His purposes—Romans 8:28). I find it very interesting, then, that when people make Mother Nature responsible, they really are putting the blame right where it belongs: on the goddess of this world!
In the beginning when God created the world, sparkling with divine energy, bursting with unlimited expansion, He was pleased. On the seventh day, He stopped and looked around at all He had done, and said, “It is good.” And we see that God takes pleasure in His creation, including us: “The Lord is pleased only with those who worship him and trust his love” (Psalm 147:11).
We exist for His glory, purpose, and delight (Acts 17:28; Proverbs 8:30). Bringing enjoyment to God, living for his pleasure, is what we were created for. Eric Liddell, Christian missionary and Olympic athlete said: “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.”
Standing in opposition to God’s pleasure are the world's pleasures. But they only last for a moment, and leave us with an emptiness the just makes us want more (Hebrews 11:25). Why are we so easily enticed by such empty pleasures? The simple answer is this: God wants us to find our pleasure in Him, but if we do not, we will look elsewhere. So our pleasure-seeking is really an inherent hunger for God. Living a life that is pleasing to God has its own great reward, not only in time, but for eternity. “In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever” (Psalm 16:11). So let us, like Paul, make it our ambition to discern what is pleasing to the Lord (2 Cor. 5:9; Eph. 5:10) and do it!
Today marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.
Undoubtedly, today you will hear the term Mother Earth to describe the source, giver and sustainer of life. In the wake of the Iceland Volcano eruption this past week I have heard the term used by mainstream TV newscasters more than once. The idea of a pagan goddess who created and sustains the earth is not only foolish and silly; it’s insulting.
I don’t know whether or not Christians should support Earth Day. Certainly you can make a sound biblical argument that God wants His children to be caretakers (not abusers) of the animals and the wildlife on our planet earth. Certainly, we should all be mindful of being good stewards over all God has given us. But even more....
Let this be a day to remind ourselves of this: Jesus Christ is Lord over all of creation (Ps. 24:1; Col. 1:16). Today is a day to give thanks to “God who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). As others celebrate Mother Earth, let us remember that at every moment all the energy in the universe is supplied by Jesus Christ, who is sustaining all things by his powerful word (Hebrews 11:3).
With all the economic uncertainty right now, have you noticed that people are holding on to the slightest ray of hope that things will turn around?There was a section on the evening news the other night about people who don’t believe things will turn around anytime soon—“doom sayers” making dire economic predictions: a new Great Depression, bread lines, riots. In his blog last month, David Wilkerson predicted riots and fires in the cities of America, much like the Watts riots of the 1960’s.Whatever is happening, I know this: “the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now…for the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God” (Romans 8:22, 19). Paul says all of creation (humans, animals, fish, plants) is waiting to be released from the bondage of Satan and his world system, i.e., “the god of this world.” And with increase of natural disasters: flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, who cannot see that the world is in the throes of child birth! What is being birthed? The fullness of time is about to give birth to God’s kingdom and the ‘sons’ of God are about to be revealed. That’s us! We are about to throw off these mortal bodies and enter into our new eternal, divine state!But Paul also says: “and not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.” As I look around and listen, I do not hear people groaning and eagerly waiting for this to occur. It seems that many Christians, like the earthlings among whom we live, are not groaning to be released into our final hour. Rather we too are simply holding on to our earthly investments, waiting, and watching for the slightest ray of hope that things will get better.Please do not misunderstand me. I am not hoping for world destruction, for the pain and suffering of humanity. Nor am I wishing for apocalyptic destruction to come upon the earth. But I am longing, even groaning, for the return of Jesus and the revealing of the sons of God. That doesn’t make me a doom sayer! It makes me a ‘groaner.’ Are you groaning too?
Today is Easter Sunday. How can one who has written a book called “Are You Dying to Live the Abundant Life?” and developed a ministry around the “dying to live abundant life” principles not speak out on this day? So, to all of my friends I say “Blessed Resurrection Day.”
In 1 Corinthians 15:45, Christ is referred to as the LAST Adam, and in verse 47, as the SECOND Man.
As the LAST Adam, Christ put an end to the first creation, including all who were born of “sinful” Adam. When Jesus died on the cross, he took our sinful humanity on Himself, took the punishment, bringing complete and final closure to that first creation (Romans 8:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21).
As the SECOND (Adam) Man, Christ becomes the firstborn of the New Creation: He is born from above; He is the beginning of what-Paul-calls the “NEW MAN:" One NEW MAN in Christ (Ephesians 2:15; Colossians 3:10).
"If anyone is in Christ, he is a NEW creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become NEW" (2 Corinthians 5:17). And now, “just as Christ was raised from the dead…even so we should walk in the NEWNESS of life” (Romans 6:4).
