Beauty from Afar

10 I have seen the business that God has given to the sons of men to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time; also he has put eternity into man's mind, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; 13 also that it is God's gift to man that every one should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil. 14 I know that whatever God does endures for ever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; God has made it so, in order that men should fear before him. Ecclesiastes 3:10-14.

I was driving home last Saturday evening from Kansas City to St. Louis along Highway 70. As I approached St. Louis, the sun was behind me in the west. I watched as a huge thunderstorm formed in front of me and built up as I drove east. Pretty soon the lightening started to flash in the distance. What struck me was how beautiful it was watching it from afar. Yet, the prior week a storm like this had knocked out power to 700,000 families in St. Louis. When it gets to 102 degrees F on a summer day, the loss of one's electricty can cause some pain. I thought of the above verse. God makes everything beautiful "in its time". A storm from afar can be a wonderfully awesome thing to watch....until it is bearing down on you! But, it really fits with the rest of the verse that God has put "eternity" into man's mind. I think the writer was saying that we all were made for a piece of God to fit inside us. It is what sets us aparts from the animal kingdom. We were made in "His image". Yet, the scripture declares that we cannot figure out the great design of God "from the beginning to the end". We all want to know! But, if we could figure it out, God would not be God and we would not need faith. It is enough for the writer to suggest, that in the end, we must learn to live in the moment and give thanks for what we have. Happiness comes from a relationship with a living God. Not from knowing things....or possessing things. God is still in charge. Whatever happens is still under his sovereignity. In the end, it is that way so that man should "fear before him". The beginning of true knowledge begins with the fear of the Lord.

Welcome David and Vicki Bearden

Today we are announcing that David and Vicki Bearden will be joining us in the ministry of the work at the McKnight Road Church of Christ. David will be filling the position as our senior minister. Vicki will also be working for us in an administrative role within the office. We are very pleased that this dynamic duo wants to relocate from California and join us in St. Louis. They are returning to their home today from a 3 week journey in China. It will probably be October before their relocation to St. Louis can take place. The elders feel that they are an answer to our many prayers, and we look forward to their employment and engagement in the work of the McKnight Road Church of Christ.

Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. 106 I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to observe thy righteous ordinances. 107 I am sorely afflicted; give me life, O LORD, according to thy word! 108 Accept my offerings of praise, O LORD, and teach me thy ordinances. Psalms 119:105-108

Last night I was sitting at home alone in the dark without electricity. With no lights, TV, radio or distractions, I was reminded in the stillness and quietness of how God speaks to us when we are silent. I did use my flashlight to read a bit. Sometimes I just play Bible roulette. I open the Bible at random and just start reading. Last night it was Psalms 119. The above passage stood out in my mind. While it may be dark all around us, God's word is the lamp of life that allows to see the way to walk. And, while we may be sorely afflicted from all sorts of struggles in this world, life comes from the Word of God. When we truly comprehend that the Word (John 1:1) is God, and that the Word once became flesh (John 1:14), we can begin to grasp that our spiritual lives are covenants made between each of us and the one who made us. That covenant is not "law" but "relationship". This is why we can, in all circumstances, lift up offerings of praise to our Lord and our God.

Hearing God's Call

This morning I delivered the sermon at church using the story of Gideon from Judges 6 & 7 as our text. I love this story. Gideon (which means "Hacker") is threshing grain in a winepress hiding from the Midianites. The Israelites are living in caves and dens in the hills trying to stay alive from those whom have invaded their land. An angel of the Lord appears to Gideon announcing "The LORD is with you, you mighty warrior!". One might conclude that God has a sense of humor! But, this statement also shows that for an all-knowing God, Gideon was already what he would become. Gideon's initial response was probably what many of us would say, "Who? Me?" Then his next question is "Why?" But the LORD's answer is:

"Peace be to you; do not fear, you shall not die." 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and called it, The LORD is peace.

While Gideon did not get all of his questions answered, he did experience the "shalom" of God. His response was to worship. His relationship with God begins quietly at night when he actually does what God asks of him. It was a small first step of faith. He was worried about the reaction of his friends and family. Indeed, when the townspeople find out that he has destroyed the alter of Baal and the place of worship for their Cananite fertility goddess, they storm his house. While the people of the town demand that his father, Joash, bring out his son so that he can die for tearing down the alter of Baal and chopping down the Asher'ah pole, his father stands up for his son! Gideon's actions are already changing his family dynamics in a move towards faith in the Lord God. Sometimes, it simply takes one person to stand up in front of one's peers to proclaim his or her faith that sparks a revival. Years ago I was sitting in a classroom with about 30 lawyers learning how to teach tax and estate planning matters as part of a team teaching process. We went around the room and began to introduce ourselves telling a little about each of our backgrounds. About half way around the room, a young lawyer from Indiana stood up and began to tell his life story which included his conversion experience and his belief that Jesus Christ was his personal savior. When he concluded and sat down, you could have heard a pin drop. It was not what people were expecting; but, as we continued around the table, the next speaker, and then amazingly many who followed (including me) told of how God was working in our each of lives. It was truly a faith-building experience that began with one man's testimony. Even my Jewish partner shared his journey of faith and how God was working in his life. The story of Gideon is a testimony that the battle belongs to the Lord. It is a living example of how faith, as small as a mustard seed, can move mountains.

Gideon, like us, has his doubts along the way. Gideon asked God to confirm his promise, not once; but, twice with a fleece. Yet, the story shows us that God invites the testing of the relationship between himself and those whom he has chosen. He even arranges for Gideon to go down to the camp of the Midianites to hear for himself a conversation that is a prophecy of his future victory over the Midianites. God uses even our enemies to mold and shape us.

Even though God grants to Israel a great victory through the actions of Gideon, the end results in a loss of relationship with God. We read that:

"As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and played the harlot after the Ba'als, and made Ba'al-be'rith their god. 34 And the people of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had rescued them from the hand of all their enemies on every side; 35 and they did not show kindness to the family of Jerubba'al (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel."

When a nation turns it back on God and his principles of morality and justice, it falls prey to spiritual wickedness and the rule of the powers and principalities of this dark world. The lesson of Gideon is as applicable to us today as it was in his time.

Seeking the Kingdom

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad. So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.
"Have you understood all this?" They said to him, "Yes." [Matthew 13:44-51]

When one discovers the kingdom of God there is excitment and "joy" in the process. It grips one's soul. In fact, it causes one to bet the ranch on that single leap of faith. While the mark of a Christian is love for God and the church, the true test results of a conversion experience within the kingdom is "joy". Yet, why are there so many who claim to be believers whose lives are bitter and full of complaints? Jesus asks his disciples "Do you get this? This is what the kingdom of God is like!" While they answered "yes" to his question, I sense that the church today is in the same boat. We think we know the answers; but, in reality our nets are full of both good and bad. We should not be surprised by that result. Rather, we need to focus on our individual joy and committment to sell all we have to gain entrance to the kingdom of God. It is our not our job to judge. That will be up to God and his angels some day. But, this message needs to be proclaimed to a lost and dying world.

Life is Not Fair

Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go." (This he said to show by what death he was to glorify God.) And after this he said to him, "Follow me." Peter turned and saw following them the disciple whom Jesus loved, who had lain close to his breast at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?" When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about this man?" Jesus said to him, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!" [John 20: 18-22]

Kudos to Eric McPhearson who delivered the sermon Sunday morning at the McKnight Road Church of Christ on July 1, 2006. Eric used the above text to illustrate the principle that we all need to keep our eyes on Jesus and not worry about what happens to the other guy. Today Eric and Elizabeth are having a baby. His sermon was poignant because it came from his own life experiences over the past 40 years. Grace is so "unfair"; but, it is not ours to wonder why and demand of God an explanation. It is simply sufficient for each of us. When we take our eyes off Jesus and start comparing ourselves to those around us it leads to pity and envy.

Joel Palmer told me yesterday that he kind of likes having a different speaker each Sunday! However, we have made an offer to David Bearden to join us as a minister. We know that David and Vicki are prayerfully considering this invitation to join us. If you would like to send them a note of encouragment, send them an e-mail at: PREFoundation@aol.com We would love for you to send them greetings and encourage them in their decision.

Please keep Amie Jones and her family in your prayers. Her 22 year old brother, Sam, died in an auto accident this past weekend. A visitation will be held at Bopp Funeral Home on Thursday, July 6, 2006 from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.