Hope for Life Blog

I like the story of Gideon in the Old Testament of the Bible. Gideon was an Israelite who lived in a time when a foreign power, the Midianites, were constantly invading Israel. These raiders would wait until the crops were ready to harvest, then they would descend upon the land and steal everything the Israelites had worked for months to grow. It was a terrible time for the God’s people.

God used Gideon to free His people, using a small band of men armed with pitchers and torches. It’s a fascinating story that can be read in chapters 6 and 7 of the book of Judges.

There’s one aspect of the story that sometimes gets overlooked. Gideon was a coward. Time and again, we see him acting out of fear. When we first meet Gideon, he’s down in a hole, hiding from the Midianites. God tells Gideon to tear down an idol that has been erected in his village. Gideon does so… at night, because he’s afraid.

The next day the villagers come to Gideon’s house, and Gideon hides in the house while his father convinces the crowd not to harm his son.

Later in the story, when Gideon has already raised an army and has received numerous signs and messages from God, God tells him to go eavesdrop at one of the tents of the Midianites “if you are afraid.” Gideon went. Because he was still afraid.

I’m not pointing this out to attack Gideon. I’m doing this to show that God can use all of us, even the cowards among us. God shaped Gideon into the very leader his people needed.

The remarkable part of all this comes in the very first words God had for Gideon. We can read them in Judges 6: “When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.” (Judges 6:12)

Mighty warrior? Really? Remember, these words were spoken to a man standing in a hole, hiding. A man who would do his acts of heroism under cover of darkness, because he was afraid. A man who needed Daddy to protect him from the townspeople and needed a word of reassurance every step along the way.

I like that. It tells me that God sees us not as we are, but as we can be. He can look at me, with my uncertainties and fears, and say, “I’m with you, mighty warrior.” More than that, He can look at me, with all my faults and failures, and say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” He can cleanse me from sin and forget that I ever sinned in the first place.

The story of Gideon is an encouraging one for people like me, people who aren’t perfect but are willing to let God make them perfect. Maybe it’s a good story for you, as well.

Lords a-leaping don’t come cheap. Neither do pipers piping. And five golden rings cost a lot more than they did last year.

That’s what PNC Wealth Management found in their 27th annual analysis of the cost of the gifts from the “Twelve Days of Christmas” song. In fact, the cost of regaling one’s true love from Christmas to Epiphany rose 9.2% in 2010, mainly due to the rise in the price of gold and the increase in labor costs.

Even if they aren’t looking for partridges in pear trees, people turn out in droves this time of year, seeking to find the perfect present for friends and family. Merchants are eager to help them, offering specials and giveaways designed to tempt even Ebenezer Scrooge into spending more than he should.

The truth is, we like giving gifts. As the Bible says, it’s more blessed to give than to receive. We like being able to give people something that will make them happy.

I think we are that way because our God is that way. When we do things that are like our God, we feel better about ourselves. God is the original giver. As our Creator, God has given us every good thing.

Yet His greatest gift goes unappreciated far too often. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

God so loved that He gave. His love motivated Him to give a gift. Not just any gift, but the gift of His Son. His only Son. God sent His only Son to die so that the whole world would have a chance at living. God gave His Son so that others would receive the most precious gift of all: eternal life. As the apostle Paul said, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15)

In this season of giving and receiving, let’s stop and give thanks for the greatest gift of all. Let’s stop and give thanks to the greatest Giver of all.

I remember watching Monday Night Football on December 8, 1980. It was a relatively exciting game. The Miami Dolphins beat the New England Patriots in overtime. The games in those days were still being announced by the classic team of Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford and Don Meredith.

I don’t remember that game because of the action on the field nor because of the announcers. I remember it for another reason.

I remember that game because of what Howard Cosell announced during the game:

“An unspeakable tragedy confirmed to us by ABC News in New York City: John Lennon, outside of his apartment building on the West Side of New York City, the most famous, perhaps, of all of The Beatles, shot twice in the back, rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, dead on arrival.”

Those were the words that shocked millions across the country. One of the most famous men in the world had been shot and killed. That’s the announcement that stands out in my mind.

Yet as we mark the 30th anniversary of that tragedy, I think something else Cosell said that night should be what we remember: “Remember this is just a football game, no matter who wins or loses.”

There are so many things in life that need those words attached to them. Remember this is just ____. So many things which seem important to us in the moment lose their importance when we confront issues of life and death.

Football games will be won and lost. Politicians will be elected, wars will be fought, businesses will rise and fall. Many things that will be the concern of the moment will be distant memories within a short amount of time.

What will really matter in the long run? What will be of lasting importance? Jesus prayed, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3) What will matter throughout eternity is whether or not we know Jesus Christ and know the only true God.

There will be tragedies in this world. Unspeakable tragedies, as Cosell said. But there will be no greater tragedy than failing to establish a relationship with Jesus.

In the movie Shenandoah, Charlie Anderson, Jimmy Stewart’s character, sits down to eat with his family and prays the following: “Lord, we cleared this land. We plowed it, sowed it, and harvest it. We cook the harvest. It wouldn’t be here and we wouldn’t be eating it if we hadn’t done it all ourselves. We worked dog-bone hard for every crumb and morsel, but we thank you Lord just the same for the food we’re about to eat, amen.”

Whether we admit it or not, that’s a fairly common attitude. In fact, it’s so common that God warned His people about this ungratefulness thousands of years ago. In the book of Deuteronomy, He told them: “Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth.” (Deuteronomy 8:17-18)

The fourth Thursday in November is Thanksgiving Day here in the United States. For most people, it’s a day of eating, watching sports and enjoying time off from work. Far too often, the idea of giving thanks gets lost along the way.

So what’s the point of giving thanks? I can think of several positive things that come out of our taking time to give thanks for what we have received:

• Giving thanks helps us to appreciate what we have. It’s all too easy to focus on what we don’t have rather than recognize what we’ve received. It’s healthy for us to take stock of what’s been given to us and then to give thanks for those things.
• Giving thanks helps us to be aware of those who have less. When we realize that what we have was given to us, we are better able to share with others. They are as deserving of God’s blessings as we are.
• Giving thanks gives us more security for the future. When I realize that blessings don’t depend purely on my strength, I can be more confident going forward. Just as God has blessed me now, He can bless me in the future.
• Giving thanks is the right thing to do. We teach our children to do it, yet sometimes forget to do it ourselves. God is pleased when we give thanks to Him.

If you don’t feel close to God at this time, maybe giving thanks to Him is a good way to begin fixing that relationship. Take some time to recognize the good things that He’s done. We have lots of time for complaining about the bad; let’s stop now and thank Him for the good. It will do us a world of good.

I’m a bibliophile. A book lover. I’ve always loved to read. My sisters taught me to read before I started school, and I’ve been an avid reader ever since.

Books can teach us a lot. There have been books that have changed the course of history, both for good and for bad. Books can have a lasting impact, far beyond the lifetime of the author.

Maybe because of my love of books, I used to think that God basically said, “OK, world… here’s a book that tells you everything you need to know. Read it and do what it says.” Then I actually read that book, read the Bible, and discovered that that’s not what happened at all.

God never just sent a book. He always sent people. When He wanted to give His Law to the people in the Old Testament, He didn’t just drop a book out of the sky. He called a man named Moses, interacted with Moses and the rest of the people, then gave laws to Moses for Moses to teach the people.

When God’s people strayed from that Law, God didn’t send books or letters to correct the problem. God sent men, His prophets.

When God was ready to bring salvation to all men, He didn’t do it through a book. He did it through His Son, Jesus.

When Jesus wanted to pass on His teachings, He didn’t write them down. He told people and had them tell others. Those first followers of Jesus did write books, but the emphasis of their ministry was on people talking with other people.

From the beginning, that’s how God has worked. He works through people. We now have the Bible, a book which God’s people didn’t have in the beginning. We can learn about God’s nature and learn about His will for us. Yet God continues to work through people, people in a community of believers that encourage one another.

Even the times in the Bible where we see people reading God’s Words, we always see them doing it in the presence of others, helping one another to understand what is written.

God gave us a book. We should read it and learn from it. But we must never neglect our need for other people, our need for God’s church.

If you aren’t a part of a church, I’d like to help you find one. God never intended for you to try and go it on your own. You need His Word, but you need His people as well.

It was meant to be a towering achievement… pardon the pun. Thousands of years ago, a group of men came together and decided to build a city, a great city with a tower that would scrape the sky. Their plan was to make a name for themselves, to leave an indelible mark on this world.

Working together, they felt that they could do anything. Human intelligence. Human technology. Human achievements. These things would allow them to prosper and be remembered for ever.

That was man’s plan. But it wasn’t God’s plan. God wanted them to depend on Him, not just lean on one another.

So He made it so that they spoke different languages, which led to them scattering and forming nations according to those languages. The city was called Babel because of the babble of languages that was created there.

For years, I read this story and only saw God’s actions as punishment, an almost capricious act of jealousy and anger. Then someone pointed me to a passage in the New Testament, when the apostle Paul was speaking to a group of intellectuals in Athens. Paul told them: “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.” (Acts 17:26-27)

God did this so that men would seek Him, rather than seeking their own glory. He put men into different nations so they would reach out for Him, rather than merely depending on one another. God acted at Babel so that men would find Him.

An interesting side note is the fact that we don’t know the names of any of the builders of Babel. They weren’t recorded. But in the very next chapter of Genesis we meet a man who never built a city nor a tower, a man whose only construction was the building of altars. God came to him and said, “I will make your name great.”

That was Abraham, of course, the father of three of the world’s great religions: Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

Today, we still have people desperate to be known and to be remembered. We still have people who want to lean on human wisdom and human accomplishments. And we still have a God who wants us to seek Him, reach out for Him and find Him. In Him, we will be known and remembered forever.

I have to admit, I’m a big fan of the Disney/Pixar movies. I always look forward to the movies they bring out. I’ve become surprisingly attached to fish, bugs, cars and robots as I’ve watched their films. Yet the films that really stand out in my mind are the “Toy Story” movies.

There’s one bit of imagery I like in those movies that emphasize the concept of belonging. There are important scenes where the toys are shown to have their owner’s name written on them, emphasizing the tie they have to him. They are his toys, his treasured possessions.

One reason I like that imagery is because it reminds me of what the Bible says about our relationship to God. Speaking to Christians in the Middle Eastern city of Philadelphia, Jesus promises to the faithful: “I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.” (Revelation 3:12)

I love that idea, that God will want to show everyone that Christians belong to Him. He will write His name on us.

The apostle Peter wrote, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10)

We are a people belonging to God. Once we weren’t even a people, but now we are the people that belong to God. God has written His name on us for all to see. God has chosen us to be His.

Who do you belong to? You have the chance to belong to God, to give yourself to Him and let Him write His name on you. You can be his treasured possession.

I’ve been friended on Facebook, followed on Twitter and connected on LinkedIn. I get texts and e-mails, comments and tweets. I’ve been searched for and requested. I’ve been recommended and suggested. I even get letters in envelopes now and again.

I’ve got a phone at my house and one at my office. I’ve got a cell phone that goes just about everywhere I go. I can use my computer to talk with people as well.

We have so many ways to stay connected today. Yet more people every day find themselves alone and isolated. When it comes time to share the things that matter, they can’t seem to find anyone that wants to listen.

There are plenty of people with whom we can talk about politics or sports. Our old friends love remembering our school days and the things we did way back when. But when it comes time to open our heart, where can we go?

Let me suggest that you look to God. Let me use some words from Psalm 139 to help me explain why:

“O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
You perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
You are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.” (Psalms 139:1-4)

God knows me and understands me. He knows what I want to say even when I don’t know how to say it.

“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
If I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
If I settle on the far side of the sea,
Even there your hand will guide me,
Your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
Even the darkness will not be dark to you;
The night will shine like the day,
For darkness is as light to you.” (Psalms 139:7-12)

No matter where I am, I don’t have to be alone. God is there. Distance means nothing to Him. Darkness isn’t a problem. God is always there for me.

“For you created my inmost being;
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalms 139:13-16)

I don’t have to worry about how I look. I don’t have to lose weight to please God. I don’t have to wear the right clothes nor have the right hairstyle. God knows me better than I know myself.

God understands me. He is always with me. And He loves me just as I am. I may not find Him on Facebook nor follow Him on Twitter. But I can have a relationship with Him that goes beyond what I can have with anyone here on earth.

In high school, I was a member of the National Honor Society. We met once to elect officers and once to induct new members. That’s all we did.

I am a member of a warehouse club. This allows me to make purchases at this store. I have no idea who else is a member, except that I can assume that other people who shop there are also members.

One of the credit cards I have calls me a member. They even run ads saying that “membership has its privileges.” If I’m going to be honest, however, I don’t feel any more a part of that card’s business than I do other cards that call me a client.

I’m a member of a group health insurance plan. I know some of the other members, for they work with me at Herald of Truth Ministries. But our ties don’t come from being members of this health plan, but from working in the same office.

I’m a member of the church of Christ. Not just the local group that has a sign out front saying “church of Christ,” but Jesus’ church around the world. The problem is, I have to figure out what that means, whether it’s like an honor society, an insurance plan, or something completely different.

The apostle Paul explains what it means to be a member: “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” (Romans 12:4-5) In fact, Paul says that we are members of the same body in several other letters as well. When we say that we are members of the church, we are saying that we are members of the body of Christ.

Like your hand is a member of your body. It’s not optional. It’s not unimportant. It’s an essential part of what the hand is. A severed hand ceases to be a living hand. In the same way, if we are truly members of the church, we are part of it and it becomes the definition of who we are. We are members of the body of Christ or we cease to be alive spiritually.

The many ways we use the word “member” can make us lose sight of the fact that we were called to be an essential part of the body of Christ. We’re not called to join a spiritual club. We’re called to be part of something much bigger, a vital part of a living organism.

I want to invite you to become a member of Jesus. Part of his body. Part of his church. Don’t join a church club. Come form with us the body of Christ.

If you aren’t sure if you are a member of Christ’s body or need help finding a local church, we can help you with that. Leave a comment or click on Contact Us at the top of this page.

Without a doubt, my favorite subject in elementary school was recess. I loved all sorts of sports, so I enjoyed every moment that we spent running and playing on the fields around our school.

Well, almost every moment. There were those awful times of torture and humiliation, of anxiety and embarrassment: the moments when we were picking teams.

Even though I loved sports, I lacked basic hand-eye coordination. I was bad at sports. Really bad. I could get away with it in basketball because of my height, but in the other activities, I wouldn’t be chosen until after most of the girls had been picked. Those minutes of waiting and watching were pure anguish.

Then, when I was about 12, a wondrous thing happened. My motor skills caught up with my growth. My years of constantly playing sports began to pay off, and I became one of the desirable picks. Then the times of choosing sides became much more enjoyable. It’s a good feeling to be chosen.

As I go through life, I find that there are still times when I’m waiting to be chosen. Sometimes it’s when I’ve applied for a job that I’m interested in. Sometimes it’s when I’m at a social gathering, looking for someone to engage in conversation. Sometimes it’s when a committee is being formed or a group is gathering to work on a project. Even today, these moments can be nerve-wracking. Will I be chosen?

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” (Ephesians 1:3-4)

God chose us before the creation of the world. No need for nervousness. No need for anxious waiting. We’ve been chosen. Chosen by God. The world may give us a thumbs up or a thumbs down. People may select us or they may pass us by. It doesn’t really matter. We’ve been chosen by God.

God chose you. He wants you to be on his team, more than that, He wants to make you a part of His family. It’s a good feeling to be chosen.