WHERE WAS GOD?

"During a memorial service--on the rim of the Grand Canyon--for the tragic victims of a midair plane collision, an angry young man yelled out, 'Where was God when this happened?' The minister in charge of the service asked, 'Did everyone hear the question? The young man asked where God was when this life-consuming tragedy happened.' "Then for the young man and hundreds of grieving friends and relatives, the minister answered, 'God was in the same place He was when cruel men took His only Son and crucified Him on a cross.' "We may never know the answers to all the whys or the hows of death, and certainly we may not be able to completely cope with our anger, but God is in command. Someday there will be no anger and no dying, for God will put an end to death forever."
[A Time for Mourning by Joyce Landorf. Fleming H. Revell, 1974.]

THE ONLY NAME

Charles Lowery tells this tale of the supermarket: "A lady was in a hurry to get groceries, and she put her son in the cart and told him to be quiet. As she hurried along, putting stuff in the cart, the kid spotted some chocolate chip cookies. He said, `Mom, please may I have some?' She said, `No! I told you to be quiet.' About four aisles over, the kid asked if he could just have a few chocolate chip cookies. Again she told him no and to be quiet. About the sixth aisle, he asked, `Mom, could I have just one cookie?' Again she said no, popped him, and told him to hush or she'd have the manager put him in the big freezer. "When they got to the checkout, the lines were long. The mother glanced down and saw a gleam in the little boy's eye. She knew something was coming, but she didn't know what. All of a sudden this little kid stands straight up in his seat, lifts his hand straight toward heaven, and in his loudest voice hollers, `In the name of Jesus, give me some chocolate chip cookies!' "The surrounding shoppers erupted in applause, so he said it again. More applause, and with everybody clapping, the mother didn't know what to do. So she ran and got a bag of chocolate chip cookies. "In a simple but powerful way, this story teaches us that when you come to the checkout of life with no resources and no hope, there is only one name that has power--the name of Jesus. The Bible says that Jesus is the only name whereby we can be saved. Make sure you know that name."
[SBC Life, Nov 1995. Page 14.]

DON'T SAY--'JESUS, YOU ARE MY LORD, BUT...

We think that we are secure if we have the right kinds of insurance policies, if we are more-or-less paid-up on our houses, and if we have secure jobs. Jesus' concept is different. The lordship of Christ is a threatening concept to many believers. They seem to envision the Lord as someone who is out to mess up their lives. Scripture reveals a Lord who loves us and wants to help us be what we were created to be. As Jesus' disciples today we need to be challenged even as His disciples were by the events and teachings of Lk. 9:49-62. (1) Jesus takes exception to our understanding of the type of people who are really committed to Him. John thought the man who was casting out demons in Jesus' name should be rebuked because he wasn't one of their group. We, too, often see commitment in terms of membership the right group, but Jesus can work through anyone who makes himself available to Him. So the question is, "Am I that kind of person?" (2) Sometimes Jesus acts in a way contrary to what we expect. The prejudiced disciples thought Jesus should call down fire from heaven on the Samaritans. In the same way, we would often like to wash our hands of unresponsive people, but that is not consistent with Christ's love. (3) Jesus expects our commitment to be realistic. When one man eagerly volunteered to follow Jesus, the Lord challenged him. He wanted to be sure he knew what he was getting into. In a sense He was saying that there are no guarantees except the promise of His presence. That, and that alone, should be the basis of our security-- not insurance policies and steady jobs. (4) Jesus will not allow us to use family responsibilities as an excuse. We certainly need to have scriptural priorities in our family life. The Bible teaches fathers to take spiritual leadership in the home and says that we are worse than pagans if we don't take care of our elderly relatives. Yet we must realize that "diluted discipleship is not good for our families." (5) Jesus doesn't expect us to give up anything that's really worth keeping. We must quit longing for what we used to have. That will only cause us to resent His lordship and keep us from moving on in service to Him.
"Don't say--'Jesus, You are my Lord, but..." by Dick Dowsett. Decision, Sep 1991. Pages 25- 26.

MORAL TEACHER ONLY?

"Jesus was never regarded as a mere moral teacher. He did not produce that effect on any of the people who actually met Him. He produced mainly three effects--hatred, terror, adoration. There was no trace of people expressing mild approval."
--C. S. Lewis in God in the Dock (quoted in Latin America Evangelist, Apr-Jun 1996, page 10)