Smack Dab in the Middle

I'm trying to re-focus.  2021 started with such promise and high hopes.  And then, well, here we are.  Frustration, Uncertainty, False allegations, Discouragement.  I was thinking tonight about the movie, "Facing the Giants," in which a coach was trying to turn around a beleaguered football team.  He told the team that although they wanted to win, they would Give their very best and "Praise God if they won, and Praise Him if they lost."

The Bible is full of stories of great men and women who trusted Him through it all.  They walked by faith and not by sight.  In fact, a preacher of a church we were members of when we lived in Houston once said that "Faith is confident obedience in the Word of God regardless of circumstance or consequence."

I opened my Bible tonight and immediately thought of growing up in church.  I can remember that we had "sword drills" in which the teacher called out a Scripture verse and the first person to find it would stand up and read it.  We were sitting in metal chairs and there was quite a racket of chairs scraping across the floor as students located the passage and jumped out of their chairs to read.  Bibles that had the Books marked were not allowed!  It really taught us where the books of the Bible were located.

We quickly learned that the Book of Psalms was in the middle of the Bible.  Tonight I turned to Psalm 118.  I have written something in the margin of the passage that you can see below:

I was told (I have no way to prove or disprove this) that if you took all the books and chapters of the Bible and numbered the verses from Genesis 1:1 all the way to Revelation 22:21, the very center of the Bible is Psalm 118:8 which says:

It is better to take refuge in the LORD 
Than to trust in man.

What a good bit of wisdom.  It makes you focus on the fact that regardless your circumstance, God is your refuge, your protector, your rock, your salvation, your provider.  NOT Man.

God is in charge - not the man who resides in the White House.

God is your source - not the man who signs your paycheck.

God is your healer - not the man in the white coat administering medicine.

God is your protector - not the man in military fatigues or in law enforcement or not the firearm in your bedside drawer.

Psalm 118:8 is a good "central" truth to dwell on when you are in the middle of a tough spot.

Does Absolute Truth Exist in a World of Moral Relativism?

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John 8:31-32 (NASB)

The Truth Will Make You Free

31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

This morning at church we had a guest pastor who brought the message.  It was a message that caught my attention and was very timely.  I thought the message was exceptional, and I'll do my best to distill the high points because it deserves repeating.  The gentleman led off with statistics that showed an alarming shift in people's belief in absolute truth.  According to Barna Research, today 72% of adults believe that there is no such thing as absolute truth!  I could not believe this could be true!  For 30 years ago 84% of people believed in absolute truth.  How can this be?

We are in a place where truth is whatever you want it to be?  You hear things such as, "my truth" being said.  Tolerance is the seen as one of the greatest virtues.  The problem with tolerance is that there are certain things in which there is no room for tolerance:

1. Math: 3 x 4 = 12. Not 11, not 13.  Mathematics has no room for tolerance.  The answer is correct or incorrect.

2. Chemistry: Water is two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom.  Any change in that 'cocktail' and you have something other than water.

3. Music: A conductor in an orchestra works intently to ensure all the instruments are in tune and the orchestra plays the correct notes.  There is no tolerance for music that is off-key.

As a Christian, of course I believe that God and His Word is the source of all Truth.  I believe it is inerrant you should go to the Word of God to determine right and wrong.  Trying to calibrate your moral moorings with popular opinion is a moving target.  The minister gave an excellent illustration of this.

There was once a man who worked for a plant.  His primary responsibility was to blow the whistle at 6:30 AM to let the employees know when to commence work and blow the whistle again at 4:30 to let the employees know that it was quitting time.  Each morning the plant-worker walked to work and he would pass in front of a watch-maker's shop, look inside the window, and set his watch to match the clock in the window.  Then he would walk on to work and blow the whistle.

One day the watch-maker saw the man gazing in the window, setting his watch.  He walked outside and asked the plant-worker if he could help him.  The plant-worker told him that he was just setting his watch with the clock in the window.  The watch-maker then laughed and told him, "That old clock? It doesn't keep time well, so each day I listen to the whistle at the plant and re-set the clock based on that!"

And so it is if we use society, cultural norms, laws, customs, etc. as truth.  In doing so we will be like the plant-worker and the watchmaker, chasing our tails in trying to determine Truth.  We must calibrate our Truth Detector with the Word of God - For He is the Way, the TRUTH, and the Life.

Benjamin's Senior Service

Benjamin is our youngest and will be (gasp!) graduating from high school tomorrow night.  Last Sunday morning, our church honored our graduates during the morning service.  Each graduate received a very nice leather-bound Bible and were encouraged to read it daily.  I still have mine from when I graduated in 1984 and cherish it.  Our preacher (Bro. Andy Buckley) gave some timely advice to our graduates in his message, but it is great advice to all.

Ecclesiastes 12:1 King James Version (KJV)

12 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.

1. Receive Christ while you are YOUNG.  (Mark 10:21-22)  The best time to receive Christ is when we are young.  Jesus paid a great deal of attention to children, teenagers, and young people during His earthly ministry.

2. Read God's Word Daily.  (Matthew 4:4)  Reading God's Word is to our spiritual life like eating is to our physical life.  Daily consumption of God's Word is necessary to maintain our spiritual health. (1 Peter 2:2)

3. Realize God's purpose for your life. (Jeremiah 29:11-13)  God has a great plan for the lives of His children.  (Genesis 5:21-24)

4. Recognize the importance of a Good Name. (Proverbs 22:1)  Our name reflects upon our Parents, Grandparents, and the LORD.  To possess a good name, we must possess character and integrity.  A good name must be earned, moment by moment, day by day, decision by decision.

5. Resolve to marry only a Believer. (2 Corinthians 6:14)  As believers, we should not form any relationship with unbelievers that would lead us to compromise Biblical Standards or jeopardize the consistency of our Christian witness.

6. Render a powerful witness to the World for Christ. (Acts 1:8)  The Bible teaches that every believer should have the desire to share Christ with others.  (John 4:39-42)  A church or believer without Evangelism is a contradiction in terms, just as fire that does not burn is a contradiction.

Brother Andy prayed for our graduates.  We pray that they will heed the good advice given them.  Congratulations Graduates!  We love you Benjamin and are so proud of you.

The Story That the Rhode Island Red Hen Had to Tell

Nestled comfortably in the hay, one of our Rhode Island Red hens was sitting.  She had tucked herself away from all the activity of the cows bellowing for green grass in the yard, the goat kids jumping around, and all the other chickens scratching and competing for tasty bugs and worms.  I think if you look at her eyes below, you can see that she is unhappy that I found her.

But if you listen closely, she has a story to tell.  Even though she can't speak in any language that I can discern, her actions tell a story, if you have ears to hear and eyes to see...

The question that has been around for a long, long time is: "What came first?  The chicken or the egg?"  I think even Aristotle deemed it a real dilemma as it was an infinite loop.  Chicken or Egg?

What a silly question!  At least for Christians who believe the Bible. 

According to The Bible, the chicken came first.

"And God blessed them, saying "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the water in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth." - Genesis 1:22

So there you have it!  Just as it happened in the hay on Our Maker's Acres Family Farm, it happened back in creation.  The chicken came first and then the egg.