It seems as though our culture is overrun with signs. Billboards are all along the highways and some are digital, enabling the billboard owner to multiple “signs” displayed for all to see.
Some signs are humorous. There is a van for a lock and key company which has, along the bottom of their vehicle, the statement “Cheer up it can always be worse.”
Some signs are informational.
Signpost at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, England
Some signs are confusing even though they have been in use for over 60 years.
There is another sign on the highways that we have no difficulty following, because we know that an accident will surely occur if we disobey its warning.
One-Way Sign along the highway
No matter what your language may be, when you see the arrow going in a certain direction, you understand that such direction is the only correct one.
In the Bible, Jesus tells His disciples that He will be leaving them very soon. John chapter 14 details this conversation between Jesus and his closest friends:
“”Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:1-6
How many ways are there to God the Father? Just one – belief in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Just as the One-Way sign points to the correct direction to be followed on the highway to avoid disaster or death in an accident, Scripture details the one way to avoid disaster and eternal death. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and His atoning work on the cross for our salvation. He said it clearly – “I am THE way”. He did not say “I am A way” as if there were more than one option.
“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:12
Signs – they are helpful, instructive, humorous, and some remind us of eternal consequences.
I pray that if you have not sought the Lord, please do so now. Scripture has told us everything that we need to obtain eternal life. Now is the day of salvation. Now is the time to go the right direction on that narrow road to salvation.
Father, I pray that those who read this missive would be touched by Your Spirit. If they are already believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, may their faith be renewed, and their spirit be encouraged by these words. If the reader is not already a believer in our Lord, I pray that Your Spirit would quicken their heart and that they would realize their need for the Savior.
This is part two of a revision and repost of an April 2016 post about a trip to Nashville, Tennessee and a visit to the Lane Motor Museum.
Indecision – A breeding ground for inaction and for doubts about God’s sovereignty, your salvation, and a host of other questions that Satan will interject so that your devotion to your Lord will be diverted or, perhaps even, diminished!
This firemen’s vehicle from Cogolin, France seems to be the perfect visual representation of indecision!
Close up view of the two front ends of the Firemen’s vehicle, Cogolin, France.
No matter how it got to Nashville, it seems to me to be a classic representation of indecision.
Previously we looked at James, the brother of Jesus and the author of the book of James in Scripture, when he spoke of indecision and its difficulties. Specifically, He said:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
James 1:5-8.
The King James Version of this scripture uses the term “wavereth” rather than the term “doubting” in verse 6. Looking up the meaning of this word in Strong’s Lexicon, you find that one definition given for G1252, diakrinō, the Greek word translated “doubting” in the ESV and “wavereth” in the KJV is “to be at variance with one’s self, hesitate, doubt”.
Being at variance with yourself seems to be the quintessential description of indecision!
The reality of indecision, however, is not the point. Rather, James is warning that those who are “at variance with” themselves must not suppose that they “will receive anything from the Lord” in answer to her prayers.
The consequence of indecision is that the Lord will not be responsive to the prayer that is subject of doubt.
Of course, we also must remember that prayers must be made in alignment with God’s will for answers to be received. I am confident that Paul did not doubt when he prayed to be relieved from his physical infirmity. But he did not get the relief that he desired. Rather, God told him “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” See 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.
The fact is that fervent, unwavering prayer raised to God’s throne does not equate to the instant resolution that we may envision. Pain is real, but grace is overwhelming and eternal. I have learned that when I am weak, then I am strong because it is God working through me, and that makes all the difference!
Don’t be double minded – be single minded. Have your mind focused on the Trinity: on God, on Jesus Christ, and on His Holy Spirit. Look to the Lord’s way for your life and you will be blessed, even through unexpected answers to your prayers.
Father, forgive me, I pray, when I have prayed while doubting that an answer would come. You are sovereign and I desire to yield to Your guidance and authority in all things. Strengthen me in this, I pray.
This is a revision and repost of an April 2016 post about a trip to Nashville, Tennessee and a visit to the Lane Motor Museum.
Have you ever wondered, considered, fretted, worried, and then wondered again about taking some course of action? What should I do? Where should I go? Should I change jobs or retire? What medical procedure would be the best? What should I order in a restaurant that I won’t be wearing around my hips 5 years from now? (Okay, that last one is a bit of a stretch, I concede!)
Indecision – this is the breeding ground for inaction and it is breeding ground for doubts about God’s sovereignty, your salvation, and a host of other questions that Satan will interject so that your devotion to your Lord will be diverted or, perhaps even, diminished!
When we stopped at the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, we saw a vehicle that seemed to me to be a visual representation of indecision!
Firemen’s vehicle, Cogolin, France.
My first thought when I saw this vehicle was “This is a pushmi-pullyu!!”
Pushmi-Pullyu was a fictional character from The Story of Doctor Dolittle, written by Hugh Loftling in the 1920s. The pushmi-pullyu (pronounced “push-me—pull-you”) was a “gazelle-unicorn cross” which had a head at each end of its body.
Although the pushmi-pullyu was fictional, the vehicle in front of me at the museum was not!
I am told, although I am no French expert to be sure, that “Sapeurs-Pompiers” is French for firemen. Cogolin is a small city in south east France in the French region Provence-Alpes-Cot d’Azur. The town has about 11000 people. So, this vehicle, with its two steering wheels, two front tires, two front windshields … two working front ends was, apparently, at least at one point in time, a fire vehicle for the town of Cogolin, France.
How it came to be at the Lane Motor Museum in Tennessee is unknown to me, but I can attest that it was there! But, its travel to Tennessee is irrelevant; it seems to me to be a classic representation of the “pushmi-pullyu” conflict that is also known as “indecision”.
James, the brother of Jesus and the author of the book of James in Scripture, speaks of indecision and its difficulties.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
James 1:5-8.
Don’t be a pushmi-pullyu! Don’t be double minded – be single minded. Have your mind focused on the Trinity: on God, on Jesus Christ, and on His Holy Spirit. Look to the Lord’s way for your life and you will be blessed, even through unexpected answers to your prayers.
Father, forgive me, I pray, when I have prayed while doubting that an answer would come. Forgive me when I have simply failed to yield control of my life to You, in all things. Strengthen me in this, I pray.
We have just returned home from a trip through 5 different states – Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Georgia. We did not “tour” throughout all these states, we did drive through them on the interstate highways. It is easy to see the incredible variety of landscape that our country exhibits:
Mountains in Tennessee and North Carolina make the driving scenic and sometimes scary.
The mountains of East Tennessee.
Florida is significantly flatter than the mountains but there are beautiful beaches and palm trees, and fruit stands with fresh fruit even in March (we were there during the Strawberry Festival, yum!)
A beautiful palm tree in Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, Coral Gables, Florida.
Whether or not the terrain was hilly or flat, there was one feature that was the same throughout all the states. It was pervasive. It was ubiquitous! It is the orange road construction barrel.
Orange highway construction barrel. Some say it is our state flower, but I think it is all over our country!
Construction – it is good for the highways.
We know that there are potholes, uneven lanes, torn up pavement, all sorts of problems with the roadways and construction to repair such problems is good. You simply cannot get away from the barrels. They are put up when no construction is in sight, yet. They are put up when the grading equipment is alongside the lane of travel. They give evidence of the upcoming improvement in road conditions, which is good even if they cause some congestion and delay at the present time.
Crane hovering over construction in downtown Nashville.
Construction – it is good for the cities.
When there is construction, there is growth. There is change and there is development. Sometimes people differ on how or where construction should occur, but there can be no dispute that construction changes things.
Christ of the Ozarks, Missouri, USA (circa 1965)
Construction – it is good for US.
Seeing the construction in each of the states we traveled reminded me of the construction that is going on in each one of us, every moment of every day. We don’t have red barrels to tell others of the ongoing construction in our lives, but we are “under construction” nonetheless.
Scripture teaches us that God loves us and that He gave His Son for us as an atonement for our sin. This enables us to have confidence that we will be with Him now and forever if we have faith in Jesus Christ and trust Him alone for our salvation.
“Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”
Romans 5:9-10 ESV
“[I]f you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
Romans 10:9-10 ESV
But, salvation is not the end of the story. Once we have received Jesus Christ into our heart through faith, we then become “under construction” as the Holy Spirit does His work in transforming us into the image of our Lord. I have heard it said “God loves us as we are, but he doesn’t want us to stay this way!” In other words, He desires that we be changed into the image of His Son.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Romans 12:2 ESV
“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
Romans 8:29 ESV
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV
Praise the Lord that we are “under construction”. We are lovingly being transformed by God from our sinful, earthly desires, impulses, thoughts, actions and words into the image of our Lord. But it takes time! While we are justified with God immediately upon our receiving the Lord Jesus as our Savior, the transformation into the image of the Lord is not an instantaneous occurrence.
A song written by Sim Wilson entitled “Please be patient with me” captures the concept well:
Chorus:
Please be patient with me, God is not through with me yet.
Please be patient with me, God is not through with me yet.
When God gets through with me, when God gets through with me,
I shall come forth, I shall come forth like pure gold.
Verse:
If you should see me and I’m not walking right,
And if you should hear me and I’m not talking right;
Please remember what God has done for me,
When He gets through with me, I’ll be what He wants me to be.
This transformation does not occur through our own efforts. It does not come about through our own strength by struggling to keep all the commandments or by trying to copy good things that we see others doing.
This construction comes from the Holy Spirit’s work inside of us. It is an inward change. It is a change of our heart and of our will. In fact it is a total surrender of our own will to that of our Father.
Praise the Lord that He is transforming us as we live our life in grace through the Holy Spirit. Rest in Him and He will perform His good work in you.
Please be patient with me!
When He gets through with me, I’ll be what He wants me to be!
Father, I thank You for sending the Holy Spirit into our world so that He would work in the life of each of Your children, transforming them into the image of Your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
We found this interesting vehicle on display when we visited the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. See the post PUSHMI-PULLYU – INDECISION IS HARMFUL! that was posted April 26, 2016 for more information about our visit to the Museum and this interesting vehicle.
Firemen’s vehicle, Cogolin, France.
At first glance, I thought it was interesting that it seemed to have front headlights on the back end as well as at the front. Upon a more focused look at the vehicle, I realized that it was two front halves put together.
Close up view of the two front ends of the Firemen’s vehicle, Cogolin, France.
Fairly odd looking, I have to say. Obviously, this would be impossible to drive if both “front ends” were engaged at the same time. Yet, on a spiritual basis, this is what we do all the time in connection with the irreconcilable contrast between “good and evil”.
We affirmatively state that God is good. Indeed, we know that goodness is one of God’s attributes.
“And [God] said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.”
Exodus 33:19 ESV
“For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!.”
Zechariah 9:17 ESV
The Apostle Paul even notes that goodness is part of the fruit of the Spirit which we are to grow in our own hearts and minds as we allow Him to transform us into the likeness of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,”
Galatians 5:22 ESV
The reality for us, however, is that goodness is not what we see on a daily basis in either ourselves or our world. Rather than goodness, we see evil, selfishness, pride, injustice, violence, hatred, and hurt. In short, we see sin, disobedience to God’s Word, in both our own life and in the life of our community and the world.
It is the height of arrogance to think that mankind is good. A review of the daily headlines shows that this is not the case. That same arrogance produces the thought that we are good at any time … even our best “good deeds” are described in Scripture as “filthy rags”. Isaiah 64:6 [KJV].
Dr. R. C. Sproul says:
Sin is cosmic treason. Sin is treason against a perfectly pure Sovereign. It is an act of supreme ingratitude toward the One to whom we owe everything, to the One who has given us life itself. Have you ever considered the deeper implications of the slightest sin, of the most minute peccadillo? What are we saying to our Creator when we disobey Him at the slightest point? We are saying no to the righteousness of God. We are saying “God, Your law is not good. My judgment is better than Yours. Your authority does not apply to me. I am above and beyond Your jurisdiction. I have the right to do what I want to do, not what You command me to do.”
…
The slightest sin is an act of defiance against cosmic authority. It is a revolutionary act, a rebellious act in which we are setting ourselves in opposition to the One to whom we owe everything. It is an insult to His holiness.
So, we know that we are not good and that sin and evil abounds in and around us. But we then argue that if God is good, it would appear that God is not watching, He doesn’t care, or He is incapable of helping us in a world that is so full of evil. While some feel this way, I suggest that the opposite is true. Turning to Dr. Sproul’s comments again, he says:
… He [God] is so slow to anger that when His anger does erupt, we are shocked and offended by it. We forget rather quickly that God’s patience is designed to lead us to repentance, to give us time to be redeemed. Instead of taking advantage of this patience by coming humbly to Him for forgiveness, we use this grace as an opportunity to become more bold in our sin. We delude ourselves into thinking that either God doesn’t care about it, or that He is powerless to punish us. … The supreme folly is that we think we will get away with our revolt.
When it appears that God is not working in our world, the reality is that He is waiting. He is exercising His patience. He is allowing evil to continue because there are those who have not yet recognized the Spirit’s conviction of sin and who have not yet received the gift of salvation through faith in Christ alone.
Can evil/sin exist with good/holiness? The answer to this inquiry is an emphatic “no!” Sinful mankind cannot appear before the Holy God who is the essence of goodness. But through Jesus Christ, God has made a way for us to be forgiven of our sin and washed in the righteousness of His Son.
Christ of the Ozarks, Missouri, USA (circa 1965)
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6 ESV
If God were to wipe out all evil, those who have not yet received Jesus Christ as their Savior would be lost forever. Thus, God waits patiently until all His children have come to Him. . Paul says in Romans:
“Or do you presume on the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?”
Romans 2:4 ESV
For a time, it may appear that people are successful in their revolt against God and His Anointed One. For a time, it may appear that evil has won the battle and that God is helpless to give aid or comfort to His people.
Beloved, this is a delusion, a fiction of the highest magnitude.
When God slams down His gavel in judgment of all mankind, there will be no time then for people to confess their sin and to receive the gift of salvation. The time of God’s mercy will be over. His patient waiting will be completed. At that point it will be the time of judgment.
“Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as He is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning.
1 John 3:7-8 ESV
Don’t be double minded. Goodness and evil/righteousness and sin/light and dark cannot coexist. Look to Jesus Christ, confess your sin, receive His righteousness and live then in goodness and light, through His power alone.
Father, cleanse my heart from its sin and double-mindedness. Enable me, through Your Spirit, to live my life in dedication to You and to Your will. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, my God and my Redeemer.
Beauty. Our culture seems to idolize the beautiful people. Mega-dollar industries have been built on providing cosmetics, beautifying potions, exercise machines to make the body sleek, to name just a few examples, all for making people beautiful. But what is beauty, really? Is physical beauty really what is important?
The Merriam Webster online dictionary [found at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/] provides one definition of “beauty” as “The quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit; loveliness.” I like this definition.
In his book, The Holiness of God, p. 196-7, Dr. R. C. Sproul states that God is the source of beauty. Indeed, that beauty is one of the attributes of our Divine Creator.
God Himself is the ground of all unity and diversity, of simplicity and complexity. His very being is internally consistent and harmonious and proportionate. In him there are no distortions, no disorder, no ugliness. His voice admits to no noise or cacophony. The works of his hands are cosmos, not chaos. Chaos is marked by disorder and confusion; it is manifest irrationally. The beauty of God is a sane and rational beauty in that his being is one of perfect sanity and order. Insofar as the beautiful bears witness to these qualities, they bear witness to Him. … To cultivate an appreciation for beauty is to set our course to follow after the sublime Author of all beauty.
Appreciation for beauty is a consistent theme throughout the Bible. The Old Testament Scriptures are particularly appreciative of the beauty of nature. God announced that creation was good in Genesis and, after the creation of mankind, the penultimate act of creation, God declared it to be “very good”! Then, in Exodus we read:
Exodus 28:2 – “And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.”
These words were spoken by God when He gave the instructions and directions for the Tabernacle to be built in the wilderness and for the dishes and implements to be used, even down to the detail to be included on the clothing to be worn by the priests. Note, God included as a characteristic of the holy garments that they are “for beauty”.
The psalms exhibit an appreciation for God’s handiwork in numerous passages. Consider Psalm 8:1, 3-4:
“O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. … When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”
Psalm 19:1 states:
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.”
Psalm 104 describes God’s mighty work in creation noting that He set the earth on its foundations and going on to describe the individual parts of creation all under the umbrella of the prayer “Bless the LORD, O my soul!”
Listen to Brentwood Jazz Quartet’s rendition of “All Creatures of Our God and King” from their album The Best of the Brentwood Jazz Quartet.
Take some time to look at the pictures as you listen to the music, and then meditate on the following Scriptures. Renew your sense of the beautiful and praise God for His wondrous works.
King’s Canyon scenic overlook, California, USA. Majesty and power reflected in the glory of creation.
Psalm 96:6 – “Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.”
Sunset and clouds show God’s pallet of colors!
Psalm 104:19 – “He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting.”
Mountain, trees and brook in Oregon, USA.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 – “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”
The door at Bath Abby in Bath, England. Craftsmen creating a beautiful place for worship of a God Who loves beauty.
1 Chronicles 16:29 [KJV] – “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.”
A baby girl, full of promise and beauty.
Proverbs 31:30 – Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
1 Peter 3:3-4 – Do not let your adorning be external–the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear– but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
Sunset over the ocean, an acknowledgement that the day is over but the ocean continues to roar and churn, as ordained by our Creator God.
Psalm 104:25 – “Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great.”
The Schermerhorn Symphony center in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Orchestra and choir ready to sing a sacred concert to the glory of God in their performance of Dr. R. C. Sproul’s hymn collection “Glory to the Holy One”.
Psalm 104:33 – “I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.”
Snowy tranquility. Snow blankets our surroundings and causes us to stop and cherish the silent beauty of God’s world.
Psalm 51:7 – Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Father,I pray that my meditation is pleasing to You, for I rejoice in You and your Holy Name. (Psalm 103:34) I pray that these pictures, this music and these humble words would be used by Your Spirit to encourage and strengthen those who read this post. I pray that You would use Your Word to speak to the heart and minds of those who encounter these passages of Scripture. Father, I pray that You would be glorified in all things.
When we were in Nashville recently, we took a trip to Lane Motor Museum. The recommendation from the hotel “things to see and do” data sheet indicated that this would be a worthwhile excursion.
Lane Motor Museum building, Nashville, Tennessee.
We found the museum to be fun, educational and interesting, even to me as a non-car person! (Regarding that last characterization statement: When I rented a car for work travel, my husband would ask “what car did you drive” and I would respond “a blue one”.)
A 1938 Tatra at the Lane Motor Museum. This car was made in Czechoslovakia.
The museum was truly interesting and it showcased the fact that the design of vehicles is open to interpretation and what is beautiful for one may not be the same for another.
1929 BMW IHLE-600 at the Lane Motor Museum, Nashville, TN.Lane Motor Museum, Nashville, Tennessee exhibit of a 1951 Hoffman
According to the information card by the vehicle, the 1951 Hoffman was designed and built by Michael Hoffman. It has 3 wheels, small engine, slow speed, and rear wheel steering. The vehicle’s handling, again according to the information card, was like “a drunk leaving a hotel bar”.
1973 Citroen SM Coupe at the Lane Motor Museum.A BMW Isetta at the Lane Motor Museum. You get into the car by opening the front of the vehicle.The USMC Mighty Mite, a 1960 AMC-AV-108-4 on display at the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee.
During a video tour of the museum, one of the speakers made a statement that resonated with me. He was pointing out the wide variety of exhibits in the museum, vehicles with 2-wheels, 3-wheels, 4-wheels, and even 1 wheel.
The Trident is a 3-wheel vehicle at the Lane Motor Museum.
Here’s a picture of the 1-wheel vehicle, the 1998 McLean Wheel!
The McLean Wheel, Lane Motor Museum, Nashville, Tennessee.
The McLean Wheel is a monowheel. In other words, it is one big wheel with the rider and the engine inside the circumference. It differs from a unicycle which has the rider above the wheel. The monowheel depends on a gyroscopic effect to keep it upright. Like a bicycle, it is unstable at slow speeds. At 15 mph, you can put your feet on the footpegs. Turning is accomplished by leaning. Obviously, it takes patience and practice to learn to successfully ride the monowheel.
Returning to the video, the museum representative said all the exhibits in the museum were intended to do just one thing – transport a person from one place to another. (That’s not a word-for-word quote, but the meaning is the same.) People have thought up a variety of ways to accomplish this one goal; but, the fundamental purpose for each of these vehicles is the same.
When listening to the video, I saw this museum as an analogy of mankind seeking God. Many people look to various philosophies, programs, and rituals in their attempt to achieve a relationship with God. Good works are done with the hope that it will appease God and, when all is tallied up at the end of our life, we will have more on the good side than on the bad side – so God will have to let us into heaven.
The desire is the same; the goal is the same; it is just that the methods are different. Indeed, there are even bumper stickers that assert that all religions are the same. If we are sincere in what we are doing, it will all work out right in the end!
Not so, Holy Scripture says. Running around acting religious or trying hard will not do the trick. In Mark we read that after Jesus had been teaching, he wanted to go to a desolate place to get away from the press of the crowd. He got into a boat and left the area.
“When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.” – [Mark 6:34 ESV]
In teaching about the way to get to heaven and to live eternally, He created a word picture that the people would readily understand, sheep in the sheepfold with the shepherd watching over them. We may not have experience with this, but the hearers of our Lord Jesus certainly did. He said:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” – [John 10:1-3 ESV]
“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture…. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” – [John 10:9, 11 ESV]
A bit later in John, Jesus is explicit in his teaching, no confusion here … He said:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” – [John 14:6 ESV]
Jesus is saying that He, and only He, is the way to God. There is no other. If you want to spend eternity with God in heaven, you must come by way of Jesus Christ, the One who redeemed you when He sacrificed His body on the cross, Who rose from the dead the third day, and Who now sits at the right hand of God the Father.
There are a host of designs for automobiles and vehicles for transport of persons and packages. The purpose is the same and each design fulfills that singular purpose.
But this is diametrically opposed to what happens when people seek God in their own way.
There are many religions, philosophies, plans, religious systems, and rituals that have the same purpose of seeking God. But, while the purpose is the same, the result is not. All of man’s attempts to reach God will fail miserably; in short they will not achieve the purpose of eternal life with God in heaven.
God has given us the Way to Him in His Word. There is only one Way to go to the Father, and that is through Jesus Christ.
All roads do not reach the same destination – and all methods of religion do not suffice for achieving eternal life in heaven.
“if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” – [Romans 10:9-10 ESV]
The way to reach heaven and eternal life is singular … it is through belief in and reliance upon the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Seek Him, and you shall be saved.
Father, I thank you that you sent your Son to be our Savior and that He came so that we would have life eternal. I pray that your Word would become real to each person reading this prayer and that, if they have not come to Jesus in faith, your Spirit would quicken them, in Jesus name I pray.
Scripture tells us at the very beginning of Genesis that “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1. The six days of creation are all itemized in Chapter 1 of Genesis.
Light — and the light was good.
Dry land and the seas– and God saw that it was good.
Colorado mountains, where earth and sky collide.Oregon ocean waves and beach.
Vegetation, plants and trees – and God saw that it was good.
Yosemite Giant Sequoia Trees
Lights in the heavens – and God saw that it was good.
Super Moon in Mississippi.
All creatures that move, in the sea and in the air – and God saw that it was good.
Hummingbird getting a drink for nourishment.Florida Spiny Lobster seen in aquarium along Florida’s coastline.
All beasts of the earth and all that creep on the ground – and God saw that it was good.
Caribou with large rack in Denali National Park, Alaska.Pet pooches are under His care too!
Then, in Genesis 1:26-27, and 31, God said:
“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. … And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”
Everything that He had made was very good. Simply put, God’s creation is good and it gives glory to its Creator.
Looking at the creation of God, it is clear that beauty is an attribute of the Creator God. David speaks of it like this:
One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.
Psalm 27:4 [ESV]
God’s desire for beauty is also expressed in Exodus 28:2 where God is telling Moses what garments the priests were to wear when conducting worship before Him even in the wilderness tabernacle.
And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. [ESV] (The emphasis is mine)
A review of the construction of the tabernacle is way beyond the scope of this post, but it was clearly a pinnacle of beauty, shining with gold, bronze, silver, precious jewels for the objects to be used in worship, and even for the thread used to create the curtains. The directions were explicit and detailed, and they were dictated by God. Beauty is an attribute of our Creator. Read Exodus Chapters 25 through 40 and see the incredible detail God directed for the construction of His tabernacle. Then remember where it was built — in the wilderness. Clearly, this was not the most beautiful of places, but His tabernacle was to be beautiful because it was to reflect our God and one of His attributes, beauty.
Beautiful music and singing are also part of God’s creation and an expression of His beauty. Way back when David was king, we read that he appointed the priests to sing a song of thanksgiving to God. Read 1 Chronicles 16 aloud, to yourself or anyone else who would listen, and your spirit will be lifted as you, through David’s words so long ago, praise the Lord for His wondrous works. Verse 10 of this chapter directs that we are to “Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.”
This past Monday evening, we were blessed to attend a concert sponsored by Ligonier Ministries for the performance of sacred music entitled “Glory to the Holy One.” The concert was held in Nashville, Tennessee.
Downtown Nashville at night.
The venue was the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, a beautiful building that is dedicated to the symphony.
The Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Nashville, Tennessee
The building was beautiful with marvelous craftsmanship evident throughout.
Inside the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Nashville, TennesseeThe symphony platform was ready.
Of course, the acoustics were incredible. The choir was extraordinary and the symphony was wonderful. But the music touched your soul, heart and mind.
The choir and symphony getting ready for the music to begin.
Our seats were much closer to the musicians than I anticipated … we were IN the music, not just listening to it! This picture was taken while we were sitting in our chairs.
Superlatives are inadequate to describe the event. The words to the hymns were written by Dr. R.C. Sproul and the music was composed and conducted by Jeff Lippencott. Tears streamed more than once as God’s glory was extolled in music and singing. The words to the hymns were beautiful and poignant, detailing the journey of faith and culminating when we see Jesus face to face. Here is one of the hymns entitled The Secret Place, the words are below the link for your reference.
Excerpt from music on soundtrack of GLORY TO THE HOLY ONE
Who dwells within His most secret place
Is never far from His blessed grace
‘Neath His great shadow all will be well
No better place now for us to dwell
Refrain
The secret place of God Most High
The shadow of our mighty King
The dwelling place where angels cry
Is where our praise will forever ring
Fear not the terror that comes at night
Nor flaming arrows by morning light
His truth is always our sword and shield
Against His power, all foes must yield
Refrain
A thousand fall now at ev’ry side
Ten thousand more may have yet to die
Yet plague and sword can
Ne’er kill the soul
His angels guard us now safe and whole
Refrain
Refuge and fortress for all who trust
No safer pasture for men of dust
‘Neath wings and feathers of Holy Lord
No great comfort can He afford
Refrain
I pray that these words and the music will be a blessing to you this day.
Father, thank you for the gift of music and for the talents of those who can create, compose, sing and perform such magnificent works to your glory and honor. I thank you too for the truth of the words of this hymn. No safer place can find us than when we are in your care, now and forevermore.
The Ruminant Scribe - Snapshots of God's World and Word 