It seems many people are certain about things that aren’t clear to me.  I am not saying that there are things I am not certain about.  I’m certain about God and that I share life with Him.  I am certain about prayer.  I know He hears when we call on His name.  I am certain about Jesus.  I am certain about the Bible.  I know it is truth and that every word of it is God breathed. 

Being certain of these things does not mean that I am certain of all things.  It seems God has allowed us to live with mystery.  I know God because of Jesus.  I would imagine that to God followers of the first century that the very coming of Jesus brought even more mystery to God.  The mystery of the trinity boggles our minds.  I believe it but do I fully understand it?

The trinity is not the only truth that brings mystery.  I know that Jesus has promised to return and gather the saints for the close of this age and the beginning of the next.  There is an awful lot I don’t know about how that will happen.  Some have that part of the future down pat.  Some of those who have it down pat differ from each other.  Someone is wrong.

Another mystery to me is the conflict between God’s predestined will and the clearly Biblical teaching that man has a choice.  I believe that both are true but I don’t know exactly how it works.  Some call these teachings Calvinism and Armenianism.   I personally do not think a Biblical teaching should be named after a man.  The term Biblical carries more weight than any human name.  I think that giving a teaching a name is an attempt to take away the mystery.  When someone asks me if I am Calvinist or Armenian I tell them I believe the Bible.  I know what they mean but why should I have to be either one?  Where the Bible is certain we should be certain.  Where the Bible leaves questions we should leave questions.  There is much of the Bible that is clear.  There is more certainty in the Bible than I could ever live and practice.  As for now I choose to leave the mystery, a mystery.

So what am I certain about?  I am certain that Jesus died for all people.  I am certain that whoever calls on His name shall be saved.  I am certain that God is sovereign.  I am certain that there is nothing beyond His power.  I am certain that God’s love extends to all His creation.

With all this certainty there is still much mystery.

Paul wrote Philipians toward the end of his life.  This great saint in the last years of his life wrote, "That I might know Him."  He was still learning about our Lord.  If Paul could still be learning to know Him, what about us?

Birthdays were never a big deal in our family.  Mom would usually bake a cake or a pie.  Supper might be that person’s favorite meal.  We didn’t have a lot of birthday parties or buy extravagant gifts.  In recent years we always sent cards.

October 2^nd, would have been dad’s 86^th birthday.  He almost made it.  He passed away Labor Day weekend, September 4^th.  This past October 2^nd was a day of grieving for our family.  Dad was on our minds all day.  My brother picked up mom for breakfast.  My sister took mom to dinner.  All five of the Lillard children called to see how mom was doing.  It made us sad knowing he wasn’t around to celebrate.  It made us sad knowing how sad mom was.

I wish I had made last year’s October 2^nd a little more special.  I can’t remember if we were together on his birthday a year ago.  If we were, Dad would have made witty remarks.  He would have used his sarcastic humor to make us laugh or embarrass us.  He would have taken grand children on his lap and given them candy even if it was right before lunch.  Mom would have gotten on to dad for spoiling the children.   Dad would have bragged on mom’s cooking.  Last October 2^nd I would have shared with him the latest crisis I had encountered and he would have put it all in perspective for me.  This is the way it was whenever we were together.   There won’t be times like that anymore.  Dad is gone and we will miss him, but we will not forget him.

There will be lots of dates that will be special to us from now on, September 4^th, the day dad died, 9/9/09, the day we laid him to rest, and October the 2^nd, the day dad would have celebrated a birthday.   Every Christmas will bring a memory.  Dad believed strongly in having Christmas on Christmas.  If someone couldn’t be there that was too bad, but it had to happen on December 25^th or it wasn’t Christmas.  Lots of things will spur a memory.  What does the passing of a loved one teach us? 

 Psalms 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days that we may present to you a heart of wisdom.”  One aspect of that wisdom is to celebrate now so there will not be regret later.  Today’s experiences are tomorrow’s memories.  Hang on to them.

 

It happens.  Those who believe in the Fatherhood of God, the saving power of Jesus, the authority of the Bible, still have differences.  Most of the time, these differences are not critical to fellowship and mission.  Disagreement does not necessarily end in division.  Every Sunday as believers study God’s Word, people have different opinions as to how the scriptures should be applied.  What happens to turn disagreement into dissention?

 

We have several New Testament examples.  Paul and Barnabas disagreed over the inclusion of Mark on a missionary journey.  It is recorded in Acts 15:36-41.  In this instance it was Barnabas’s commitment to a young Mark and the opinion of Paul that the mission was too important to risk interruption by an immature missionary.  Neither were willing to give ground on their opinion and it led to their going their separate ways.  They were later reconciled and Paul came to see Mark as a valuable companion.

(2 Timothy4:11)

 

It seems God used this incident to send Paul and Barnabas in separate directions and to give Mark valuable training under the encouraging eye of Barnabas.  Here is an example of disagreement that lead to dissention because of strong opinions that had nothing to do with doctrine.

 

In Galatians 2, Paul confronts Peter with inconsistent actions and wrong teaching.  Verse 11 says that when Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong.  Why such a confrontation?  The direction of the church was in the balance.  If Christians had to become Jews first the gospel would be changed.  Paul drew a line in the sand and everyone had to choose where they stood.  It was clearly a disagreement that ended in dissention.  By the way Peter realized his mistake and changed his actions and his teaching.  (2 Peter 3:15-16)

 

What do we learn from these dissentions in scripture?

1. God can use it.  God used both of these incidents to further the kingdom.  I would imagine that these times produced anxiety and maybe even a few sleepless nights.  It wasn’t a pleasant thing to disagree so strongly.  The end result of each of these accounts is that more people heard the gospel in clear and unadulterated ways.
2. Disagreement is better when it is done without anger.  Many people burn bridges when they disagree.  Just think of our loss if Paul, Barnabas, Mark, and Peter would have attacked each other viciously and destroyed all hope of future friendship?  The application is clear.  Stay calm.  Don’t loose your cool.  You can disagree in an agreeable way.  If the disagreement leads to division, we still need to respect the personhood of those we disagree with.  When lines are drawn in the sand we need to take our stand with humility, grace, and respect.
3. Stay true to the truth God has revealed to you.  Paul did not back down from the prestigious leader of the church.  Peter would have been a very intimidating opponent.  Paul realized he was on the side of truth and it was a very important point.  He stayed his ground.  We should do the same unless God shows us a different way.

 

When disagreements happen, don’t let them rob you of your focus on the purposes of God.  We can get caught up in personalities.  We can loose our peace and get discouraged because we have a false idea that Christians should always agree.  The scriptures tell us otherwise.  When it happens look for God’s purpose.  Stay faithful.

This passage fascinates me.  The disciples and Jesus are in a boat crossing a lake.  As they are crossing the lake, Jesus goes to sleep.  In the mean time a storm comes.  It is a fierce storm.  The boat was filling with water and the disciples panic in fear.  Jesus is still asleep.  He was very tired from the ministering almost 24 seven.  The disciples wake Jesus from His nap.  They cry out, “Master, Master, we are drowning.”  Jesus wakes up and says, “Wind and waves be still.”  Immediately it was calm.  Then He asks them, “Where is your faith?”

How can you sleep during a storm?  Jesus did not fear the storm.  Why?  The reason is obvious, he was in control.  He could speak to the storm and it would obey.  The storm lasted only as long as He allowed it to.  What does it mean when we acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior?  He is the Lord of every situation.  He is boss. 

 

My prayer is, Lord help me sleep though the storms.

 Eccl 10:20

20 Do not revile the king even in your thoughts,

or curse the rich in your bedroom,

because a bird of the air may carry your words,

and a bird on the wing may report what you say.

NIV

 

This bit of advice is telling us to watch what we say regardless of where we are.  Good advice.  Birds seem to represent the silent witness that no one regards.  They are unassuming and harmless.  They can be trusted because they have no power, no voice.

So why do I want to be around them?  I am a birder.  Every month I look forward to receiving my copy of Birds and Blooms.  Spending time on my back porch watching birds is one of my favorite past times.  It is a very slow pace hobby.  It is right up there with watching grass grow as far as exercise is concerned.  What does it do for me?  Why do I watch the birds?

 

There is of course the obvious beauty to enjoy.  However, there is more than just brilliant color and melodious sound.   Student ministry can be a very fast paced life.  It is full of sound and problems.  My job has gotten more technical as time goes on.  I’m not complaining mind you.  I wouldn’t trade my life for anyone else’s.  However, watching birds is a great escape. We live in a complex world and there is something very relaxing about the simplicity of watching birds.  We live in a loud world.  Traffic, TV, radio, cell phones… It is impossible to escape the noise of my world.  The sounds of birds singing bring a natural calm to my soul.

 

In Matthew 6:26, Jesus tells us that God takes care of birds, so surely He will take care of us.  When a bird falls God knows about it (Matthew 10:29).  It seems birds are used to let us know that God cares and provides for us.  Why did God use birds as the example?  There beauty and their innocence have caught the attention of people since creation.  God has adorned birds in colorful attire to captivate us.  They please our eyes.  They are like flying flowers which catch our attention and calm our hearts.  I believe that when a person is born again they become more alive to everything God has made.  There is more significance in a sunrise, a tree, wind blowing the grass.  We see the world through the eyes of our Father.  He put all this together.  Watching birds becomes a tribute to the artist, God.

 

I was thinking about it so I thought I would share it with you.