The Power of Love

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the parable of the Prodigal Son. I have treasured that scene when the father embraced his lost son. When he was little, my son, Ryan, drew a picture for me of the scene when the father ran to the son to welcome him back home. That moment exemplifies the love of God for each of the sinners who come back. Of the 650 paintings Rembrandt left to his daughter at his death, one of the most famous is, The Return of the Prodigal Son, which depicts the sinner returning home to his father’s presence. It was one of Rembrandt’s favorites because it is a story of love and redemption. This is what Luke wrote about that particular moment: “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20).

The picture is so moving because most fathers would have stayed put both then and now and waited for the wayward son to come to him, but not this father—he was so moved he ran to his son. He threw his arms around him and kissed him—what an excellent portrayal of God’s love.

In my years of counseling, I have seen the deadly effect of withholding love. When a parent is critical and stingy with praise for the child—the child will long for the parent’s approval. That child as an adult will be insecure and self-critical, always seeking but never gaining acceptance. The parent who criticizes their child plants seeds of doubt that will beat that child’s self-esteem down on into adulthood. The critical parent’s voice will live in their head, robbing them of the enjoyment of life.

How different it is when a child has been affirmed and loved. That child will feel secure and confident. As an adult, they will love and praise those in their lives because they have been loved. I implore you to show love and express it in words of affection and affirmation because love changes people for the better. You are touching so many lives when you love people.

Here is a story that illustrates that: I am not sure who the author is:

 

Mary Ann Bird was born with multiple congenital disabilities: a cleft palate, disfigured face, crooked nose, and deafness in one ear. As a child, she suffered not only her physical impairments but terrible emotional damage inflicted by other children: “Mary Ann, what’s wrong with your lip?”

Worst of all was the school’s annual hearing test. The teacher would call each child forward, the child covered one ear and then the other, and the teacher whispered a simple phrase: “The sky is blue,” “You have new shoes.” Mary Ann could not hear in one ear and did everything possible, including cheating, to minimize attention to her disability. She despised the whisper test.

But one year, her teacher was Miss Leonard, whom every child loved. The day came for the dreaded hearing test. Mary Ann cupped her ear. Miss Leonard leaned forward. And Mary Ann has never forgotten the words that God must have put in her mouth, those seven words that changed her life. Miss Leonard did not say, “the sky is blue” or “you have new shoes.” What she whispered was, “I wish you were my little girl.” 

 (Parenting with a Long View)  https://boydbrooks.com/

The Incarnation

 

Through retold every year, the Christmas story never loses its wonder to those who believe the doctrine of Incarnation. The belief that God became flesh—the moment Jesus took on a human body and began life as an embryo, a fetus, then was born as a baby in Bethlehem.

Mary delivered a child while still a virgin because the Holy Spirit had planted the seed in her womb. The angel Gabriel had explained this to both Mary and Joseph. I am sure they struggled with God’s plan but were obedient to the angel’s instructions. They lived in a small town called Nazareth, located some 90 miles from where the prophet Micah predicted the Messiah’s birth (Micah 5:2). Mary was only days from the baby’s birth; they were in the wrong place—but it was no problem for the Almighty God.

Though Caesar was far away in Rome, he had issued months before a census should be taken, and everyone should return to his place of origin to be counted. So God used Caesar’s greed to get the couple in the right place.

A journey of nearly a hundred miles in the winter, either walking or on a borrowed donkey, would have been challenging, but especially hard when you are nine months pregnant. The pace had to be slow and stressful with the baby coming anytime. There was the trip’s exhaustion, and now the labor pains that intensified, and they couldn’t find a room in Bethlehem.

Luke’s description of the Savior’s birth is incredibly simple, “While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:6-7).

No room! What disappointing words to hear in their predicament. The only place they found shelter was with the animals. It was not sanitary but a stinking mess with the smell of manure and urine. It was there that Mary gave birth with no experienced person to help deliver the child. With pain and sweat and painful cries, she finally gave birth with probably no one but Joseph present.  What a scene! What a moment!

Mary wrapped the baby in strips of cloth, and Joseph laid him in a feeding trough he had cleaned out. Here is the Incarnation, the creator as a baby The wonder of the Incarnation! The omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God became a baby!

The Incarnation doctrine is the belief that the Son of God became a real man, not just someone who appeared to be a man. Jesus was fully God even when he was a baby lying in the manger. Jesus chose to lay aside the use of his divine attributes. Though Jesus was sinless, he had a real human body, mind, and emotions. With this human body, he experienced the full gambit of human experience.  Truly, he knows what we go through in our journey on this earth. He did it!

 

 

Sanctuary or a Snare

The prophet Isaiah declared that how we respond to God determines how we experience God. “He will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare” (Isaiah 8:14).

We will either experience God as a sanctuary or a snare, depending on our response to God’s son. God cannot be ignored because he is too big and too powerful. Neither can he be considered irrelevant because if we do, we will stumble over him. Examples abound in the Bible; Adam and Eve ignored God’s commands and were snared by the consequences. Noah accepted God’s commands and built a massive ship by which he and his family were saved, while thousands of others perished from unbelief. Samson was endowed with enormous strength to lead his people but regarded God as irrelevant and was trapped by his enemies.

Jesus said, “He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed” (Matt 21:44). Surrender your will to Christ, and you will find God a refuge, but walk away in defiance, and you will be crushed.

Our acceptance or rejection of Jesus will determine our interaction with God. Isaiah gave us many prophesies about Jesus, his virgin birth, what he would be like, descriptions of his ministry, death and resurrection, and future kingdom. These predictions were given to encourage belief in the truth of God’s Word. All those prophesies that should have been fulfilled have come to pass. The ones that remain unfulfilled are still in the future.

When Jesus began his earthly ministry, he returned to Nazareth, his hometown, where he was raised. He visited the synagogue and asked to read from the scroll of Isaiah. He chose to read from the part of Isaiah’s prophesy that described the ministry of the coming Messiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed” (Luke 4:17-42).

Then Jesus told the audience that “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk 4:21). This puzzled everyone because they knew Jesus. This was the son of Joseph and Mary—the son of a carpenter. What is this he is saying that he is the Messiah that Isaiah has prophesied? Then Jesus confronted the unbelief in their hearts, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum. I tell you the truth,” he continued, no prophet is accepted in his hometown.” (Luke 4:22-24).

This so angered the people that they tried to kill him—the very person they knew. They thought Jesus’ claims to be God were preposterous. They attempted to throw him off a cliff, but Jesus escaped. Jesus was a snare to the people of Nazareth because they rejected him.

Nothing has changed. God is still a sanctuary to those who believe and receive him and a snare to those who reject him. He comforts those who take refuge in him and those who ignore him run into him because he is too big and too powerful to be missed. Will Jesus be a sanctuary or a snare to you?

 

 

 

When Trusting God Doesn't Make Sense

 There are times when trusting God doesn’t make sense.  The thing we long for and earnestly prayed for doesn’t happen, yet much later, we see God’s hand of blessing in another area of our lives.

Just before his death, Jacob chose to bless Joseph and his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Joseph positioned the boys so that his father would merely have to reach out his hands and bless them. Instead, Jacob crossed his hands with his right hand on the youngest and the left hand on the oldest. Joseph was perplexed, “so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. Joseph protested to him, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head” (Gen 48:18). But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations” (Genesis 48:18-19).

This was not how it was supposed to be done. Manasseh should receive the firstborn blessing. Why had his father crossed his hands? Though Joseph did not understand how this could be, Jacob was resolute. This was God’s doing. This blessing came from God, and he was delivering it. Jacob had learned to trust God even when it didn’t make sense. He had also learned that God’s grace is never captive to human demands or position; instead, God’s grace is sovereign.

Is this not like us. We know the order we want our blessings to come. Like Joseph, we are sure God has made a mistake. What we wanted so much doesn’t come, and the blessings that do come we never saw as blessings. The greatest blessings in our lives often turn out to be the crossed-handed blessings God sends our way.

In 1978 Marilyn and I were approved to be missionaries and asked to go to Catamarca, Argentina. After praying and learning about this place, God gave us a burden for these people. We looked forward to making this province located next to the Andes mountains our future home. As we traveled the U.S. and shared our story of his call and our mission on our first itinerary, God marvelously opened doors. It was truly amazing! We reached our budget in just four months even though we were expected to itinerate one year. But, since the language school in Costa Rica started in May, we asked if

we could begin language school early and skip orientation classes slated for the summer. They approved us to go immediately. Although school was not easy, we made it through the year.

We finally arrived in Buenos Aires. But, the culture shock, the massive city, getting our things through customs, was overwhelming, but most disheartening was the news that we wouldn’t be allowed to go to Catamarca. An Argentine pastor was going there instead, and we would need to pick another province. We decided on Tucuman because it was the neighboring province of Catamarca.

The very name, Catamarca, just seemed to be a question that couldn’t be answered. Eventually, we found out the Argentine pastor never did go to Catamarca, which made it even more bewildering. A few months after we were settled in Tucuman, we made the trip to Catamarca. However, after that visit, the Lord gave us the peace that we were He wanted us to be. Later, while in Tucuman, the Lord laid on our hearts to start the National Missions Department of Argentina. We did, and I served as the first president for about six years. Guess where the first missionary was sent? Catamarca. God raised up a great church and ministry to that city. Now missionaries from Argentina serve in countries all over the world.  This turned out to be one of God’s crossed-handed blessings.

A Biblical Perspective of Work

 I love to work, and I think it is because my father taught me how to work. My wife and I taught our three children how to work. Work is supposed to be something we enjoy.  It is surprising how many people say that they don’t like their work. I recently was told by someone that when asked by his boss what he most liked about his work, he replied, “The paycheck!” I asked him if he still had a job. He replied that he does but doesn’t enjoy it; however, it pays the bills. What a sad commentary on how many people look at work. It may be one reason we have thousands of people not working who are capable of doing so.

God saw work as useful, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (Gen 2:15). Adam was delegated essential responsibilities to fulfill. The Apostle Paul said, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” (Col 3:23). We are supposed to put our heart and soul into our work. Solomon said that hard work brings its own reward, “He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment” (Prov 12:11).

Work is a place for us to glorify God by the excellence we put into it. It is time that Christians evaluate the quality of their work and their attitude toward work. Without realizing it, many believers are influenced by prevalent attitudes such as, “Work is a necessary evil” or “Why do I have to work when others don’t have to?” or “I am looking forward to the day I don’t have to work” spoken by a teenager.

Widespread beliefs, such as “The government should pay everyone whether they work or not,” have crept into Christian thinking or “The envy of wanting what the rich have so I won’t have to work.” These attitudes and beliefs are antithetical to biblical principles.

Work is a place for us to demonstrate our faith and principles. It is where we can strive to be creative and produce outcomes that bless others. The scientist discovers a cure for a disease, the engineer builds a bridge, the attorney defends our rights, and the soldier fights for our freedom. Nehemiah was a great planner and leader who completed a significant project of building a wall despite adversity. Moses used Holiab, a craftsman and designer (Ex 38:23), to create the tabernacle. Solomon took advantage of Huram-Abi, a man of incredible skill, to build a magnificent temple (2 Chron 2:13-14). Work has a way of bringing blessings to many people when we dedicate our energies to God’s glory.

As believers, there has never been a time when we needed Christians more to display their skills for God’s Glory; whether in public office, business, finance, science, medicine, the arts, the media, academia, the legal system, and on and on. As parents, we can inspire our children to see work as an avenue to serve God and bless their fellowmen.

Our priorities always need to be in alignment. Our primary focus is God; second is our marriage, third is our family, and then our work. If work comes before God or our marriage and family, we will pay dearly for our misaligned priorities.

In the book of Genesis, Joseph is a prime example of someone who valued his work, whether working for Potiphar or in the jailhouse or as viceroy of Egypt. He sought excellence and was successful. God will bless hard work when our heart is in the right place. I have always loved this verse from Proverbs: “Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men” (Prov 22:29). God has a way of rewarding the diligent! Do your best and leave the rest in God’s hands.