There are many times in our life where we apply the phrase I believe, most of the time it is a general statement to any issue that crosses our path in living our everyday lives. I believe it to be one of two things, truth or opinion or a commitment or a thought regarding a certain situation. Looking back there was a song sung by Elvis Presley in his early years, it was on a gospel album he recorded. The title of that song was I Believe. The lyrics are below….

I believe, for every drop of rain that falls, 

A flower grows…

I believe that somewhere in the darkest night, 

A candle glows… 

I believe for everyone who goes astray, 

Someone will come, to show the way,

I believe, I believe…

I believe, above the storm the smallest prayer, 

Will still be heard… 

I believe, that someone in the great somewhere, 

Hears every word… 

Every-time I hear a newborn baby cry, 

Or touch a leaf, or see the sky, 

Then I know why, I believe! 

I believe, above the storm the smallest prayer, 

Will still be heard . . . 

I believe, that someone in the great somewhere, 

Hears every word…

Everytime I hear a newborn baby cry, 

Or touch a leaf, or see the sky, 

Then I know why, I believe!

Written by: AJA VOLKMAN, DAN EPAND, DANIEL COULTER REYNOLDS, RICH KOEHLER

Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC  Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

Back in the day I volunteered at the US Parks Service, White Water center in Polk County Tn. I remember when I entered the Cherokee National Forest on my way to the center how majestic and peaceful were the mountains and my thoughts were always how great is my God who has created this wonderful place. There are many reasons all around us to make our hearts sing…I Believe… The lyrics of this song do a good job sharing some things that lead us to believe. Savor the words of this song…then take the time to ask yourself….Why do I Believe?

Life is Good

jk

We travel back to a time in the early church and here in Acts 7 we meet Saul, who would soon become Paul, a driving force in  establishing  the early church. But on this day we see Saul stand by while the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul…and scripture says,

 8:1 And Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

The him they were killing was Stephen.One of many who answered God’s call.  Stephen is first mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as one of seven deacons appointed by the Apostles to distribute food and charitable aid to poorer members of the community in the early church. Other than the scripture as a guide in writing this blog I will look to one of my favorite commentaries…DBS, William Barclay. We have met Saul and now we shall meet Stephen, THE MAN WHO ANSWERED GOD’S CALL. The bible tells us that Stephen was full of grace and power and did much good among the people. There were some who argued with Stephen because they did not understand the wisdom and spirit he possessed. They contrived to get some other men to say they heard him blaspheme through spoken word both Moses and God. All of this stirred up the people and he was arrested and put on trial before the High Priest and the council. Stephen then stood up before them and defended himself. 

Stephen chose history as a means of defense and cited certain truths as condemnation of his own nation. He reminded them that  the people who heard God’s command were a great part of Israel’s history. He pointed to the fact that they, the Jews of their time , now at this time were afraid to step out. Their desire was to keep things as they were and regarded Jesus and his followers as dangerous innovators. Stephen reminded them that people had always worshiped God, even before there was a Temple. Now to the Jews the Temple was the most sacred of all places. Stephen believed that God dwelt everywhere the people would gather to worship and that did not sit well with the Jews. Then he made an astounding statement. All through the ages they had persecuted the prophets and abandoned the leaders whom God had raised up, including Jesus Christ, it was a natural conclusion to a disagreement. They were angered even more for these were hard truths for those people who believed they were chosen by God.  

Standing before the High Priest and the Council Stephen proceeds with the history lesson and he starts with Abraham, it is with him that Jewish history began. Abraham was a man who answered God’s summons. As the writer to the Hebrews put it, Abraham left home without knowing where he was to go. Abraham was a man of faith. He did not know where he was going, but he  trusted God’s guidance.  Even though never seeing God’s promise fulfilled Abraham was a man of hope. As with Abraham we should be a people ready to answer God’s command, to move forward and not cling to the past. Stephen then moves on to Joseph his family which had sold him into Egypt. Joseph did well in Egypt and rose to a position of power there. When the famine struck the land Joseph’s father sent his brothers there to look for food. You know the story when they came before Joseph they were afraid he would kill them because of what they had done to him. He did not. He brought all his family there to be with him and gave them all they needed to live. Stephen sums up the characteristics of Joseph in two words – grace and wisdom. His grace transferred to a generous charm that put their fears to rest. Wisdom simply put for a Christian is the ability to see things as God sees them. It is as if Stephen is saying to these Jews…you are mired in the past and prisoners of your own law. Yours is not the view God sees of the future. Stephen continues on with the example of Moses. This was the man that answered God’s command to go out. It is said that this was a man that literally gave up a kingdom to answer God’s summons to be the leader of his people. Stephen now begins to raise the tempo of his defense….He says there is the continued disobedience of the people. He reminds them that they have been blessed with an abundance of the most amazing privileges. Their condemnation is justified because they had every chance to know better, they continuously rebelled against God. They had limited God to a Temple….his reasoning was they loved the Temple more than God. Their God was a God of all people and his Temple was the whole universe. Now comes the end…You have consistently persecuted the prophets…and then he slams the door in their faces by telling them….you have murdered the Son of God. For Stephen there is the sorrow that sees a people who have refused the destiny that God offered them. 

I hope you will read Acts chapter 7 in full. We need a Stephen today to remind us to remember our Christian history, to look back at the courage of those whose willingness to step out gave us hope, courage, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Life is Good

jk

 

I always enjoy the times I step out of the Pew and just ponder, I view pondering as a poor man’s think tank. But for the sake of today’s pondering, here is the proper definition of that word. 

pon·der | ˈpändər |

verb [with object]

think about (something) carefully, especially before making a decision or reaching a conclusion:  

I always equate pondering with us old folks, a porch, a rocking chair and the comfort of a well thought out opinion without the stress of a debate. This usually happens in the quiet of  late evening or in the morning before the hassle of the day engulfs us. I have solved many a problem while just pondering… at least for me. Been pondering this ABORTION thing and it is not the first time my thoughts have wandered there. 

ABORTION –  noun

1 the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy: 

• Medicine the expulsion of a fetus from the uterus by natural causes before it is able to survive independently.

• Biology the arrest of the development of an organ, typically a seed or fruit.

My thoughts this day by-pass the medicine and biology area and focus on the first part of this definition. Abortion as an issue has become the darling, the top of the list concern, for the social justice warriors in our world today. Since 1973 it has always been a hot button issue but the leak of a yet to be finalized opinion from one of the Justice’s position papers has, so to speak, brought out the knives. The first causality being reason, that’s not on the table anymore and its cousin civility, is in critical condition. Before I go any further I must disclose to you that I am a Christian, why would I say that? Because I have no other view than what I believe to be Godly grounded…I am convinced…

Romans 8:38-39

New International Version

38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

So, as a disclaimer up front, I am prejudice. The truth is as a Christian it is not acceptable to do anything other than love others, the old adage of hate the sin but love the sinner…as Christians that’s out the door…we do not have that option. Jesus himself said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. ‘ ” (Matthew 22:37-39, ESV). 

Genesis 2:7, “the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” 

Consistently throughout Scripture God is portrayed as the giver of life, which distinguishes living organisms from inanimate things (biblestudytools.com) 

My God is a God of life.

Romans 4:17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.

Pondering this Abortion thing I chose to travel a different road. Here in the South I guess some would say…ain’t no rights thing. Abortion is a God thing because it is about life…all life. God created life… he willed it, he gives it. And he sustains it…period.

Psalms 150:6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.

Romans 1:20-21 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

God demands a reverence for human life and forbids murder.

 Psalms 139:13- For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

It is about life, anything else is fodder for debate. I serve a God of life…I cannot say that enough. My God creates life, life to God is precious and his enduring love and care for his creation…all…is beyond the understanding of mortals. I turn to of all places the Book of Job, chapter 38. Job has questions for God and he struggles with his need to speak to God. In chapter 38 God answers Job. I of course suggest you read this chapter, the following is from Clark’s Commentary and is a brief summation of the contents of this chapter.

The Lord answered Job out of a whirlwind, and challenges him to answer, 1-3. He convinces him of ignorance and weakness, by an enumeration of some of his mighty works; particularly of the creation of the earth, 4-7. The sea and the deeps, 8-18. The light, 19-21. Snow, hail, thunder, lightning, rain, dew, ice, and hoar-frost, 22-30. Different constellations, and the ordinances of heaven influencing the earth, 31-33. Shows his own power and wisdom in the atmosphere, particularly in the thunder, lightnings, and rain, 34-38. His providence in reference to the brute creation, 39-41.

In a layman’s language God asks Job who are you? What knowledge do you have that allows you to ask these questions of me? Man up and answer these questions I have for you. So…Life…Whose is It? That is where I am at in this national debate and questions about Abortion. I take a very simple path. Life is a work of God and who among us knows the mind of God? At what point does conception take place? Adam was dust until God breathed life into him. Were you there when God gave the breath of life to Adam? I have little patience for those who rail in the streets and threaten others. Sometimes truth is hard to accept for all of us. My thought is simple…Life belongs to God and the moment that breath of life  is taken from us, that is a God Thing. Who are we to decide such a thing? 

Closing thought for your consideration. I close every blog with the tagline Life is Good…indeed it is and whom am I to take what God created? You of course will make your own decision and free will  is also of God, we have been given that. I make this statement with love…Do as you would but never allow yourself to forget there is a Judgement, the Lord’s Day will come.

Life is Good

jk