O run away! Escape Destruction City.
Proud Babylon has held thee far too long,
Imprisoned by her pleasures cheap and pretty,
And lulled in senseless slumber by her song.
Succumb not to her wisdom vain and witty:
Flee now to Christ and leave her hellish throng.
Rejoice in Jesus Christ, your Lord and Savior
Who, sinless, died for sinners on the tree;
For never did His virtue wane or waver,
But, raised up, Jesus silenced death’s decree!
Today, on high, He guides our gospel labor,
From Satan’s kingdom setting spirits free!
O rest and worship in His holy presence
‘Til Jesus comes all nations to depose.
This age shall pass, of faith and of repentance,
And Christ return to vanquish all our foes.
He calls all men to hush and give attendance--
O heed His word! This day of Grace shall close!
MNA
3.8.16
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Run, Rejoice, Rest
Trained as a music teacher in Philadelphia, I directed music and worship in several churches for over 20 years. My family and I settled in northern Indiana where until recently I worked in the truck building industry. My goal in writing is to cheer the heart, challenge the soul, and glorify Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.
Saturday, March 5, 2016
Friends Forever!
“Peace on earth and mercy mild; God and sinners reconciled!
Joyful, all ye nations rise--join the triumph of the skies!”
-- from a Christmas carol
One of the least contemplated needs of men and women in our secular age, is the need for reconciliation with their Maker. Yet, know it or not, that is humanity’s most pressing need--far more so than self-esteem, shelter, or even daily bread.
Of course, for two parties to be reconciled, the first step is certainly an awareness that they are, in fact, estranged from one another. Either one or the other party has committed some crime or offense that has caused the animosity that exists--an offense that MUST be addressed before there can be an end to hostilities and a peaceful resolution.
I would venture that only a tiny minority of folks today are aware that human beings are truly born enemies of God. Most people would be horrified if you even suggested such a notion. “What, ME? God’s ENEMY? That’s ridiculous! Why, there’s no reason God could have any grievance with me...I’ve never even thought about Him enough to give Him any grounds for a complaint!”
But what most people are apt to forget, is that we are living, moving, having our being, as created beings in a created world. Each of us owes his or her life--body, soul and substance--to a Supreme Ruler who made us for a PURPOSE. Rather than occupy ourselves with discovering that purpose and fulfilling it, the vast majority would rather ignore God completely, all the while enjoying all the pleasures and benefits His creation and His providence gives them.
In short, we are REBELS at heart. We could be compared with an infestation of termites in a large, grand house. The homeowner discovers this tiny colony of enemies within his walls, a host of creatures who are enjoying themselves by eating away at what their human host has built, not giving a tiny termite thought that they’ve angered this host in any way.
Ignoring and offending God with our sins has become so second-nature to us, that if and when He ever calls the exterminators to come and deal with the infestation of His home, our jaws would surely drop open and we’d be shocked and amazed.
The sad difference between us and the insects is that we don’t really need the hammer to fall to inform us that we are overstepping the moral boundaries our Maker set for us. We need no stone tablets with graven commandments to tell us that we are not what He means for us to be. The voice of our conscience is ever whispering...sighing...pleading...screaming to us, reminding us that this world isn’t all there is. That there is another Hand at work, another Verdict to be pronounced, another World beyond this one, where we will be held accountable for the lives we’ve lived.
There is a post-war Tribunal at which all the crimes against our Supreme Ruler will at last be fully addressed. All His enemies will be judged with perfect justice and fairness. And there will be no “higher court” to which one may appeal.
In the writings of the New Testament, reconciliation is a major, if not THE major, theme. The Apostle Paul was once a staunch enemy of Jesus Christ and His followers. He spent several years as a young Pharasaic scholar, doing all he could to persecute and stamp out the infant church of the crucified Nazarene.
But one day, on his way to Damascus, the risen and ascended Jesus shone on him with a blinding light and Paul was converted. Christ Himself called him to a new life and a new mission to carry His saving message of reconciliation to the far reaches of the Roman world. Eventually, Paul made it to Rome, the capital of the empire itself, where he faced capital punishment under the persecution of Emperor Nero.
Along the way, Paul’s mission included the authorship of many letters to the churches he helped establish during his journeys. But his lengthiest letter, to the Romans, was written to believers he’d never met. He wanted to give them a thorough, scholarly treatise on the roots, the nature, and the meaning, of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Who He was, why He came, why He died and rose again, and how His finished work could benefit all who would believe in Him.
How does this Jesus, this workman and preacher from Galilee, bring the animosity between man and God to an end? Here are some of Paul’s immortal words:
“For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have received this reconciliation” Romans 5:10-11
Paul, former enemy and eventual apostle of Christ, never got over the amazing grace that caused Jesus to die in his place on the cross. He continued to rejoice, as do all of Jesus’ people, that their Lord didn’t stay in the tomb. Because He lived a perfect life on our behalf and died for the sins of all believers...because He ascended to heaven’s throne and now rules and intercedes for us, our reconciliation with the Maker we’ve offended is guaranteed to last forever.
Because Christ died, our war with God can be over. Simply trust and submit to Him.
Because Christ lives, that war, once over, can never begin again. We are reconciled FOREVER!
(960 words)
Joyful, all ye nations rise--join the triumph of the skies!”
-- from a Christmas carol
One of the least contemplated needs of men and women in our secular age, is the need for reconciliation with their Maker. Yet, know it or not, that is humanity’s most pressing need--far more so than self-esteem, shelter, or even daily bread.
Of course, for two parties to be reconciled, the first step is certainly an awareness that they are, in fact, estranged from one another. Either one or the other party has committed some crime or offense that has caused the animosity that exists--an offense that MUST be addressed before there can be an end to hostilities and a peaceful resolution.
I would venture that only a tiny minority of folks today are aware that human beings are truly born enemies of God. Most people would be horrified if you even suggested such a notion. “What, ME? God’s ENEMY? That’s ridiculous! Why, there’s no reason God could have any grievance with me...I’ve never even thought about Him enough to give Him any grounds for a complaint!”
But what most people are apt to forget, is that we are living, moving, having our being, as created beings in a created world. Each of us owes his or her life--body, soul and substance--to a Supreme Ruler who made us for a PURPOSE. Rather than occupy ourselves with discovering that purpose and fulfilling it, the vast majority would rather ignore God completely, all the while enjoying all the pleasures and benefits His creation and His providence gives them.
In short, we are REBELS at heart. We could be compared with an infestation of termites in a large, grand house. The homeowner discovers this tiny colony of enemies within his walls, a host of creatures who are enjoying themselves by eating away at what their human host has built, not giving a tiny termite thought that they’ve angered this host in any way.
Ignoring and offending God with our sins has become so second-nature to us, that if and when He ever calls the exterminators to come and deal with the infestation of His home, our jaws would surely drop open and we’d be shocked and amazed.
The sad difference between us and the insects is that we don’t really need the hammer to fall to inform us that we are overstepping the moral boundaries our Maker set for us. We need no stone tablets with graven commandments to tell us that we are not what He means for us to be. The voice of our conscience is ever whispering...sighing...pleading...screaming to us, reminding us that this world isn’t all there is. That there is another Hand at work, another Verdict to be pronounced, another World beyond this one, where we will be held accountable for the lives we’ve lived.
There is a post-war Tribunal at which all the crimes against our Supreme Ruler will at last be fully addressed. All His enemies will be judged with perfect justice and fairness. And there will be no “higher court” to which one may appeal.
In the writings of the New Testament, reconciliation is a major, if not THE major, theme. The Apostle Paul was once a staunch enemy of Jesus Christ and His followers. He spent several years as a young Pharasaic scholar, doing all he could to persecute and stamp out the infant church of the crucified Nazarene.
But one day, on his way to Damascus, the risen and ascended Jesus shone on him with a blinding light and Paul was converted. Christ Himself called him to a new life and a new mission to carry His saving message of reconciliation to the far reaches of the Roman world. Eventually, Paul made it to Rome, the capital of the empire itself, where he faced capital punishment under the persecution of Emperor Nero.
Along the way, Paul’s mission included the authorship of many letters to the churches he helped establish during his journeys. But his lengthiest letter, to the Romans, was written to believers he’d never met. He wanted to give them a thorough, scholarly treatise on the roots, the nature, and the meaning, of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Who He was, why He came, why He died and rose again, and how His finished work could benefit all who would believe in Him.
How does this Jesus, this workman and preacher from Galilee, bring the animosity between man and God to an end? Here are some of Paul’s immortal words:
“For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have received this reconciliation” Romans 5:10-11
Paul, former enemy and eventual apostle of Christ, never got over the amazing grace that caused Jesus to die in his place on the cross. He continued to rejoice, as do all of Jesus’ people, that their Lord didn’t stay in the tomb. Because He lived a perfect life on our behalf and died for the sins of all believers...because He ascended to heaven’s throne and now rules and intercedes for us, our reconciliation with the Maker we’ve offended is guaranteed to last forever.
Because Christ died, our war with God can be over. Simply trust and submit to Him.
Because Christ lives, that war, once over, can never begin again. We are reconciled FOREVER!
(960 words)
Trained as a music teacher in Philadelphia, I directed music and worship in several churches for over 20 years. My family and I settled in northern Indiana where until recently I worked in the truck building industry. My goal in writing is to cheer the heart, challenge the soul, and glorify Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Dark Supremacy
The sun recedes and Day-sky hides her face
and nets of stars are cast to take their place.
A sun-bleached satellite now rules on high
as planets wander through the velvet sky.
A lone coyote chants its mournful lay
while furtive field mice haste to hide away.
A million creeping creatures join the song
upon the breeze of night carried along.
Dark wings unfold to beat the restless chill--
Nocturnal nestlings hungry for a kill.
I lie awake, broadcasting senses wide
to hear and see and smell life's nightly tide...
'til finally, that world becomes a dream--
yet one more realm where darkness reigns supreme.
MNA
2.24.16
and nets of stars are cast to take their place.
A sun-bleached satellite now rules on high
as planets wander through the velvet sky.
A lone coyote chants its mournful lay
while furtive field mice haste to hide away.
A million creeping creatures join the song
upon the breeze of night carried along.
Dark wings unfold to beat the restless chill--
Nocturnal nestlings hungry for a kill.
I lie awake, broadcasting senses wide
to hear and see and smell life's nightly tide...
'til finally, that world becomes a dream--
yet one more realm where darkness reigns supreme.
MNA
2.24.16
Trained as a music teacher in Philadelphia, I directed music and worship in several churches for over 20 years. My family and I settled in northern Indiana where until recently I worked in the truck building industry. My goal in writing is to cheer the heart, challenge the soul, and glorify Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Movie Review: RISEN
The resurrection of our Lord Jesus is indeed the pivotal point of history: not just HUMAN history, but COSMIC history.
The 2016 Columbia/Sony Pictures film "RISEN" is the first major motion picture within my memory that treats Christ's return from death both seriously and (essentially) Biblically. Even my favorite Jesus-related TV movie, Jesus of Nazareth, glossed over this important event, treating it as a spiritualized thing that might or might not have only happened in the minds of the Lord's devoted followers.
The crucial thing about Jesus' resurrection that absolutely must be depicted, if a movie is to have any genuinely Christian impact, is that He was raised in a real, physical body, interacted as a physical person with His disciples as well as others, and that He physically ascended to His Father in heaven.
Except for the ascension, which was handled rather mystically and "into the sunset," this movie scores high marks on all of the above requirements.
It's so effective that the story in the film uses a pagan Roman officer as its reluctant protagonist. Joe Fiennes does a superb job balancing sympathy with skepticism as he investigates the disappearance of Jesus' body. His character leaves no stone unturned (literally!) in his attempt to unearth the answers to the mystery. Both Pilate and the Jewish Sanhedrin are convinced the disciples stole the body while the guards were asleep, but Clavius, the Roman tribune insists on following the evidence wherever it leads him.
Without providing any "spoilers" to those who haven't seen it yet, let me say that this dedicated investigator finds his answers--in fact, more answers than he's ready for.
I've glanced at some reviews of "RISEN" by the conventional news reviewers. They generally think the movie too simplistic or predictable or "Sunday School"ish. But I respectfully disagree. The production values, acting, and especially the content, of this movie are very impressive, and I expect that the most jaded and skeptical Christian viewer will be encouraged in knowing that at least one person in Hollywood cares enough about the good news of Christ to get the resurrection right!
The 2016 Columbia/Sony Pictures film "RISEN" is the first major motion picture within my memory that treats Christ's return from death both seriously and (essentially) Biblically. Even my favorite Jesus-related TV movie, Jesus of Nazareth, glossed over this important event, treating it as a spiritualized thing that might or might not have only happened in the minds of the Lord's devoted followers.
The crucial thing about Jesus' resurrection that absolutely must be depicted, if a movie is to have any genuinely Christian impact, is that He was raised in a real, physical body, interacted as a physical person with His disciples as well as others, and that He physically ascended to His Father in heaven.
Except for the ascension, which was handled rather mystically and "into the sunset," this movie scores high marks on all of the above requirements.
It's so effective that the story in the film uses a pagan Roman officer as its reluctant protagonist. Joe Fiennes does a superb job balancing sympathy with skepticism as he investigates the disappearance of Jesus' body. His character leaves no stone unturned (literally!) in his attempt to unearth the answers to the mystery. Both Pilate and the Jewish Sanhedrin are convinced the disciples stole the body while the guards were asleep, but Clavius, the Roman tribune insists on following the evidence wherever it leads him.
Without providing any "spoilers" to those who haven't seen it yet, let me say that this dedicated investigator finds his answers--in fact, more answers than he's ready for.
I've glanced at some reviews of "RISEN" by the conventional news reviewers. They generally think the movie too simplistic or predictable or "Sunday School"ish. But I respectfully disagree. The production values, acting, and especially the content, of this movie are very impressive, and I expect that the most jaded and skeptical Christian viewer will be encouraged in knowing that at least one person in Hollywood cares enough about the good news of Christ to get the resurrection right!
Trained as a music teacher in Philadelphia, I directed music and worship in several churches for over 20 years. My family and I settled in northern Indiana where until recently I worked in the truck building industry. My goal in writing is to cheer the heart, challenge the soul, and glorify Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Vaster
Diamond blades cannot cut through it,
though it be as precious--as delicate as spring...
Rembrandt’s brush quails at the hand that drew it
on the yearning canvas of an ageless king.
Flames of Orion never will bend it,
though with rust and damage its surface be scored...
Shakespeare’s pen sublime has nought to end it--
Love his Lady bathes in, brimming from her Lord.
Fires from the furnace ‘neath Babylon’s throne
leave no whiff of burning, though she stand alone.
Heart full of hope like Vesuvius shall erupt,
Remembering the love feast together they’ve supped.
From a million meadows, no flower can best it,
though bedecked with wrinkles and silver it be...
Sirens sing their challenge...and Cerberus test it...
Love shall ever last, far vaster than the sea.
MNA
Feb. 18, 2016
Trained as a music teacher in Philadelphia, I directed music and worship in several churches for over 20 years. My family and I settled in northern Indiana where until recently I worked in the truck building industry. My goal in writing is to cheer the heart, challenge the soul, and glorify Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Sweet, Sweet Dissonance
My wife and I have just returned from a sweet time of fellowship with another Christian couple, who introduced us to one of the local theaters we had never visited before. There, the four of us sat together, enjoying a free concert in which the local symphonic band performed “The Planets,” a seven-part suite by English composer Gustave Holst.
This wonderful piece, written to imaginatively portray the characteristics of the planets in our solar system: Mars, Venus, Mercury, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Jupiter, struck me as similar in many ways to the later works of screen composer John Williams (Superman: The Movie; Raiders of the Lost Ark; Star Wars; Jaws; Close Encounters; E.T., etc.). As I listened, especially to the first two movements, I almost expected C3PO and R2D2 to come skittering out onto the stage.
Another thing I found striking about the music was the way that dissonance was used. Dissonance is usually a term used to describe countermelodies or chords or other combinations of sounds that “clash.” Sounds that seem disagreeable to most ears, that do not harmonize in a pleasing or restful way. Dissonant chords are useful in almost all kinds of music, adding a feeling of unrest, of stressful disturbance, of a troubled striving between musical lines or notes that cries out for resolution. Indeed, the longer and more strident the clashing sounds become and are prolonged in a piece, the greater is the pleasure the listener experiences when a sweet major or minor chord is reached, bringing a feeling of rest...of peace...of home.
Dissonance in music, much like bitterness or sourness in some foods, adds interest and fascination to the art. Without elements of bitter and sour, we’d never fully experience the robust flavor of a good coffee, for example, or the tang of a juicy orange. Without dissonance in music, all our pieces would be no more interesting than nursery songs like “Twinkle, Twinkle” or “Go Tell Aunt Rhody.”
In my life, I am constantly running into people and situations that I might interpret as “dissonant” --things that rub me the wrong way. People who seem to show up in order to spoil my day. And, honestly, many times it is the person staring back at me in the mirror that I find to be the worst culprit of all. Some times I look back at the end of a day and wonder at my own words, thoughts or actions that struck chords of horrible disharmony throughout that day.
My beloved pastor is teaching a current Sunday School series on the subject of “The Precious Things of God.” Things upon which our Father in Heaven places a high value, and which the world at large would never consider valuable at all. In previous weeks, Pastor Jon has covered the preciousness of Jesus Christ, and our Faith. This morning, he explained that God considers the Trials he sends our way to also be a commodity of surpassing value to Him. And to me.
Why? Why are Trials so precious to the Lord? Trials like illness, unfriendly people, unfair criticism, times of intense loneliness, loss of loved ones...why are such things valuable?
Because they strengthen my faith. Because they purify my faith and prove it is genuine because it doesn’t give up under the stress of trials. Because trials help to cure me of stubborn self-reliance. Because they drive me to my knees in prayer. Because they send me running to Jesus. Because I get to know Him best, when I need Him the most.
My life in Christ is like a piece of symphonic music. All kinds of people and situations and inner desires are sounding out notes and melodies and chords both sweet and sour. And, like Gustave Holst, the divine Composer is steering my life into points of painful dissonance, during which I am tempted to cover my ears in horror and despair. But God assures me that “the light and momentary trials” I experience are as nothing, compared to the harmonious future that draws closer and closer every day. The final day when, by His grace, I’ll reach my eternal destination.
We were created in God’s image. We all fell into sin and that image was marred and cracked and distorted almost beyond recognition. Our harmony with heaven was ruined. But once we turn to Christ and place our trust in Him and His work alone for salvation, things begin to change. Life begins again in a brand new key.
And day by day, movement by movement, measure by measure, note by note, our lives can be rewritten to reflect the glorious and holy harmony found in the voice and face of Christ. God will bring trials into our lives that seem discordant and scream for resolution; often it seems the dissonance will never end!
But even at those moments in my life’s “score,” I can rejoice. The Composer/Conductor knows what He’s doing. And some day very soon, the perfect resolution will resound.
And I’ll be home.
This wonderful piece, written to imaginatively portray the characteristics of the planets in our solar system: Mars, Venus, Mercury, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Jupiter, struck me as similar in many ways to the later works of screen composer John Williams (Superman: The Movie; Raiders of the Lost Ark; Star Wars; Jaws; Close Encounters; E.T., etc.). As I listened, especially to the first two movements, I almost expected C3PO and R2D2 to come skittering out onto the stage.
Another thing I found striking about the music was the way that dissonance was used. Dissonance is usually a term used to describe countermelodies or chords or other combinations of sounds that “clash.” Sounds that seem disagreeable to most ears, that do not harmonize in a pleasing or restful way. Dissonant chords are useful in almost all kinds of music, adding a feeling of unrest, of stressful disturbance, of a troubled striving between musical lines or notes that cries out for resolution. Indeed, the longer and more strident the clashing sounds become and are prolonged in a piece, the greater is the pleasure the listener experiences when a sweet major or minor chord is reached, bringing a feeling of rest...of peace...of home.
Dissonance in music, much like bitterness or sourness in some foods, adds interest and fascination to the art. Without elements of bitter and sour, we’d never fully experience the robust flavor of a good coffee, for example, or the tang of a juicy orange. Without dissonance in music, all our pieces would be no more interesting than nursery songs like “Twinkle, Twinkle” or “Go Tell Aunt Rhody.”
In my life, I am constantly running into people and situations that I might interpret as “dissonant” --things that rub me the wrong way. People who seem to show up in order to spoil my day. And, honestly, many times it is the person staring back at me in the mirror that I find to be the worst culprit of all. Some times I look back at the end of a day and wonder at my own words, thoughts or actions that struck chords of horrible disharmony throughout that day.
My beloved pastor is teaching a current Sunday School series on the subject of “The Precious Things of God.” Things upon which our Father in Heaven places a high value, and which the world at large would never consider valuable at all. In previous weeks, Pastor Jon has covered the preciousness of Jesus Christ, and our Faith. This morning, he explained that God considers the Trials he sends our way to also be a commodity of surpassing value to Him. And to me.
Why? Why are Trials so precious to the Lord? Trials like illness, unfriendly people, unfair criticism, times of intense loneliness, loss of loved ones...why are such things valuable?
Because they strengthen my faith. Because they purify my faith and prove it is genuine because it doesn’t give up under the stress of trials. Because trials help to cure me of stubborn self-reliance. Because they drive me to my knees in prayer. Because they send me running to Jesus. Because I get to know Him best, when I need Him the most.
My life in Christ is like a piece of symphonic music. All kinds of people and situations and inner desires are sounding out notes and melodies and chords both sweet and sour. And, like Gustave Holst, the divine Composer is steering my life into points of painful dissonance, during which I am tempted to cover my ears in horror and despair. But God assures me that “the light and momentary trials” I experience are as nothing, compared to the harmonious future that draws closer and closer every day. The final day when, by His grace, I’ll reach my eternal destination.
We were created in God’s image. We all fell into sin and that image was marred and cracked and distorted almost beyond recognition. Our harmony with heaven was ruined. But once we turn to Christ and place our trust in Him and His work alone for salvation, things begin to change. Life begins again in a brand new key.
And day by day, movement by movement, measure by measure, note by note, our lives can be rewritten to reflect the glorious and holy harmony found in the voice and face of Christ. God will bring trials into our lives that seem discordant and scream for resolution; often it seems the dissonance will never end!
But even at those moments in my life’s “score,” I can rejoice. The Composer/Conductor knows what He’s doing. And some day very soon, the perfect resolution will resound.
And I’ll be home.
Trained as a music teacher in Philadelphia, I directed music and worship in several churches for over 20 years. My family and I settled in northern Indiana where until recently I worked in the truck building industry. My goal in writing is to cheer the heart, challenge the soul, and glorify Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.
Saturday, February 6, 2016
Peace Now
“Peace I leave you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” -Jesus
I grew up and came of age during a freaky period in world history. The sixties and seventies saw our western culture coming to a tipping point. The Cold War between western democracy and eastern communism was in full swing. The Vietnam War was claiming more and more young lives. Peace advocates were losing all faith in traditional governments and religious institutions. Many of our most promising young people were doping up and dropping out. The struggle for civil rights was causing riots in major cities and racist crackdowns throughout the South.
War...Weapons...Fear...Injustice...Desperation...Rebellion...Competing Ideologies...Crime…
In the midst of all this conflict and encroaching chaos, I was growing up in an oasis of peace. My mom a registered nurse...my dad a New York State trooper...our family enjoyed a quiet, sheltered, “Father Knows Best” upbringing in the Finger Lakes region of rolling hills, scenic vineyards, clean-scrubbed schools and respectable churches.
And, in the middle of that idyllic boyhood, I had the awesome privilege of meeting the Prince of Peace. During a week-long first-time experience away from home at LeTourneau Christian Camp on the shores of Canandaigua Lake, I prayed a simple eight-year-old prayer to invite Jesus Christ into my heart. But what I failed to realize at that time was that this new Friend and Savior was, by entering into my life, bringing the end of the most earth-shattering war anyone could imagine.
For all of the bloody earthly battles and far-flung international conflicts, all of them put together can’t hold a candle to the War of Wars. The way-beyond-this-world war that erupted at the very dawn of time. A war that began in Heaven, with a magnificent angelic being named Lucifer.
Isaiah chapter 14 describes Lucifer’s fall into the God-defying sin of pride and arrogance that got him thrown out of Heaven along with an evil host of like-minded minions. Genesis 3 tells how this fallen angel general, in serpentine form, lured our first parents Adam and Eve into enlisting as fellow combatants against the sovereign authority of their kind Creator and King.
The Battle of the Ages had begun. And from that day on, mankind has been at war with the very God who gave him breath, with each other on an individual--as well as global--scale, and even with himself. The choice to disobey God in the Garden, gave rise to the innate impulse to go on disobeying Him in our every thought, word and action. We chose, and go on choosing, along with the devil of hell, to withhold all that rightfully belongs to God: our devotion...our obedience ...our love.
Even worse, we insist on lavishing those precious inward gifts on a pantheon of god-substitutes made by our own hands, dreamt up in our own deluded minds. We continually devise new and more ingenious ways to sin and depose God in our imaginations.
As I said, it was a rare privilege for me that Jesus invaded my mind and heart at so young an age, granting me the childlike faith to accept His free gift of forgiveness and eternal life. From that point on I had the sweet and joyful relationship with my Creator and King that countless millions lack...a relationship against which I can measure all the troubles and turmoil that cross my path and come my way.
A friend of mine has been telling me for some time now that he feels worthless. That his life is meaningless. That he’s made too many bad choices and just wants his agony to be over. He wants his life to end. He just wants peace. I’ve tried and tried to point this friend to Jesus, but he won’t, or can’t, see it. He says he doesn’t want God’s help, because he knows what he is, and there’s no hope.
I know that there’s a war going on, even now, in this friend’s heart. But I also know that Christ holds this guy’s heart in His almighty hand. I pray that soon the war, for him, will be over. That Jesus will grant him the same gift he gave me when I was eight.
If you know a child who has yet to hear the good news of Jesus, don’t wait until the War of the Ages grows heated and overwhelming in his or her soul. Tell that little one of the Prince of Peace. Spare a child from a lifetime of turmoil and battle scars.
If you’re a believer, your own inner conflict may be over. But you and I are still in a war.
Keep fighting the good fight of faith!
Trained as a music teacher in Philadelphia, I directed music and worship in several churches for over 20 years. My family and I settled in northern Indiana where until recently I worked in the truck building industry. My goal in writing is to cheer the heart, challenge the soul, and glorify Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.
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