I was listening to an interesting debate the other day.  It was between an atheist and an evangelical.  One of the atheists 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.  Sidney Harris, prolific reader and writer once said, “Once we assuage our conscience by calling something a “necessary evil,” it begins to look more and more necessary and less and less evil.”  We are evil by nature, but we try to live in a state of denial. 

There is a sign on a fence out on a Texas plain.  It says, “STOP. I know you’re thinking about crossing this gate. What you should know is that if the Coyotes, Cactus, Mesquite, Heat, Dust or Rattlers don’t get you, I will.”  There is a fence at the edge of our bad behavior.   Before we start to step over that fence there are warnings.  Satan knows that our indiscretions  will lead to dangers on their own. Broken hearts, broken spirits, and broken lives await like dangers in the desert.  Beyond those dangers Satan and his minions await if they are needed to finish us off.  They allow our own sins to destroy us and wait to add the finishing touches if necessary.   We do most of satan’s work for him by just being ourselves.

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 the good news is-  “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 the. Spirit of the One 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.

While reading through the Bible we will see a reoccurrence of a theme that we should take note of every time we open its pages.  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 leave a void,  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.

So God is the void filler.   No one knew that better than George Mueller who operated an orphanage in the late 1800’s that at one time had 1,000 orphans. One morning there was no food to eat, but he called all the children and staff together and prayed thanking God for the provision of food, even though no food was on the table. A few moments later a baker knocked on the door. He told Mr. Muller that God had led him to bake bread the night before and give it to the orphanage. Before the bread was given to the children, a milkman knocked on the door. He said that his milk truck had broken down and he wanted to give the milk to the orphanage.

God is the great provider.  He wants to fill our voids with something good.  He knows that the vacuum of emptiness will cause collapse and He wants to shore things up with something good and strong and long-lasting.  One time when I was remolding a house I had to take out a bearing wall, so I had to put in a large beam to carry the weight of the roof.  Just taking out the rotting boards would have been disaster.  So it is with so many things.  Just taking something rotten out

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of our life will be not last unless it is replaced with something better.

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.

Today 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.

“Declaring the end from the beginning…saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” Isaiah 46:10

What can we rely on during these unsteady times? The financial world is a roller coaster, violence dominates the news, family breakdowns are more frequent than not, COVID is wreaking havoc on businesses and schools, and and even churches are not immune to friction and fracture. It is not just institutions that are disintegrating, but people as well. Politicians, sports figures, celebrities, and professionals all take turns falling out of their places of respect. People look around desperately for something or someone to rely on but to no avail- or at least it seems that way.

We need someone who is constant in this inconsistent world. That kind of unchanging rock solid foundation can only be found in God. Deuteronomy 32:4 says the Lord is “The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He,” and in 1 Samuel 2:2 we are told,  “There is no one holy like the LORD, Indeed, there is no one besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.”  God can be a refuge because He is the “same yesterday, today, and forever.”

We need to put someone in charge of our lives Who does not fluctuate with every change of wind- Someone whose every decision is based on rightness. Someone who actually has a plan for our lives. There is a famous military motto: “No plan of war survives first contact with the enemy.” This holds true in every human conflict because it is impossible to know for certain how one’s enemy will react or what circumstances may intervene to change any planned course of action, but this is not true of God.

God does not wonder what the future holds and we can be assured that God does not worry about his purposes coming to fruition.  Has it ever occurred to you that nothing has ever occurred to God?

He has never said, “Huh, I never thought of that, I’m glad you brought that to my attention.”  Because He knows all things, God’s plans are never frustrated, foiled, or even hindered. His word declares His purposes, His designs, and His works. He does not just describe the things that will come to pass, He has declared them and designed them. We will do our best to throw monkey wrenches in God’s plans, but ultimately He brings things into alignment with His will. He takes our wanderings and turns them into detours.

The guillemot is a small arctic sea bird that lives on the rocky cliffs of northern coastal regions. These birds flock together by the thousands in comparatively small areas. Because of the crowded conditions, hundreds of females lay their pear-shaped eggs side by side on a narrow ledge in a long row. Since the eggs all look alike, it is incredible that a mother bird can identify those that belong to her. Yet studies show that she knows her own eggs so well that when even one is moved, she finds it and returns it to its original location. 

Scripture tells us that God is also intimately acquainted with each of his children. He knows our every thought and emotion, every decision we must make and problem we are going through. Therefore, an understanding  of God’s omniscience should both evoke praise and bring comfort to believers.

The Word tells us that God’s great plans cannot be thwarted. He may allow fluctuation in the way they come about, but they will come about. Since He is the holder of the map, it would seem that He should be the one leading our lives. Ironically, we think we know more than the One who knows all. We will try in all sorts of ways to free ourselves from the captivities of this life, but only God has the keys to freedom.

There was once a prisoner who tried to escape prison by hiding in a truck. After an uncomfortable ride the truck stopped, he crawled out, and found himself in another prison just a short drive away. That is what we do if we try to escape the confinements of this life on our own. We will just travel from one prison to another attempting to right our life, always believing the next plan will work. There is only one who has the right plans for escape. Ironically, we build the prison, but He holds the keys.

We are enclosed by a wicked world, but God’s counsel shall stand. He will ultimately overrule wickedness for the good of his people and the glory of His name. His plans are not changed with first contact with the enemy because nothing surprises Him. He is the kind of  leader we want to put our faith in, to trust our lives to, and to follow wherever He might lead for only he knows the path to freedom.  Follow Him.

Part 2

If you have not read last week’s devotion, you might want to check it out (or review it).  This is a continuation of the same theme and it might not make sense without a quick revisiting of last week…

…So the only way to properly look at ourselves and the world around us is by looking at the Word before looking at ourselves and others.  If we know the Word, we will not put things in it that are not there.  We will not take our pet peeves and create verses to support them.  We will be able to see what things are breaking God’s Word and what things are just breaking our hearts.  We won’t let irritations become foundations to our beliefs.  Secondly, we need to check our own behavior to see if it could adversely affect others.  Is what we are doing so important that we would risk another person in the process?  If our actions can hurt others who are less mature in the faith, maybe the deed is not worth doing.  Lastly, we should be slow to judge others.  When we impose our list of personal dislikes onto others in relation to spirituality, it is wrong.

Can we look at murder and say that it is spiritually wrong?  Yes, scripture plainly states that it is.  Can we say that playing electric guitar for worship songs is spiritually wrong?  No, I am pretty sure that is not in the Bible.  Can we not like certain things? Sure, but we can’t build false doctrines on these things.  We can’t condemn someone to eternal fire because they don’t do everything we do.  We should not stumble ourselves or others, bottom line.

I heard a story one time about a man, we will call him Ed, who hated long hair on a man, so much so, he questioned whether a man with long hair could even be saved.  While out of town he visited a church and met a man in the lobby that had his hair pulled back into a long pony tail.  He had an immediate dislike for the man, who he had assumed was immature in the Lord (if he was in the Lord at all).  When the service began, the pastor called the man with long hair forward and thanked him for playing Jesus in the Easter play the week before.  Ed squirmed a little in his seat. The pastor then spoke of how the man had lost his sister to cancer and had agreed to grow out his hair for the play if people would pledge so much per inch for the local cancer center.  The pastor had him lean his head back and measured his hair.  It was 14 inches long.  With all the pledges from the church and community, the man raised almost $15,000 for the center.  That day Ed was changed.  Whenever he found himself judging others for inconsequential things, he would close his eyes and picture the man with his head tilted back, hair being measured, and instead of being critical Ed would measure his own actions against the Word of God.

So let’s not make doctrinal mountains out of spiritual molehills.  There have been church splits  and even family splits over things that don’t matter.  We get upset at little things and turn our backs on the big.  That seems to be the norm in every part of the world right now.  We pick and choose what to be enraged about and what to be accepting of, and we most often choose wrong.  Look at some of our own country’s stances on world issues.  We picket because of a single shooting of an individual, but accept the killing of thousands of innocents in the womb.  We change laws to give women in our country free birth control, but ignore that over 90% of women in some countries go through forced mutilation.  We get all bent out of shape if we don’t give more than equal rights to homosexuals, but in some countries that we support homosexuals are being executed daily.  I could go on and on to show the unbalanced views that exist in this world.

Unfortunately, we do much of the same in the church.  We get upset at the attire that someone wears to our church and then listen with glee to a dynamic pastor on TV who blasphemes the Word of God but does it with charisma.  There is a pastor named Mark Driscoll who started what was called the Mars Church about ten years ago.  He is a good speaker and I listened to a few of his sermons quite a few years back.  I even subscribed to his podcast which was one of the most popular on iTunes.  One day while driving I listened to a sermon on his thoughts on sanctification and I was blown away by what he said.  As soon as I got home, I unsubscribed to his podcast and erased everything I had by him on my iPod.  What he said was completely unbiblical and crass on top of that.  Yet he had and continued to have a loyal following of thousands and had hundreds of churches in his network.  That was until a few years ago when it all came tumbling down. A whole lot of his weak theological beliefs, questionable personal decisions, shady economic moves, and unethical behaviors  were exposed and he was  asked to step down under a very dark cloud.  Yet, he still has his followers.  Many have jumped on the anti-bandwagon, but many of those are the same ones who accepted his teaching for years and just didn’t listen to it.  Pastor Driscoll once told one of his elders to step down because his “fatness” embarrassed him and the church.  He was worried about the “fatness” of others rather than the “leanness” of his preaching.

Here is the point of this.  Pastor Driscoll has been way off from the beginning, but he snookered even well-known pastors into supporting his efforts because his efforts were “cool.”  He was a hip new pastor who was bringing in numbers.  His church growth and church planting was on fire.  Unfortunately, much of what he said about the word needed to be tossed in the fire.  Yet, people flocked behind him.  Many of those people probably had really strong feelings about the stilted services of the past.  Their new approach to worship was the “right way” and the funky ways of old were not only passé, but probably unbiblical.  His was the new blue-jean worship leader that brought in enthusiasm and fervor.  So people accepted him and rejected the Word.  Now everyone is in repair mode.  My point?  We should spend more time worrying about truth than we do about peripherals that mean little in the kingdom.

So let’s not get our spiritual undies in a knot over what doesn’t even matter at the expense of what really does matter.  The truth of God’s word matters.  There was a Methodist church that split over the color of the pews.  A Methodist church which accepts every liberal cause and slant in today’s society.  A Methodist church which has homosexual pastors and will not allow the blood to mentioned in their hymnals.  A Methodist church which is on the cutting edge of every anti-spiritual activist cause and has founder John Wesley spinning in his grave.  That same Methodist church is worried about the color of its pews.

We need to prioritize our lives and especially our spiritual lives.  2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that,  “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”  Only the scripture should be our standard for how we look at the world.  When we get caught up in the petty it will almost always be at the cost of the important.  As Christians we should take stands for Truth and Christ is Truth.   It is too exhausting to get caught up in the minor and we won’t have enough strength to take on the major.

I belong to a great gospel giving group called the Pocket Testament League.  This group is dedicated to presenting the gospel to the world through devotionals and the Gospel of John.

Here is an example of the contents of one of their booklets.  Enjoy!

The World’s Greatest Message