Edtucner, Author at Creation Beckons

Timothy David Stickle

In memory and honor of my cousin, United States Marine Corps Private First Class Timothy David Stickle. Tim was born on December 26, 1948, and he was killed in Quang Nam, Viet Nam, on December 11, 1968, just fifteen days before his twentieth birthday. Tim is one of thousands of our citizens who have given their lives because their nation, our nation, asked them to sacrifice. I honor them all! My thanks also go out to the families who gave their sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins to protect our freedom. May God’s blessing rest upon all of those touched by the sacrifices of these brave patriots.

The Crooked Made Straight

Luke 3:4-6 The Crooked Made Straight

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all people will see God’s salvation’” (NIV).

This is taken from the beginning of the ministry of John the Baptist. He went throughout the countryside preaching a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” The Scripture quoted above speaks of John’s reason for ministry—prepare people for the coming of the Messiah. The implication of the verse is that when Jesus arrives, things will get better. Moving through life is to become easier with valleys and mountains made level, crooked roads made straight, and the rough ways made smooth. Did that happen, even after Jesus was baptized by John? No, it didn’t because the leaders of the time saw Jesus as a threat to their authority because they feared that His message would upset the Romans and cause them to crack down and take away the powers the religious leaders had. Their selfishness and lust for power made them rouse the people against Jesus, accuse Him of sedition against the Romans, and demand that He be crucified.

So the church began in a time and place of criticism and antagonistic actions by the religious leaders of the day. It seems to have been a foretaste of what was to come for millenia after the crucifixion of Christ. Throughout history, the church seems to grow best when its members are driven to defend themselves and their beliefs in Jesus Christ. The opposition makes for tougher, more determined believers. For the past two thousand years, those who truly accepted Christ as Savior have proven to be willing to undergo hardship, punishment, and even death to declare that Jesus is the Messiah, the one and only way to God.

If you follow the lines in the picture above from left to right, the swirls, whorls, and bumps are easily seen, but as the view continues to the right, the lines smooth out and go forward in a strength proven by the earlier difficulties in the growth of the tree. Yes, valleys will be filled, mountains will be made low, crooked roads will be made straight, and the rough places will be made smooth. But a look at the center of the picture above shows the difficulties and hard times that the tree survived before it got to the smooth times. So in our lives as Christians, we will encounter tough times, difficult times, and, perhaps, even dangerous times before we attain peace and rest with Christ in eternity. I haven’t been in eternity with Jesus, but I am convinced that eternity with Him will be worth any difficulties we encounter here. So hang in there—it will be worth it.

Be Careful of Beauty

Proverbs 6:25a Be Careful of Beauty

“Do not lust in your heart after her beauty…” (NIV).

Forgive me for taking this verse out of context. It is in a section of Proverbs warning against adultery, but I would like to apply it to the danger of looking only at the beauty of anything. I have a fascination for the fighter aircraft of World War II, but I can’t let my enjoyment of them make me forget their purpose—to shoot down enemy aircraft and kill men. The P51 Mustang is one of the most effective fighter aircraft of WW II, and it has the distinction of having beauty in its functionality. But it is a machine made to kill, so I have to look beyond the beauty of the airplane whenever I see one.

There are many things in life that have the appearance of great beauty, and many of them are used to glorify God. But there are also things of apparent great beauty that are used by satan to draw us away from God, and because of that they can’t be called beautiful no matter the appeal to the eye or ear or taste. I’ll be short and sweet today—Before you become attached to something with a beautiful appearance, be sure you know its purpose.

In God’s creation, there are millions of things of great beauty, and they should be the things that draw our attention because their purpose is to draw us, beckon us to Him. To God be the glory!

Jesus Gives Eternal Water

John 4:13-14 Jesus Gives Eternal Water

“Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life’” (NKJV).

The woman was pleased and asked for this water so that she wouldn’t have to keep coming to the well every day to draw water. Jesus didn’t correct her, but instead told her to go get her husband, which resulted in Jesus’ revelation that He knew that she had had five husbands and was living with another man not her husband. She believed Jesus to be a prophet. She replied that she knew that the Messiah, who knew all things, would be coming sometime. Jesus then dropped the bombshell, “That’s me. I am the Messiah.” She dropped her water container and ran back to tell everyone that she had met the Messiah. They followed her back to the well, met Jesus, and He spoke with them. Many of them believed because of what Jesus had told the woman, but after He spoke to them, many more believed. They asked Him to stay with them, and He stayed two additional days. The result of this “chance encounter” was the salvation of a large number of Samaritans.

How many “chance encounters” have we had that we didn’t recognize as opportunities to speak the Word of the Lord and bring salvation to a non-believer. It is important for us to recognize these “chance encounters.” Important for us, but vitally important to those whom God brings to us. I might be, or you might be, the one voice that the person would really believe and accept Jesus as Savior. That’s a “chance encounter” that could affect someone throughout eternity. I know that I have had “chance encounters” that I didn’t recognize or didn’t choose to recognize. My prayer is that the person I encountered was blessed enough to have another “chance encounter” with someone more willing or able to express the love of God. Romans 10:14-15 makes clear our responsibility: “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘how beautiful are the feet of those who being good news!’” You might say, “But I don’t know how to speak. I wouldn’t know what to say.” The Word tells us in Luke 12:12, ”…for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” Even if we can’t speak, we can be effective by doing as Romans 10:15 tells us, and send others. There is need from the local church to the farthest missionary field for funds to support the furtherance of the Good News.

I need to be more attentive to the Holy Spirit and watch for those “chance encounters” that he arranges.

Turn Back to God

Lamentations 3:40 Turn Back to God

“Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us return to the Lord. (NLT).

This picture was taken in 1971 on the beach in Olympic National Park. The time was just after low tide. We had walked, well, I walked and Tim was carried in my arms. We had walked up the beach past this place and enjoyed the ocean and its views and then returned through this narrow section to go back to our car. No big deal, right? No big deal except that as the tide came in, this entire area was under water and was impassable for a man and his young son. I knew that the area became flooded at high tide, so I decided to turn around and go back long before high tide. It was good that I had that information, because Tim was much too young to know and understand the danger of remaining on the wrong side of these rocks.

We walk with our Lord, or He carries us in His arms as we explore this world, but there are times when we explore on our own. There are places that we can go, but we must also return back from them in order to escape a difficult or even fatal fate. We may be too young in the faith to understand the inherent danger, but since our God always knows where we are, we can feel safe because we know that He knows when it is time for us to return to Him, and He calls us back. He doesn’t force us to return, but He calls us to Himself, and it is our decision whether we return or not. Because of His great love for us, He continues to call even when we have said “no” to His initial call to return. God never gives up on us. His love is eternal, and His call to us is available every moment of our lives, right up to the moment of death. Once death occurs, there is no way back to God. God loves each of us for eternity, but if we have not returned by the time of our death, there is no longer a path back to Him. So, if you have wandered far away from God, and you hear His call, turn back to Him. He will greet you with open arms and great joy. If you have a friend who is far from God, be part of God’s call to bring him back. Yours may be the voice that convinces your friend to return to the joy of the Lord.

Share A Yoke with Jesus

Matthew 11:29-30 Share A Yoke with Jesus

“Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (NLT)

In a yoke the two animals bear the work load together; they share it. The two animals are not necessarily of the same strength, but they must be of the same kind of animal. We can be yoked to Jesus because we were made in the image of God, so it is proper for Jesus to ask us to be yoked with Him, and what a privilege that is. Often in a pair of yoked animals, one is more experienced, stronger, more aware of the work to be done, and is able to help the other one learn how best to carry the load. While the more experienced animal may determine the pace and the distribution of the load between the two, he cannot work well if his partner hangs back, is unwilling to work, or tries to make his own way. The less experienced must accept the lead of the more experienced so the maximum load can be carried without overburdening either of the pair.

When Jesus asks us to take His yoke, He is telling us that He knows the way, He knows how to distribute the load, He knows the pace to keep, and He accepts the responsibility of leadership. As the follower we must accept His lead and trust Him to know the way. By accepting leadership, Jesus makes our load easier. (We don’t have to figure it all out.) He shows what to do and how to do it. We are expected to do our part, accept the role we are given, and pull our share of the load. We are also expected to learn from our leader, Jesus, so that we can become leaders of others and help them to receive the benefits of being yoked with Jesus, help them also become leaders, but each one must then become yoked with Jesus to learn for himself the joy of being yoked with the Master, learning how to become a leader. In this way the Kingdom of God advances exponentially. As each one becomes a leader and shows others the way, growth occurs at a phenomenal and ever-increasing rate. Yes, Jesus, I accept Your yoke, and I know that You will give me rest so that I can gain the energy needed to continue to grow the Kingdom of Heaven. Thank you, Lord, for the privilege of sharing a yoke with You.

The Tools We Are Given

1 Corinthians 12:4-11 The Tools We Are Given

“God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful: wise counsel, clear understanding, simple trust, healing the sick, miraculous acts, proclamation, distinguishing between spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues. All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when” (MSG).

I realize that is a long quote, but it is all relevant to the tools we are given to use. I spent several years as business manager in both Vail School District and Grace Christian School. In both places I was responsible for compiling the annual supply orders for all the teachers into one large order. When this large order was received, it was then my responsibility to distribute the various supplies to the correct teachers. There were general supplies that every teacher ordered, and specific supplies that teachers ordered according to their teaching specialties. Math teachers ordered different things from English teachers, and history teachers ordered different supplies from science teachers. Elementary teachers tended to order many of the same items.

There is a big difference between the teachers supplies and the tools of the Christian worker. The school teacher decides what supplies he needs, but the Holy Spirit decides and distributes the appropriate tools for each Godly task. According to the Scripture above, God provides the tools we need. Some people minister mainly in the healing of the sick, and some minister mainly in the giving of words of wisdom for difficult situations. As the Scripture says, everyone is given the particular tool or tools he or she needs for the assigned task. The last sentence of verse eleven tells us that the Holy Spirit decides “who gets what and when.” The implication in that verse can be that anyone can receive any of God’s great tools at any time, and perhaps could receive different tools at different times for different purposes. Some may interpret these verses to mean that a person would be given one specific tool for his or her lifetime. I don’t know which of these interpretations is correct. I will leave that for you to decide which you believe to be correct. God has already decided and the Holy Spirit will distribute the appropriate tool at the appropriate time for each assigned task. All we need to do is be ready and willing to do God’s will. He will make us able. All the tools are in the tool storehouse of the Holy Spirit, and He knows what tool needs to go where and when it needs to be there. He will do whatever is necessary for the completion of God’s plan on earth. Praise be to God!

We’ve Got Work to Do

Ephesians 2:10 We’ve Got Work to Do

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (NIV).

That’s a picture of a magnificent animal, standing tall, looking forward as if he has a task to do, and he’s ready to do it. He is a striking animal that God has created. Well, I believe that God sees us in much the same way He sees the animal in the picture, but with one big exception. God created the animals, and then He created man in His image, and that’s an important difference. Then, many years later, He created me and He created you.

We are told in Ephesians 2:10 that God has prepared work for us. If we read the verse closely and slowly, we discover that we were created for a particular purpose, a job that was itself, specifically prepared for us. That makes it pretty special, particularly when the one who created the universe chose us for a particular task. Implied is the idea that He has formed us and given us the abilities that we need, for this special task. If He chose me for this special task, then He didn’t choose someone else for the exact same task. That indicates that I am special to Him, the only one of all the people ever created who is exactly right for this job. Since God has spent time and energy preparing us for a task and preparing a task for us, it follows that we are able to do it well, but how can we do it well if we don’t know exactly what it is? Sometimes it seems as if God has left us alone to discover just exactly what He wants of us. He hasn’t, but He does want us to also spend time and energy, as He has, in discovering what His plan is for us. How do we do that? I’m no expert, and I don’t suppose that there is anyone, aside from God, who can tell each of us what we should be doing.

There are several obvious things to do to prepare. We can read the Word. We can pray. Then, we can read the Word, and we can pray. I would suggest that we then read the Word and pray. A few people are definite that they know by this time exactly what God has planned for them, but that’s not most of us. We get to study, read, and pray for a longer period of time, and sometimes we even have to try different jobs until we find out what we do best, and what we enjoy doing most. That makes for a longer journey, but any walk with our Lord is fruitful. Some of us try many things until we finally know our special place in His plan. I certainly can’t tell you when you will know God’s special call on your life, but I can tell you that it will be a blessed and satisfying journey during the search. I do know that whatever the task prepared for me, it is important, and God expects me to perform it to the best of my ability. So, Lord, I commit myself to the task you have chosen for me, and I intend to do it to the best of my ability. Lord, I ask for your help, wisdom, and encouragement along the way.

The Gift of Seasons

Genesis 8:22 The Gift of Seasons

“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall never cease. (NKJV).

When God created the earth, He made provision for seasons—different weather patterns for different times of the year. Interestingly, He did not cause the seasons by moving the earth closer to and farther from the sun to change the seasons, and He did not make day and night by cloaking the sun or causing it to cease to shine at night. No, He tilted the earth about 23 degrees from upright on its axis, and He caused the earth to rotate so that day and night occur because of the spinning of the earth. Because of God’s creation plan, there is always daylight and there is always night time somewhere on earth. Because of the tilting of earth’s axis, the seasons are reversed between the northern and the southern hemispheres. I’ve always found it difficult to think of people in Australia going to the beach on Christmas, but it is their summer time. When our trees in the northern hemisphere are beginning to bloom in the spring, the trees in Australia are changing colors for fall. One of the important results of this tilted axis and season is that it is always growing season somewhere, and it’s always harvest time somewhere.

As Christians we experience seasons in our spiritual lives. We experience times of harvest because there are times of planting if we don’t forget to plant. I’ve recognized times in my life when I have been busy planting and then working the fields preparing them for harvest. And when harvest comes, my activities are different. It’s interesting to note that some people are very good at planting while others are excellent at harvesting. Neither one experiences his best results without the other. Perhaps the skills needed in the two activities are somewhat different. So, should I feel bad if I don’t experience a large harvest of souls by my work at harvest time? No, I may have been the one who planted, watered, and fed the plants in preparation for harvest. We tend to focus on harvest and the great harvesters, but without great planters, the harvest would not be as big. God’s kingdom needs both, and that’s why God gives different gifts to different people.

I have also experienced times of lower activity, and that time, winter, is usually thought of as the time when nothing happens. But those are the times when we are rested, fed, and enriched by our Lord. Those who are going full tilt 24 hours a day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year seem to wear down sooner. God provided a time of rest for us, and it is important that we use that time to let Him love us tenderly, and prepare us for our next intense time of effort on His behalf. It is a marvelous privilege to be a farmer in the fields of God, and to do our best, we need to observe our personal seasons just as the earth does.

Having Done All

Ephesians 6:13 Having Done All

“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (NKJV).

This verse comes before the listing of armor that we are to wear—belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes with the preparation of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. We are also told to pray “with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” I’ve always taken this section of Scripture to mean that all our weapons were of a defensive nature because we were to stand. But, by thinking this, I neglected the three words just before, “to stand.’ Those words are, “having done all.” I’ve come to realize that “having done all” means that we were to have been on the attack, taking territory from satan and pushing him back in every way we can. Sometimes when a soldier has “done all,” he is tired and needs rest and resupply. That’s the time we are to stand—not to give any quarter, not to give up an inch of the territory we have gained while we are being resupplied. The weapons we have been given will certainly help as we stand, withstanding the attacks of satan. All the weapons provide protection, but we need to remember that these same weapons also provide protection as we charge forward. The principle offensive weapon would seem to be the “sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” Sooo, I need to memorize passages of Scripture so that I have my sword always at the ready. Jesus showed us when He was tempted by satan, that the Word of God drives satan back and may even cause him to go away—quit the battleground for the time being. Of all the weapons given to us by God, we control the sword of the Spirit by the effort we put into memorizing Scripture.

God has given us His Word, the Bible, but when we let it lie on the coffee table or sit on the bookshelf unopened, we nullify it as a weapon. Even reading it doesn’t make it very effective as a weapon, but when we know Scripture and can quote it—fire our guns—at satan, it becomes a powerful weapon that sets him back on his heels. And when satan is finally defeated, we will quote and sing Scripture not as a weapon, but as an expression of our understanding and acceptance of every Word written by God, the very Words He uses to tell us of His great love for us.