Category: Philosophy

How Great is Our God?

How awesome is our God?

Within the next few weeks (if it hasn’t already happened,) Christmas decorations and themed merchandise will begin appearing in the local stores. Some complain that retailers roll out the Christmas merchandise too soon.

I think it’s great!

Think about it… for three months, for approximately 25 percent of the calendar year, we will prepare to celebrate a holiday that commemorates the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, the only Begotten Son of God.

Now sure, most of the world celebrates the secular aspects of Christmas. The tree, lights, hot chocolate, Santa, gifts and eggnog. And the retailers aren’t rolling out Christmas merchandise to extend their praise for the birth of the Savior, but rather, to make sure they hit their sales goals for the fourth quarter.

I am not oblivious to any of this. Still, the holiday was coined to celebrate the birth of Jesus, and we have an amazing open door in our culture to turn the nation’s attention back to the Lord for almost three months every year.

Think about what God did here. He took a pagan holiday that was re-worked by the Catholic church and transformed it into an annual cultural season centered on His Son. How excellent is that?

Even those who only observe the secular parts of the holiday confess that it is a season of peace and good will toward others. So, even though they may ignore His name, they still celebrate His nature.

In Psalm 8, David opens by saying, “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! Who has set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.”

God’s name is excellent in the earth because of the praise of His people. And even though His people may not be regarded as powerful or influential by the rest of the world, God is still glorified by their voices. His actions and His work on earth show His power and excellency.

David goes on to say, “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitests him?”

David takes in the night sky. This is something that in the western world, we have lost for the most part. The light pollution from the cities makes the night sky less visible. I rarely saw a star when I lived in Austin.

I went to college with kids from Dallas and Houston who had never seen the night sky. As our culture urbanizes, fewer will experience the breath-taking beauty of a clear night sky full of stars.

I’ll be honest. I had forgotten. That is, until I stepped into the parking lot of the church one night. Our small, rural community has very little light pollution, and the night sky shines brightly here. It was amazing.

David takes in the night sky… which is huge, magnificent, and beautiful. On the right nights, the beauty of the night sky can impact you the same way the beauty and power of the ocean can impact you at the beach.

Taking all this in, David wonders, “What is man, that you are mindful of him, and the son of man, that you visit him?”

With all the power and glory in God’s creation, why does He preoccupy Himself with man, and why does He go to such great lengths to care for us?

When you consider the glories of the universe, the fact that we are at the top of God’s mind should blow ours. Out of all He has to show the angels His power and glory, He chooses to direct the attention to us, so that we can reflect the attention back to Him.

In the New Testament, the book of Hebrews will take these same verses and point us to Christ.

Pausing to consider this, David concludes with, “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”

We truly worship an amazing God. He is not only glorified by His own creation, but He can take the imperfect things of this world and draw glory from them.

A God this powerful, Who as set his eyes and love toward us, is One worth trusting and worshipping.

Keep the faith, keep moving forward, and keep looking up.

Faith under Fire

Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words do hurt, especially when they slander your good name and undermine your life’s purpose.

A false accusation, a baseless rumor, and malicious gossip can ruin your reputation, disrupt your marriage, sideline your ministry, and undermine you career or business. Often, when these false accusations are raised, there is little you can do, because proving something didn’t happen is almost impossible.

For most people, the best you can hope for is that your track record of integrity and good deeds outshines the falsehoods being spoken. That’s hard to rely on, however, as people’s memories are becoming shorter with the proliferation of social media.

This is exactly the situation (minus the social media) that King David faced in Psalm 7. Cush the Benjamite had made serious accusations against David and cursed him. We don’t really know who Cush was, or exactly what his statements were. We do know, the words were severe enough that David took the situation to the Lord, not only through a spoken prayer, but David actually took the time to write this psalm about it.

In the opening verses of Psalm 7, you see the intersection of David’s faith and fear. David proclaims that he is putting his trust in the Lord, while at the same time expressing his fear of what his enemy may do.

“O Lord my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me: ²Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.” – Psalm 7:1-2

David professes that he places his trust (faith) in the Lord, and prays for deliverance so that he is not destroyed by the false accusations. He goes on in verses 3-5 to ask the Lord to hold him accountable should there be any truth to the false accusations.

These verses demonstrate the power that faith can give us in these hopeless situations. Furthermore, it shows us the power that comes with a clear conscience toward God and toward those around us.

David was able to ask God to examine his actions and hold him accountable because David knew that he was innocent of the charges being leveled toward him.

Living according to God’s word, doing right by others and glorifying God through our grace and mercy shown to others can help fortify us against situations like this. When the false accusation is leveled, we can in all confidence say, “Search me! For I am clean!”

Furthermore, our faith enables us to trust God to fight this battle, because we are completely incapable of securing the victory on our own.

In verses 6-10, David prays that God will rise up in anger against the wickedness that has come against him. He also proclaims and looks forward to the judgment of God. Again, this is the blessing that comes with a life of faith and a clear conscience.

David doesn’t fear God’s judgment because David knows that he will withstand the judgment because he has been made pure through his faith in the Gospel of God. David knows the judgment will vindicate God’s people, and destroy the wicked.

If you know the Lord as your Savior, you have no reason to fear God’s judgment, and you actually have a reason to look forward to the judgment, because it is the judgment of God that is going to restore everything to what God intended on it being.

David concludes the psalm in verses 11-17 by warning the wicked that the Lord is preparing to make war against them. Therefore, repentance is in order.

So, Psalm 7 teaches us the value of letting faith shape our lives and actions. We learn that we need to trust the Lord through the adversities, conflicts and perils of life. Meanwhile, we also learn the value of having a clean conscience toward God and toward man. When we have those ingredients, we have facilitated the Lord’s defense of us when the attacks come.

So trust the Lord today, and glorify him through your lifestyle.

The Magic of an Honest Prayer

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.com

Several months back, the walls were closing in on me. I had been laid off from Texas Farm Bureau, I was two months without employment, and things in my personal life had gone from bad to worse.

At that moment, a former church member texted me, “People who have no secrets from each other never want for subjects of conversation.”

He went on to explain that his quote was from a 16th-century Bible teacher who used the quote to teach open and honest prayers to God.

He went on to say, “Tell God all that is in your heart, as one unloads one’s heart, its pleasures and pains to a dear friend. Tell Him your troubles that He may comfort you, your joys that He may sober them. Tell Him your longings that He may purify them.

“People who have no secrets from each other never want for subjects of conversation. They do not weigh their words, for there is nothing to be held back. They talk out of the abundance of the heart, without consideration, they say what they think.

“Blessed are they who attain such familiar, unreserved intercourse with God.” (Francois Feneion, 1651-1715)

After receiving that text, I drove out to a local picnic area and lifted my heart up to God, sharing every anxiety of my financial and family situation, my anxieties and fears, my needs and requests.

I had been praying, but I had “Spiritualized” my prayers, couching the words in sanitized language so as to demonstrate acceptance and faith.

But with this prayer, I laid it all out on the table.

“God, you have given me the responsibility to provide for my family, but to do that, I NEED A JOB!”

“God, you have called me to preach your Gospel, but I need you to provide for and enable this ministry!”

“God, I need direction!”

Isn’t it interesting? By the end of the day, I had an interview with a company that would go on to hire me, and transfer me to Austin. After a few months in Austin, I learned that financial services was not God’s calling on my life, and the pursuit of career accomplishments and wealth would never feed my soul.

Again, I prayed, “Lord, please rescue me.”

And now, I sit here in the study at First Baptist Church of Hermleigh, TX, sharing this testimony with you.

Open and honest prayers not only work, and are not only recommended by 16th-century teachers, but they are also Biblical.

Take David’s prayer in Psalm 6, for example. David opens the prayer by begging for God’s mercy, asking God how much longer this season of grief and suffering will continue, and asking to be delivered.

He goes on to discuss how long and how intense his grief is, saying that he makes his bed to swim and waters his couch with his tears.

In Psalm 6, David lays it all out there, before ultimately expressing faith that the LORD will receive his prayer.

David’s prayer is not unlike Hannah’s prayer in 1 Samuel 1, when she prayed out of the bitterness of her heart, asking God not to forget her, and that if she were blessed with a son, she would give him to the Lord and dedicate him to God’s service.

Scripture records multiple times when God heard and answered David’s prayer, and 1 Samuel records how God heard and answered Hannah’s prayer.

When Jesus taught us how to pray during the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6, He told us, “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.”

This concept is what separates David and Hannah’s prayers from the ineffectual prayers of many others. People have been taught to use certain phrases and words when praying, and thus they lose the actual substance of the prayers they lift up to God.

What God wants, however, is for us to be open and honest with Him. He wants us to “Let our requests be made known unto Him.” (Philippians 4:6).

He wants us to be real, to truly explore our hearts and give them over to Him, to allow Him to refine our hearts, answer our requests, and transform us through the process.

When this level of prayer becomes our method of operation, we will truly see the Lord move, and our anxieties will be abated as well.

And if you need help, if you have a special prayer request, feel free to send it to me below. I will be glad to lift your request up in prayer.

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Why So Mad at Phillies Karen?

From time to time, a seemingly insignificant event is caught on camera, and it galvanizes the nation. Such an event took place this past week at a Phillies/Marlin game.

A homerun was hit into the upper deck of the left field seats, which, as usual, prompted a massive scurrying of fans to collect the much-coveted souvenir. A father came away with the ball and handed it to his son.

This situation plays itself out hundreds of times throughout the course of every baseball season. A ball is hit into the stands, fans scurry for it, the victor claims his prize, and on some occasions, there is a confrontation over who the rightful owner of the ball is. Again, this happens all the time.

What happened this time, however, is that the lady confronting the man over the ball was so adamant, the man wound up taking the ball from his son and giving it to her.

Recently, I took two of my kids to a Round Rock Express game. We got free admission to the left-field upper deck with the donation of canned goods. During the game, a homerun was hit into our section. My son pursued the ball, only to break off the pursuit when he saw the father of a young child going after it.

Again, these situations happen all the time.

Just me and a couple of my kids taking in a ballgame

So, why is the entire country mad at this one woman? Here’s why, and it’s an answer that the country is not ready to discuss at this moment.

A father taking his son out to a baseball game is one of the last remaining safe-havens of childhood. Few things remain as a part of childhood that are as pure, innocent, peaceful and fun as that.

Think about it. We still sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh-inning stretch. That song is obviously written from a child’s viewpoint.

“Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks. I don’t care if we never get back.”

If you go to a minor-league game, you will see that the entire event (except for the beer sales) is centered around creating a wholesome event for the family… for parents and children.

Everything from the team name (What is a Sodpoodle anyway?), to the games they play between innings (Tricycle races, etc) which are usually played by kids picked at random from the stands.

Baseball is still America’s pastime. It is still where people go to leave their problems at the gate and enjoy some peaceful, fun time with the kids, and to make memories.

There’s nothing like the view from the cheap seats. Dell Diamond, Round Rock, TX.

And… on occasion, the families are able to take home a souvenir, whether it is a t-shirt shot into the crowd, or a baseball hit into the stands. The baseball is the ultimate prize. You take home a piece of the game, handled by the actual players, and catching it (or retrieving it) is the ultimate accomplishment.

To have your dad catch a homerun ball at a major league game? That’s the kind of formative memory that sticks with you. That’s a story you tell your grandkids when they come visit you in the nursing home 70 years later.

This is why, when Shannon Stone died trying to catch a ball for his son at a Texas Rangers game, it became a national tragedy. As a local reporter, I covered the funeral, stationed next to ABC News, Univision, ESPN, CNN and others.

If any other fan had died in the same way, it would have been written off as a tragic accident, and no big deal would have been made. But in this case, it was a father, looking for a souvenir for his son, who called out to Josh Hamilton for the ball. Reached out for the catch, lost his balance, and fell.

In a press conference following the tragedy, Rangers owner Nolan Ryan said, “This hits us at the core of who we are.”

As a way of helping fans grieve, recover and move on, the Rangers erected a statue of Stone and his son outside the gates of the stadium, to remind us who we are, and why we bring our kids to the game.

Which brings us back to Phillies Karen. The father catching (or retrieving) the ball for his son is an emblematic moment, in this case shattered by the selfishness of an irate individual.

The audacity not only offended fans at the game, but the TV commentators, the Phillies organization, and social media. Why?

Because without even realizing it, this moment encapsulates the ongoing war our culture has with the innocence of childhood.

Let’s be honest. Our culture is at war with childhood. The sad part is, that war was never officially declared. It just sort of happened. And those warring against childhood often don’t even realize that they are.

Like the situation with the baseball at the Phillies game was driven by the selfishness of adults, the war on childhood is driven by the selfishness of adults.

Kids can no longer just enjoy playing summer baseball. Now, every level of youth sports is seen as a preparation for the major leagues. Sure, the leagues now hand out participation trophies, but I believe that is even driven by the selfishness of adults.

Does a 5-year old joining his first T-ball team really hope the league prepares him for the next level? No. He just wants to play and have fun. It’s the parents who are looking for validation from the child’s on-field performance. And the problem is not limited to youth sports either.

Recently, Snoop Dogg drew criticism for saying he was afraid to take his grandkids to the movies for fear of having to explain same-sex relationships (and other adult themes) when they are depicted in children’s movies. Now, Snoop is shrugging off the controversy and stands by his statements, but that controversy raises another question…

When was the last time Hollywood truly produced a movie for kids?

When was the last time they produced something as benign as “Bambi,” as adventurous as “The Jungle Book,” as fantastical as “Mary Poppins,” or as sentimental as “The Land Before Time?”

When was the last time a movie was produced for kids for the sole purpose of taking them on a big adventure?

Today, even the children’s movies have an agenda to advance the cause of certain adult groups.

So, we’ve ruined youth sports. We’ve ruined movies. The kids cannot open a lemonade stand without getting a tax-use permit and a permit from the health department (because cities now lack the capability to distinguish between legit businesses and kids trying to pass the time and make a quarter.)

I could go on citing different examples from different areas of life, but that would be exhausting for both you and me. The war on childhood and the innocence thereof is a complex issue that requires much discussion.

And it’s hard to encapsulate that issue and how it truly makes us feel. That is, until a random stranger at a ballgame we aren’t watching takes a ball from a child whose father just gave it to him. Then it all comes to a head.

To a large degree, I believe some correction is needed on our part. We need to allow youth sports to return to the simplicity of a season played, with scores kept, wins and losses, and a champion crowned. But when the season is over, let the kids do something else for a while.

We need to let kids be in the moment, and enjoy the simplicity and the joy of the moment. Not every activity needs to be a preparation for a competitive career.

And finally, we need to quit making the minds of our children the latest battleground in the culture war.

We need to restore childhood to what it ought to be, an innocent period of discovery and imagination. A time of learning and of play.

If we accomplish that, angry adults may still take homerun balls away from kids during the game. But, if they do, it’ll be far less triggering.