Karate for Christ of Michigan
Reaching youth and their families thru martial artsArchive for January, 2012
Punxsutawney Phil is a star
As February 2 approaches, the world’s most famous groundhog has unveiled his own Facebook page, Twitter account and satellite feed. Who of us hopes he’ll predict more winter?
Instant gratification is part of our cultural DNA. For instance, a company has unveiled a “roadable aircraft” that can fly from commercial airports and drive on public roads. Meanwhile, fast food chain Subway has announced plans to open 600 new stores in Great Britain over the next three years, creating up to 6,000 jobs. McDonalds expects to create 2,500 jobs this year in England through new outlets and 24-hour restaurants.
It’s hard to wait for what we want. For example, Rachel had been married to Jacob for at least seven years. All this time, she continued to pray for the Lord to give her a child. Genesis 30 picks up her story: “Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and opened her womb” (v. 22). With this result: “She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, ‘God has taken away my disgrace.’ She named him Joseph” (vs. 23-24).
Why did God delay so long in granting her request? During the time she waited, her family was given ten sons and a daughter. Among them was Judah, whose descendants would include our Messiah and Lord (Matthew 1:2-3). If God had acted on her timetable, how different would human history be?
Our Creator has but one purpose for us: “Those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29). He has given you another day of life so he can sculpt you further into the image and character of Christ. What instrument will he use?
James taught us that “the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:3-4). Helen Keller, who knew something about adversity, observed that “character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through the experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”
Why is perseverance God’s invitation to you this morning? What prayer has he not yet answered? What need has he not yet met? His plans are seldom ours: “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). But his timing is always perfect: “He has made everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
It may seem that you’re waiting on God, but could it be that he’s waiting on you?
Dr. Denison’s cultural commentary originally appeared at www.denisonforum.org. It has been reposted here with permission of the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture.
Solar storms are coming your way
Last week, radiation from the sun disrupted satellites and forced airlines to reroute their planes. It was the strongest solar storm to strike our planet since 2005. Today we learn that such attacks will be bombarding us on a monthly basis. As big as last week’s storm was, scientists say we got lucky–it glanced off our planet’s magnetic field. If future storms attack us more directly, they could cause massive power blackouts, radio disruptions and satellite failures. And there’s absolutely nothing we can do to stop them.
Every now and then, nature reminds us of our frailties. Yesterday I encountered a statement in Scripture that seems relevant to this fact. Responding to his critics, Jesus said, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God” (Matthew 22:29). Immediately I was struck by this insight: it is vital that we trust both the word of God and the power of God.
Some focus on the latter to the exclusion of the former, so emphasizing their experiences that they do not measure them by biblical truth. But most of us make the opposite mistake. We know God’s word, but do we know his power?
The first Christians did. After Pentecost, “Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles” (Acts 2:43). The Greek is better translated, “through the apostles.” They experienced God’s power, not theirs. Peter could say to a man crippled from birth, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk” (Acts 3:6). He trusted Jesus’ name and power, not his own, and the man was healed (v. 7).
Can God use us as he used them, or did the first Christians possess some capacity that we lack? Jesus promised us, “anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing” (John 14:12a). In fact, “he will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (v. 12b) and would send us his empowering Spirit (John 15:16). But here’s the key: “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father” (John 14:13).
You and I live in a culture that prizes self-reliance. Do we trust the Spirit’s power or our own abilities? Do we work for God or do we ask him to work through us? Do we seek our glory or his?
Scripture is clear: “Nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). Why do you need his unlimited power today? Name your problem, submit it fully to his will and purpose, and claim his promise to “meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Then “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). Rely on his power, not yours. And remember: All of God there is, is in this moment.
Dr. Denison’s cultural commentary originally appeared at www.denisonforum.org. It has been reposted here with permission of the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture.
I am altitudina…
Heights are not my friend. Jesus said, “Lo, I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20, KJV) and that’s good enough for me. When I board an airplane, I prefer an aisle seat where I can read and pretend we’re still on the ground. Forced to sit by a window, I close it and do the same.
Given my distaste for elevation, I learned this morning that I’ve been flying the wrong airlines all these years. It seems Alaska Airlines hands out prayer cards with its meals. For more than 30 years, the airline has included small cards with verses from the Psalms along with the meals it distributes to passengers. One example is this statement printed over a beach scene: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. His love endures forever.” Another depicts a mountain with the words, “I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O most high.”
For many years, positive comments outnumbered negative feedback. Back in 2004, the airline celebrated the practice and declared that the cards were “here to stay.” Lately, however, opinion has shifted. The airline has been receiving a growing number of complaints from flyers who were offended, so officials have decided to end the practice. A spokeswoman explained, “Some customers were comforted by the cards and some didn’t feel religion was appropriate on the plane and preferred not to receive one.”
Here’s my question: When is religion more “appropriate” than when you’re 30,000 feet in the air with no visible way to stay up there?
You may not share my fear of flight, but you have your own worries this morning. For every fear we feel, God has given us “his very great and precious promises” to claim (2 Peter 1:4). For instance, are you facing a difficult decision today? God says, “I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you” (Isaiah 41:13).
Are you worried about the future? “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today” (Exodus 14:13). Are people opposing you? “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6). Are worries stealing your peace? “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).
I encourage you to name your fear this morning, specifically and honestly. Then find a biblical promise to claim, and stand on the word of God. The psalmist declared, “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid” (Psalm 118:6). Have you made the same decision yet today?
Dr. Denison’s cultural commentary originally appeared at www.denisonforum.org. It has been reposted here with permission of the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture.
A little more than a year ago, a college dropout named Jared Loughner opened fire on the congresswoman and the crowd gathered to meet her in Tucson, Arizona. Six people were killed, including a nine-year-old girl and a federal judge. Giffords was shot in the head, but is making a remarkable recovery. She will resign her office this week to focus on her therapy.
If the tragedy had never occurred, Rep. Giffords’ presence at last night’s address would likely have gone unnoticed by any but her most loyal constituents. She would not have received personal attention from President Obama, nor would she be the focus of this essay. Her courage may be the most enduring legacy of her political service. Her example will inspire victims of tragedy who would not otherwise know her name.
Walt Disney noted that some men make difficulties, while difficulties make some men. You never really know what you can do until you must. Pain reveals the truth about our character. C. S. Lewiswas right: “Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.” Winston Churchill added, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.” Such courage is your most powerful witness to a skeptical culture.
Think of the pivotal figures of biblical history. What common theme unites them? One built an ark when it likely had never rained, enduring the scorn of the masses. Another stood before Pharaoh with nothing but a rod in his hand and faith in his heart. A shepherd faced a giant; prophets spoke God’s word at the peril of their lives; fishermen died for their Lord; the Son of God could have called ten thousand angels to his side but chose to suffer a horrific death for us.
Why do you need their courage today? The Lord who empowered and sustained them is ready to do the same for you. When David was captured by the Philistines, he prayed: “When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?” (Psalm 56:3-4). Is God waiting for you to make his prayer your own?
Kyle Williams, …
Kyle Williams, Billy Cundiff and forgiveness
If Kyle Williams had not fumbled two punts, the San Francisco 49ers might be playing in this year’s Super Bowl. If Billy Cundiff had not missed a 32-yard field goal, the Baltimore Ravens might be joining them. This morning, there’s more to both stories.
It seems the scoreboard operator in the Baltimore-New England game had the wrong down displayed, which caused Cundiff to rush his preparations and may have contributed to his missed kick. Meanwhile, New York Giants players are now admitting that they targeted Williams for vicious hits earlier in the game because they knew he had suffered four concussions in the past. They claim that these hits contributed to his fumbles.
Does this new information change the way you view Cundiff and Williams?
A counselor once told me that there is often one thing we don’t know about other people that would help us understand their behavior. For instance, is it fair to blame people for mistakes they don’t know they’re making? Last weekend I was walking in our neighborhood when I came upon a broken sprinkler head imitating Old Faithful at Yellowstone. None of the geyser was landing anywhere near the lawn it was intended to water. My first reaction was to blame the homeowners for such waste, but upon reflection it became obvious that they didn’t know what I knew about their sprinkler system or they would have fixed the problem.
In that moment, this question flashed into my mind: What do other people see in my life that I don’t? What mistakes, failures, and follies are clear to you but not to me? Yesterday morning, one of Janet’s curlers attached itself to the back of her blouse. She couldn’t see what was visible (and rather humorous) to me. Later that day, I followed an SUV onto the Dallas North Tollway–its fuel door was wide open, the gas cap swinging in the wind, but the driver was oblivious to what was obvious to me.
Two lessons follow. One: I should offer more grace to others than seems warranted. It is our tendency to judge others by their actions but ourselves by our intentions. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings” excuses my rude behavior but not yours. Many of the imperfections I see in others are not their choice.
Two: I should seek more mercy for myself than seems needed. My Father is aware of sins I have forgotten or ignored. David, who knew something about sin and forgiveness, asked, “Who can discern his errors?” Then he prayed, “Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me” (Psalm 19:12-13).
Because I commit both “hidden faults” and “willful sins,” every morning I ask the Spirit to bring to my mind anything I need to confess to God. He never fails to show me a failure I would not have recognized. As I confess what comes to my thoughts, my Father forgives me and restores me to himself. I commend this “moral inventory” to you.
Who needs your sympathetic grace today? Is it possible that you need your Father’s mercy more than you know?
Dr. Denison’s cultural commentary originally appeared at www.denisonforum.org. It has been reposted here with permission of the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture.
