Tag: Faith

What is Faithfulness?

31kelley2-mobileMasterAt3x

It was a Sunday morning, October 23, 1983.

A Hezbollah suicide bomber drove his truck packed with over 2,000 pounds of explosives into the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon.

214 Americans were killed while they slept in their beds; another 128 were wounded in the horrific blast.

A few days after the tragedy, Marine Corps Commandant, Paul Kelly, visited some of the survivors in a Frankfurt, Germany hospital.

Among them was a Corporal named Jeffrey Nashton, who had been severely wounded in the attack.

Nashton had so many tubes running in and out of his body that someone said he looked more like a machine than a man.

As Kelly neared him, Nashton, struggling to move and racked with pain, motioned for a piece of paper and a pen.

He wrote a brief note and then passed it back to the Commandant.

The slip of paper had only two words – “Semper Fi,” the Latin motto of the Marine Corps, meaning “forever faithful.”

Thought: Christianity in general and marriage in particular aren’t simply about starting journeys – they’re about being forever faithful.

general-pxkelley

INCARNATE:  10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life (Rev. 2:10).  

“God loves you and I love you and that’s the way it’s gonna be!” – Mike

WHY Should We Pay Attention?

b718e0fa7ce957b3d07174e31744ceca

A U.S. Army officer told of the contrast in his pupils during two different eras of teaching at the artillery training school at Fort Sill, Okla., (home of the Field Artillery).

In 1958-60 the attitude was so lax the instructors had a problem keeping the men awake to listen to the lectures.

During the 1965-67 classes, however, the men, hearing the same basic lectures, were alert and took copious notes.

“What was the difference between the classes of 58-60 and the class of 65-67?” you ask.

The latter class knew that in less than six weeks they would be facing the enemy in Vietnam.

13 “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong” (1 Cor. 16:13; cf. 1 Pet. 5:8; Eph. 6:11).

“God loves you and I love you and that’s the way it’s gonna be!” – Mike

Why Kill Lazarus?

wolf-yellowstone-aspen.jpg.860x0_q70_crop-scale

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE to read the sentence without some incredulity.

John records, “…The chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death…” (John 12:10).  Think about that word–“priests.” It’s plural.  One spiritual leader didn’t scheme to murder Lazarus; many spiritual leaders schemed to murder Lazarus. And these guys were supposed to be the religious right–the moral elite of ancient Jewish society!

The ESV says, “…The chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well.” “As well…” In truth, they didn’t want to murder just one man, but two. They wanted to kill Jesus (cf. 11:53) and Lazarus.

“Why?” you may ask. Re-read John 12:9-11. A great many Jews believed in Jesus. And why did a great many believe in Jesus? Because Lazarus had been raised from the dead.

Remember that the Sadducees taught that there was no resurrection (cf. Matt. 22:23-28). Unfortunately for them, Lazarus illustrated that their dogma was at obvious variance with the Biblical data. He was a living, breathing entity despite the fact that he had been entombed for four days (11:39).

Lazarus was concrete evidence to the contrary; he was the doctrinal deathblow to their misguided, man-made tradition.

It was impossible for the chief priests to argue with or against him. Any sane, thoughtful, sincere individual wouldn’t even attempt to debate with Lazarus. He was absolute proof that Jesus could perform miracles. He was the undeniable corroboration of the divinity of Christ (cf. John 20:30-31).

And that’s why the chief priests wanted to kill Lazarus and Jesus.

A few thoughts rattle around in my neocortex as I ponder this curious incident:

  • If Jesus could resurrect a dead man, why did the chief priests entertain the idea of killing Lazarus in the first place? Couldn’t Jesus resurrect Lazarus again, if he so desired?

    What this teaches me is that you can’t expect coherent thinking and behavior from people who insist on upholding their agenda over truth.

  • If Jesus could, and obviously did, bring a dead man back to life–as Jesus had also done on previous occasions–e.g., the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-17) and the daughter of Jairus (Luke 8:40-56)–wouldn’t that serve as affirmation of His divine power? Had the chief priests really thought about the futility of trifling with the miracle Man of God?

The chief priests in John’s story remind me of a critical point: unbelief is not due to a lack of evidence; unbelief is due to a lack of conviction. People don’t reject the truth because there are no facts; they reject the truth despite the facts.

Even when there is incontrovertible testimony, some folks simply choose not to believe. If their hearts are hard and their motives are impure, you can expect them to be antagonist towards truth and to engage in sinful, destructive behavior.

On the other hand, if their hearts are soft and their motives are pure, you can expect them to investigate, believe in, and follow the Lord.

  • Was the world created in six literal days?
  • Is there life beyond this transient walk?
  • Is immersion necessary in order to be saved from sin?
  • Is it possible to live in adultery?
  • Is homosexual behavior sinful?

It depends. It depends on whether or not a person wants the truth and is willing to follow it to its inevitable conclusion.  The chief priests weren’t willing to do that.  Dear reader, are you (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:10)?

God loves you and I love you and that’s the way it’s gonna be!”–Mike