Much Grace

It does not matter where He places me or how.

That is rather for Him to consider than for me.
For the easiest positions, He must give grace; and in the most difficult, His grace is sufficient.

So, if God places me in great perplexity, must He not give me much guidance?
In positions of great difficulty, much grace?
In circumstances of great pressure and trial, much strength?

As to work, mine was never so plentiful, so responsible,
or so difficult; but the weight and strain are all gone.
His resources are mine, for He is mine!

- J. Hudson Taylor -

Law Like a Brush Fire

A duck hunter was with a friend in the wide-open land of southeastern Georgia. Far away on the horizon he noticed a cloud of smoke.

Soon he could hear crackling as the wind shifted. He realized the terrible truth; a brushfire was advancing, so fast they couldn't outrun it.

Rifling through his pockets, he soon found what he was looking for,a book of matches. He lit a small fire around the two of them.

Soon they were standing in a circle of blackened earth, waiting for the fire to come.

They didn't have to wait long. They covered their mouths with handkerchiefs and braced themselves. The fire came near,and swept over them. But they were completely unhurt, untouched. Fire would not pass where fire already had passed.

The law is like a brushfire. I cannot escape it. But if I stand in the burned-over place, not a hair of my head will be singed. Christ's death has disarmed it.

Adapted from Who Will Deliver Us? by Paul F. M. Zahl

We are Under Grace (Rom. 6:15)

Some years ago, I had a little school for young Indian men and women, who came to my home in Oakland, California, from the various tribes in northern Arizona.

One of these was a Navajo young man of unusually keen intelligence. One Sunday evening, he went with me to our young people's meeting. They were talking about the epistle to the Galatians, and the special subject was law and grace.

They were not very clear about it, and finally one turned to the Indian and said, 'I wonder whether our Indian friend has anything to say about this."

He rose to his feet and said,

'Well, my friends, I have been listening very carefully, because I am here to learn all I can in order to take it back to my people.

I do not understand all that you are talking about, and I do not think you do yourselves. But concerning this law and grace business, let me see if I can make it clear. I think it is like this. When Mr. Ironside brought me from my home we took the longest railroad journey I ever took.

We got out at Barstow, and there I saw the most beautiful railroad station and hotel I have ever seen.

I walked all around and saw at one end a sign, 'Do not spit here.' I looked at that sign and then looked down at the ground and saw many had spitted there, and before I think what I am doing I have spitted myself. Isn't that strange when the sign say, 'Do not spit here'?

'I come to Oakland and go to the home of the lady who invited me to dinner today and I am in the nicest home I have been in. Such beautiful furniture and carpets, I hate to step on them. I sank into a comfortable chair, and the lady said, 'Now, John, you sit there while I go out and see whether the maid has dinner ready.'

I look around at the beautiful pictures, at the grand piano, and I walk all around those rooms. I am looking for a sign; and the sign I am looking for is, 'Do not spit here,' but I look around those two beautiful drawing rooms, and cannot find a sign like this.

I think 'What a pity when this is such a beautiful home to have people spitting all over it,too bad they don't put up a sign!' So I look all over that carpet, but cannot find that anybody have spitted there. What a queer thing! Where the sign says, 'Do not spit,' a lot of people spitted. Where there was no sign at all, in that beautiful home, nobody spitted.

Now I understand! That sign is law, but inside the home it is grace. They love their beautiful home, and they want to keep it clean. They do not need a sign to tell them so. I think that explains the law and grace business."

As he sat down, a murmur of approval went round the room and the leader exclaimed, 'I think that is the best illustration of law and grace I have ever heard."

Illustrations of Bible Truth by H. A. Ironside, Moody Press, 1945, pp. 40-42

Motivation

A ten-year-old boy was failing math. His parents tried everything, but to no avail. Finally, at the insistence of a family friend, they decided to enroll their son in a private Catholic school.

After the first day, the boy's parents were surprised when he walked in after school with a stern, focused and very determined expression on his face, and went right past them straight to his room, where he quietly closed the door.

For nearly two hours he toiled away in his room - with math books strewn about his desk and the surrounding floor. He emerged long enough to eat, and after quickly cleaning his plate, went straight back to his room, closed the door, and worked feverishly at his studies until bedtime.

This pattern continued ceaselessly until it was time for the first quarter report card.

The boy walked in with his report card,unopened,laid it on the dinner table and went straight to his room. cautiously, his mother opened it, and to her amazement, she saw a bright red 'A" under the subject of MATH. Overjoyed, she and her husband rushed into their son's room, thrilled at his remarkable progress.

'Was it the nuns that did it?", the father asked. The boy only shook his head and said, 'No."

'Was it the one-on-one tutoring? The peer-mentoring?"

'No."

'The textbooks? The teachers? The curriculum?"

'Nope," said the son. 'on that first day, when I walked in the front door and saw that guy they nailed to the 'plus sign,' I just knew they meant business!"

America Online:McKinleyIB, Nov. 6, 1997Catholic School

Miracle, Miracles, purpose of

Definition of Miracles

Grudem defines a miracle as follows:

'A miracle is a less common kind of God's activity in which he arouses people's awe and wonder and bears witness to himself." He justifies this definition by awe, or amazement in such a way that God bears witness to himself (Systematic Theology, chapter 52).pointing out the deficiencies in other commonly proposed definitions:

'For example, one definition of miracles is 'a direct intervention of God in the world.' But this definition assumes a deistic view of God's relationship to the world, in which the world continues on its own and God only intervenes in it occasionally.

This is certainly not the biblical view, according to which God makes the rain to fall (Matt. 5:45), causes the grass to grow (Ps. 104:14), and continually carries along all things by his word and power (Heb. 1:3). Another definition of miracles is 'a more direct activity of God in the world.' But to talk about a 'more direct' working of God suggests that his ordinary providential activity is somehow not 'direct,' and again hints at a sort of deistic removal of God from the world.

Another definition is 'God working in the world without using means to bring about the results he wishes.' Yet to speak of God working 'without means' leaves us with very few if any miracles in the Bible, for it is hard to think of a miracle that came about with no means at all: in the healing of people, for example, some of the physical properties of the sick person's body were doubtless involved as part of the healing.

When Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes, he at least used the original five loaves and two fishes that were there. When he changed water to wine, he used water and made it become wine. This definition seems to be inadequate.

Yet another definition of miracle is 'an exception to a natural law' or 'God acting contrary to the laws of nature.' But the phrase 'laws of nature' in popular understanding implies that there are certain qualities inherent in the things that exist, 'laws of nature' which operate independently of God and that God must intervene or 'break' these laws in order for a miracle to occur.

Once again this definition does not adequately account for the biblical teaching on providence.

Another definition of miracle is, 'an event impossible to explain by natural causes.' This definition is inadequate because

(1) it does not include God as the one who brings about the miracle;

(2) it assumes that God does not use some natural causes when he works in an unusual or amazing way, and thus it assumes again that God only occasionally intervenes in the world; and

(3) it will result in a significant minimizing of actual miracles, and an increase in skepticism, since many times when God works in answer to prayer the result is amazing to those who prayed but it is not absolutely impossible to explain by natural causes, especially for a skeptic who simply refuses to see God's hand at work.

Therefore, the original definition given above, where a miracle is simply a less common way of God's working in the world, seems to be preferable and more consistent with the biblical doctrine of God's providence.

This definition does not say that a miracle is a different kind of working by God, but only that it is a less common way of God's working, and that it is done so as to arouse people's surprise.

Surprised by the Power of the Spirit, by Jack Deere (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1993), pp. 270-271

Healing Incident Investigation

Once I tried to get a friend, who was also a theological professor, to investigate a miracle that had taken place through the ministry of another seminary professor.

The seminary professor who had been used to do the miracle was a conservative evangelical, who is held in high esteem across the body of Christ, and who had begun to believe in the miraculous gifts.

A healing had occurred in the eyes and ears of a little boy. I called the boy's father (they lived in another state) in order to verify the miracle. The father said it was true and that he had medical documentation.

When I told the story to my friend, the cessationist professor, I urged him to call and investigate. He did not even want the phone number. When I questioned his reluctance to investigate, he told me that he did not doubt that the miracle had occurred, but he doubted that God had done it! So there was no need for him to investigate.

The facts of the case were:

1. A seminary professor, who held historic orthodox theology,

2. asked God in Jesus' name

3. to do a miracle on a little child

4. from a Christian family,

5. and the miracle was performed immediately.

Even with these facts, which my friend would not dispute, it was easier for him to believe that Satan had done the miracle rather than Jesus! The secessionist mindset often precludes any sincere investigation.

Surprised by the Power of the Spirit, by Jack Deere (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1993), p. 272.

Infidelity

Dear Ann Landers: You have printed many letters about extramarital affairs. Here are some things your readers should be aware of: About half the men and a third of the women who are cheating say they are perfectly content and there is nothing wrong with their marriages. Being religious does not prevent infidelity. Women are as willing as men to have an affair.

Fewer than 10 percent of those having an affair will divorce their spouses to marry their lovers. A large percentage of those who do often have another divorce. People who have affairs are more likely to be divorced, distressed and disappointed.

The chemistry that drives an affair lasts anywhere from a few weeks to three years before it cools down. Infidelity can happen to anyone. Here are a few tips for your readers to affair-proof their marriages. I call them 'the four P's" for prevention: Be protective of your marriage. Avoid risky situations such as long lunches with a co-worker or drinks for two after work.

Most people do not plan to be unfaithful. Be positive. Look for what is right in your spouse and tell him or her daily. People who have love affairs are often looking for appreciation and affirmation. Be polite.

Always talk to your spouse with respect. Be careful what you say to each other and how you say it. Show courtesy and caring in the way you treat one another. Be playful, and make fun, sex, and humor a mainstay in your marriage. Schedule time to play with one another, and have a 'date night" at least once a week.

Marriages can and do survive affairs, and many become stronger having weathered the crisis but not without pain and a genuine desire to recommit.

L.S., Ph.D., Seattle, Spokesman-Review, October 4, 1997

Marilyn Monroe

Years ago Father John Powell told the story of Norma Jean Mortenson:

Norma Jean Mortenson. Remember that name? Norma Jean's mother, Mrs. Gladys Baker, was periodically committed to a mental institution and Norma Jean spent much of her childhood in foster homes. In one of those foster homes, when she was eight years old, one of the boarders raped her and gave her a nickel. He said, 'Here, Honey.

Take this and don't ever tell anyone what I did to you.' When little Norma Jean went to her foster mother to tell her what had happened she was beaten badly. She was told, 'Our boarder pays good rent. Don't you ever say anything bad about him!' Norma Jean at the age of eight had learned what it was to be used and given a nickel and beaten for trying to express the hurt that was in her.

Norma Jean turned into a very pretty young girl and people began to notice. Boys whistled at her and she began to enjoy that, but she always wished they would notice she was a person too,not just a body,or a pretty face,but a person.

Then Norma Jean went to Hollywood and took a new name,Marilyn Monroe and the publicity people told her, 'We are going to create a modern sex symbol out of you.' And this was her reaction, 'A symbol? Aren't symbols things people hit together?' They said, 'Honey, it doesn't matter, because we are going to make you the most smoldering sex symbol that ever hit the celluloid.'

She was an overnight smash success, but she kept asking, 'Did you also notice I am a person? Would you please notice?'

Then she was cast in the dumb blonde roles. Everyone hated Marilyn Monroe. Everyone did. She would keep her crews waiting two hours on the set. She was regarded as a selfish prima donna. What they didn't know was that she was in her dressing room vomiting because she was so terrified.

She kept saying, 'Will someone please notice I am a person. Please.' They didn't notice. They wouldn't take her seriously. She went through three marriages,always pleading, 'Take me seriously as a person.' Everyone kept saying, 'But you are a sex symbol. You can't be other than that.' 'Marilyn kept saying 'I want to be a person. I want to be a serious actress.'

And so on that Saturday night, at the age of 35 when all beautiful women are supposed to be on the arm of a handsome escort, Marilyn Monroe took her own life. She killed herself. When her maid found her body the next morning, she noticed the telephone was off the hook. It was dangling there beside her.

Later investigation revealed that in the last moments of her life she had called a Hollywood actor and told him she had taken enough sleeping pills to kill herself.

He answered with the famous line of Rhett Butler, which I now edit for church, 'Frankly, my dear, I don't care!' That was the last word she heard. She dropped the phone,left it dangling.

Claire Booth Luce in a very sensitive article asked, 'What really killed Marilyn Monroe, love goddess who never found any love?' She said she thought the dangling telephone was the symbol of Marilyn Monroe's whole life. She died because she never got through to anyone who understood.

Dynamic Preaching, June, 1990

Studies and Surveys

1. A study at a Midwestern school showed that 80% of the women who had intercourse hoped to marry their partner. Only 12% of the men had the same expectation - Robert J. Collins in the Chicago Tribune, quoted in HIS, February, 1976

2. Sex is not the most important part of a love relationship. A Syracuse University survey asked married couples to rank the 10 most important things in a marriage relationship.

Caring, a sense of humor and communication came in first, second and third. Sex came in ninth, just ahead of sharing household duties.

Dr. Thomas Lickona

Stalled Engine

There is no situation I can get into that God cannot get me out. Some years ago when I was learning to fly, my instructor told me to put the plane into a steep and extended dive. I was totally unprepared for what was about to happen.

After a brief time the engine stalled, and the plane began to plunge out-of-control. It soon became evident that the instructor was not going to help me at all.

After a few seconds, which seemed like eternity, my mind began to function again. I quickly corrected the situation.

Immediately I turned to the instructor and began to vent my fearful frustrations on him. He very calmly said to me, 'There is no position you can get this airplane into that I cannot get you out of. If you want to learn to fly, go up there and do it again."

At that moment God seemed to be saying to me, 'Remember this. As you serve Me, there is no situation you can get yourself into that I cannot get you out of.

If you trust me, you will be all right." That lesson has been proven true in my ministry many times over the years.

James Brown, Evangeline Baptist Church, Wildsville, LA, in Discoveries, Fall, 1991, Vol. 2, No. 4.

God's Will

I am not sent a pilgrim here, My heart with earth to fill; But I am here God's grace to learn, And serve God's sovereign will.

He leads me on through smiles and tears, Grief follows gladness still; But let me welcome both alike, Since both work out his will.

No service in itself is small, None great, though earth it fill; But that is small that seeks its own, And great that seeks God's will.

Then hold my hand, most gracious Lord,Guide all my doings still;And let this be my life's one aim,To do, or bear thy will.

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