Clear Vision

Jerusalem is filled with people these days because of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles.  It is wonderful to see many families with happy children thronging the streets.  My hotel is located just inside the Jaffa gate which is a major thoroughfare for foot traffic.  At the gate you will see armed policemen, monks, tour groups, vendors selling bread and pomegranate juice, orthodox Jews, and pilgrims from all over the world.  There was a group of people whose matching bright-green shirts caught my eye.  On the back of the shirts was printed, "Vision for Israel."

As a person who has immigrated to a different country from where I was born, this shirt sent a message I imagine Jew or Gentile living in Israel finds offensive.  Their intentions may be noble, but the only One with a relevant "vision for Israel," Australia, or any other nation is God!  Scripture makes it clear God has a clear vision and plan for people, cities, and nations.  On one level it seems a bit presumptuous to claim you have a vision for others when your own life is a vapour!  "Vision" is a loaded word that means different things to different people.  But since our God does more than we could ever ask or think, it is clear my greatest visions leave much to be desired.

I am convinced the best ministers are not those who have a vision for a nation, but those who have a clear vision of the risen LORD and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  Isaiah was a man greatly used by God - not to accomplish fruitfulness or revival we often envision - because in seeing a vision of God his own need was revealed.  His life was lived in the glorious illumination of the God who called and sent Him for His own purposes.  Isaiah 6:1-3 says, "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. ²  Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ³  And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!"  In light of this revelation Isaiah saw his inadequacy and discovered the sufficiency of the Almighty God.

Visions and plans for the future by themselves do not compare to the God who knows the future and will ultimately accomplish His perfect will.  Since God has revealed Himself to us in Jesus Christ, we are to look to Him for wisdom and strength, being guided by the Holy Spirit.  God is the One who brings visions to pass.  Should God give you a vision, like the Macedonian man who appeared to Paul or the sheet which was dropped from heaven before Peter, the vision is never to be our guide.  That is God's territory, for we need Him to help us every step of the way.  Whether or not we see our vision fulfilled, we can have all confidence Jesus is worthy of our admiring gaze for eternity.  This much is clear!

Foundation for Life

It's often hard times which cause people to evaluate their lives and help to re-align perspective.  Jesus told a parable about two men who both built houses which were exposed to a fierce storm.  One built his house upon the rock, and the other built his home upon the sand.  They chief difference between the two was the foundation they chose to build on.  The aftermath of the storm provided evidence who built wisely:  the house on the sand was completely destroyed, and the house on the rock endured.

Jesus told this parable to illustrate the difference between those who hear His words and those who actually put them into practice.  The one who heeded the words of Christ and obeyed them was compared to the man who built his house on the rock, a solid foundation.  Today it dawned on me that it required a storm to reveal which foundation was worthy.  When weather was fair all seemed well, even when the foundation was not trustworthy.  God allows Christians to face strong storms as a testimony to the world of His sufficiency, not only for this life but for eternity.  Those who are observant will recognise a circumstance which overwhelmed one person with fear and worry was unable to rattle the one who placed their faith in Jesus.

As important as mementos and pictures are, they pale in comparison to the value of life.  If the flood waters were rising, no sane parent would choose to save photos over their only child.  The living child is infinitely more important then pictures printed on paper.  God created man and breathed into Him a living soul, and saving souls from destruction was the primary purpose Jesus has come to earth.  He alone has the words of life, and only through Him can we come to God in faith and receive salvation.  Peter spoke concerning a man miraculously healed in Acts 4:10-12, "...let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. ¹¹  This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' ¹²  Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

Are you facing a storm, believer?  If your life is founded on Christ through faith demonstrated by obedience, you will be divinely helped to stand firm as a testimony to others of the saving power of God.  In the aftermath you can know your foundation is one founded in wisdom which will endure.  It's amazing how God can use something like a storm to prove He is worthy of trust for eternity.  And if the trial sweeps you off your feet, thank God He has revealed the insufficiency of your foundation while there is still hope of change.  Instead of lamenting the loss of false security, in Christ we only gain.

Worthy of Worship

It's not every day I am excited about a scientific discovery, but the most recent revelation from NASA has kept me happy for days.  In the 1990's - not the 1890's - it was estimated there were about 200 billion galaxies in the known universe.  Well, according to most recent data, those facts were only 10% correct:  it turns out there is in excess of 10 times more galaxies than previously estimated.  This is mind boggling, right?  If there are estimated to be 2 trillion galaxies now, imagine what a more accurate count might be in twenty years' time!

Now I am not saying the original estimate was "wrong," because the estimate was simply that - an estimate.  But when I hear a highly-touted "landmark" study being 90% off from what we now know is a more accurate estimate based on factual evidence, it only increases my faith in God and the Bible.  I would never consider myself among the "best and brightest" and I certainly have no scientific credentials, yet I am an avid observer of scientific discoveries and have a long memory.  I have seen the estimated age of our universe grow almost three-fold since my childhood.  Now I have seen this new study improve on twenty-five-year data by 90%!  Based on the evidence, would it be wiser to trust the best estimates of men or the unchanging truth of God?

God created man to reason, with creativity and curiosity.  Curious minds want to know and study everything they can.  We love puzzles, games, thought-provoking stories, and exploration.  We all want to know more about the world we live in:  are there any out there who want to know more about the God who made it?  God hasn't told us how old the universe is, and I suspect in the light of eternity it really doesn't matter.  Even if it did matter, God is under no obligation to tell us!  But praise God He does speak, He does not change, and His Word will endure forever.  The scientific community seems to worship facts, but when the facts change are they still worthy of worship?

I don't presume to know when God created the heavens and the earth, but I am convinced He did.  If I knew the tune I would sing along with the elders in Revelation 4:11, "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created."

Hope for Everyone

There is hope in Jesus Christ for all who repent.  A person whom you consider the worst of the worst - even the "chief of sinners" - can be forgiven, born again, and be chosen to be a vital part of the Body of Christ.  Paul was one such man.  In 1 Timothy 1:13 he expressed thanks to Jesus for enabling him to be God's minister though he was once a blasphemer, persecutor, and an insolent man.  The man guilty of murdering Christians became a Christian himself, one mighty through faith in Jesus.  God accepted Paul before his wary fellow Christians did, and we really can't blame them.  We too have been suspicious when we should have trusted God.

Paul wrote later in the chapter in 1 Timothy 1:18-20, "This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, ¹⁹ having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, ²⁰ of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme."  It appears Hymenaeus and Alexander were men of genuine faith who had "suffered shipwreck" and were guilty of blasphemy.  After Paul became a Christian blasphemy was no longer a pattern of behaviour in his life.  It seems a strong wind of false doctrine had blown these men off course.  Perhaps their lives resembled a vessel where the captain had become drunk, fell asleep, and ran his ship aground on rocks.  They were men who should have known better than to remain stubbornly in sin, so Paul had been forced to excommunicate them from the safe haven of the church before they pulled any other Christians down with them.  Hopefully a few cold nights adrift in the deep with sharks circling would bring them to their senses.

I love that there was hope for Hymenaeus and Alexander if they repented and returned to Jesus Christ in faith, even as there was hope for Paul when he was a blasphemer who had never known God in truth.  Being "delivered to Satan" in itself did not provide any hope, but falling into the hands of the enemy of their souls would provide strong motivation to return to their Saviour who was their joy, wisdom, and peace.  Even as the loving father in the Parable of the Prodigal was willing to let his son leave home with his inheritance in hand even though he would waste it all, God loves us enough to let us suffer shipwreck concerning the faith so we might come to our senses, think better of Him, and return to His fold.  He values us as His only Son and desires all would come to repentance.  What grace, that there is hope in Jesus for sinners and saints!