“Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.” 1 Corinthians 16:13

What is courage? Courage has been defined as bravery, but that is a pretty simplistic definition. Some have tried to explain it in a little more detail. One writer defined it as fear “that has said its prayers.” Mark Twain said, “Courage is the mastery of fear, not the absence of fear.” A courageous person is not someone who is fearless. (That is, in most cases, a stupid person.) A courageous person is someone who can control his or her fear and then do the right thing. It is overcoming the fear that we naturally have.

We see courage on display among those who are first responders. Certainly the soldiers serving our country display courage every day. These kinds of people tend to go toward danger rather than away because… well, because that is what they do. That’s their job.

Besides the courage fire fighters and soldiers show, there are other kinds of courage, too. There is moral courage, which is the ability to do right in the face of opposition or discouragement. We are faced with these kinds of situations much more often than we are faced with saving a child from a burning building. Everyday we will be tested to do the right thing and tempted to do the wrong. Having moral courage means being honest and having integrity. It means that we don’t cheat on the test, on our taxes or on others. Moral courage is honoring others by honoring our word, even when we don’t feel like it. It is saying our yes, is yes, and our no, is no, and not turning a yes into a no just because it is convenient for us.

It also takes courage to follow Jesus Christ. We are living in an ABC culture today: Anything But Christ. People are fine with whatever we believe, unless we say, “I believe in Jesus Christ, and I believe the Bible is the Word of God.” Suddenly we will have joined group of backward intolerants who at the best are laughed at and at the worst become public enemy number one. It takes courage to stand up for Jesus Christ. In some countries it takes the kind of courage we see in first responders because in the foreign field, many are truly running toward danger. Here, in most cases, we merely face discomfort. Of course, in some cases people might face job loss or public ridicule or more. But let’s face it, bullying is not the same as bullets.

We need more moral courage today or we will find ourselves in the same place that the rest of the world is in. Courage starts in our daily lives with the little things. I used to tell the athletes I coached that they needed to work as hard as they could in practice because victory over the little things in practice when there was no opponent prepared them for victory over the bigger things when there is an opponent. If we cannot stand for right in the face of little opposition, how will we ever stand against the real enemies.

A boy was trying to impress a girl he liked by saying, “I will climb the highest mountain, swim the swiftest river, and cross the driest desert for you, and I will come over tomorrow if it is not raining.” Can we show great things for God in great trials, if we struggle to do simple things for Him in everyday life? We all want to believe we are courageous, but courage is action, not just belief. We must stand firm in the faith. We must be courageous. We must be strong. That’s our job.

We make decisions every day and we would like to make decisions that are compatible with God’s will. But how do we know God’s will? I believe that about 99.9% of God’s will can be found in the Bible. If we think we have found God’s will but our decision is contrary to the Word, we can be assured that it is not God’s will. But it is not that easy! What about things that are not spelled out for us. What if we are trying to decide what job to take, which house to buy, or even where to put our money, can we really find places in the Bible that can help us?

When making decisions like this, the first thing we should do is to see if our decisions will be compatible with God’s Word. If the decision would result in a compromise of a Biblical truth, then it would not be a good decision. Let’s say we were considering taking a new job, but that job would greatly interfere with our ability to spend any time at all with our kids. Because there are many verses in the Bible that point to importance to family, we might see this as an indication that that job might not be God’s will and thus not to our advantage.

So where do we find these very helpful verses? All through the Bible! Let’s just take a look at five verses from 1 Thessalonians and look at how many valuable aids Paul has left us if we are trying to determine God’s will. If we are making a choice and that choice will violate one of the following instructions, we should think twice before making it. Let’s look at 1 Thessalonians 5:14-18.

“Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Take a moment to think about these clear and powerful exhortations concerning the will of God for believers. These exhortations express the specific will of God in relationships with others, with ourselves, and with the Lord. Packed into these short verses are patterns of life and behavior which will receive His blessing in these relationships.

“Warn them that are unruly…”  When we know people who are idle, undisciplined, pleasure seeking, they need to know the danger they are in. Watching silently as people destroy their lives is not in the will of God. Other parts of God’s Word show us how to approach them; these words just tell us we should.

“Comfort the feebleminded…” We should comfort people who are disheartened, disoriented or confused. We should come alongside them with brotherly affection, encouraging words, and prayer.

“Support the weak…” Our natural tendency is to despise and neglect weaker people, to stay away from them since they have nothing to offer us, can damage our reputation and often require a long-term time commitment. Jesus says find them and lift them up whenever we can.

“Be patient toward all men…” We must realize how patient God is with us, and that “patience” is the first thing that love is. See 1 Corinthians 13:4 for confirmtion! Patience means waiting in love and hope, with prayer, for people to see what they need to see, do what they need to do, change how they need to change.

“See that none render evil for evil…” We should not allow evil men in this world to corrupt our own behavior and character. This is a constant temptation throughout life because evil people are everywhere, including the church. It is easy for us to compromise our own faith because others do it. We need to stay strong in light of worldly influences.

“Follow that which is good…” Doing good of every kind is our lifelong mandate as believers; there are millions of ways to obey it. (unfortunately also as many ways to disobey it) God’s will for us to do good toward all men – even those who don’t deserve it!

“Rejoice evermore…” This is sometimes a tough one to get a handle on, but we know that Jesus has rescued us from an eternity unspeakable misery and pain to everlasting joy and pleasure. This constant reality in our lives can give a reason to rejoice even when the woes of this world attack us.

“Pray without ceasing…” Some of us might find the idea of praying constantly just a pipe dream. The Lord, however, is wide open to communication with Him 24/7, why not continually include Him in your words and thoughts? He should never be far from our minds and we should continuously look for reasons to speak to Him.

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you…”; Before we pray, before we work, before we travel, we should be do so in the spirit of thankfulness. Gratitude can change our whole approach to everything. Thankfulness to our Redeemer in all things lets Him know that we know who is in charge and what He has done for us.

The will of God is not so hard to figure out when we realize that these kinds of statements are all throughout the Bible. Just obeying these exhortations in these verses can give us direction in many, many decisions. Wherever the Lord calls us, He calls us to live out these things. God’s Holy Spirit inspired these words, and He alone gives us the power to carry them out. Our part is to believe and act, and He then will direct our paths.

“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying around the death of Jesus in our body, in order that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are continually being handed over to death because of Jesus, in order that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal flesh.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-11)

“Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

If the truth were ever told about the effect that doubt could have in your life, the above verses hit the nail on the head.

I’ll tell you something else that’s true about doubt. It is expected in the life of every believer. So don’t be discouraged when doubt comes your way. It’s never a permanent condition, and the irony of doubt is that it always brings with it an opportunity to grow closer to God.

I don’t like the feelings I get in my gut from doubt either. I was embarrassed, for example, to admit in a column I wrote several years ago that a friend’s brush with death actually got me to wondering if there really was a heaven. Fortunately, it forced me to re-think my beliefs, and reminded me that only God could console me from the emptiness and shame that came with that experience.

No, doubt will never give you the confidence you need to ride out the storm of confusion that it inevitably brings, but God will reward you for enduring that storm.

Those doubts I had about heaven years ago continue to strengthen my faith today because I searched my heart and answered some tough questions about what I believed.

It has been said that to believe with certainty, we must begin with doubting. That’s a spiritual truth that was played out in the Bible through an encounter that Jesus had with one of his own disciples, Thomas.

Thomas was not present when Jesus first appeared to the disciples after the resurrection, so he didn’t believe his friends when they told him they had just seen Jesus. “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it,” he told them. (John 20:25)

A week later, Jesus came to his disciples again, and this time, he went straight to Thomas. “Put your finger here,” he told Thomas, “see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” (John 20:27)

Did you hear what Jesus said? “Stop doubting and believe”, but not before he told Thomas that it was okay to touch and see. To believe with certainty, we must begin with doubting.

Bill Gaither was once so plagued by the confusion that doubt brought his way, he wrote a song about it, but not until it forced him to answer some tough questions, too. Read the lyrics and think about his advice.

I believe. Help thou my unbelief.
I take the finite risk of trusting like a child.
I believe. Help thou my unbelief.
I walk into the unknown, trusting all the while.
I long so much to feel the warmth that others seem to know.
But should I never feel a thing, I claim Him even so.
I believe. Help thou my unbelief.
I walk into the unknown trusting as a child.

There are so many infinately deep and difficult questions about God that we will be confronted with during our lives that there invariably be moments of doubt. “How can this all be?” might race across the screen of our mind at times.

But here is the truth. Don’t leave the theater with that on the screen. Deal with the doubt by going to the Word, not setting it aside. Deal with the doubt by talking to those who you trust. Deal with the doubt by fervently praying about it. Deal with the doubt by revisiting your past confidence. Deal with your doubt by actively dealing with your doubt. Don’t let doubt become the reality of your spiritual life.

Doubt is focusing on what is around us rather than on Who is in us. Focus on Him. I believe. Help thou my unbelief.

“Be ye also patient; prepare your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draws near.” James 5:8

Getting to spend time with the grandkids over the last few years (actually 20!) has taught me a lot about patience.  The kids always have so much energy and they are ready to go from one activity to another without even having to catch their breath.  Because I have to catch my breath occasionally I need to learn some patience or I will get ahead of myself.  I am not a kid anymore and at 73 I hardly remember even being a kid.

Being with the grandkids is a kick. The following story did not happen, but it is in my memory banks and I could sure see it happening because so many equally neat things have happened during the years. Picture Nana preparing pancakes for all the kids (which she did), Asher and Isaac begin to argue over who would get the first pancake (which is possible). Nana sees this as an opportunity for a good Bible lesson not only for the two little ones, but for all the rest. So she says; “Now kids, if Jesus were sitting here, He would say, ‘Let my brother have the first pancake. I can wait.'” Asher then turns to Isaac and says, “Isaac, you be Jesus.” Did it happen? Naw, but could it happen? Sure. With all the great lines and all the wonderful things that have happened through the years, it might even happen the next time we are with them.

So kids want to eat first, bat first, fish first, and well, do almost everything first. (Except be punished first. They seem to be more patient in that instance). But every year as the kids get older they get more and more patient. I have heard many times recently the line, “You go first,” and it seems as the kids get older, they get more mature in this area. As we get more mature in our Christian walk, we need to show the same kind of progress in our patience.

Patience is especially important when it comes to the Lord. He has a whole lot of things to take care of and sometimes what we want to see happen now, just can’t. We have all heard the prayer, “Lord, give me patience and give it to me now.” If we don’t have patience we can easily get discouraged with the pace that God sometimes keeps. Maybe that friend we pray for just never seems to get the gospel. Maybe our ministry at work never seems to pay dividends. Maybe our life seems to stand still while those around us fly on ahead. Whatever the situation, it is possible for even the most dedicated Christian to get discouraged with God’s schedule.

The Word shows us time and time again that growth and strength in waiting are often more important than the end so impatiently longed for. Paul had time to realize this as he lay in prison, and the result was God’s words that he penned for us. Paul could have been pacing his cells waiting for God to move, but instead he used the time to write words that would change the world. Moses must have asked, ‘Why?’ many times during the delays in the wilderness, but yet the wanderings (and wonderings) were necessary to build God’s nation. Even Jesus Himself experienced the discipline of delay in His first 30 years or so before the beginning of His great public ministry.

Sometimes when we have been waiting on something for a long time, we get very weary. But we must remember we are not alone! Sometimes, like the cake that is in the oven, God’s plan must be finished before we can enjoy it. If we get it when we want it, it won’t be ready for us. Our impatience would lead to an inferior result. Let’s allow God to move at the pace He wants, because it will always be better than the pace we call for. If we ask the Lord to renew our hearts and desires today, and give us a fresh infilling of strength to wait on His perfect timing, He will do so. He wants us to have the greatest gifts at just the right time and because He is the creator of both- it is best if we let Him handle it.

“Indeed, my plans are not like your plans, and my deeds are not like your deeds, for just as the sky is higher than the earth, so my deeds are superior to your deeds and my plans superior to your plans.” Isaiah 55:8,9

I like to think of myself as okay. Not great, but at least okay. I am probably not the only one who does that. It is comforting, I guess, to look around and believe that there are a lot of people worse than we are. But today I was looking at these verses in Isaiah and I realized that the word “your” in these verses was talking about me. Not the other guy- me. My deeds are not like God’s deeds. My ways are not God’s ways. In all ways, His ways are superior to my ways.

Well, I guess that can be fairly depressing if we ponder it. But God does not stop there and leave us with no hope. Almost every part of the Bible is about hope; about how we can triumph in spite of our misguided ways. The Bible gives us hope in a world of hopelessness.

Today I was thinking back to a few summers ago to the inferior rafts that I bought for our family camping trip. I recently upgraded to one that actually floats. I thought it would be a good investment, especially for whoever is in the middle of the river in it. Our ways are like those old rafts. They are inferior and regardless of how fast or slow the leak- our ways always leak. And like the rafts, we cannot patch them on our own. We can try to fix things up on our own, but it will never work. I had to get a new raft, just like we have to become new creatures. We can’t patch up the old, we must become new. That can only be done through Christ.

I like to think some of my ways are good. But no matter how good I think they are, if they are mine, they are not the ways of God. What I need to do is to know God well enough to know His ways. When I start becoming more like Him, my ways will start to come in line with His ways.

Many people want to try to do their own thing and try to align God with them. That cannot be done. Going back to the rafts, that would be like coming back to camp and instead of pulling ourselves to shore, we try to pull the shore to us. The shore, like God, is fixed. We must be the ones that move. If God’s ways are superior to ours, why should He come to us. It is logical that we go to Him. Unfortunately, the common practice is for us to do our own thing and then try to say that is God’s way as well.

I think back to that past summer and what it was like when my raft was sinking in the middle of the river. I was thinking that I will probably go down with both ends of the raft above my head closing in on me like a giant clam. I thought how much better it would be to have a raft that holds air. Now I have a good raft because I purchased one. If we want to get rid of our inferior ways, guess what, we don’t have to purchase it. It has been paid for and all we need to do is receive it.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

While reading through the Bible there is the reoccurrence of a theme that we should keep in mind every time we open the Word. God is not hesitant to point out the diseases humankind faces, but as is the nature of a loving God, He just as quickly points out the cures. In the greatest example, God, through men with pens, has warned us of the poison called sin that pulses through each of us. God, through those same men, has revealed to us the antidote- Jesus.

This pattern is seen in almost every one of the New Testament books. God says, “Don’t do this (because it is injurious to us), but do this (because it is beneficial to us). A wonderful example can be found in Ephesians 5. Verse 17 says, “So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is,” and 18 says, “And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled by the Spirit.” Paul tells us what we should not do, but does not leave it there. He tells us what we should do instead. Every “don’t do” in the Word is followed by a “but do” and He gives us the power to do it.

Paul understands, through the Holy Spirit, that just pointing out what we should not do leaves a void that needs to be filled with something. Not long ago I heard a phrase regarding parenting. A child psychologist said to a group of parents, “if you don’t train up your child, someone else will.” What that means is that if we take something away, it will be filled with something else, but that something else isn’t always good. That’s why Paul does not just say, “Don’t be filled with spirits” and stop there, but goes on to say that we should be filled with the Holy Spirit instead.

It is said if someone quits smoking he needs to do something to fill the void left. When my dad quit smoking in 1969 he had to have something to replace the three packs a day that he smoked every day. He had to have something that replaced the nicotine, the smell, the movement of hand to lips, and a host of other habits. There weren’t enough packs of gum, nicotine patches, or suckers that could replace that thirty-year habit. He replaced the habit with prayer. He said he prayed non-stop all the way from Portland (where he smoked his last cigarette) to Grants Pass (where he died over forty years later). He said that after that day in 1969 he never craved a cigarette again. No nicotine patch for him- he put on a prayer patch instead. God always supplies the alternatives if we want to use them.

In Ephesians 4:31-32 Paul tells us “to put away every kind of bitterness, anger, wrath, quarreling, and evil, slanderous talk. and instead, be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.” We cannot just put away the bad and stop there. We must put on the good, as well. If we don’t, the bad will return; the vacuum will be filled; the old nature will step back on the throne.

The other day in my Bible reading Abraham was called to make a sacrifice and his son was laid upon the altar. When the time came for the sacrifice, God didn’t say, “Nevermind, Abraham. You proved yourself. Untie Isaac and go home.” No, God filled the void that was left on altar with a ram caught in a thicket. If God asks us to give up something, he will graciously provide a better alternative.

The Bible is a book of answers. To be otherwise would show a merciless God who has penned a medical book that lists diseases without the cures. But our God is merciful and prefers instruction to destruction. The Bible is the greatest book ever written and describes the human dilemmas more honestly than any other. Fortunately for us, it is also the book that outlines how to deal with those dilemmas. So when God directs us away from something, He always directs us toward something else. That is what a good God does; that is why we can say we have a good God.

Have a Great Day.

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.   John 1:12

A few years ago Elaine and I went to the movie Overcomer with our daughter, her husband, and a granddaughter.   It is one of those faith-based films that gets a 30% approval from the ten critics on the Rotten Tomatoes site and a 98% approval from the 2000 viewers.  Pretty typical, especially when the gospel is clearly articulated.  As soon as one of the characters started talking about the need for having Jesus I am sure the critics started noticing all kinds of poor lighting, poor performances, poor plot lines, and poor music.  Other than these things, I am sure they loved it.

One of the interesting things that stood out to me in the story was the contrast between a dying  man Thomas Hill and the main character John Harrison.    Thomas Hill had come to believe in Christ in his latter years after a lifetime of abusing himself in every way possible.  John Harrison, on the other hand,   was a successful basketball coach who had been a believer for many years and had just recently fallen on some hard times.   At one point in the movie Hill asked Coach Harrison who John Harrison was and the coach answered with  things like coach, husband , father, and other typical answers until he eventually said he was a Christian.   Hill  then asked Harrison why he had placed Christ so low on the list.  The coach was indignant at first, but then Hill’s words began to work on him as the movie progressed.   Thomas Hill was right.  The reason Coach Harrison placed Christ so low on the list was because Christ was so low on his list.

Thomas Hill’s difficulties had led him to a sincere faith in Christ, while Coach Harrison’s difficulties had exposed his weak faith in Christ.   In the Greek original of the New Testament the word sincerity means ‘judged in the sunlight’; and the English word is derived from the Latin—’sine cera’, which means ‘without wax’. In the days when art flourished in ancient Greece, it was the common practice to repair with ‘invisible’ wax any vase or statue that had, as a result of carelessness or misadventure, been damaged.

A rich man or a person of high rank might employ a sculptor to chisel the dignatary’s  bust in marble. Sometimes, if the chisel slipped, an important part of the bust would be chipped off. Rather than start all over, the sculptor would mend the damage with wax. The flaw could not be detected by a layman except under very close scrutiny. This way the sculptor was able to palm off  his defective workmanship to the unsuspecting buyer.  However, if the client happened to be a knowing person, he would carry the finished statuette out of the studio into the open before paying for it, and  would examine it carefully in the sunlight. If he failed to do this, sometime in the future he would possibly see the nose drop off his statuette in the heated room of his house. The statue was not `sincere’, not ‘without wax’, and could not bear careful scrutiny or intense heat.

Many Christians have John Harrison faith.  They say that Christ is the most important person in their lives, but believe their identity comes from people, possessions or position.  If they can squeeze Christ on the list somewhere between some of these things, that’s fine, but He certainly can’t replace any of  them.   The difficulties the coach was facing shined the light on his identity in Christ.  He had been playing the Christian game for  a long time and as long as the heat didn’t get too hot,  the wax stayed in place.   When tough times came his waxy faith was exposed.   Likewise, today’s Christianity can often be inauthentic because appearance seems more important than actuality.   

Many products today are designed to imitate the real thing. There is plastic decking that looks like real wood. Vinyl flooring that appears to be ceramic tile. You can purchase fake fur or jewelry, phony teeth, hairpieces, and other body parts. We have even reached the point to make artificial mud designed to fool the neighbors. 

Spray-on Mud was created for use on the outside of your SUV or four-wheeler.  That way it appears you use your expensive hobby for more than taking up space in the driveway. Spray it on and friends might think you’ve just returned from a wilderness adventure.  People want the authentic look without authenticity .  It’s the best of both worlds- a cheap way to look real.

There are many expressions of imitation Christianity that we can try to pass off as the real thing. Occasional church attendance when convenient passes for worship.  Giving when there is some extra money can substitute for sacrificial service.  Christian bumper stickers and symbols can be used as evangelism replacements.  Christian clichés handed on facebook can  appear to be deep biblical wisdom.  Talking a good Christian game can be just that- a game.  Charles Spurgeon once said, “I would sooner possess the joy of Christ five minutes than I would revel in the mirth of fools for half a century.”  

Let the words of Paul  in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 inspire a real walk with Christ, “When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified.  I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling.  And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit.  I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.” 

So what is authenticity?  Easy. It looks like Jesus! 

“Do you not know that all the runners in a stadium compete, but only one receives the prize? So run to win. Each competitor must exercise self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run uncertainly or box like one who hits only air. Instead I subdue my body and make it my slave, so that after preaching to others I myself will not be disqualified.” 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

In these verses Paul compares the Christian with an athlete in competition. He talks about our discipline, our effort, and our integrity. These are good verses for us to keep in mind because today our opponents are many. Besides battling against our own flesh and the principalities and powers, we battle against a world that has turned upside down and is changing the rules of morality to suit a disintegrating society.

Christianity is a faith of common sense. As we stray further and further from Christian principles we also leave common sense further and further behind. I find it amazing that groups that will close entire sections of a forest down for the tiniest of creatures can support the continual killing of the tiniest of humans. Unfortunately, most Christian principles are recognized by everyone as just Christian principles. Some are so against Christianity that they must oppose everything about Christianity to prove their dismissal of the faith. Consequently, they must reject many of the common sense principles that Christianity brings to this world. Much of the world is going along with this craziness, but every day you will hear people saying, “where is people’s common sense?” Sadly, it is disintegrating by the same proportions that people reject the Biblical world perspective.

I read a story about an unusual happening in the 1990’s in an NCAA Division II national championship cross-country race in California. A runner named Mike Delvaco and 127 of the state’s best runners were competing on a 10,000 meter course to see “who would win the prize.” About three miles into the race, Delvaco was somewhere in the middle of the pack, when he realized that the runners had made a wrong turn. So he yelled out, “You’re going the wrong way,” but they didn’t listen. Only 4 others followed Mike when he turned in the right direction…and suddenly, he found himself in the lead. He must have had some doubt when the field dropped from 128 to 5, but he stayed on course.

However, that lasted only about a mile. Mike and the runners who followed him were soon reunited with the larger pack who, having gone the wrong way, actually shaved about a half a mile off the course. The shortcut of the many put them ahead of the small band of runners that took the correct path. This was bad enough for Mike, but the final blow came when, because so many of the runners had gone the wrong way, the officials changed the official course route to accommodate their error. So when Mike Delcavo finally crossed the finish line, he was number 103 overall. His right action, as well of that of four others, was ignored and because so many went the wrong way they were rewarded with a shorter race. At the end of the race, one of Delcavo’s competitors “thought it was funny that he went the right way.”

Isn’t that a telling statement? In our mixed up world, when so many are wrong, wrong becomes right. Instead of the world keeping a standard of acceptable behavior, it changes what acceptable behavior is. But although the world changes “the course” to accommodate itself, God does not. He knows the course; He made the course; and He expects us to run the course as marked. Numbers do not influence God. No matter how many go astray, he does not accept the majority as a sign of rightness. In Noah’s day God did not change his plan for the sake of the majority.

When I was in junior high I had a math teacher named Mrs. Woodward. She was a stickler for the right answer. No matter how many kids missed a question or no matter how many different answers they had, she would only accept the right one. Unbelievable! But would she have helped us as students by accepting less than the truth?  Maybe it would have helped our grade for that semester, but it would have cost us in the long run.  Mrs. Woodward refused to enable our future failure by accepting wrong as right.

 In our day and age the majority seems to dictate the rightness or wrongness of an issue. In some cases, that might be fine (speed limits, taxes and fees, etc.), but in moral issues the majority can’t be the determining factor. In Jeremiah 17:9 God tells us, “The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable–who can understand it?” Do we really want a majority deciding the moral direction of the country? Yes, if the majority uses the Word of God as a moral compass. No, if the only compass they have is a deceitful heart.

Contrary to what many believe in this day and age, there is right and wrong. Relativism is a dead end street. Without any standards to make decisions we are at the whims of the loudest, biggest, or meanest. Much of the world uses similar standards of measurements for distance, weight, and volume. That is so everyone can understand each other. If there were hundreds of different measurements for lengths, every distance would have to be renamed hundreds of times. No one would be able to determine if a mile was actually a mile. In some countries, a mile might not exist as a measurement and they would have to invent a new word for that distance. It would be very cumbersome.

Only a few people at New Hope (my church) know this (because I mentioned it in a sermon), but my height is also a measurement found in the dictionary and and on the internet. I am a smoot. One smoot is equal to Oliver Smoot’s height in 1962 which was 67 inches. Smoot was a student at MIT and as a fraternity prank they used his height to determine the length of the Harvard Bridge which stretches between Boston and Cambridge.  Smoot would lie down and his frat brothers would make a new mark each time he repositioned. The bridge’s length turned out to be 364 smoots plus or minus one ear. The markings on the bridge are redone each year by the fraternity and with the blessing of the city have been maintained through several bridge renovations. It has become quite a tourist attraction. So at 5’ 7” I am a smoot. (By the way, for the curious, the ark was about 81 smoots long, give or take an ear!)

You can see what happens. The smoot has to be translated back into measurements with which we are familiar, or a smoot is meaningless. When we don’t have any standard of right or wrong and everyone just determines what it is on his own, and it is a chaotic situation. Actions that used to be considered “wrong” not only become acceptable, but become the only actions that are “right.” I did a chapel service at a Boy Scout Family Camp one weekend. I went through the scout oath, scout law, scout motto, etc. from the 1911 handbook. I compared the admonitions of the handbook to the admonitions of the Bible.

Needless to say, things have changed in our world.  When a phrases like, “physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight” occur, they rely on accepted standards of physical strength, mental alertness, and morality. The definitions of those terms have been so obscured that what these phrases mean now is anybody’s guess. Of course, for those of us that believe that the Bible defines standards for behavior, we also interpret the handbook phrases the same way.  We take them for what they meant in 1911 when God played an important part of the Scouting experience. Those who do not hold a Biblical standard look at a term like “morally straight” and must determine what it means on their own.  To some “morally straight” might mean being straight with themselves and doing whatever they want.  Is that what it originally meant in the scout handbook (or in the Bible)?  Probably not.

Like Mike Delvaco showed us, taking the right path does not always “pay off” with reward. It takes courage and conviction to follow wholeheartedly after God instead of the rest of the world. Sometimes it can get lonely running alone, and we may be wondering where the others are going. We might even yell out, “You’re going the wrong way,” but most won’t listen. Instead, we will be heckled and ridiculed by others who pursue their own course. And ultimately, the “race officials” may reward others for bad turns. The news consistently show us that! But we must remain on God’s course. We must run with discipline, doing our best, staying on course, and when the race is over and when we have finished the course, He who is the true judge will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

I was listening to an interesting debate awhile back. It was between an atheist and an evangelical. One of the atheist’s defenses for social evolution apart from God was his belief that our society has grown beyond the violence of past centuries. He went on to say that the 20th century was the most peaceful century in history. I guess he was sleeping in history 101 when they covered WWI, WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the other 27 Major conflicts of the 1900’s. Historian Eric Hobsbawn said in his book on the 1900’s, “the 20th century was the most murderous in recorded history. The total number of deaths caused by or associated with its wars has been estimated at 187 million, the equivalent of more than 10 per cent of the world’s population in 1913.” He went on to say that the century experienced very few periods of worldwide peace. It seems to me that the twentieth century isn’t the best time period to reference while extolling the peaceful progress of humanity.

In fact, as I examine history, I see not the progress of humankind, but the plight of humankind and that is just another reason why I believe the Word of God. History portrays more realistically the Bible’s explanations of man and the world around him than any atheistic philosophy I have ever read. The idea that this world, life, and culture are evolving for the better in any way is a pipe dream. Peace on this earth can only be found in one place, and that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. All other peace is fragile, fleeting, and in the long run, fake. In Jeremiah 17:9 we are told, “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” Later in Matthew 15:19 we see that man has a heart problem, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.” These comments on man seem to match what I see in the news a lot more than an atheistic view that we are building societies of peace and justice.

It seems to me that atheists are caught in the middle of their own beliefs. They assume that Godlessness will lead to more order, more peace, more ethical societies, but why should it? If we are just organic with no real moral compass, why shouldn’t we press for power? Why shouldn’t the biggest, strongest, most powerful be in charge. If the meanings of such words as life, murder, rights, and more are allowed to change from generation to generation, culture to culture, place to place, then there is no standard of right and wrong and everyone can make his own rules. If everyone can make his own rules, why wouldn’t he make rules that benefit himself.

On the other hand, if there is some kind of altruism that sometimes is found in humans, why should it be there? Would we, people just made of matter, without spirits, without souls, without a creator, ever choose to be decent in this survival-of-the-fittest world we live in. Conscience does not evolve but is part of our inborn knowledge that there is something, no, Someone greater than we. Either we are a soulless part of the animal kingdom and have excuse to be selfish because we rightfully fight for power (see Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, etc), or we are separated from the animal kingdom by a conscience not found in any other creature because we are “fearfully and wonderfully” made.

Romans 10:3 is right: “There are none who are righteous, no, not one.” That is pretty plain. Romans also tells us that, “All have sinned and have come short of the glory of God” and “the wages of sin is death” but what is the good news- “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” We will not evolve into “good” people and we will not evolve into a “good” society. We can only replace the bad nature with a good one, and that only comes through Christ. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, all things have become new.” Until all things become new through Christ, this world will not get better. The bottom line is this: We are created with a knowledge of right and wrong but without the power within ourselves to enforce it. We will continue to ignore what is right until we are filled with He Who is right. That is not evolution of our world, but revolution in our souls. We must go against our natural tendencies for evil and be filled with that which is good. Until then our world’s progression is nothing more than regression.

“To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit…” 1 Peter 3:8

We are bombarded every day with negative news. There seems to be more violence and evil acts than ever before. It may seem like this is a new phenomenon, but this kind of behavior has existed ever since the fall. Cain killed his brother Able and it has been downhill ever since. But we are of a faith that calls not for violence, revenge and hate but one which calls for peace, forgiveness and love. That is a unique message among the people of today.

The New Testament and most notably the epistles of Paul were written for us today. In most of the Old Testament there were two kinds of people- the people of Israel and the gentiles (everyone else). In the Old Testament there were also countless stories about fighting among the people. There seems to be a painful story of violence scattered throughout every book. But though violence in the world has not ended, the message of the Bible for us today has become clear. Although there are still only two kinds of people in the world, those of the body of Christ and those who are not of the body of Christ, the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ has brought a new message of love into the world.

In today’s verse Peter calls us to get along with others, to be kind toward others, to be compassionate toward others. At the beginning of the verse he uses the phrase “to sum up” and this is a fair portrayal not only of his previous words, but the words of the whole New Testament. Throughout the New Testament we are instructed to care about one another. Whether the speaker is Jesus, Luke, James, Peter, or Paul, or one of the many others, the exhortation is one of love. I am convinced that if we who know Christ lived as the Word instructs, the need for missionaries would be eliminated. Everyone who came in contact with a Christian would want to know more about Christ, and anyone who knew Him would be able to share Him. Our love would be like a wildfire on a dry hill, spreading with every gust of wind that hits it.

I have wept in the night for the shortness of sight,
That to somebody’s need I was blind;
But I never have yet felt a twinge of regret,
For being a little too kind.

Today we will have countless opportunities to show the world who Christ is. It may be in small ways or big ways, it doesn’t matter. We may be the closest some people get to Jesus today. Our small kindness might be the last step in series of happenings in their journey to know Christ. The world is full of evil, but Christ calls us to be good, and the good that we can do should contrast so vividly with the world that people cannot but ask who this Jesus is we follow. Remember, we do not do kind deeds for just kind deed’s sake. We do kind things because it will give us the opportunity to share Jesus. Our kindness, though called for in the Word, will not, on its own, introduce others to Jesus. Our kindness should just be a vehicle that allows us to share where we receive our power to good.

So do good today. In this pretty dark world, it can sure use some light, and as we know, Jesus is the Light of the World.