“It is a profound irony that the Son of God visited this planet, and one of the chief complaints against him was that he was not religious enough.” Rebecca Manley Pippert (as passed on to me by Bill Mantel).
“Our dear Lord knows best, and may not act according to our understanding … He does not always have an easy, pleasant path for us … but He does always have a good path for us – even if that path involves suffering… His goal is NOT our earthly ‘happiness’ … His goal is our eternal holiness in Christ!” Peter Kerr commenting on Romans 8:28
Disturbing though it may seem, so called neutrality is but a sightless dream,
The humanist refutes truths logic as it exposes their unreasonable schemes.
Implying that bigotry hallmarks the apologist, who ventures close to their lies?
So they pull out all stops to defacing character and the truth is hotly denied.
Impartiality cannot straddle those two sides.
Tolerance should be the stamp of Christianity, in accepting all of humankind,
But acceptance does not cover up sin, nor allow the message to be redefined.
The human condition is not judged by logic, human wisdom, but by God’s truth,
It’s unchanging, no matter the current thought, or if it is considered uncouth,
Forbearance refuses at any cost to dilute.
To attenuate is to counter and render useless, the only sustainable authenticity,
It stands uncontested to the thinker, who is honest, and accepts its simplicity.
The rub is that recognition of the truth, assumes accountability to the Creator,
Putting humanism, rationalism, and all the isms, in a deep insurmountable crater.
God’s premise is so basic, it needs no translator.
The universe cries out that eyes be open, to visit its uncompromised complexity,
No theory stand uncontested, that rules out deity; it only deepens perplexity.
Precision governs the world’s immovability and its ability to function unabated,
The slightest deviant from its orbit, speed, and gravity, chaos would be created
Logic also says ‘Creator’ as truth has stated.
Creator as stated, simplify the quest to prove we are god, and our energy can invest
In using our personal resources to bless, not collect, to only feather our own nest.
As time has a stated end, and the right investment can help millions turn the bend,
So they see the truth shrouded in concern, not just faceless charity, but a friend.
Its not truth, but reality we need to defend.
Roy Tibbit, missionary in the Philippines
Have you ever wanted to examine the artwork on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome up close? According to Wikipedia, “It is famous for its architecture and its decoration that was frescoed throughout by the greatest Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Raphael, Bernini, and Sandro Botticelli. Under the patronage of Pope Julius II, Michelangelo painted 12,000 square feet (1,100 m2) of the chapel ceiling between 1508 and 1512. He resented the commission, and believed his work only served the Pope’s need for grandeur. However, today the ceiling, and especially The Last Judgement, is widely believed to be Michelangelo’s crowning achievement in painting.”
Now you can see a high resolution image of the interior of the chapel including the ceiling. Go to http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html, you can scroll around by clicking and dragging your mouse, and you can magnify the image to get extremely close up views, by using the (+) and (-) icons on the bottom right of the screen.
Clayton M. Christiansen, professor at Harvard Business School, writing in the Harvard Business Review:
“When people with a high need for achievement have an extra half hour of time or an extra ounce of energy, they’ll unconsciously allocate it to activities that yield the most tangible accomplishments. Our careers provide the most concrete evidence that we’re moving forward. You ship a product, finish a design, complete a presentation, close a sale, teach a class, publish a paper, get paid, get promoted. In contrast, investing time and energy in your relationships with your spouse and children typically doesn’t offer that same immediate sense of achievement. Kids misbehave every day. It’s really not until 20 years down the road that you can say, ‘I raised a good son or a good daughter.’ You can neglect your relationship with your spouse, and on a daily basis it doesn’t seem as if things are deteriorating.
“There is a predisposition toward endeavors that offer immediate gratification. If you look at personal lives through that lens, you’ll see the same stunning and sobering pattern: people allocating fewer and fewer resources to the things they would have once said mattered most.” Quoted in Readers Digest, February, 2011. An editor of Harvard Business Review says this article was one of the most resonant works they’ve ever published!
“There are no friends in hell: the residents
With zeal display self-love’s destructive art
In narcissistic rage. The better part,
The milk of human kindness, no defense
Against a graceless world, robbed of pretense,
Decays and bums away. To have a heart
Whose every beat demands that God depart—
This is both final curse and gross offense.
Say not that metaphor’s inadequate,
A fearful mask that hides a lake less grim:
Relentless, pain-streaked language seeks to cut
A swath to bleak despair, devoid of him.
This second death’s a wretched, endless thing,
Eternal winter with no hope of spring.”
John Piper notes: “D.A. Carson is a worthy poet and knows that metaphors for hell do not point to lesser realities.”
D. A. Carson, Holy Sonnets of the Twentieth Century (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994), 117 (reflecting on Rev 14:9–11; 21:8): Linked from http://andynaselli.com/sonnet-on-hell
How do you respond when someone publically refers to “father sky and mother earth,” as happened recently in a speech given at the memorial services in Arizona for the victims of an insane man’s rampage? Yes there were times when the prophets of God called down fiery judgment against false prophets, like in the case of Elijah on Mt. Carmel in the Old Testament. In that case, there was a conscious depravity that needed to be dealt with directly and miraculously. One needs to be sure one is truly a prophet of God before one calls down God’s judgment, or else a would-be Elijah could end up looking pretty foolish!
Another reaction to the Arizona speech can be seen in the example of the apostle Paul interacting with Greek philosophers. His approach was not one of acerbic denunciation but of careful tact. He said, “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about” (Acts 17:22-23).
Notice, he addressed them respectfully. He complemented them on being “very religious.” Further, he spoke accurately about what they believed, he didn’t accuse them of something they did not believe. The “unknown God” designation was a catchall for polytheistic Greeks who believed in many gods. The altar to which Paul referred was designed to cover themselves just in case they had missed a god or were ignorant of one god.
Also, Paul acknowledged that in this “unknown God” they were worshipping the true God, albeit “without knowing.” Then he goes on to give them a more accurate understanding of the true God “whom you worship.”
Could it be, that if the apostle were here today, he might say concerning that individual who invoked “father sky and mother earth,” that in some way he is worshipping the true God, Who made the earth and sky, but that the man needs a better understanding of Him? Wouldn’t that be a better way to get a conversation going that could possibly lead to salvation?
Daily news comes with the evidence of a fallen world. Crazed gunman in Arizona, flash floods in Brisbane, governments crumbling in the Middle East. A young marriage falling apart, a diagnosis of cancer, battle of depression, the pain of loneliness. Is there any light in the world?
The Scripture says, “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it … There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him … But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name. “ (John 1:4-5, 9-11, 12 NASB). Yes, there is light in the world. The light of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Have you received the Light of the world yet? He can illuminate your path through life, giving you meaning and purpose, a straight and sure path to walk along.
Let Him shine in you and through you into a dark, fallen world…today.
Hello E-Med subscribers,
A new Daily E-Med(itations) will be starting up soon, called “Daily Blogging in Matthew,” coming to you (if you subscribe for them) verse by verse, on weekdays, Monday through Friday. Make 2011 the year you start the habit of having a daily devotional time with the Lord!
These daily readings are a cross between a devotional book and a commentary with practical applications. Each day’s reading will take only a few minutes but when you are finished after one year, you will have a decent handle on the Gospel According to Matthew. These meditations are designed to help you understand the teachings of Christ, to listen over the shoulder of the disciples, as it were, while they are being trained, and to challenge you to daily living a disciple-styled life.
When: Starting Jan. 3 running through Dec. 30.
How often: Monday through Friday (the normal work week) for 52 weeks.
Time of day: It should arrive in your e-mail inbox before the start of the work day (before 6am).
How to subscribe: Click on your “Update Profile” link below or to the left, and then check the “daily devotional” box.
Social media: You can also follow this as a blog on www.bible-equip.org/emed-daily or on Facebook by clicking the following badge and then “liking” it.
We have been working hard to get this ready and my prayer is that you will be blessed. Sign up now so you don’t miss the first one! Special thanks go to Ruth Rodger for her editing skills (though all errors are the responsibility of your the author).
Whether or not you subscribe to the new daily e-meds, you will continue to receive the weekly e-meds unless you unsubscribe.
In Him,
Chuck Gianotti
“Christmas is a comin’ and the geese are getting fat.” I’m not sure what that has to do with anything. But, for Christians, we have super-imposed on this secular holiday season a spiritual overlay, one that captures the imagination and spiritual wonder. True, commercialism has taken over the “spirit” of Christmas (whatever that is). True, for many Jesus is not the reason for the season. But Christians live in a parallel, higher universe (beyond this secular one), one in which the faithful do come and “adore Him.” Where we sing “Noel, Noel” and “Joy to the World” with heart and emotion that is genuinely fixed to the grace and love of God in Christ.
Long ago, on a silent night, a holy night, those three kings came following a star of wonder, to a little town of Bethlehem. There was no “first Christmas tree” no tinsel, no mistletoe and no eggnog. But angels were heard on high, praising God, proclaiming peace on earth, good will to all people.
Let me encourage you to spend some time in front of a manger scene and allow your mind to drift back to that day, imagining the God-baby freshly laid in the cattle feeding trough. Smell the hay, listen to the sounds, feel the barn board and the cold nip in the air. Contemplate the infinite, creator God being born as a child, inhabiting and experiencing the very humanity He created. Filled with awe and wonder, I can only believe that heaven stood still in amazement.
It really did happen, just like the Scripture says. Christ was born! Praise God.
