Intentional Faith

A good illustration of the Trinity comes from world-renowned scientist Dr. Henry Morris. He notes that the entire universe is Trinitarian by design. The universe consists of three things: matter, space, and time. Take away any one of those three and the universe would cease to exist. But each one of those is itself a trinity.
Matter = mass + energy + motion
Space = length + height + breadth
Time = past + present + future
Thus the whole universe witnesses to the character of the God who made it (Psalm 19:1).

C. S. Lewis once wrote: “There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than [hell], if it lay in my power …. I would pay any price to be able to say truthfully: ‘All will be saved.’” Can you relate?

I had no problem with heaven. Heaven was perfectly consistent with my beliefs about God. But hell was another story. How could hell exist? And if hell didn’t exist, was heaven a myth as well? It was not an easy crisis to overcome, but through it God showed me some things that not only laid my doubts to rest but actually strengthened my faith. As much as I resisted the idea, I finally saw that without the reality of hell, God could not be a loving God. Confused? So was I.

But let me try to explain. If there is no hell, God is not just. If sin is not punished, then God is apathetic toward evil. If God is neutral on the subject of evil, then what does that say to the rapists and murderers and adulterers? What does it say to Satan and all he stands for? More important, what does it say to those who strive to be faithful servants of Christ? To say that hell does not exist is to say that God has turned his back on those who serve him. And in the end, it is to say that God and the teachings of Scripture are untrue. That question is resolved by simply looking at the abundance of evidence that proves the accuracy of God’s Word. The question is not whether hell exists, but why we struggle so much to resist the idea. Jesus didn’t shy away from the hard teachings about hell. More than half of his parables speak about God’s judgment of sinners, and 13 percent of his teachings deal with the subject of hell. No one in Scripture speaks more about the consequences of sin than Jesus. And that truth shouldn’t surprise us. God isn’t obsessed with wrath; he’s simply consistent with his nature. Hell is critical in the grand scheme of God’s justice and plan of salvation. God loves us dearly. That’s why he gives us the choice between accepting his love and rejecting it.

He doesn’t send people to hell—they choose to go there. He simply honors that choice in spite of the pain it causes him to do so.

Although Peter Jennings’ father (who was a distinguished broadcast journalist for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) may have helped him get his first broadcasting job, Peter still had to prove that he could be a first-class journalist. His early chance came at CBC, where he hosted a half-hour radio show for children. Peter showed promise and dedication, and was soon allowed to host several public affairs programs.

Eventually, he became a special events commentator and the host of Vue, a late-night talk show. In 1964 Peter’s coverage of the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City impressed ABC News President Elmer Lower. Lower immediately offered Peter a job as an ABC correspondent, but he turned it down. Three months later, Peter woke up in a cold sweat one night and thought, “What have I done?” He wrote Lower back and got the job.

In 1965, in an effort to boost their national broadcast ratings, ABC made Jennings the anchor of their nightly newscast. Although he did a good job, he did not have the qualifications to compete with Cronkite and Huntley and Brinkley. Jennings returned to reporting in 1968 and established himself as one of the foremost foreign correspondents. His in-depth analysis of the news gained him award after award. In 1983 Jennings was named sole anchor for the ABC Nightly News.

As he looks back on his career, Jennings admits that it was the role model of his father that pushed him to continue, to strive to be the best. “I’m still trying to live up to my father’s standards.”

Consider This: Pick a mentor with the kinds of attributes you desire. An example of excellence can give you the motivation to do and become your best.

One of the surprising best-selling books of 2008 is Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure. Notice that the main title is only six words: Not Quite What I Was Planning. People were asked to succinctly sum up their life in six words.

Some were humorous. Joan Rivers wrote, "Liars, hysterectomy didn’t improve sex life!" Stephen Colbert said, "Well, I thought it was funny." Others were filled with emotion. Someone wrote, "Followed yellow brick road. Disappointment ensued." Or, "Should have risked asking, he sighed." The USA Today writer that reviewed the book offered this as his own: "Dad was Santa. Downhill from there." Maybe you can identify with the person that summed up their life this way, "Never really finished anything, except cake."

It reminded me of Jesus’ brief summation of two different people. To one He said, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." Seven words. To the other He said, “Depart from Me, I never knew you." Seven words.

Why does it matter how I use my time? It matters because time is short, it can be wasted, and we will give an account of the time He gave us at the judgment.

Spend your time well and watch those words.  Michael.

"How you spend your time is more important than how you spend your money. Money mistakes can be corrected, but time is gone forever."

Spend both well.  Michael

Dr. George Sweeting once estimated that "more than a fourth of the Bible is predictive prophecy…Both the Old and New Testaments are full of promises about the return of Jesus Christ. Over 1800 references appear in the O.T., and seventeen O.T. books give prominence to this theme.

Of the 260 chapters in the N.T., there are more than 300 references to the Lord’s return—one out of every 30 verses. Twenty-three of the 27 N.T. books refer to this great event…For every prophecy on the first coming of Christ, there are eight on Christ’s second coming."

He is coming again.  Michael

Last Friday’s annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., attracted over 100,000 people, drawing wide participation in the rally against legalized abortion. The march concluded at the Supreme Court building, where the 1973 decision was made to legalize abortion. Since Roe v. Wade, more than 50 million babies have been aborted.

This year, over 83,000 people took advantage of the opportunity to sign up for the Virtual March for Life. And over 1,000 thank-you notes to pregnancy centers have been submitted online to www.BEaVoice.net, along with 60 prayer requests that have been posted online, submitted by pregnancy centers.

The New York Times featured an article this week by Sarah Perez on the “bold and controversial” privacy changes made by Facebook since December. The article warned Facebook users to check their privacy settings on the popular social network, even if they opted to keep their personalized settings when prompted by Facebook to do so. The article feared many would simply agree to Facebook’s recommended settings without understanding the agreement; users may have inadvertently given Facebook the right to publicize their private information on Google and other search engines.
Perez spoke of a critical privacy change related to status updates.

She noted that the default setting for permission to view status updates is “Everyone”, not just referring to those on Facebook, but possibly everyone on the Internet depending on your search settings. She also mentioned Facebook’s new default settings for your “personal information”—including your interests, activities and favorites—and suggested that many would rather keep those exclusive to “Only Friends” rather than the default “Everyone” or even “Friends of Friends.” To make changes to your privacy settings on Facebook, go to your Profile page, drag the cursor over the Settings menu (top-right), click Privacy Settings, then click Profile Information.

Perez also recommended FB users review their “Search Settings,” which refers to what you allow Google and other search engines to index in your profile. Anything in the list you’ve checked “Allow” will permit search engines to access any information you’ve marked as visible by “Everyone.” To edit these preferences, go to your Profile page, drag the cursor over the Settings menu and click Privacy Settings. Then click Search from the list of choices and close the pop-up that appears there.

Check your settings.

Many churches years ago had mourners benches. Charles Allen in his book God’s Psychiatry said "Today we want God’s blessing without the pain of God’s purging. We want sermons on how to win friends, how to have peace of mind, how to forget our fears. But we must remember that Christ came to make men good rather than merely to make men feel good."

Let God make you a better person and not just feel better.  Michael.

In his book Fuzzy Memories, Jack Handey writes:

"There used to be this bully who would demand my lunch money every day. Since I was smaller, I would give it to him. Then I decided to fight back. I started taking karate lessons. But then the karate lesson guy said I had to start paying him five dollars a lesson. So I just went back to paying the bully."

Too many people feel it is easier just to pay the bully than it is to learn how to defeat him.

Hold your ground.  Pay your dues.  Michael