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David Scudder
DaveBethel at gmail dot com Sr. Pastor of Bethel Chapel Church
Derick Scudder > Misc. comments from Bethel's youth leader
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Bethel's Youth Group > Musings from Bethel's young people Kensington Neighorhood House > Our Outreach to Kensington |
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It is SO easy to let life get out of focus. Our daily routine is filled with necessary things that need doing. There are bills to pay, groceries to buy, clothes to wash, floors to scrub, and teeth to brush. Life is also filled with many distractions. Television and the Internet are constantly beckoning us to check them out. There are friends to make small talk with, sports to watch, and mindless games to play. In addition, we all struggle with many disappointments. Sometimes our health breaks and slows us down. To top it off, people are frustrating. It’s hard to live with them, even those who are closest to us, and still be content.
The frustrations of everyday life are hard, but maybe what is worst of all is losing the energy to do what is really important. Someone figured out that a person who lives a typical 70 year lifespan will spend 23 years sleeping, 16 years working, 8 years watching TV, 6 years eating, 6 years traveling, 4.5 years of free time (in addition to the TV time), 4 years getting dressed, and 0.5 years with religious things. Scripture says, “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account or ourselves to God.” If those totals reflected your life when you met God, would you feel comfortable having given Him only half a year out of the seventy years He gave you here on earth? When we spend our lives on meaningless things, we tend to feel very empty. I recently read about a wealthy fool. In Deadwood, South Dakota, there is a museum with this inscription from a weary prospector: “I lost my gun. I lost my horse. I am out of food. The Indians are after me. But I’ve got all the gold I can carry!” What a fool! He had spent his life getting and holding on to things that weighed him down and cost him his life. John Wanamaker is an example of wealthy man whose life had real meaning. In the late 1800’s he opened a department store here in Philadelphia. Within a few years that store become one of the most successful of its kind in the country. But running his department store wasn’t the only job that Wanamaker had. He was not only the Postmaster General of the United States, but he was also the Sunday School superintendent at Bethany Presbyterian Church. That Sunday School was the largest one in the world at the time. Someone asked him how he could do all that he did, and he explained. “Early in life I read, ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you’ (Matthew 6:33). The Sunday School is my business, all the rest are the ‘things’.” Life is filled with meaningless tasks and empty amusements. The key, though, is learning to put the most important thing first: God’s Kingdom. Because John Wanamaker loved and followed Jesus Christ, he wanted to keep his relationship with Jesus fresh. That is why Mr. Wanamaker went to the trouble of constructing a soundproof room in his store where he spent 30 minutes every day praying and meditating on God’s Word. He had his priorities straight, and that brought him the contentment that all of his money would not have been able to buy. God has designed life to work the best when we put Him first. Where is your relationship with God on your list of priorities? In a speech to a group of college students Henry Drummond, a scientist at the turn of the century, said: “Gentlemen, I beseech you to seek the kingdom of God first, or not at all. I promise you a miserable time if you seek it second.”
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Prayer may be forbidden in the public schools and it may be banned in most community meetings, but on Saturday March 28th it made the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Imagine that! The headline read, “As flood crest nears, Fargo braces and prays.” It is interesting to me that when things are clearly out of our control, like a flood, then it’s OK to pray. Otherwise, prayer seems to be treated as something to be avoided--or even as something that’s dangerous to our social order.
That article got me to thinking. What is prayer anyway? I think everyone would agree that it is our attempt to talk to a Higher Power. Is it enough, though, to just pray to an unnamed “Higher Power”? Or to put it another way, does it matter who we think we are praying to? I’ve heard people say things like, “There is only one God, so it doesn’t matter what you call Him or what you think He is like.” Is that true? Let’s look at what God says about that. The Bible says that, “Jehovah He is God; there is none else besides Him” (Deuteronomy 4:35). Why does God call himself “Jehovah”? What does that mean? The name “Jehovah” means “I Am that I Am.” That special name identifies God as someone who has always existed. It proclaims that God never had a beginning and that He will never have an end. He doesn’t need anyone or anything else. His name also proclaims that God is unique. He isn’t like us, only more powerful. He isn’t like anyone else. Often when I talk to people they say, “Well, I think that God is __________,” and then they share their own ideas about what they think God is like. Their ideas are interesting, but I try to help them understand that sharing our ideas and opinions about who God isn’t helpful. God is not someone we are creating together. God is! We have to find out who God is if we are going to actually be praying to Him. Otherwise, we’re just talking to ourselves and to our imaginations so we can make ourselves feel better. Since God does not come from our own ideas, we have to come to His written Word to know what He is like. God wants us to understand Him. He has promised: “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). God does not leave us wondering or guessing who He is, and He never encourages us to make up something we want Him to be. Let’s look at the Scripture and see some things we can know about the God we should be praying to. This eternal God is always right. If we are going to be to praying to the One True God, we must admit that He is always right. God’s viewpoint about each of us is right, too. God says “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6). When we accept who God is, we have to come to Him agreeing that we are like lost sheep that need to be saved. Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). Jesus is God and He came to earth to save us, the lost sheep that have gone astray. Jesus is the One who did all the work for us so that we can come and pray to God. “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). If we accept what Jesus did for us on the Cross, we can, “come near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). Prayer is a wonderful and blessed privilege when we understand what makes is possible. Our government may try to limit prayer, but the truth is: no one can stop you from praying but you. You are the one who must find out who God is. You are the one who must call out to Him. I hope you will put prayer on the front page of your life.
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If you read my article last week, the above title may sound like sarcasm. It isn't. Last week I reported that my son was accosted by three teenagers in broad daylight right here on a Sunday afternoon. In spite of thirteen stitches to his face, though, there were many positive things about our neighborhood that came to light during that incident. The police reacted quickly and professionally. Several bystanders were quick to call 911 and then were willing to give the police information so they could find the perpetrators. The stolen money was recovered, and the three thugs were apprehended. It was also encouraging to learn that the criminals weren't even from our neighborhood.
These things reminded me that there are many positives about living here in Juniata. For example, most of our neighbors are kind, decent, hard working people. We have immigrants from all over the world in Juniata, but we generally live together in harmony. Not every community can say that. There are several other recent, encouraging developments. The Juniata Action Committee is emerging as a positive influence to help make Juniata a cleaner and better place to live. We now have a tract of brand new homes by Castor and Wingohocking Streets. The Cancer Treatment Centers of America has transformed the old Parkview hospital into a state-of-the-art cancer care facility that is drawing patients from an average of 500 miles away. We can also be grateful that we live in a country where we still have the freedom to worship God freely. Many of you took advantage of that freedom on Easter Sunday. It’s easy to take that freedom for granted—until you go to the immigration office and hear the stories of people seeking asylum in America. Last week I listened to a Christian from Pakistan describe how the police had beaten him because the singing of Christians in his home disturbed his neighbors. Freedom to worship God is a wonderful gift! There is another privilege that we all share as well. We can obtain and read the Bible. That may not sound very important since Bibles are so easy to get in our country, but there are millions of people around the world who would love to have their very own Bible. I have seen people go from despair to joy because of what they learned in the Bible. Enjoy all the benefits that God has blessed us with, and I know that you will then be able to look up to God and say with David: “I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. (Psalm 139:14). “The afflicted will eat and be satisfied; those who seek Him will praise the Lord. Let your heart live forever!” (Psalm 22:26)
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Last Sunday I ended my sermon about suffering by showing a picture of a beautiful sunset with a large cross silhouetted to one side. On the screen was a quote by Joseph Church: “Sufferings are but as little chips of the Cross.” I had talked about God’s grace and the reasons why we should be willing to suffer for Christ. Those are beautiful things to talk about.
The cross was an ugly thing, though. The chips of suffering that God lets fall into our lives are ugly, too, but God wants the words we say in church to mirror the life we live on the street. He sent some chips of the cross into our lives about an hour later. Derick (an adult son of mine and one of the pastors here at Bethel) stopped by Wawa after church with Bill, an older man who recently found Christ and began attending our church. Derick left the store first. After he unlocked his car, he looked back and saw Bill on the pavement and three young men beating him up. Derick ran back, yelling at them, expecting them to scatter. Instead, the men left Bill lying there and went after Derick. They slugged him in the face several times and then ran off, leaving Derick staggering and blood-splattered. You can probably imagine that desperate scene at Wawa: the thugs attacking, the blood, and the frantic calls to the police. That all happened in our neighborhood, at a store we go to often. Can you imagine the cross, though? Much more injustice, more blood, more suffering than we will ever see in our neighborhood. Anytime we suffer it should remind us of the much bigger suffering that Jesus endured on Good Friday over 2,000 years ago. “For consider [Christ] who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:3). “But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9). Jesus was God. He didn’t have to suffer and die. He volunteered to do it for us. You can imagine my feelings as I raced through the neighborhood looking for Derick. He’d called me first, but in the stress of the moment didn’t tell me (or I didn’t hear) where the beating had happened. I went several places before I found the ambulance and the police cars, the scene of the crime. Can you imagine my emotions? It was almost half an hour before I could find out how badly Derick had been hurt. I was torn with grief and love. Can you imagine how God felt about His Son’s suffering for us? Jesus, His Son, who had never wronged anyone, beaten and bruised and bloody, dying in agony for the wrongs we have done. God was also torn with grief, but His love for us was greater. He let the world’s greatest injustice happen on Good Friday to Himself. Can you imagine how Bill felt? When we first saw him standing beside the police car, he was fighting tears. We told him how thankful we were that he was unhurt, but he pointed to Derick’s bloody face and said in a choked voice, “That would have been me if it hadn’t been for Derick.” This Easter season, those of us who know Jesus Christ as Savior point to a bloody cross and say, “That should have been me. I deserved God’s punishment for my sin, but Jesus stepped in and took it for me.” I’m so glad the cross isn’t the end of the story. After Good Friday came Easter Sunday—the resurrection, the beginning of the end of death forever. The death of Jesus made a way for those who accept His sacrifice to live forever with Him. My story, too, had a very good ending. Quick action by the police and witnesses helped them capture all three criminals. The doctor stitched up Derick’s face, and his black eye is healing. Bill was unhurt, and the police found and returned his money that the thieves had stolen. Will your life have a good ending? No, I’m not talking about how you will die. I’m talking about what will happen afterwards. Have you accepted Christ’s sacrifice? Does the Easter message fill your heart with grateful joy? “He [God the Father] made [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
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The 1972 Winter Olympics were held in Sapporo, Japan. Many Americans noticed that one of the main tourist attractions was a statue honoring Dr. William S. Clark. Dr. Clark was an American professor who helped found Hokkaido University in the late 1800’s. Prominently displayed on his statue are his last words to his students: “Boys, be ambitious!” In fact, that slogan, “Be ambitious” was found all over the town. Unfortunately, the slogan was incomplete. I’ll explain more about that in a minute.
That motto is one our own society would love, isn’t it? The magazine headlines we see as we’re standing in the check-out line at the grocery store show exactly what we are ambitious for. You don’t even need to open them to find out what they think is most important. Those tabloids have one message that comes across loud and clear: There is nothing more important than being good looking, wealthy, and famous. A few years ago children in Great Britain were asked to name what they thought were the best things in the world. The top three answers were (in this order): being a celebrity, good looking, and rich. I am sure that the young people in our country also idolize the same kind of people. When the cameras are turned off, though, what are our culture’s idols really like? The truth is less than glamous. Celebrities have a very high rate of divorce, drug adiction, and suicide. If we read much at all about their lives, we know that, for the most part, the rich and famous are not very happy people. For example, look at this list of famous people who have been so miserable that they have attempted to end their own lives: Halle Berry, Drew Carey, Mike Wallace, Elizabeth Taylor, Drew Barrymore, Gary Coleman, Sammy Davis, Jr., Diana, Princess of Wales, Eminem, Ken Griffey, Jr., Elton John, Ozzy Osbourne, Terrell Owens, Britney Spears, Vanilla Ice, and the list goes on. [According to http://defamer.com/hollywood/killing-yourself/the-big-list-of-celebrity-suicide-attempts-297235.php] When you think about it that way, why do so many people want to be like them? What would cause wealthy, good-looking celebrities to be so unhappy? They seem to have everything that this world could offer. Ironically, it is the money and fame themselves that contribute to their unhappiness. This is why the Bible gives us this warning, “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!” (James 5:1, 3). Even when they’ve achieved the very best this world has to offer, there is an inner emptiness inside their hearts. Inside they ask themselves, “Is this all there is?” Although others think they have everything, their own hungry souls are still unsatisfied. They need Christ. It is so much better, “to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:1).I could fill pages telling of people who’ve given up wealth and fame for Jesus and who’ve found Him to be all He has promised. I too have found that personal satisfaction and so have all those in our church family here at Bethel Chapel. It isn’t religion. It’s a relationship with the God who created us, who loves us, and who made a way for us to spend eternity with Him by sending His Son to pay the penalty for our sin on the cross. What most people don’t know is that the famous slogan on that statue in Japan is only part of what Professor Clark actually said. His original words were, “Boys, be ambitions for Christ!” Leaving Christ out of that statement makes all the difference because Christ is the only solution to the unhappiness that our sin-filled world causes. “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). There is a lot of unhappiness. Celebrities, for the most part are unhappy. Sadly, so many others are unhappy because they AREN’T celebrities. There is a solution, though. Fixing your attention on the God who created you will lead you down a path that results in true happiness. “Glory in His holy name; let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad. Seek the LORD and His strength; seek His face continually” (Psalm 105:3-4).
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Several years ago I packed my family in our little Toyota hatchback and headed out for a day of sightseeing in Washington, D.C. We had never been there before. At the time we had three boys. Their ages were 9, 7, and 1. When we arrived in D.C., it began to rain. Another car slid on the wet pavement and slammed into the back of ours. No one was hurt, but the front wheels of our car were so bent that it couldn’t be driven. I called for a tow truck and found a dealer who promised to fix the car that day. My wife loaded the baby in a stroller and, along with our ten-year-old, headed out to see what they could. The seven-year-old stayed back with me. We made our way to the dealer and waited most of the day until our car was fixed. In the meantime, as the rain continued to fall, my wife eventually had to take refuge in the lobby of an expensive hotel. Picture this: my wife and our two sons, exhausted and drenched, sitting in a lobby made of marble with plush carpet and expensive chandeliers overhead. The room was filled with wealthy guests hurrying by in their expensive outfits. Boy, did they feel out of place!
Expensive hotel lobbies aren’t the only places where people can feel uncomfortable. Places of worship can also make many people feel unwelcome or out of place. It should never be that way, though. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone. “Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you” (Isaiah 55:1,3). Jesus illustrated this truth by telling a fascinating story about a king who threw a wedding party for his son. (You’ll find the whole story in Matthew 22:1-14). When the invited guests showed no interest in coming the king told his servants, “The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast. [They] went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests” (Matthew 22:8-10). God doesn’t care how insignificant others may think we are. The Bible makes it clear that no one will be excluded from heaven because of their race or background. Every week I get to experience a glimpse of what heaven will be like when I spend time with the people at Bethel Chapel Church. They come from many different backgrounds and all parts of the world. We enjoy being together, not because we look alike, but because we all love the same Christ. That is what all Christians should delight in. Otherwise they won’t enjoy heaven because one day all the forgiven sinners in heaven will sing: “Worthy are You [Jesus] . . . for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9). The Bible also makes it clear that, although all are invited, only the people who accept God’s invitation are going to heaven. Those who accept it know that they are full of sin and desperately need forgiveness. Christ died for our sins because there was nothing we could do to rescue ourselves: “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). We must also accept that Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross is all that’s needed to pay for all of our sins. Forgiveness is God’s work alone. “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy” (Titus 3:3-5). If you are unfamiliar with our church, don’t assume you will feel out of place. If you know you have a need, come and meet the One who is inviting you to trust Him for forgiveness and the power He can give to change your life. A true sorrow for past sins produces a desire to not sin in the future. Everyone who will “repent and believe in the gospel”(Mark 1:15) is welcome into the lobby of God’s grace. Praise the Lord! There is no need to feel “out of place” when God accepts us as one of His own.
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America is the wealthiest nation in the history of the planet. We have the world’s best health care, the strongest military, one of the highest life-expectancy rates, and one of the lowest unemployment rates anywhere in the world. What more could we want, right? Well, divorce, crime, and suicide are skyrocketing. The average home is less stable than ever before, largely due to the fact that over 40% of all children born in America (80% of minority children) don’t have married parents.
William J. Bennett, former Secretary of Education, gives us this bleak comparison: “In 1940 teachers identified the top problems in America’s schools as: talking out of turn, chewing gum, making noise and running in the hall. In 1990, teachers listed drugs, alcohol, pregnancy, suicide, rape and assault. These are not good things to get used to, either. There is a coarseness, a callousness and a cynicism to our era. The worst of it has to do with our children. Our culture seems almost dedicated to the corruption of the young. We have become [numb] to the cultural rot that is setting in. People are losing their capacity for shock, disgust and outrage...” Wouldn’t it be great if America could find its way back to better morality? In order to find our way back, we must figure out where we went wrong. Our country is like a train that has jumped the tracks. The engine may be powerful, the cars may be deluxe, but nothing good happens once it leaves the tracks. My thoughts about where we have gone wrong may shock you – especially since I pastor a church. Much of the blame, I believe, lies at the doorstep of the American church. Jesus told one church that they got off track when they left their “first love” (Revelation 2:4). Our love for Christ should mean more to us than anything else. Last week I talked about William Booth who founded the Salvation Army in the middle 1800's. I think he was right when he predicted where the church would get off track. This is how Booth saw it: “I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Spirit, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without [a changed life], politics without God, and heaven without hell.” The church gets into trouble every time it forgets that all truth is based on Christ. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). Too many churches have shown more interest in connecting with the culture, rather than praying that God would correct the culture. Being liked and accepted, I fear, has become more important than proclaiming truth. The modern church tends to brag more about how exciting their Sunday worship is, rather than about how holy and loving their God is. Out of a fear of offending people, many churches have subtly shifted the message away from Christ. Even though the Bible’s message may not be “culturally correct,” Paul proclaimed it anyway. He said that his main passion was to talk about “Jesus Christ, and Him crucified . . . so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:2,5). Before we can be a part of getting our culture back on track, we have to begin fixing our own lives and families. We do that by having an eternal and personal relationship with our Creator. “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things” (Jeremiah 9:23-24). I am praying that we will all get back on track. If you would like to do that, I have a booklet that will help. It’s called, “Living Water: The Gospel of John.” Just call me or e-mail me, and I’ll send it postage paid.
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Life is hard. No question about it. This must be true for most people because I don’t often find genuinely happy people in the city. You know what I mean. People may smile and say “Hi,” but if you spend a little time with them, you often discover a sadness and an emptiness about life. Life is, after all, filled with disappointments. Maybe this is why the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported that out of 2.4 billion drugs prescribed in 2005, 118 million were for antidepressants. That was more than any other single prescription drug. Adult use of antidepressants almost tripled between the periods 1988-1994 and 1999-2000. [According to a CNN news story dated July 9, 2007].
It is not surprising that there is so much unhappiness. Family members can treat us selfishly. The monthly bills can pile up faster than our income. We may be grieving the loss of someone we loved deeply. Our bodies may be torturing us with daily aches and pains, or it could be any other number of life’s tragedies. So how can we squeeze some happiness out of lives that are so filled with trouble? To help answer that question, let’s look at the lives of two very different men. One is the richest man England ever produced. His name was Cecil Rhodes. You may have heard of a “Rhodes’ Scholar.” Mr. Rhodes is the one who financed scholarships for the brightest students from around the world to be able to study for two years at Oxford University in England. How did he get that kind of money? At the age of 27 Mr. Rhodes started the De Beers Mining Company in South Africa. Within thirteen years he controlled the entire diamond mining business in Africa. Then, at the age of 36, he became the Prime Minister of Cape Colony. He had so much money, that at his death he gave the entire country of Rhodesia (now called Zimbabwe) to England. That was more than 150,804 square miles! Now I’d like you to meet another man. He was one of the poorest men in England. His name was William Booth. He grew up in extreme poverty. He became a Christian as a teenager and went on to become a Methodist pastor. Later, he founded the Salvation Army. Mr. Booth and Mr. Rhodes actually knew each other pretty well. One day they were traveling by train together. After an extended time of silence, William Booth suddenly turned to Cecil Rhodes and said, “Tell me, Rhodes, are you a happy man?” “Happy? Happy?” said Rhodes. “Why of course not, man, how could I possibly be happy with all the responsibility of such great wealth?” What a contrast between these two men! One man gave his life to collect as much wealth as he could, and the other man gave his life in order to share the joy of Christ with the poorest in England. Life was hard for both of them, but only one experienced joy. There is a way for you to have this joy. Shortly before he died, a third-century man wrote these words to a friend: “It’s a bad world, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people are the Christians – and I am one of them.” Joy is not found within us. When we expect to find happiness by pursuing our own dreams, we will fail. Joy comes, on the other hand, when we focus on the One who can give joy. King David learned that a relationship with God was his only path to joy in this world: “Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy” (Psalm 43:4). Where are you trying to find joy and fulfillment? Look to Christ. He is the only One who can satisfy your craving for happiness: “though you have not seen [Christ], you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory”(1 Peter 1:8).
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The following article was written by Rev. Matt Furse on April 20th of this year. Its message was so timely that I wanted to pass it on. You may add your thoughts by clicking on "comments."
"Today, Virginia Tech is in the news for all the wrong reasons. This is a well-known engineering school in Blacksburg, Virginia. I suppose many will blame this tragedy on ‘guns' (as if a gun can be either good or bad). Truth is, if one of the ‘good guys' had carried a gun, they could have stopped the bad guy(s)! But that's another issue. This story struck me because of another angle. I've always admired Dr. Henry Morris, who died and went to Heaven last year at 88 years of age. He was Christian, and he was a scientist. He wrote many books proving that the Bible is scientifically correct and that evolution does not hold the answers to the origin of life. Dr. Morris was the founder of the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) in El Cajon, California (www.icr.org). Did you know that years ago Henry Morris was a Professor at Virginia Tech? He held a degree in Hydraulic Engineering and taught in the Engineering Department at Virginia Tech. He even wrote a textbook on the subject that was used for years. During his career there, he began a Bible study that eventually grew into the College Baptist Church of Blacksburg, Virginia. [Dr. Morris] used his degree in Hydraulic Engineering to study the Genesis account of Noah's Flood. He wanted to understand the power of water and what it could do. While a professor at Virginia Tech, he co-authored (with John Whitcomb) The Genesis Flood. Henry Morris had an exceptional record as a professor at the college, and the Dean of Virginia Tech (at that time) was in favor of the book. But a new Dean took over (Dean Wooster), and he was not in favor of Henry Morris' view of the young age of the earth and a Biblical, world-wide flood, Dean Wooster began to make things difficult for Dr. Morris. With his good record, he kept his job and continued to teach; however, as time went on God was not welcome on the campus of Virginia Tech. Since Henry Morris believed in God and the Bible, he began to feel unwelcome, as well. In 1970 Dr. Morris moved to California and eventually started his own school, Institute for Creation Research, which is still going strong today. While at the same time, the Engineering Department of Virginia Tech lost a man of great moral influence." My heart was grieved – as I know yours was – at the tragedy in Virginia. We are all aware of many ways that our schools have become increasingly hostile to God and His Word. As the School Reform Commission looks for a new CEO for the Philadelphia School District, let's pray and work to see God welcomed in our schools. We need Him!
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What has gone wrong? How has Philadelphia now become the murder capitol of America? Why do things seem to be spinning out of control? Maybe it's because so many people are confused and insecure. A famous social researcher named Daniel Yankelovich thinks he has discovered the underlying problem in our society. In his book New Rules he explains the results of an extensive research project he conducted in America. After analyzing hundreds of thousands of questionnaires and after personally interviewing 3,000, people he concluded that we have changed from a "denial-of-self" society to a "duty-to-self" society. What he means is that Americans used to be committed to putting others first, but now we believe that it is our duty to take care of ourselves first.
The book, New Rules, was subtitled, "Searching for Self-Fulfillment in a World Turned Upside Down." The old rules, Yankelovich said, used to stress duty to others, particularly to your family. It used to be that selfish "me first" attitudes were shunned. If someone was caught putting himself first in a situation, he was embarrassed. Today, however, we are focused instead on self-fulfillment. Now when someone puts himself first, he is applauded for protecting his sense of "self-worth." How often have we heard someone getting angry because they felt "dis-respected"? Perhaps the self-esteem movement has contributed to this problem. There is no question that this need for self-fulfillment is a wide-spread belief. Another researcher, James Davison Hunter, discovered that 83 percent of Americans agree with these ideas. Even more frightening is his examination of students and faculty at 16 of our country's leading evangelical Bible colleges and seminaries. Mr. Hunter discovered that they were even MORE committed to self-fulfillment than the general population. Hunter wrote, "Self-fulfillment is no longer a natural by-product of a life committed to higher ideals, but rather is a goal, pursued rationally and with calculation as an end in itself. The quest for emotional psychological and social maturity, therefore, becomes normative. Self-expression and self-realization compete for self-sacrifice as a guiding life ethic." How sad that America has come such a long way from its Christian roots! The Bible teaches that putting God and others first are required if we expect His blessing. Our founding fathers held this belief deeply. James Madison, our fourth president, said, "We have staked the future [of this country] upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to sustain ourselves, according to the Ten Commandments of God." William Penn, who founded Pennsylvania said, "If thou wouldst rule well, thou must rule for God, and to do that, thou must be ruled by him....Those who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants." Jesus taught that following Him meant actually refusing to protect ourselves (e.g. our self-image). Jesus challenged each of us when He said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me" (Luke 9:23). It fascinates me that the Bible always has the answer to the problems we face every day. Putting God first brings peace and contentment. Putting ourselves first brings chaos and confusion. If you're discouraged with how life is treating you, turn your life over to the One who knows exactly what you need. Jesus invites you to, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). If you have found peace that only Christ can give, click on "comments" and share your blessing with the rest of us.
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A strange item from Reuters news service, dated April 2, 2007, caught my attention. The story was about an elderly couple who committed suicide together. That tragic story was made very unusual, though, when police learned the reason for the double suicide. The couple left a note explaining that they could not deal with the death of their 13-year-old dog, "Puppy." After he died, they held a burial ceremony for him. Then they hosted a wonderful meal for their friends, and afterwards, hung themselves in their bathroom. They had lost their best friend.
I love dogs, too, so I understand the attachment we humans can have with them. They are called "Man's Best Friend" for a reason. Every time you come home they seem happy to see you and they can make good companions. Are they really "Man's Best Friend" though? They are, after all, a lot of trouble to take care of. They have to be walked regularly, their food and veterinary expenses can be significant, and they don't live forever. As good as dogs can be, God did not intend for them to be our best friend. In fact, we are warned against making anything more important than God Himself. Paul said that the central problem with the human race is that we value what God made more than we value God Himself. "For they . . . worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen" (Romans 1:25). When we give more attention to anything other than God, we have life backwards and it causes a lot of heart ache and confusion. "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened" (Romans 1:21). Where can we look then for that unfailing friendship we all crave? I have good news. The same God who made the universe wants to be our best friend! That friendship begins when we put our complete trust and faith in Him. Notice that even Abraham was not a friend of God UNTIL he put his faith in God. "And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness and he was called the friend of God" (James 2:23). Note that Jesus also put faith ahead of friendship: "Seeing their faith, He said, ‛Friend, your sins are forgiven you'" (Luke 5:20). Jesus made it clear that His friends want to follow His directions:"You are My friends if you do what I command you" (John 15:14). The Bible is filled with reasons why God is the best possible friend we could have. He is the only friend who is perfect. Not only that, He has promised to never leave us. God is "a friend who sticks closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24). If you have a dog, I hope you enjoy the companionship that he or she gives you, but I hope your dog is NOT your best friend. Jesus is the best friend you could ever have. If you have found Christ to be your most faithful friend, the rest of us would love to hear about it. Feel free to post your thoughts there.
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You don't have to go very far to find a gloomy person. They are all around us, and their sour view of life spills out on those around them. You'll see them driving to work, often looking frustrated and sometimes angry. You can find discouraged people walking through your neighborhoods. In the grocery store there are mothers yelling and screaming at their children. Unhappy people can be more than just annoying. Sometimes the effects of unhappy people turn deadly. It is unhappy people who have made Philadelphia the murder capital of our nation so far this year.
We sometimes assume that these unhappy people just lack a good job or enough money to smooth out life's frustrations. That is just not true. A recent news article, dated March 29th of this year, reminds us that beauty, fame, and wealth cannot promise happiness. In the article actress Halle Berry admitted that she attempted suicide when her marriage to baseball player David Justice broke up. Ms. Berry did get counseling and this is what she said she learned: "It was all about a relationship. My sense of worth was so low. I had to reprogram myself to see the good in me. Because someone didn't love me didn't mean I was unlovable. I promised myself I would never be a coward again." Even that promise, the promise of "self love," did not bring the 40-year-old actress a satisfying sense of happiness. She said that her marriage to her next husband, Eric Benet, was "really horrific. . . . We were in sex rehab after one year." How tragic! It looks to us like Halle Berry has it all. If we can't count on beauty, fame, and money to make us happy, then where can we find it? It should not be a surprise that the One who made us is the one who knows what will really make us happy. This is the formula that the Bible gives us: "How blessed [happy] is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in His ways" (Psalm 128:1). You can experience happiness when you decide to submit to the God who made you. Life doesn't have to be dreary. Peter knew some Christians who were experiencing real happiness even though they were going through terrible times. He reminded them that, "though you have not seen [Christ], you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory" (1 Peter 1:8). Lasting joy and happiness are possible when we understand what is truly valuable. Jesus Christ is. When we seek to know Christ, we are seeking the most valuable One in the universe. Christ is the One who had the power to create the universe (Colossians 1:16). He is the One who absorbed all of God's wrath against our sin when He died on the Cross. "For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son" (Colossians 1:13). Christ's resurrection is the assurance of eternal life in heaven for all who believe in Him. What could be greater? That is why Paul said, "I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ" (Philippians 3:8). An accurate understanding of Christ makes everything else in this world trivial by comparison. If you are struggling with being sad, pursue the God of all joy. If you would like me to help you do that, please let me know. Email me, call me, or leave a comment on this page.
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