For what seems like hours, I stood in the middle of I-75 in Toledo, Ohio waving my arms in the air and shouting. Actually, it was closer to 30 minutes, but for those 30 minutes, time seemed to stand still. To the hundreds of passengers in the cars, trucks and buses that moved to avoid hitting me, I must have looked like a raving lunatic. Drenched from the rain - waving my yellow raincoat in the air instead of wearing it.... What a crazy sight it must have been.
Our entire family was packed into our SUV as we made our way back to Michigan from a visit with family in Indiana. It was one of those dark wet nights when driving was difficult at best, dangerous at worst. We had already stopped once earlier to help a stranded young motorist along the Toll Road. As we neared the Michigan border, we rounded a long blind curve in the Interstate roadway. A large concrete barrier wall on was on the left and a continuous steel guardrail followed the right side of the road, but the dividing lines on the pavement were lost beneath the water and darkness of the night.
Suddenly, I noticed stationary running lights of a semi-rig high above and immediately ahead in the middle lane of three. I began to brake... hard... and moved quickly to the right. Fortunately, at that moment there was no traffic preventing me from making such a sudden shift of lanes. Then, just in front of the semi tractor, I saw it: a mini-van, filled with people, had lost control on the wet pavement, slammed into the concrete barrier, carreening then into the traffic lanes, coming to rest sideways in the middle lane with no lights on. The only thing standing, for the moment, between the mini van and certain death were the lights of the big-rig parked in the middle traffic lane between the van and oncoming traffic.
I turned on my emergency flashers and pulled off on the narrow shoulder next to the guardrail. I ran back with my son-in-law, Jimmie, and discovered a terrified but unhurt family in the van. I could hear the rush of unsuspecting traffic coming upon us. Jimmie began to help the children out of the only working door. I left him behind as I began to run as hard as I could and as far back toward oncoming traffic as I could. Removing the most visible thing I had, my bright yellow parka, I began waving it as a warning at buses, trucks and cars coming at me at freeway speeds. But all, it seemed, to ignore my frantic warning. I was standing in the middle of the freeway, risking my own safety, but my warning was not being taken seriously. Drivers, unknowledgable and unable to see the danger looming directly ahead, sped past me as if they had no concern for my strange warning.
Likewise, this is true in the spiritual realm. Being absolutely certain of the dangers that lie ahead, Christians should be willing to do as much as possible to warn those who, being unaware of the life or death peril ahead, are racing toward the impending doom of a Christless eternity. Fortunately, everyone on the Interstate that night escaped uninjured. However, the outcome will not be the same for those who ignore the warning of the Scriptures. The Bible is very clear about this matter. One need look no further than perhaps the most memorized and widely known verse in the entire Bible: John 3:16. The truth is there; those who reject Jesus Christ will perish. It is our job to do everything we can to warn those who are heading into peril, to call out into the darkness of the spiritual night, “Jesus saves!”
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Saturday, December 4, 2010
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE SKEPTIC
I respectfully submit to you, sir, that the possibility exists that you are right. You say there is no God, no Jesus, no Savior, no need to be saved from sin’s penalty and power. You say the Bible is not to be believed, that it is irrelevant, and you can even point out what you believe to be its errors and contradictions. Well, perhaps you are right. But… We’ll never know, you and I, at least not until we both pass beyond that inevitable event in out lives called death.
In the mean time, you are free to believe that I am a fool. You are free to believe that my hope in Heaven is in vain. But, you’ll never know for sure, until we both are gone from this world; will you? You see, I know that there will, with absolutely certainty, come a day when each of us will die. It is then, and only then, when we both, you and I, standing at the Gate of whatever awaits us after we die, will find out which one was right, and which one was wrong.
Before then, that is to say, before we both die, you have nothing to gain and I have nothing to lose. We are both free to live however we want... we may believe whatever we want. We can both roll the dice. If it turns out in the end that you were right, I have lost nothing. But, if you were wrong, and I was right...
Rest assured of this: I will never give up… until perhaps after I’m dead. Then, Mr. Skeptic, I will meet you on the sands of that distant shore that separates this life from the next. I will not quit ‘till I have exhaled my last breath of polluted earthly air, and inhaled my first breath of rarefied Heavenly air. Catch up with me there, my skeptic friend. If I was wrong and you were right, I’ll slap you high 5’s and declare you the winner. What a proud moment for you. You can claim braggin’ rights, and we will go do whatever dead people do. But… If I was right, and you were wrong, I will have gained Eternal Life and you will have lost it all. I will have won the Great Wager, and you will have lost everything.
Some will recognize this as Pascal’s Wager. Atheists love to excoriate Mr. Pascal’s great gambit, but to my mind, they do so at their own peril. The Bible declares: A fool says in his heart, “There is no God”, and I’m no fool. My mind is made up. My heart is steadfast. My peace has been made. I am resolute.
The question will remain before us. Time will tell which of us is the winner. I’ll see you on the other side. Until then, “Be well.” As for me, I will not throw away my confidence. It will be richly rewarded. I will persevere. I will not be counted among those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
In the mean time, you are free to believe that I am a fool. You are free to believe that my hope in Heaven is in vain. But, you’ll never know for sure, until we both are gone from this world; will you? You see, I know that there will, with absolutely certainty, come a day when each of us will die. It is then, and only then, when we both, you and I, standing at the Gate of whatever awaits us after we die, will find out which one was right, and which one was wrong.
Before then, that is to say, before we both die, you have nothing to gain and I have nothing to lose. We are both free to live however we want... we may believe whatever we want. We can both roll the dice. If it turns out in the end that you were right, I have lost nothing. But, if you were wrong, and I was right...
Rest assured of this: I will never give up… until perhaps after I’m dead. Then, Mr. Skeptic, I will meet you on the sands of that distant shore that separates this life from the next. I will not quit ‘till I have exhaled my last breath of polluted earthly air, and inhaled my first breath of rarefied Heavenly air. Catch up with me there, my skeptic friend. If I was wrong and you were right, I’ll slap you high 5’s and declare you the winner. What a proud moment for you. You can claim braggin’ rights, and we will go do whatever dead people do. But… If I was right, and you were wrong, I will have gained Eternal Life and you will have lost it all. I will have won the Great Wager, and you will have lost everything.
Some will recognize this as Pascal’s Wager. Atheists love to excoriate Mr. Pascal’s great gambit, but to my mind, they do so at their own peril. The Bible declares: A fool says in his heart, “There is no God”, and I’m no fool. My mind is made up. My heart is steadfast. My peace has been made. I am resolute.
The question will remain before us. Time will tell which of us is the winner. I’ll see you on the other side. Until then, “Be well.” As for me, I will not throw away my confidence. It will be richly rewarded. I will persevere. I will not be counted among those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
THE CHILDREN'S BIBLE
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with
all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon
your hearts. Impress upon / diligently teach them to your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up... Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates - Deut. 6:5-7,9.
Answer this question: Why was there so much emphasis placed upon
parents specifically and those in authority generally to teach... to diligently teach... to impress upon the minds and hearts of children the Holy
Scriptures? Think. “You’ll never get it, but try anyway.” Take a moment and think. “Good try, but that’s not what I’m looking for.” Why was it clearly the responsibility of the adults to see to it that the children were taught the laws and principals of God’s Word Take a guess. Are you ready for the answer? It’s really simple. There was not one child in Deuteronomy chapter 6 that could read! Think of that for a moment... Think some more... Not one child could read.
You ask, “So what?” Well, my friend, if those boys and girls were not taught the Scriptures correctly and accurately both in words and in actions by their parents, they would never have the opportunity to learn it. As a matter of fact, there are only two times in the entire Bible that the written word addresses children and both times are found in Paul's epistles and they both say the same thing: Children, obey your parents. - Eph. 6:1, Col. 3:20. That is the only thing children are commanded to do. The Children’s Bible is basically 4 words in length. Everything else... EVERYTHING else they are to hear, see, and learn from Mom and Dad and Grandma and Grandpa - Deut. 4:9
Our only conclusion can be: The Bible was not necessarily meant to be read as much as it was meant to be lived and demonstrated. Certainly, I would never suggest that children not be allowed to read the Bible. But I would suggest that maybe, that is not how God would have intended for them to learn it. Up until a few hundred years ago, children learned the Scripture from the adults in their lives. Giving the Bible to children and expecting them to be successful adults is the same thing as giving someone the flight manual to an airplane and expecting them to be successful pilots. Some things in life are best learned under the careful tutelage of someone both knowledgeable and experienced in the craft. We have told boys and girls to read their Bibles while we fail to live its principals before their eyes and then we wonder why they fail to get it. We have perhaps done them the worst disservice of all by giving them the gift of reading without likewise giving them the gift of our example.
all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon
your hearts. Impress upon / diligently teach them to your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up... Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates - Deut. 6:5-7,9.
Answer this question: Why was there so much emphasis placed upon
parents specifically and those in authority generally to teach... to diligently teach... to impress upon the minds and hearts of children the Holy
Scriptures? Think. “You’ll never get it, but try anyway.” Take a moment and think. “Good try, but that’s not what I’m looking for.” Why was it clearly the responsibility of the adults to see to it that the children were taught the laws and principals of God’s Word Take a guess. Are you ready for the answer? It’s really simple. There was not one child in Deuteronomy chapter 6 that could read! Think of that for a moment... Think some more... Not one child could read.
You ask, “So what?” Well, my friend, if those boys and girls were not taught the Scriptures correctly and accurately both in words and in actions by their parents, they would never have the opportunity to learn it. As a matter of fact, there are only two times in the entire Bible that the written word addresses children and both times are found in Paul's epistles and they both say the same thing: Children, obey your parents. - Eph. 6:1, Col. 3:20. That is the only thing children are commanded to do. The Children’s Bible is basically 4 words in length. Everything else... EVERYTHING else they are to hear, see, and learn from Mom and Dad and Grandma and Grandpa - Deut. 4:9
Our only conclusion can be: The Bible was not necessarily meant to be read as much as it was meant to be lived and demonstrated. Certainly, I would never suggest that children not be allowed to read the Bible. But I would suggest that maybe, that is not how God would have intended for them to learn it. Up until a few hundred years ago, children learned the Scripture from the adults in their lives. Giving the Bible to children and expecting them to be successful adults is the same thing as giving someone the flight manual to an airplane and expecting them to be successful pilots. Some things in life are best learned under the careful tutelage of someone both knowledgeable and experienced in the craft. We have told boys and girls to read their Bibles while we fail to live its principals before their eyes and then we wonder why they fail to get it. We have perhaps done them the worst disservice of all by giving them the gift of reading without likewise giving them the gift of our example.
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