Edtucner, Author at Creation Beckons

God’s Will for Us

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 God’s Will for Us

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (NIV).

Paul gives us simple instructions for us if we want to do God’s will—rejoice, pray, thank. I believe that if we do these three things, our commitment to Him will be obvious to others. I also believe that if we do these things, we will live in a manner that will draw others to Him.

“Rejoice always.” I take that to mean that I should be joyful, with a pleasant countenance on my face and the love of Christ showing in my heart and actions all the time. It sounds easy, but we all know that it is difficult to maintain a joyful attitude today with all the garbage that satan is throwing at us. It becomes easier when we remember that the one who lives within us, Jesus Christ, defeated satan several thousand years ago, and He gave us the joy of living in that victory.

“Pray continually.” Now that’s pretty hard. I have to go to work and interact with others. How can I be praying then? Well, not all of our prayers need to be audible. Many of my prayers are done in my heart or in my spirit even when, or perhaps especially when, I am with others. How can I pray when I am driving? That’s often a good time to pray, rather than saying some of the other things that might leap out of our mouths. Often others I see when I am driving “obviously” need prayer or we need to pray for protection from them and from our own mistakes. Those prayers can frequently be spoken aloud. How can I pray when I am studying or reading? This is another good time to be praying, praying for insight and understanding, and probably not praying aloud. I think God wants us to be aware of His constant presence, His nearness, all the time. He wants us to know that conversation with Him is instantaneous any time. Paul used the word, “continually” instead of “continuously.” I believe that he used continually to indicate that even though we can’t actually pray all the time, we can maintain an atitude of prayerfulness all the time.

“Give thanks in all circumstances.” Many have said that we need to be thankful in all circumstances, but not necessarily for all circumstances. Others say that we really should be thankful for all circumstances because those are often the times for drawing closer to Him and for growing. Whichever we believe, we need to be thankful for God’s presence, help, and love through all circumstances. It certainly is true that, whatever the circumstance, we do have many things for which to be thankful.

So, thank you, Paul, for reminding us of these three instructions from God. I do know that when I keep them in mind, my life is happier and, certainly, more peaceful.

God Is Faithful

Psalm 91:14,15 God Is Faithful

“The Lord says, ‘I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them’” (NLT).

This photograph is from a state park in Nebraska. The ranger told us that this pair of geeses had lost several chicks to a fox, so they had become extra attentive to and protective of their remaining gosling. If these geese are so protective of their chick, how much more must our Lord and Savior be protective of us. All we need to do is call on Him.

Psalm 91 is a Psalm of the promise of protection by God for those who love Him. David begins the Psalm by speaking of the shelter and rest provided therein, and ends it by saying, “I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.” Packed between the beginning and end of Psalm 91 are acknowledgements of the deadly things the enemy will attempt to bring upon God’s people, from snares to terrors to arrows to plagues. But also packed in those verses are God’s continuing proclamations that He will be with us, give us strength, hold us up with His hands, and provide us with armor. Yes, satan can do terrible things, but he should know better than to get in a fight with God Almighty. The last time He decided to take on God he was humiliated in front of his own demons, and Jesus brought us the keys to eternal life. The last part of verse 15, “I will rescue and honor them,” is amazing to me. Not only will God rescue me, He will honor me. God will honor me? Yes, that is what He said! I’m the one who needs rescuing, but God will honor me. WOW! How great is our God? How much can I trust Him? How very much does He love us? Those are questions that will take me an eternity to answer.

Peter, the Rock

Acts 4:8-12 Peter, the Rock

“With that, Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, let loose, ‘Rulers and leaders of the people, if we have been brought to trial today for helping a sick man, put under investigation regarding this healing, I’ll be completely frank with you—we have nothing to hide. By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the One you killed on a cross, the One God raised from the dead, by means of his name this man stands before you healthy and whole. Jesus is “the stone you masons threw out, which is now the cornerstone.” Salvation comes no other way; no other name has been or will be given by which we can be saved, only this one’” (MSG).

Wow! Peter certainly earned his name, the “Rock” this day. He and John, upon entering the Temple for a meeting, raised a man, crippled from birth, to his feet and gave him the gift of walking through the name of Jesus. None of the religious leaders liked it, so they arrested Peter and John. When they were questioned by the religious leaders, the most powerful people of Israel, as it says above, Peter let them have it. He held nothing back. He not only said that they healed in the name of Jesus; he reminded them that they had killed Jesus, and that God had brought Him back to life. He also took away their authority by saying that Jesus was the only name by which anyone could be saved.

Jesus had changed Peter’s name from Simon to Peter, the Rock, and Peter certainly earned his changed name that day. The leaders threatened Peter and John never to speak in the name of Jesus again. We all know how well that worked. Because of the rock-hard strength given to the disciples of Jesus through the Holy Spirit, we today are blessed to proclaim, as they did, “Jesus is the only way to salvation!” Lord, help us to speak in the same strength they had on behalf of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Spread the Gospel

Mark 16:15 Spread the Gospel

“And then he told them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone’” (NLT).

The bright yellow color is intense in the center of this flower, the yellow radiating toward the outer edges. Let me use this as a simple visual illustration of “Go into all the world and preach the Good News.” If we visualize Jesus Christ as the brilliant center of Christianity, which He is, we can see disciples, us, spreading this Good News towards the ends of the earth. It’s time to do it, time to focus on speaking the Good News of forgiveness of sin and eternal life with our great God in heaven. If I can’t personally do that, then I need to support those who can. Wait a minute—I can spread the Good News myself. I know lots of people who need this Good News, and I even meet others I don’t know who also need the Good News. Lord, give me the boldness to represent you by the way I live my life. When I can’t do it with words, help me to do it with my actions. Help me live so that people may wonder and even ask why I am not dragged down by all the turmoil the world is going through.

Stewardship

1 Peter 4:10 Stewardship

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (ESV).

When we think of biblical stewardship, we usually think of the parable of the three servants who were given differing amounts of money to invest for their master. That’s a great parable that shows how we are expected to use what God has given us to His advantage, and we usually consider the “talents” as money. Two servants did a good job, and one, being fearful, buried what he was given and did nothing with it for fear that he would lose it—and he did.

Peter speaks of stewardship in a different manner. He sees it as putting to good use the talents and abilities God has given us. Peter doesn’t mention the poor steward probably because he expects each of us to put his abilities to good use. He seems to assume good stewardship because he knows that Jesus expected His disciples to go forth and preach the Gospel even though they had not been trained as speakers or theologians before they met Jesus. They had been given the gift of teaching and preaching the Good News by Jesus through observing Him and by the impartation of the Holy Ghost.

Not many have been given the gift of teaching or the gift of preaching, but God doesn’t count that as a valid excuse for doing nothing. He has given each of us a talent for use in the Kingdom of God, and He expects us to develop it and use it. Many, or maybe even most, talents are not publicly acknowledged, but it makes a difference in the Kingdom if they are not used. Men may not notice the difference when a talent is not used, but God does. As it says in 2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he had done in the body, whether good or evil” (ESV). What will I say when Jesus says, “Let’s take a look at what you did with the talent I gave you”? Then I will receive my reward for the work I did with the tools He gave me. Then I will be glad that I didn’t bury the talent He gave me. I will be able to rejoice that I made good use of it. I’m sure you will have reason to rejoice also.

Am I an Obvious Christian?

Ephesians 2:10 Am I an Obvious Christian?

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

Do people recognize me as being a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ? Maybe my bumper sticker has a Christian message. Maybe I wear a cross. Maybe I go to church. Maybe I don’t use foul language. Maybe I put up a manger scene with my Christmas decorations. These are all indications that I might actually be a follower of Jesus Christ, but to most people these may be the only indications of my faith in Christ. Do I really look like God’s handiwork? I realize that most people don’t get close enough to me for me to expound upon my love for Jesus, and I am glad to have these external indications of my faith. But for those closer to me, those I work with, those I bowl with, my neighbors, my friends, my family, I have the opportunity to represent my Savior in a deeper sense.

How does God want me show that I am a follower of Christ? Well, Jesus gives us a direct answer to that question in Matthew 7:12, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (NIV). Do I have to let people out in front of me in traffic? Yes. Do I have to let people in front of me in the grocery line? Yes. Do I have to be patient with a rude store clerk? Yes. Do I have to respect the right of people to reject Jesus? Yes. Do I have to hold my tongue when someone denigrates the work of Jesus Christ? NO! I do have to respect someone’s decision to reject Christ, but I am responsible to represent my Lord, and to speak what He says. Sometimes “do unto others” involves prayers on their behalf after leaving the conversation even if they don’t know Christ, or really, especially if they do not know Christ.

It’s important to remember who we represent when we put a Christian bumper sticker on our car, and, more importantly, to remember who we represent when we wear a cross. Let the cross be a conversation starter and not just a piece of pretty jewelry. Jesus tells us in John 13:34,35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (NIV). Sometimes love is obvious, and sometimes love is subtle; in either case, love is His command, not His suggestion. Evidently, there is something about showing love that gets noticed and speaks of the care of our Lord. So, let’s do that—love one another.

Unchanging God

Revelation 1:8 Unchanging God

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,’ says the Lord, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty’” (NKJV).

The picture is of the main living space in a house of 150 to 200 years ago. Although we can recognize many things, they do seem strange to us. The heating for the house is right in the center, the fireplace. There was no furnace. The wood had to be cut, and the fire had to be tended. I’m sure the temperature in the house varied greatly according to how close one may have been to the fireplace. The sewing machine, which few houses have today, was run by a foot pedal instead of the electricity we use today. Oh, that’s right, there was no electricity then. The level of light in the house was not controlled by the flicking of a switch. The chairs don’t look to be very comfortable—no recliners in this house. I don’t mean to demean this house. It had all the modern equipment of the day. In the intervening years, homes have changed quite a bit.

There is one thing that hasn’t changed from that household and the modern household of today and will remain the same for as long as this earth may last. Our Lord and His love have always been and will always be the same—from eternity past to eternity future. Not only does His love remain constant, but the method of showing it to the world largely remains the same. It’s passed on from person to person as in the words of Jesus in Matthew 22:39, “And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (NKJV). I said largely remains the same because there is the one magnificent difference—Jesus gave His life on Calvary to share the love of God with all of mankind at one time. He did it once for all time. It is up to us to make sure that all people, ALL PEOPLE, are made aware of His sacrifice, and He has asked us to do that by loving our neighbors as ourselves. Actions speak louder than words. A Christian life lived is much more effective than a Christian life spoken, but the best results happen when a Christian life is lived and spoken about as Paul says in Romans 10:14, “How can people have faith and ask him to save them, if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear, unless someone tells them?” (CEV) So, let us live a visible Christan life and speak freely about it.

The Hidden Is Revealed

1 Corinthians 2:6,7 The Hidden Is Revealed

“We do use wisdom when speaking to people who are mature in their faith. But it isn’t the wisdom of this world or of its rulers, who will soon disappear. We speak of God’s hidden and mysterious wisdom that God decided to use for our glory long before the worlds began” (CEV).

The picture is of what is known as Thousand Springs. It is in south central Idaho and stretches for a long distance. The water in the springs hasn’t seen the light of day for a hundred years. Its continuous flow is mysterious. Why has the water been underground for a hundred years? I don’t know why it has been underground so long, but I am pretty sure that it flows out in these particular places because of cracks in the surrounding rock. It is not known how long these springs will last, but they do present us with an appealing and interesting sight that can be seen from the road for miles.

In the Scripture, Paul tells us that he uses wisdom hidden by God to speak into the lives of those who are mature in the faith. There are some things that become more understandable and of more use as we grow in faith and trust in our Lord. The one big difference between these thousand springs and the spring that brings forth the hidden mysteries of God is that God’s spring will never, that’s right, never run dry. He has good words for us, appropriate to our level of growth in the faith, as long as we live. I’m glad that I serve a God who knows what I am ready to learn as well as when I’m ready to learn it. His mind is infinite, so I expect to learn hidden mysteries throughout eternity. What an exciting time that will be. For the time being, I am looking forward with great expectation for the mysteries I’ll soon see.

Everything Beautiful in Its Time

Ecclesiastes 3:11 Everything Beutiful in Its Time

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has put thoughts of the forever in man’s mind, yet man cannot understand the work God has done from the beginning to the end” (NLV).

I had the opportunity and the privilege of having an extended conversation this past week with a photographer like me, who not only takes great joy in the beauty of God’s creation, but also recognizes the call of the Creator through His creation. As we talked, we came to realize that we have been blessed to easily find the call of God everywhere in His creation. I believe that photographers see things in nature around them that are not always obvious to most people. It is a blessed gift from God, but it is also one that takes developing of the gift. Part of the developing is involved with the intricacies of the camera, and part is spending time looking at the scene before snapping the shutter. But to the Christian photographer, the development of the gift of seeing God in every photograph is done through reading the Word and keeping God in mind every time he or she looks through the viewfinder. I’m sorry if I have made it appear that photographers are special people who have abilities/gifts that most people don’t have. These abilities are available to everyone who is willing to think of God whenever he or she looks deeply into the magnificent beauty of His creation.

I challenge you to “stop and smell the roses” the next time you walk outside. Think of God as the Creator as you take in the superb view in front of you. He has put within the beauty He created a calling that will bring you to Him if you will allow it. It’s worth it. More than your eyes will be blessed by what you see.

Jesus Loves Me a Lot

John 3:16 Jesus Loves Me a Lot

“God loved the people in the world so much that he gave his one and only Son to save them. As a result, everyone who believes in the Son will not die. Instead they will live for ever with God” (EASY).

I prayed this morning for God to give me a message, and this is what He said. “Tell them how much I love you.” He didn’t say to tell them how much I love them. He made it personal—“…how much I love you.” In response to His direction I write the following.

First I must say that I don’t think I will remember to mention everything that shows how much He loves me, and for that I ask His forgiveness.

The first daily reminder of His love for me is when I awake and see my wife, Norma. He loves me very much to have given me this terrific lady to be my bride for sixty years so far. He loves me enough to have given me three wonderful sons, Tim, Brian, and Jason; three great daughters-in-law, Michelle, Adrienne, and Danielle; and seven of the world’s best grandchildren, Josh, Megan, Emily, Jonathan, Benjamin, Haley, and Noah, and one grand son-in-law, Joshua. He surrounded me with loving parents, grandparents, and a sister. It’s hard to recall, let alone list all the good friends He has given me, and He continues to add new ones. Numerous Minsters of the Gospel have poured God’s love into my life.

God loves me enough to have given me life in the United States of America and is allowing me to live in this exciting, spiritual time. He has given me the opportunity to visit 47 of the fifty United States. He called me to serve Him in two different Christian Schools, Grace Christian Schools, and Desert Christian Schools in Tucson. I have worked with and for devoted followers of Him, my brothers and sisters in Christ.

God provided me with His written Word, has spoken to me through numerous pastors, and has spoken to me personally in answers to prayer. He has given me opportunity to both write and speak concerning Jesus and His love for us. The great beauty of creation has been a special gift that draws me to Him. He has provided me with comfortable homes and useful automobiles.

He shows me more times in a day how much He loves me than I can keep track of. The greatest gift He has given me here on earth is the relationships with other children of His creation, not all of whom have accepted Him as Savior yet. I have the joy and responsibility to speak to some of my friends about their need for Jesus and His love.

But, the greatest way he has shown His love for me is also the greatest way He has shown His love for you, by sending His Son, Jesus, to grant me forgiveness of my sins, to obtain for me victory over evil, and providing for me a home with Him for eternity.

Father God, you have given me the world and more. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!