Hocus Pocus Faith

Is faith like magic? Some people must think so.

Such people think that positive thoughts or certain words will bring about what they desire. But that’s more magic than faith--sort of a Hocus Pocus Faith.

Magic attempts to control people, things, events and nature through rituals, potions or spells. In the world of magic, you’re a god and believe your words have power.

Christian faith trusts the God of the Bible to do what he has promised. It’s not your sincerity or what you say that matters. It’s what God says that controls the outcome.

What a good reason to read the Bible! If God hasn’t promised to do something, it’s foolish to ask him for it or believe he will do it. God cannot be manipulated.

For instance, God promises to provide for the needs of those who trust in him. Helping you win the Lottery isn’t covered. That’s greed, not a need. Don’t bother asking or begging.

Well hold on just a minute! Then what good is faith?

Faith is only as good as its object. The object of faith is the person or thing you trust in. If your faith is in people, sooner or later you’ll be disappointed. People are often unreliable.

Faith works best when you trust in the God of the Bible. The Bible is the only proven record of how God relates to mankind. It shows how he answers prayer and keeps his promises.

So when God says something is true or will happen, it makes sense to take him at his word. That’s not blind faith, it’s faith based on reliable evidence.

My father used to tell me, “Son, God is faithful. And he’s not about to lose his reputation on you or me.” As the Bible says, “God is not a man, that he should lie.”

Manley Beasley, a Southern Baptist Evangelist, once said, “Faith is believing something is so, even when it’s not so, so that it becomes so, because God said so!”

Rather than hopeless optimism, such an expression is sensible faith. Instead of “Make Believe” it’s trusting in a God who does what he says. Every time.

Corrie Ten Boom, a Holocaust survivor, wrote one of my favorite descriptions of faith in her book, “Tramp for the Lord.” She said, “Faith is like radar that sees through the fog.”

In the fog, radar sees things that are real but cannot be seen by the human eye. Faith is like radar because it sees the reality of what God has promised. And once you learn how God keeps his word, it’s not a stretch of faith to take him at his word and trust him completely.

That’s how a child trusts his parents. When Dad or Mom says, “Dinner will be at 5 o’clock,” the child doesn’t worry or fret. He plays until 5 p.m. and then comes in expecting dinner. Why? Because the parents have proven faithful. They do what they say. Just like God.

So when a Christian expresses confidence in God it’s because God has proven faithful. Christians aren’t being arrogant when they say they’re going to heaven when they die. Jesus promised his followers that he would come back from heaven to take them to be with him.

Since Jesus arose from the dead, he proved his power over death. How much proof do you need? The resurrection is one of the best-documented facts of history. Check it out.

I like to say, “If God said it, I believe it and that settles it!” Such faith allows you to live life to the full. Released from worry and the fear of dying, a Christian can focus on truly living.

And here’s the best part. You don’t need a lot of faith. Jesus said that if your faith is in God, all you need is a tiny amount and you can still see amazing results. The key is to trust God.

So forget the hocus pocus stuff and listen to the Bible. It’s great for your soul!

Stuck In The Middle

Why do people act like they do?

I wish I had ten dollars every time I thought that, said it or heard someone else say it. If I did, I could probably retire somewhere warm, wet and beachy.

It amazes me when I see people who know better acting stupid. They make choices and do things to hurt themselves and the ones they love. And they’re the only ones who don’t see it!

How pathetic. And yet I just described every one of us.

You know and I know it’s true. Vainly we hope that no one else suspects. Yet deep down in our hearts we know. We are all hypocrites.

There. I said it. Hypocrites. Judging others with rules we don’t intend to keep.

Our predicament reminds me of the old Gerry Rafferty song, “Stuck in the Middle With You.” Do you remember it? “Stealers Wheel” recorded it back in the 1970s. The lyrics went, “Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right, Here I am, Stuck in the middle with you.”

That’s us! We’re surrounded by people just like us. And we don’t like it.

Author C. S. Lewis is reported to have said, "People are good at expecting others to live in a manner that they are not willing to live themselves." Ouch. That hurts.

Well, hold it right there for just a minute. If everyone does it, what’s the problem?

The problem is we’re blind to our own hypocrisy and complain about everyone else’s!

We need someone to slap us up side our head and say, “Doctor, heal yourself! If you’re so good at diagnosing other people’s problems, why can’t you see your own?” Indeed.

What’s the answer?

Listen to Jesus. He said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye. How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.’”

He nailed us, didn’t he? We’re super speck inspectors. Nit picking other’s failures and ignoring our own.

The problem is our unforgiving hearts. We’re all good at giving ourselves excuses but not allowing them for anyone else. We expect God to forgive us but we don’t offer others the forgiveness we think we deserve—even though they are just as deserving.

Face it. We’re all a mess of mistakes. Without God’s mercy we’re sunk. You can’t be good enough for even your own standards and you know it. It’s just a show. Inside you know.

So what should we do? Jesus said that we should first pay attention to our own shortcomings. That means humble ourselves and admit we make mistakes.

Turning away from the sin you love and asking God to forgive you is the way to remove the plank. Then when you experience his wonderful forgiveness through Jesus Christ, you can offer that same forgiveness to others who so desperately need it.

This simple prescription from Jesus will go a long way toward healing what’s wrong in our relationships. But as long as we think we know better, we’ll still be stuck in the middle of the clowns, the jokers and the hypocrites.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

The Love of Your Life

You’d have to be from another planet to not know Thursday is Valentine’s Day!

Here in America, the man is expected to pony up big bucks so his sweetheart knows he loves her. That can involve a nice card, flowers, chocolates and maybe even jewelry. And don’t forget a special dinner for two!

We’re talking some serious cash.

OK, men, are you ready for this? In Japan it’s the ladies who are expected to buy the Valentine’s Day chocolate for their men!

There are two categories. The first is "Obligation Chocolate" for dads, brothers and bosses. Then there is “Special Chocolate” for boyfriends or husbands.

Now here’s where it gets interesting.

One month later, on March 14th, it's the men's turn to respond. Called “White Day,” men buy gifts for the women in their lives. Usually they purchase white chocolates, cakes or cookies. Sometimes they buy other things, but the prevailing theme is the color white.

For men, however, the only obligation is to buy gifts for the women who gave them a Valentine's Day gift! Maybe we could try that on this side of the Pacific Ocean for a year. It probably wouldn’t last, but it’d be fun to try it!

Ah, the price of love, true love.

Last year I read about a father, who loved his wife and family so much, he risked his life trying to save them from a burning house. Do you have someone who loves you that much?

As much as Valentine’s Day reminds some folks of love, there are others for whom it is a sad reminder of a love that’s lost or missing from their lives.

Some people would give a lot of money for true love--to have someone who loves them no matter what. But like that old Waylon Jennings’ song, many are “looking for love in all the wrong places.”

Well, hold on just a minute. I just might have the answer for you.

Let me play matchmaker, OK? Forget about the Internet romance web sites. Forget about calling your Aunt Bertha who’s been dying to get you a date.

If you want true love from someone who will never leave you, ever—there’s only one person for you in the whole world. Are you ready?

Allow me to introduce you to Jesus Christ. Hold on! —Let me explain.

He said he loves you so much he gave his life so you could live. And not just live an ordinary life. No, he wants you to live a life full of love, joy, peace and purpose.

On top of that, he will forgive you for all that stupid stuff you’ve done--things for which you can’t even forgive yourself. Plus, he will never leave you or abandon you.

Jesus promised and he will keep that promise. The Bible says he will walk with you even through “the valley of the shadow of death.” Who else can do that? His love is an eternal love.

All you have to do is invite him into your life and put your faith and your trust in him.
But don’t just take my word for it. Check it out for yourself in the New Testament of the Bible. A good place to start reading is the Gospel of John.

Then, once you have Jesus, he can help you find human love here on earth. Maybe not in time for Valentine’s Day--but it’s worth praying about! He could even use Aunt Bertha.

Listen to the Bible; it’s good for your soul!

Groundhogs & The Future

Why were so many people concerned about a groundhog last Saturday?

Oh, I know all about Groundhog Day. I even saw the movie. But why does it make the national news? Why does a whole town in Pennsylvania obsess over a groundhog’s shadow?

Can a large rodent-like creature actually make a dependable prediction about winter?

Americans are fascinated with the future (in this case, the weather for the next six weeks.) It’s still amazes me that with all our satellites, radar and ability to forecast weather, the groundhog tradition still hangs on.

Of course the media likes a good story. And the town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania has made a media-friendly circus out of the event. But back to the weather.

We’re not the only ones to be fascinated with weather prediction. Back in ancient times people wanted to forecast the weather also. But without our technology, they had to rely on observations about nature.

We still quote the ancient proverb today when we say, “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight; red sky at morning, sailors take warning.” Jesus even referred to this common observation!

Then he said, “You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.” Jesus noted that by observing “signs of the times,” we should know when his return is near.

Have you been paying attention? Events in the Middle East and around the world seem to indicate that we may be living in the last generation before Christ’s return.

A recent survey revealed that 42% of Americans believe we are living in the “Last Days.”

Hold it right there for just a minute! Is that even a possibility?

Non-Christians tend to view talk of Jesus’ return as religious hype. But modern Evangelical Christians are not the only ones to talk about Jesus’ return and the end of time.

Sir Isaac Newton, born in 1642, found the Old Testament book of Daniel’s view of the future intriguing. After a thorough study, he predicted the world’s end would come 1,260 years after the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire. The Empire began December 25, 800 A.D.

For those committed to human reason, that’s a tad unnerving. This was not the raving of some wild-eyed apocalyptic preacher. Newton was the father of modern science. His predictions about the laws of gravity and the motion of the planets eventually proved correct.

Consider this: at least 80 specific Bible prophecies were fulfilled at Jesus’ first coming. And their accuracy was amazing. But, even with all that, his arrival still caught most by surprise.

Many will be surprised when Jesus returns. Christians, however, should not be. The Bible says, “But you brothers are not in darkness that this day should surprise you like a thief.”

Since Christ’s return is near, the Apostle Peter asks, “What kind of people ought you to be?” His answer is “You ought to live holy and godly lives.” But how do you do that?

First you need to have faith. The Bible says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” That means to believe that Jesus died for your sin, was buried and rose to give you a new life. Next you must personally trust in Christ as your Lord and Savior. Finally, the Bible says that we must be “alert and self-controlled…putting on faith and love.”

Jesus asked, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” I hope he finds it in your heart and sees it in your life!

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!