“The Lord redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.” (Psalm 34:22 NIV).
What a marvelous promise to start our day with! The term redeem means literally “to buy back.” We who have followed in Adam’s footsteps and willingly and blatantly rebelled against the God of the Universe, who declared that we would prefer death to His rule (for that is what sin says), God has graciously bought us back through the precious blood of Christ. Those who run to Him never have to fear condemnation, never have to fear final judgment.
We must, however, rid ourselves of the silly notion that this marvelous promise is completely fulfilled in this life–it is not. Those who promote the concept of prosperity preaching do a great disservice to the Gospel message and the promises of God. They are short-sighted; blind. Let us never forget that our final reward is not in this fallen world. Those who want their glory now I fear shall have it. Unfortunately they will discover that their investments were in the wrong place! Invest your riches in Heaven, that is where we who know and love Christ are headed anyway.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
God Repairs What Others Discard
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:17 NIV).
Our Lord knows what it is to suffer–first-hand. While on earth he knew rejection, betrayal, misunderstanding, aggressive opposition, extreme physical abuse (in His scourging), and crucifixion (possibly the most agonizing, lingering death known to man).
He who knows what it is to suffer can be wonderfully near those who are suffering themselves. He is tender and kind, “A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth.” (Isaiah 42:3 NIV). We miss the beauty of those words if we don’t understand the compassionate “extra mile” illustrated by them.
The reed pipe was a tool of the shepherd. He used it for comfort both for the sheep and himself on those long, lonely nights of isolation. The same sound that brought comfort was a warning to predators as well–“stay away; human nearby.” These pipes were easily made, and just as easily broken. Because of the ease of their production, the common practice was when one broke, it was discarded and an new one found and crafted. Sounds a lot like some churches. We would rather transfer whole people from other fellowships into ours then mend broken people. Yet the Lord is in the mending business. While others might discard the useless broken reed, He repairs it and uses it! And the smouldering flax, He does not blow out, but gently fans it back to flame.
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” I don’t know what hurt you may face today, but I know this: you won’t face it alone. The Lord of the Universe promises to be close, right there with you, in your problem; in your pain. You can lean on Him, the only question is will you lean on Him?
Our Lord knows what it is to suffer–first-hand. While on earth he knew rejection, betrayal, misunderstanding, aggressive opposition, extreme physical abuse (in His scourging), and crucifixion (possibly the most agonizing, lingering death known to man).
He who knows what it is to suffer can be wonderfully near those who are suffering themselves. He is tender and kind, “A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth.” (Isaiah 42:3 NIV). We miss the beauty of those words if we don’t understand the compassionate “extra mile” illustrated by them.
The reed pipe was a tool of the shepherd. He used it for comfort both for the sheep and himself on those long, lonely nights of isolation. The same sound that brought comfort was a warning to predators as well–“stay away; human nearby.” These pipes were easily made, and just as easily broken. Because of the ease of their production, the common practice was when one broke, it was discarded and an new one found and crafted. Sounds a lot like some churches. We would rather transfer whole people from other fellowships into ours then mend broken people. Yet the Lord is in the mending business. While others might discard the useless broken reed, He repairs it and uses it! And the smouldering flax, He does not blow out, but gently fans it back to flame.
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” I don’t know what hurt you may face today, but I know this: you won’t face it alone. The Lord of the Universe promises to be close, right there with you, in your problem; in your pain. You can lean on Him, the only question is will you lean on Him?
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
The Most Underused Weapon in the Christian Arsenal
“17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.” (Psalm 34:17 NIV).
Joseph Scriven wrote, “O, what peace we often forfeit, O, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” Now you recognize those words from the hymn, “What A Friend We Have in Jesus,” but Mr. Scriven never intended those words to be published. Those words were written to his ailing mother in a letter of comfort. Someone once wisely observed, “A Christian’s practical theology is often in his hymnology.”
Prayer is a weapon that is not only greatly misunderstood but it is a weapon that is often vastly underused! “You have not because you ask not,” the brother of our Lord wrote (See James 4:3).
The Bible is full of wonderful promises regarding the holy privilege of prayer that all believers enjoy. Yet, because our vision is so often limited, our requests seem to go unanswered (See James 4:3-10). There is a lot of wrong teaching in the world regarding what God does and does not promise His precious people. When we believe the illusions we always become disillusioned. This is never more prevalent then when it comes to prayer. “In Jesus Name” is not a magical incantation that will deliver our desires immediately to us. I fear some treat that phrase “In Jesus Name” as the budding child magician treats “abracadabra.”
Many of you know that I am an amateur illusionist (magician if you will). Occasionally I do a quick pocket trick for a child, and they become mesmerized by it. They want to try it. I try to discourage them and divert their attention, but once in awhile, there is that strong-willed child who cannot or will not let it go. Eventually I will hand them the object and they will try to make it disappear. I remember one little boy squeezing the object, shaking it, using every magical phrase he could think of, but of course the coin would not vanish. In utter frustration he handed it back to me with the assured statement, “Your magic coin is broke!” That’s how many people treat prayer.
Let me assure you, I don’t do “magic.” Slight of hand, illusion, call it what you want, but there is no magic about it. In order to bring about the magical effect, I have had to spend months sometimes learning a move. Regardless of what we seem to believe, prayer is not magic, nor is it illusion. Prayer changes things because it taps the resources of God. Now, I say all of this to come to the reality: “In Jesus Name,” is not some mystical incantation that will acquire for us the impossible, but “In Jesus Name,” is the recognition that we pray with the authority of the Son behind it. Prayer that finds answers is prayer that starts in heaven; we just complete the circuit so to speak.
One of the reasons so many are so disillusioned with prayer is because we’ve focused our eyes on this world and have taken them off reality. God’s promise to deliver cannot be limited only to this world. If God’s promise of deliverance was for this life only, it would be a futile promise indeed, for this life does not last.
Here’s what I know. God does not lie. The promise of our text is sure: “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.” David experienced that temporary deliverance from Abimelech when he wrote this Psalm, but he did not experience the full deliverance until he closed his eyes in death. We were not made for this life. We were made for eternity. As long as we persist in looking for our joy and rewards here, prayer will be at best an “ify” proposition. When we focus on the reality however, we soon learn the power of prayer and the lasting peace knowing that the Lord hears our prayers and “delivers (us) from all (our) troubles.”
Joseph Scriven wrote, “O, what peace we often forfeit, O, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” Now you recognize those words from the hymn, “What A Friend We Have in Jesus,” but Mr. Scriven never intended those words to be published. Those words were written to his ailing mother in a letter of comfort. Someone once wisely observed, “A Christian’s practical theology is often in his hymnology.”
Prayer is a weapon that is not only greatly misunderstood but it is a weapon that is often vastly underused! “You have not because you ask not,” the brother of our Lord wrote (See James 4:3).
The Bible is full of wonderful promises regarding the holy privilege of prayer that all believers enjoy. Yet, because our vision is so often limited, our requests seem to go unanswered (See James 4:3-10). There is a lot of wrong teaching in the world regarding what God does and does not promise His precious people. When we believe the illusions we always become disillusioned. This is never more prevalent then when it comes to prayer. “In Jesus Name” is not a magical incantation that will deliver our desires immediately to us. I fear some treat that phrase “In Jesus Name” as the budding child magician treats “abracadabra.”
Many of you know that I am an amateur illusionist (magician if you will). Occasionally I do a quick pocket trick for a child, and they become mesmerized by it. They want to try it. I try to discourage them and divert their attention, but once in awhile, there is that strong-willed child who cannot or will not let it go. Eventually I will hand them the object and they will try to make it disappear. I remember one little boy squeezing the object, shaking it, using every magical phrase he could think of, but of course the coin would not vanish. In utter frustration he handed it back to me with the assured statement, “Your magic coin is broke!” That’s how many people treat prayer.
Let me assure you, I don’t do “magic.” Slight of hand, illusion, call it what you want, but there is no magic about it. In order to bring about the magical effect, I have had to spend months sometimes learning a move. Regardless of what we seem to believe, prayer is not magic, nor is it illusion. Prayer changes things because it taps the resources of God. Now, I say all of this to come to the reality: “In Jesus Name,” is not some mystical incantation that will acquire for us the impossible, but “In Jesus Name,” is the recognition that we pray with the authority of the Son behind it. Prayer that finds answers is prayer that starts in heaven; we just complete the circuit so to speak.
One of the reasons so many are so disillusioned with prayer is because we’ve focused our eyes on this world and have taken them off reality. God’s promise to deliver cannot be limited only to this world. If God’s promise of deliverance was for this life only, it would be a futile promise indeed, for this life does not last.
Here’s what I know. God does not lie. The promise of our text is sure: “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.” David experienced that temporary deliverance from Abimelech when he wrote this Psalm, but he did not experience the full deliverance until he closed his eyes in death. We were not made for this life. We were made for eternity. As long as we persist in looking for our joy and rewards here, prayer will be at best an “ify” proposition. When we focus on the reality however, we soon learn the power of prayer and the lasting peace knowing that the Lord hears our prayers and “delivers (us) from all (our) troubles.”
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Seeing God in Our Pain
“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry.” (Psalm 34:15 NIV).
Prayer is one of the most misunderstood discipline in the Christian life. No wonder: prayer connects us to God, prayer unleashes God’s power, prayer does change things and the great enemy of our soul knows that, so he’s sought to pull the proverbial rug from under us and destroy our belief in the one thing that ultimately defeats him. Samuel Chadwick was right, “The one concern of the devil is to keep saints from prayer. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.”
With this in mind look again at the promise of our text: “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry.” The Message translates our verse, “God keeps an eye on his friends, his ears pick up every moan and groan.” Some of you reading this thought may doubt that promise. You’ve been through a lot. Where was God during your ordeal? Where is He now? Where is the promised peace, the promised hope, the promised joy? The promise of Psalm 34:15 seems hollow; empty to you. Well, let’s look at it for a minute.
Years ago I had the experience of being in a hospital emergency room when a young boy was brought in for treatment. The scene sticks vividly in my mind even today. He needed stitches to close his wound. The doctors began preparations by sending his anxious mother from the room. She stood just outside the door where she could hear all that was going on. As the doctors began their work, the screams of that child was heart-rending for me, I can only guess at what his mother must have been feeling. He kept calling for his mother. Between sobs, and screams, that little voice pleaded, “Mom! Mom! Where are you? They’re killing me! Mom! Mom!”
I watched that mother, tears streaming down her cheeks. The more her boy cried, the more perfuse her tears became. Suddenly, the procedure was over. The doctor called for the mother to return to comfort her son. She wiped away her tears, put on her best smile (though I knew she herself was dying inside), and entered that room. I’ll never forget that pitiful little voice level the stinging accusation, “Mom, they hurt me and you let them!” And the loving response of that mother, “I know, honey. I know.”
We may not always see God in our pain, but we can be sure of this, He always sees us! Like that mother outside the emergency room door, “God keeps an eye on his friends, his ears pick up every moan and groan.” And like that mother, He doesn’t always rush in and stop the procedure because the Infinite Mind of the Universe knows that what we are going through is just what we need if we are going to get better. Be assured today: His eye is upon you.
Prayer is one of the most misunderstood discipline in the Christian life. No wonder: prayer connects us to God, prayer unleashes God’s power, prayer does change things and the great enemy of our soul knows that, so he’s sought to pull the proverbial rug from under us and destroy our belief in the one thing that ultimately defeats him. Samuel Chadwick was right, “The one concern of the devil is to keep saints from prayer. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.”
With this in mind look again at the promise of our text: “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry.” The Message translates our verse, “God keeps an eye on his friends, his ears pick up every moan and groan.” Some of you reading this thought may doubt that promise. You’ve been through a lot. Where was God during your ordeal? Where is He now? Where is the promised peace, the promised hope, the promised joy? The promise of Psalm 34:15 seems hollow; empty to you. Well, let’s look at it for a minute.
Years ago I had the experience of being in a hospital emergency room when a young boy was brought in for treatment. The scene sticks vividly in my mind even today. He needed stitches to close his wound. The doctors began preparations by sending his anxious mother from the room. She stood just outside the door where she could hear all that was going on. As the doctors began their work, the screams of that child was heart-rending for me, I can only guess at what his mother must have been feeling. He kept calling for his mother. Between sobs, and screams, that little voice pleaded, “Mom! Mom! Where are you? They’re killing me! Mom! Mom!”
I watched that mother, tears streaming down her cheeks. The more her boy cried, the more perfuse her tears became. Suddenly, the procedure was over. The doctor called for the mother to return to comfort her son. She wiped away her tears, put on her best smile (though I knew she herself was dying inside), and entered that room. I’ll never forget that pitiful little voice level the stinging accusation, “Mom, they hurt me and you let them!” And the loving response of that mother, “I know, honey. I know.”
We may not always see God in our pain, but we can be sure of this, He always sees us! Like that mother outside the emergency room door, “God keeps an eye on his friends, his ears pick up every moan and groan.” And like that mother, He doesn’t always rush in and stop the procedure because the Infinite Mind of the Universe knows that what we are going through is just what we need if we are going to get better. Be assured today: His eye is upon you.
Monday, April 25, 2011
How to Live the "Good Life"
“Sons and daughters, come and listen and let me teach you the importance of trusting and fearing the Lord. Do you want to live a long, good life? Then watch your tongue! Keep your lips from lying. Turn from all known sin and spend you time in doing good. Try to live in peace with everyone; work hard at it.” (Psalm 34:11-14 TLB).
Great advice for the start of a new work-week. It’s simple. It’s direct. It works.
All of us know the damage the tongue can do to others. It amazes me how cruel we can be even in our humor! We castigate people, put them down, make cruel remarks, the Bible is right, “The tongue has the power of life and death . . . . ” (Proverbs 18:21 NIV).
That same tongue that can be so deadly to others really cuts both ways. When we destroy others with our tongues we also destroy ourselves. The Contemporary English Version renders verses 12 and 13 of our text, “Do you want to live and enjoy life? Then don’t say cruel things and don’t tell lies.” It’s sad but true, as simple as this advice is, few fail to follow it. The nature of sin is that we recognize so easily others who are guilty of negative talk, but we excuse it in ourselves!
“Living the good life” involves living in peace with people. Living in peace with people takes work–sometimes hard work. Living at peace begins with controlling our tongues.
Great advice for the start of a new work-week. It’s simple. It’s direct. It works.
All of us know the damage the tongue can do to others. It amazes me how cruel we can be even in our humor! We castigate people, put them down, make cruel remarks, the Bible is right, “The tongue has the power of life and death . . . . ” (Proverbs 18:21 NIV).
That same tongue that can be so deadly to others really cuts both ways. When we destroy others with our tongues we also destroy ourselves. The Contemporary English Version renders verses 12 and 13 of our text, “Do you want to live and enjoy life? Then don’t say cruel things and don’t tell lies.” It’s sad but true, as simple as this advice is, few fail to follow it. The nature of sin is that we recognize so easily others who are guilty of negative talk, but we excuse it in ourselves!
“Living the good life” involves living in peace with people. Living in peace with people takes work–sometimes hard work. Living at peace begins with controlling our tongues.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Sure Provision
“Let the Lord’s people show him reverence, for those who honor him will have all they need. 10 Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will never lack any good thing.” (Psalm 34:9-10 NLT).
I am constantly amazed at the unholy familiarity most have today with the Holy God. The world uses His name in vain (even some Christians are guilty of the light use of His name as an exclamation of surprise), and even those who profess Him as Lord tend to treat Him with what appears to be a casual attitude.
This Psalm is a call to reality. Those who know the Holy need to begin to treat both He and His things as Holy. “Let the Lord’s people show him reverence.”
Now there are tremendous promises attached to this call: “for those who honor him will have all they need. 10 Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will never lack any good thing.” God always provides for the needs of His faithful. Always. This doesn’t mean as the false teachers today proclaim that God is going to cause His faithful to roll in the dough, have great health, etc., etc. What it does mean is that God in His grace will supply you with grace to help you whatever circumstances you may find yourself in. For instance, He doesn’t promise to heal all of our diseases this side of eternity, but He does promise to give us the grace we need as we walk through the crisis. He doesn’t promise to give us big houses or fancy cars, but He does promise to provide for us in our needs.
Some reading these words may argue, “But I know Christians who are hungry, etc.” I do as well. The promise is not to keep us from such experiences but to provide for us in those experiences. Early in our marriage, Myra and I lived what we now know was well below the poverty line. The ministry we were in did not pay much, and even then there were times when funds were not available to pay us at all. During those days we would sometimes stop along the road-side to collect soda bottles to earn enough money to purchase something for dinner (usually a box of macaroni and cheese).
One dark day as we rode home we found nothing. We knew we had nothing to eat at home, and as we approached the driveway, not one bottle had been collected. It seemed as if we were going to go without dinner that evening. But the promise of God is sure. As I collected the mail, there was a plain envelope stuck in among our mail. No markings at all were on that envelope and inside was a $10 bill! That might as well been a million dollars as far as we were concerned! God keeps His promises!
What difficulties are you facing today? May I suggest that that is the problem? You are facing your difficulties instead of turning and facing God. Honor Him, reverence Him, thank Him and watch Him work!
I am constantly amazed at the unholy familiarity most have today with the Holy God. The world uses His name in vain (even some Christians are guilty of the light use of His name as an exclamation of surprise), and even those who profess Him as Lord tend to treat Him with what appears to be a casual attitude.
This Psalm is a call to reality. Those who know the Holy need to begin to treat both He and His things as Holy. “Let the Lord’s people show him reverence.”
Now there are tremendous promises attached to this call: “for those who honor him will have all they need. 10 Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will never lack any good thing.” God always provides for the needs of His faithful. Always. This doesn’t mean as the false teachers today proclaim that God is going to cause His faithful to roll in the dough, have great health, etc., etc. What it does mean is that God in His grace will supply you with grace to help you whatever circumstances you may find yourself in. For instance, He doesn’t promise to heal all of our diseases this side of eternity, but He does promise to give us the grace we need as we walk through the crisis. He doesn’t promise to give us big houses or fancy cars, but He does promise to provide for us in our needs.
Some reading these words may argue, “But I know Christians who are hungry, etc.” I do as well. The promise is not to keep us from such experiences but to provide for us in those experiences. Early in our marriage, Myra and I lived what we now know was well below the poverty line. The ministry we were in did not pay much, and even then there were times when funds were not available to pay us at all. During those days we would sometimes stop along the road-side to collect soda bottles to earn enough money to purchase something for dinner (usually a box of macaroni and cheese).
One dark day as we rode home we found nothing. We knew we had nothing to eat at home, and as we approached the driveway, not one bottle had been collected. It seemed as if we were going to go without dinner that evening. But the promise of God is sure. As I collected the mail, there was a plain envelope stuck in among our mail. No markings at all were on that envelope and inside was a $10 bill! That might as well been a million dollars as far as we were concerned! God keeps His promises!
What difficulties are you facing today? May I suggest that that is the problem? You are facing your difficulties instead of turning and facing God. Honor Him, reverence Him, thank Him and watch Him work!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Discover God's Goodness
“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” (Psalm 34:8 NIV).
“Discover for yourself that the Lord is kind. Come to Him for protection and you will be glad.” (CEV).
Have you ever had the experience of trying to get a child to taste some new food? At time it can be maddening. They sit there with the predetermined mind-set of dislike. Lips closed tightly, that little head turning as ferociously as it can away from the approaching spoon. It’s comical. Then the taste. One of two things happen: either the child spits it out without giving it a chance, or their little eyes light up as they discover the joy of this new delicacy. Suddenly they can’t get enough.
A similar thing happens with faith. It’s amazing to me how stubbornly we persist in unbelief insisting on setting in our misery when a simple taste of faith will convince us that this is what we needed all along.
Psalm 34:8 is the best apologetic for faith there is! Subjective? Certainly before the “taste” it would seem so. But once one has made the discovery it becomes apparent in our souls of the very objective nature of our faith.
Permit me to illustrate. If I were to tell you that when I was in third grade (back with Fred Flinstone and the boys), that I fell and horribly broke my right wrist so that the hand hung down at a 90 degree angle from the arm while my fingers curved back and touched the wrist, you would probably doubt that account. You might argue the physical impossibility of such a picture, assuming that I was exaggerating the facts. You might look at my wrist and hand today and state, “They look fine. There is no physical limitations, obviously you imagined that experience since all the physical evidence shows facts contrary to your belief.”
Now suppose I produced my X-ray taken at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. The date was clearly marked, my name was on that film, the break was clearly seen, along with the angle of the wrist and curve of the fingers. You might look at that film and argue, “Hmmm . . . you know this doesn’t look anything like you. I think it is a forgery!”
We could argue the facts all day. I could say, “Look at the evidence!” While you maintained that the evidence was forged; a fake. You might even try to explain the new advances in medical technology and argue that things have changed greatly since that antiquated experience. I could tell you of the anesthesia, a gas that was administered by placing what looked like a strainer filled with cotton over my mouth and nose, and you could argue that there was no such think as that form of anesthesia, since you have never experienced it.
Bottom line: I know the story to be true because I lived it! You could try to convince me all day that I was delusional, but it would never work. Why? I experienced the whole frightful ordeal! While you can argue that my experience was “subjective,” it was very real and objective to me. I remember that cold, snowy Sunday evening when it happened. I remember the grey recliner I laid upon until my father returned home to take me to the hospital. I can recollect the sounds and smells and sights of that horrible night. I experienced it.
The best argument for faith is not the arguments of Josh McDowell, Lee Strobel, Ravi Zacharias and other notable apologists, the best argument for faith is experience: “Taste and see that the Lord is good; or “Discover for yourself that the Lord is kind. Come to Him for protection and you will be glad.”
Perhaps you are reading this devotional and you’ve never had a personal experience with the loving God of the Universe. I want to invite you, “Taste and see that the Lord is good. . . .” You will be pleasantly surprised. Christianity is a harsh, deny yourself religion; it is a wonderful, discover the love of Christ relationship. Come to Him.
“Discover for yourself that the Lord is kind. Come to Him for protection and you will be glad.” (CEV).
Have you ever had the experience of trying to get a child to taste some new food? At time it can be maddening. They sit there with the predetermined mind-set of dislike. Lips closed tightly, that little head turning as ferociously as it can away from the approaching spoon. It’s comical. Then the taste. One of two things happen: either the child spits it out without giving it a chance, or their little eyes light up as they discover the joy of this new delicacy. Suddenly they can’t get enough.
A similar thing happens with faith. It’s amazing to me how stubbornly we persist in unbelief insisting on setting in our misery when a simple taste of faith will convince us that this is what we needed all along.
Psalm 34:8 is the best apologetic for faith there is! Subjective? Certainly before the “taste” it would seem so. But once one has made the discovery it becomes apparent in our souls of the very objective nature of our faith.
Permit me to illustrate. If I were to tell you that when I was in third grade (back with Fred Flinstone and the boys), that I fell and horribly broke my right wrist so that the hand hung down at a 90 degree angle from the arm while my fingers curved back and touched the wrist, you would probably doubt that account. You might argue the physical impossibility of such a picture, assuming that I was exaggerating the facts. You might look at my wrist and hand today and state, “They look fine. There is no physical limitations, obviously you imagined that experience since all the physical evidence shows facts contrary to your belief.”
Now suppose I produced my X-ray taken at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. The date was clearly marked, my name was on that film, the break was clearly seen, along with the angle of the wrist and curve of the fingers. You might look at that film and argue, “Hmmm . . . you know this doesn’t look anything like you. I think it is a forgery!”
We could argue the facts all day. I could say, “Look at the evidence!” While you maintained that the evidence was forged; a fake. You might even try to explain the new advances in medical technology and argue that things have changed greatly since that antiquated experience. I could tell you of the anesthesia, a gas that was administered by placing what looked like a strainer filled with cotton over my mouth and nose, and you could argue that there was no such think as that form of anesthesia, since you have never experienced it.
Bottom line: I know the story to be true because I lived it! You could try to convince me all day that I was delusional, but it would never work. Why? I experienced the whole frightful ordeal! While you can argue that my experience was “subjective,” it was very real and objective to me. I remember that cold, snowy Sunday evening when it happened. I remember the grey recliner I laid upon until my father returned home to take me to the hospital. I can recollect the sounds and smells and sights of that horrible night. I experienced it.
The best argument for faith is not the arguments of Josh McDowell, Lee Strobel, Ravi Zacharias and other notable apologists, the best argument for faith is experience: “Taste and see that the Lord is good; or “Discover for yourself that the Lord is kind. Come to Him for protection and you will be glad.”
Perhaps you are reading this devotional and you’ve never had a personal experience with the loving God of the Universe. I want to invite you, “Taste and see that the Lord is good. . . .” You will be pleasantly surprised. Christianity is a harsh, deny yourself religion; it is a wonderful, discover the love of Christ relationship. Come to Him.
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