God’s Providence

Greetings All,

     This morning at the men’s group I attend (where we were discussing the life of Fanny Crosby from last week’s thought) the conversation strayed into a discussion of the providence of God, or the sovereignty of God over all the affairs of our lives. Even the smallest details. Even the hurtful details. Things we can now (though not at the time we were going through it) thank God for, and even the things we may have wished had been different. God's providence is His divine oversight of the all that happens in this universe.
     In light of that conversation I wanted to send out a “thought” on that topic. A topic which I do not hear spoken of as much as I used to. Yet,  I would ask you to read, consider what is said, and see if what follows fits with what you believe and have been taught. I myself find the topic fascinating and very comforting. I trust you might also. This selection is by Ray Pritchard. Enjoy.

     “Providence is God’s gracious oversight of the universe.  Every one of those words is important. God’s providence is one aspect of his grace. Oversight means that he directs the course of affairs. The word universe tells us that God not only knows the big picture, he also concerns himself with the tiniest details. Here are five statements that unfold the meaning of God’s providence in more detail.

He upholds all things.

He governs all events.

He directs everything to its appointed end.

He does this all the time and in every circumstance.

He does it always for his own glory.

     The doctrine of God’s providence teaches us several important truths:  FIRST, God cares about the tiniest details of life. Nothing escapes His notice for He is concerned about the small as well as the big. In fact, with God there is no big or small. He knows when a sparrow falls and he numbers the hairs on your head (Luke 12:6-7). He keeps track of the stars in the skies and the rivers that flow to the oceans (Job 38-41). He sets the day of your birth, the day of your death, and he ordains everything that comes to pass in between (Psalm 139). SECOND, he uses everything and wastes nothing There are no accidents with God, only incidents. This includes events that seem to us to be senseless tragedies (Romans 8:28). THIRD, God’s ultimate purpose is to shape His children into the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29). He often uses difficult moments and human tragedies to accomplish that purpose.

     Many verses in the Bible teach these truths, including Acts 17:28, Colossians 1:17, Hebrews 1:3, Proverbs 16:9 (“in his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps”), and especially Psalm 115:3 (“Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him”). The doctrine of God’s providence is really a combination of four other attributes:

Sovereignty—He is in control.

Predestination—He is in charge of how everything turns out.

Wisdom—He makes no mistakes.

Goodness—He has our best interests at heart.

     In the words of R. C. Sproul, “God doesn’t roll dice.” Nothing happens by chance. Ever."

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     Here is a story that is said to be behind the incredibly insightful and beautiful words of William Cowper's hymn that follows.  A story that exemplifies God's providence. Reportedly this is the last hymn William Cowper (1731-1800) ever wrote, and here is the story said to be behind it. Cowper often struggled with deep depression and doubt. One night he decided to commit suicide by drowning himself. He called a driver (horse and carriage, obviously) to take him to the Thames River. However, thick fog came down and prevented them from finding the river (another version of the story says the driver got lost deliberately). After driving around lost for a while, the gentleman finally stopped and let Cowper out. To Cowper’s surprise, he found himself on his own doorstep. God had sent the fog to keep him from killing himself. He realized that even in our blackest moments, God watches over us.

     He wrote the following hymn in light of that and other incidents (difficult and pleasant in nature) which evidenced the hand of God guiding the circumstances of his life -- can we say in a "Proverbs 16:9" manner?   “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”

GOD MOVES  IN A MYSTERIOUS WAY

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain."

     Can you trace the hand of God's providence in your life?  Do the circumstances of your life suggest an invisible hand of power and grace was guiding you to a destination you did not intend to go to?  Was your story written by you, or do the details of your life-story suggest another author scripted it?  Just some thoughts to ponder….

     Grateful for a God who cares enough to guide, direct and sometimes over-rule our choices, Pastor Jeff

It Is Well With My Soul

Greetings All,

     My daughter Bekah sent me the link to this devotional by Tori Kelly the other day, because she knows Horatio Spafford's hymn "It Is Well With My Soul" is one of my favorites. I opened it, read it, felt there was much honest transparency and biblical truth in it, and therefore thought I would pass it along to you. I trust it will encourage and speak to you as well.  Enjoy.

SOUL’S ANTHEM (IT IS WELL)

     Suffering is guaranteed in this life. The devil is always throwing fiery darts at us. Right now in this moment he’s trying to attack my family, my health, my relationships, and my peace. He’ll do anything to take my eyes off of Jesus.  He wants to take everything away from me, and most importantly, he wants to take my faith.

     Our faith is not grounded in our circumstances.  Neither can our joy in Christ be.  Recently, my grandfather passed away in the time I felt I needed him most.  I felt like I had lost my best friend. It was so painful to go through and I cried so much -- until my eyes had nothing left.  But through every tear, God was with me in those hard moments. I could still be in a dark and lonely place, and even be mourning, but my joy could not be stolen because it is secured in Jesus.  No matter what happens, no matter what arrows are thrown my way, no matter how dark it gets, I know I will be okay.  It’s not always easy to believe, but I know that when I remind myself that God is in control I find rest and am able to sing, “it is well with my soul.”

     Most importantly, I can always sing “it is well” because God spoiled the movie for us and we get to know how this story ends. “It is well with my soul” because there is a place called heaven where death will be no more, every tear will be wiped away, and any tears shed in this life will be redeemed (he has bottled each one).

     Maybe your suffering is different than losing a grandfather. Maybe it’s worse. Maybe it’s as bad as the writer of “It is Well” who lost his entire family in the days prior to when he penned this hymn.  Even still, God says all of it is not even worthy to be compared to the glory to come to us.  Like an adult reflecting on his experience in kindergarten, so believers in heaven will remember their suffering in this life, saying, “Oh yeah... I think I vaguely remember...”

     Suffering comes to each of us in a different way - broken relationships, physical illness, economic hardships, loss, crime, slander, betrayal, depression, humiliation, you name it. Scripture assures us of this. Jesus assures his disciples of this. "In this world you WILL have trouble (tribulations). But take heart!  I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).  Jesus never promises us a trouble-free life in this world. His promised overcoming of the world means, as Tori Kelly rightly points out, we already know how the story ends!  Jesus is the Victor!  It's already a done deal!  God has won!  The world loses!  And we get to be over-comers with him in the victory he's already won!

     John 16:33 was spoken prior to the cross and resurrection.  Yet it is spoken in the past tense - "I have overcome..."  It is spoken before the cross an resurrection, but with as much confidence and assurance in the promise as if those those things had already taken place!  (If only they had truly "heard" him!)  In fact, in a very real sense the cross had already taken place, as John assures us in Revelation 13:8, where it speaks of Jesus as, "the Lamb slain from the creation of the world."   Jesus' ultimate victory of overcoming the world had already been decreed and determined and worked out in the providence of God before God ever created the world!  And we get to rejoice and participate in many of the benefits of that victory in this life (not all of them just yet), remembering as Paul assures us,  "Our light and momentary trials are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all" (I Corinthians 4:17).

     Resting in the victory of God until the promise becomes our experienced reality in eternity, Pastor Jeff

Testimony of William Grimshaw

Greetings All!

     There comes a time in the life of every believer where they must wrestle with what they truly trust in; where their hope lies, and what the only true object of saving faith is. This week's "thought" is a true account of the one man's journey along that road -- a road that led from misplaced faith and depression, to true faith and joy!
     It is not unusual (at least at the beginning of our life of faith) to have a faith that when tested is found lacking or misplaced. Hopefully this testimony about William Grimshaw's journey from trusting in the wrong thing, to being led by a miraculous event to trust in the only true saving object of faith will be of help to all -- either as a guide that takes you to where you need to be, or a reminder not to stray from there. It comes from "The One Year Book of Christian History" by Michael and Sharon Rusten.  Enjoy.

     "William Grimshaw was born in Lancashire, England, in 1708. He went to Christ's College, Cambridge, intending to enter the ministry. During his third year he fell in with the wrong crowd, becoming, in his own words, "as vile as the worst."  Still, he chose to enter the ministry, finding no incongruity between his sinful lifestyle and his chosen profession.  Ordained in the Church of England in 1732, Grimshaw was assigned a church in West Yorkshire. He married a young widow, but within four years she tragically died, leaving him with two small children.

     Already a troubled soul, Grimshaw was plunged into a deep depression. He sent his children away to be raised by relatives. All he could think about was his own mortality and the necessity of making arrangements for his own funeral... In his written instructions for his funeral he specified: "To attend my funeral I desire that 20 persons be invited (of my next relations and intimatest acquaintances) and be entertained in the following manner: Let 5 quarts of claret (a red wine from Bordeaux) ... be put in a punch bowl and be drunk in wine glasses until it is all gone."

     At this time an itinerant preacher began rebuking Grimshaw for his legalistic view of salvation [a view whereby he encouraged people to trust in their own efforts, works, or aspects of their own performance for their acceptance with God]. He said to Grimshaw, "You are no believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. You are building on the sand."   Grimshaw tried to avoid the man, but the words "you are building on sand" kept haunting him.  In 1741, while visiting a friend, Grimshaw saw a book on the table and picked it up.  As he opened it, and discovered it was by John Owen, a Puritan theologian, a flash of heat flushed his face. Puzzled, he looked at the fireplace, wondering if the fire had caused his sudden flush of heat.  Opening the book again, he read the title: "The Doctrine of Justification by Faith."  Suddenly a second flash of heat swept over him. Astonished that it happened again, Grimshaw took it as a divine imperative that he was to read the book.

     Taking the book back home, Grimshaw noted in the preface that Owen had written the book for people suffering from the same anguish and distress of soul he was experiencing.  The book confronted the reader with the question of whether he would 'trust in his own personal inherent righteousness (his own efforts and religious or moral performances) or, in full renunciation of it, take to himself the grace of God and the righteousness of Christ alone.' To Grimshaw the choice was clear.  As he would later confide to a friend,  "I was wiling to renounce myself, every degree of fancied merit and ability, and to embrace CHRIST ONLY for my all in all.  O what light and comfort did I now enjoy in my own soul, and what a taste of the pardoning love of God!"

     His ministry immediately changed, and he found peace and joy in his heart as well as his soul. He fell in love with a local girl, married her, and brought his children back home...  He applied for a new parish and moved his family to nearby Haworth, where he ministered powerfully and effectively until his death in 1763 at the age of 55. Under his spiritual leadership the little-known village of Yorkshire became one of the leading centers of the Christian faith in all of England. His funeral was quite different from the one he had planned years before. Vast crowds of loving parishioners followed his coffin to its final resting place. The pastor who spoke summarized the faith of Grimshaw by saying, "Upon Christ's atoning blood and justifying righteousness alone, did EVERY HOPE of his soul's acceptance with God depend" 

     Upon what does your hope rest?  What is the object of your faith? What does your hope or trust for pardon and salvation rest upon?  Is it your efforts at trying to be a "good" person?  Is it a list of accomplishments or a resume of cataloged good works?  Is it a mix of faith in Jesus plus your attempts to be righteous? Here it helps to remember that when it comes to saving faith, Jesus plus anything nullifies Jesus. If you are trusting in anything of your own, you are trusting in you, and thus not fully (or for that matter, not at all) in Jesus.  The Gospel's message is clear: We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.  Add anything into the mix and you disbelieve the Gospel, negate Jesus, will struggle incessantly with emotional highs and lows, find the need to pretend, have a fear of being open, honest and transparent about your sins, wrestle with a sense of of frustration with God and self, fall into occasional depressions, and a lack of assurance of God's forgiveness and complete acceptance.

     Only when one's hope for acceptance with God is in CHRIST ONLY -- only when both eyes are glued on Jesus, instead of one on Jesus and the other on the sin-stained performances of the self -- are they liberated from all those afflicting things to experience peace, joy and release from the weight of burdens too heavy to carry.  John Owen was right in asking: "will you trust in your own personal inherent righteousness [which is always stained by sin and thus unrighteous or unacceptable righteousness], or in full renunciation of it, take to yourself the grace of God and righteousness of CHRIST ALONE."

     Blessed is the person who stops hoping and trusting in their own efforts, and looks instead to Christ alone for their pardon and acceptance with God.  As one who fell into this Grimshaw's mistake, I can tell you from personal experience what a blessed liberation comes as we get our eyes off us, and simply, "fix our eyes (of faith) on Jesus..." (Heb. 12:2).  And please notice it says "eyes" -- that is, both of them!  Not one eye of faith fixed on what you do, and the other one looking to what Jesus did, but BOTH OF THEM fixed on Jesus. For He is the only true object of saving faith, and faith in HIM ALONE is the only means of salvation or remedy for the countless malady's of the soul.

Living in the Grace of Jesus, Pastor Jeff

When I Don't Desire God

Greetings!

For over a year I've been engaging numerous young people in conversations about God, church, and simply life in general.  In the process one major theme has repeatedly come up: Many young people are struggling to experience joy in God.  As a result some gave given up on God.  Many say their friends are depressed and struggle to find meaning and motivation in life.  I know there are various reasons for this, but I send out this week's "thought" because it offers at least one possible remedy for the problem.  It's found in John Piper's book, "When I Don't Desire God," the sequel to his best-selling book "Desiring God - The Confessions of a Christian Hedonist."  Both books are well-worth reading if you have not yet done so.  Enjoy.

     "One of the greatest witnesses I know of to the power of regular disciplined reading of the Bible for the sake of love-producing joy is George Mueller (1805-1898), who is famous for founding orphanages in Bristol, England, and for depending on God for meeting all his needs.  He asked the very question this book is asking: "In what way shall we attain to this settled happiness of soul? How shall we learn to enjoy God? How shall we obtain such an all-sufficient soul-satisfying portion in him as shall enable us to let go of the things of this world as vain and worthless in comparison? I answer: This happiness is to be obtained through the study of the Holy Scriptures. God has therein revealed Himself unto us in the face of Jesus Christ."  

     That's what we have seen so far in this book: Happiness in God comes from seeing God revealed to us in the face of Jesus Christ through the Scriptures.  Mueller says, "In them...we become acquainted with the character of God. Our eyes are divinely opened to see what a lovely Being God is!  And this good, gracious, loving, heavenly Father is ours -- our portion for time and for eternity."  Knowing God is the key to being happy in God.  "The more we know God," says Mueller, "the happier we are... When we became a little acquainted with God... our true happiness... commenced; and the more we become acquainted with him, the more happy we become.  What will make us exceedingly happy in heaven?  It will be the fuller knowledge of God."  Therefore the most crucial means of fighting for joy in God is to immerse oneself in the Scriptures where we see God in Christ most clearly.

     When Mueller was seventy-one years old, he spoke to younger believers: "Now...I would give a few hints to my younger fellow-believers as to the way in which to keep up spiritual enjoyment. It is absolutely needful... we should read regularly through the Scriptures, consecutively, and not just pick out here and there a chapter.  If we do, we remain spiritual dwarfs. I tell you so affectionately. For the first four years after my conversion I made no progress, because I neglected the Bible. But when I regularly read on through the whole Bible with reference to my own heart and soul, I directly made progress. The my peace and joy continued more and more. Now I have been doing this for 47 years. I have read through the Bible about 100 times and I always find it fresh when I begin again. Thus my peace and joy have increased more and more.

     He would live and read his Bible for another twenty-one years. But he never changed his strategy for satisfaction in God. When he was seventy-six, he wrote the same thing he had learned for over fifty years: "I saw more clearly than ever, that the first and primary business to attend to every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord."  And the means stayed the same: "I saw that the most important hing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the word of God, and to meditation upon it... What is the food of the inner man?  Not prayer, but the word of God; and... not the simple reading of the Word of God, so that it only passes through our minds like water runs through a pipe, but considering what we read, pondering over it, and applying it to our hearts.""

     In a society that tries to get us to question the uniqueness, validity, authority and divine origin of the Scriptures as being "God-breathed" revelation (II Timothy 3:16-17), it is not unusual to see people laying aside the priority of Bible reading, Scriptural meditation and Bible memorization.  Yet they do it to their own peril and the impoverishment of their own soul. They rob themselves of the possibility of the peace and joy that come from knowing God.  For as both Mueller and Piper note: "This happiness is to be obtained through the study of the Holy Scriptures...." "Happiness in God comes from seeing God revealed to us in the face of Jesus Christ through the Scriptures...."  "Knowing God is the key to being happy in God."  "The more we know God the happier we are."

     Did not Jesus essentially tell us the same thing regarding the soul-feeding and soul-satisfying function of God's Word in the Scriptures?  Is He not looking out for our greatest good -- our spiritual happiness, contentment and satisfaction in God -- when He says:  "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."  And as we know, by the word "live" he is not simply speaking of physical life as opposed to death, He's speaking of being alive inwardly, or thriving spiritually, of finding our soul-sustaining nourishment in the Scriptures.

     With prayers that you may seek to feast more earnestly and consistently upon the Word that was given to sustain your happiness in God, Pastor Jeff

Addiction and Grace

Greetings All!

Sitting in my office, my eyes scanned the book shelves and fell upon one particular book: "Addiction and Grace" by Gerald G. May, M.D.  It's an intriguing title, because those two words describe the universal struggle and only remedy for humanity.  Don't let the length deter you!  Some spiritual journeys can't be condensed to a paragraph or two!   It's a worthwhile read for anyone, but especially for those trying to help and love people trapped by addictions -- which as he points out, includes all of us to varying degrees.  The "Introduction" is from years of study, experience and reflection.  It is followed by his own "Personal Testimony."  I found what he says very helpful.  Enjoy.

Introduction:
     "After many years of listening to the yearnings of people's hearts, I am convinced that all human beings have an inborn desire for God. Whether we are consciously religious or not, this desire is our deepest longing and our most precious treasure. It gives us meaning. Some of us have repressed this desire, burying it beneath so many other interests that we are completely unaware of it.  Or we may experience it in different ways -- as a longing for wholeness, completion, or fulfillment. Regardless of how we describe it, it is a hunger to love, to be loved, and to move closer to the Source of love...  Modern theology describes this desire as God-given. In an outpouring of love, God creates us and plants the seeds of this desire within us. Then, throughout our lives, God nourishes this desire...

     But something gets in the way...  We become addicted to other things....  A self-defeating force that abuses our freedom makes us do things we really do not want to do (Romans 7:15)... Moreover, our addictions are our own worst enemies. They enslave us with chains that are of our own making and yet paradoxically, are virtually beyond our control.  Addiction attaches to desire and enslaves the energy of desire to certain specific behaviors, things or people. These objects of attachment then become preoccupations and obsessions They come to rule our lives. The word "attachment"... comes from the old French "atache" meaning, "nailed to."  Attachment "nails" our desires to specific objects or things -- alcohol, narcotics, ideas, work, relationships, power, fantasies, money, moods, and an endless variety of other things...  Addiction makes idolaters of all of us, because it forces us to worship objects of attachment, thereby preventing us from truly loving God and one another... It is the absolute enemy of human freedom and the antipathy of love.  Yet, in still another paradox, our addictions can lead us to a deep appreciation of grace. They can bring us to our knees....

Personal Testimony:

     It was in working with some of the most tragically addicted people -- those enslaved to narcotics and alcohol -- that I began wondering about addiction and grace. It was there also that I began to recognize my own addictedness. Most importantly, it was in the course of that work that I reclaimed my own spiritual hunger, a desire for God, and for love that many years had tried to repress.

     As nearly as I can recall, the repression of my spiritual desire began shortly after my father died. I was nine at the time.  Prior to that, I had had a comfortable relationship with God. As with all children, the earliest years of my life were "simply religious." In the innocent wonder and awe of early childhood awareness, everything just is "spiritual."  My religious education had given me a name for God, but I hardly needed it. I prayed easily; God was a friend.  In a reaction typical for a nine year old, I expected God to somehow keep me in touch with my father after his death. I prayed for this, but of course it did not happen. As a result, something hurt and angry in me, something deeper than my consciousness, chose to dispense with God. I would take care of myself. I would go it alone. My wanting -- my love -- had caused me to be hurt, and something in me decided not to want so much. I repressed my longing. Just as my father faded from my awareness, so did God, and so did my desire for God.

     During college, I fell in love with literature and philosophy. In retrospect, I think this was my desire for God resurfacing again as a search for beauty and truth. I even tried to go to church on occasion, but I wasn't consciously looking for God. By then I was searching for something that I could use to develop a sense of mastery over my life, something that would help me go it alone. In medical school and psychiatric training, I tried to make a god out of science. Science seemed learn-able, master-able, and controllable.  Throughout, I resisted prayer and rebelled at religiosity in others. Such things seemed immature; they were signs of weakness. I wanted to be autonomous, although I wasn't completely sure what that word meant. 

     I was in the Air Force during the Vietnam War.  Much in the Vietnam experience I had to repress. But much of it I could not repress. In a way, the tragedy of Vietnam woke me up a little.  Afterward, I took a position as director of a community drug abuse clinic.  With all the energy that might be expected of a young doctor, I applied my best psychiatric methods to the treatment of addictions. None of them worked. I was able to help people with their emotional and social problems, but but they remained addicted to chemicals. Since so much of my desire for meaning and wholeness had become attached to professional success, and I was not being successful, I started to become depressed. A colleague called it, "a normal professional depression."  He went on to say, "All decent psychiatrists experience such depressions when they can't cure the people they treat.  If you didn't feel depressed, it would mean you didn't care enough."  It was some consolation. But not much.

     Then one day in the middle of this depression I was casually introduced to a faith healer at a conference in a nearby town.  I did not believe in faith healers, but as we shook hands she paused, holding my hand, and told me she thought I was meant to be a healer too, but, "I wouldn't take my dog to you, because you think you are the one that has to do the healing."  These are not words one might expect to be helpful for a depressed person.  But they struck me deep and well.  In my search for self-determination, I had also been trying to command the very process of healing. It was obvious that some change in attitude was called for. I still wasn't certain, however, what form that change should take.

     At about that same time, I embarked on a little informal research. I identified a few people who seemed to have overcome serious addictions to alcohol and drugs , and I asked them what had helped them turn their lives around so dramatically. All of them described some sort of spiritual experience. They kindly acknowledged their appreciation for the professional help they had received, but they also made it clear that this help had not been the source of their healing.  What had healed them was something spiritual. They didn't all use religious terms, but there was no doubt in my mind that what they spoke of was spiritual.

     Something about what they said reminded me of home. It had something to do with turning to God.  As a result I relaxed a little. I honestly considered there might be some power greater than myself involved in healing, and that I might be better off cooperating with that power instead of trying to usurp it.  I also set about trying to understand more of what constituted "spiritual experience" and why it had been so helpful to these addicted people... I described these spiritual experiences to some clergy friends. Most of them didn't seem to understand what I was talking about. The least helpful friends tried to give me Freudian explanations.  "Why, it's simply a narcissistic regression of the ego to a state of infantile dissociation in order to avoid reality issues that have stimulated unacceptable libidinous impulses."  They said such things as if I should have known them already. But the problem was I did know them already, and knowing them didn't help... 

     I studied Eastern religions, psychic phenomena, psychedelic drugs, biofeedback, all the great stew of psychological pop and pap that was percolating across the nation at the time. I read Alan Watts and Baba Ram Dass. I mediated every day. From a comfortable distance I watched the charismatic renewal in Christian churches, and from an equal distance, I sensed something powerful I couldn't understand in Alcoholics Anonymous. One evening about six months after my quest began, I was diligently practicing a form of Yoga meditation that encouraged the free coming and going of all thoughts. It is a method that might be described as the opposite of repression. In the freedom I gave to my mind, one of the thoughts that came was prayer. It was, in the beginning, the prayer of a nine year old, embarrassingly immature. "Dear Jesus, help me." I would have stifled it immediately had   it not been dutifully allowing all my thoughts to come and go. It was a sad and painful thing just to let that prayer happen, but it did. 

     As months and years passed, the prayer grew, and with it, my awareness of my desire for God.  I realized my exploration was less a professional research project and more a personal spiritual journey. I was not in control of my life. I needed as much of God's grace as any of my patients did.  With that growing realization, my spiritual desire seemed to pick up where it had left off some 20 years earlier.  Now it was out in the light again, and I gradually became able to reclaim it as my true hearts desire and the most precious thing in my life." 

     When I read testimonies, I seek to compare my own journey to the paths others followed.  There were places where my path crisscrossed that of Gerald May.  That may be true for others who were children of the 60's, 70's and early 80's.  The tendency to look to other "saviors" before we return to the One who truly is, is not uncommon.  How right he is when he says, "Addiction attaches to desire and enslaves the energy of desire to certain specific behaviors, things, or people. These objects of attachment then become preoccupations and obsessions. They come to rule our lives."   And once they do, only God's all powerful and relentless grace can liberate us from those addictions and restore us to sanity and the freedom to follow Him. To root out those idols which are, "the absolute enemy of human freedom and the antipathy of love."      

Living in the Grace of Jesus, Pastor Jeff

Ecclesiastes, The Search For Meaning

Greetings All,

     I trust this email finds you well!  Today I thought I would share some thoughts on one of my favorite books in the Bible -- the Book of Ecclesiastes.  These "thoughts" come from a Brit (I'm assuming from the name he's originally from Wales).  His name is Selwyn Hughes, and they come from a Bible Study booklet in the series, "Every Day With Jesus."  The title of this particular volume is: Ecclesiastes, The Search For Meaning."

     Solomon begins this book with a rather shocking statement: "Meaningless, meaningless," says the Teacher... Everything is meaningless!"  Yet we must remember it's a statement qualified by the other frequently-repeated phrase in the book, "under the sun," which essentially means, "focused only on the things of earth."   "Under the sun" essentially means, "life lived without consideration of God," or "life viewed apart from the acknowledgement God," or "life lived apart from a relationship with God."   So, with that clarification, I hope you find these thoughts challenging, relevant and useful. Enjoy.

     "The main message of the book comes through it's opening statement: "Everything is meaningless."  Seeing the utter futility of life is the first step to an encounter with God. Many are not ready to meet with the Lord until they have been silenced by the futility of this world in which they live. I heard someone say that the first book of the Bible everyone should read is the book of Ecclesiastes -- because it silences you.  When we see as clearly as Solomon saw that the world does not provide us with the life for which our souls were created, then we are more likely to turn to the true source of happiness -- the eternal God Himself.  One of the reasons why some of us do not know God well is because we have never been convinced of the utter futility of trying to find life in things. We have not been silenced. We must let Ecclesiastes silence us, and and in that silence we may experience a deeper awareness of God...

     One of the reasons why Solomon uses such forceful language...is to break through our defensive attempts to avoid reality.  It was T. S. Elliot who once said: "Humankind cannot bear too much reality." Psychologists warn that we should be careful about stripping away people's defenses, as coming face to face with reality too quickly can cause those who are fragile to slide into depression. The author of Ecclesiastes seems unconcerned about this, however, and tells us over and over again, and with deep conviction that life, "under the sun" is futile... 

     He tells us how his determination to find purpose for living led him to deep and serious study. But study, and trying to grasp the meaning of the universe by the intellect alone, proved also to be futile. He says that it is like "chasing after the wind" (chap. 1:17).... Yet if education, intellectualism, and philosophy are not the routes to making life work, then what is? Perhaps (say some) life can be found in pleasure. Not so, says Solomon [and who would know better than a man who had 700 wives and 300 live in prostitutes?!]. Pleasure pleases, but it is powerless to quench the ache that exists in the soul.

     Solomon provides us with a list of ways that pleasure can be gained, but he gives all of them the "thumbs down."  The first pleasure is laughter (2:2).  Send in the clowns.  Bring on the jokers. Let's hear the funny one-liners. But as almost everyone knows, those who bring laughter to thousands are themselves often desperately unhappy.  Billy Graham tells the story of a man who went to a doctor for help with his depression. "I'll give you something better than anti-depressants," said the doctor. "Go to see the clown at the local circus. He has just arrived in the town and is sending people into hysterics." The man looked at the doctor and dolefully said, "I am that clown."

     If laughter cannot satisfy, then perhaps drink will help.  "I tried cheering myself with wine," Solomon says (2:3). But clearly that did not satisfy either. He then threw himself in a great round of activity -- great projects and achievements like building a house for himself, planting vineyards, purchasing male and female slaves, buying up herds and flocks, amassing silver and gold, and finally equipping himself with a harem -- what he describes as, "the delights of the heart of a man" (Chap. 2, v 4-8).  He even tried fame and making a name for himself (v.9). But did these things work? Here's his conclusion: "everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind..."  He is not saying these things did not bring pleasure. He is making the point that this kind of pleasure just does not last...

     Facing the realities of life can greatly provoke anxiety. The moment when we face the fact that there is nothing in this world -- no person, place or thing -- that can meet the deepest ache in our soul, is probably one of the most solemn moments of our existence. Many can't face that kind of reality so they escape into such things as fantasies, endless rounds of activity, drink, sensual pleasures, and so on...  Satisfaction in things is found only when they are seen as being behind God and not in front of Him. When God is not first, then everything around which we wrap our affections are unsatisfying idols. There are two paths we can choose: One is to find life in God and enjoy the provision of His hands; the other is to find life in things, and turn our back on God. The latter is "meaningless," says Solomon. It's like "chasing after the wind.'"

     I myself went through a period, in my late teens and early 20's, of trying to make sense of the world if God did not exist.  It was one of the primary things that drove me into a lengthy period of depression.  Thinking God did not exist made it much easier to sin, but it also made life (and all I did) meaningless and inconsequential. If there are no eternal consequences for anything we do, life becomes completely meaningless and somewhat intolerable. It even led me to entertain thoughts of suicide.

     I still say to this day that the only way one can be an atheist and think life has meaning is to lie to oneself.  To make up what a world without God can never supply.  To be "content" in a life lived apart from God ("under the sun") does not come from asking important questions and getting satisfying answers, it comes from refusing to ask enough questions.  It comes from being content not to connect the dots, or follow the path godless thinking to the depressing dead end where it will always lead when life is considered without reference to God.

     I do not encourage anyone to stop asking questions. I encourage them to ask one after another after another and not stop!  Because I believe (as Solomon shows and many others have discovered) that at the end of those all those questions -- if they dare ask them all -- one will run headlong into the eternal Absolute that stands behind all that exists. The road of truly seeking does not lead to nothing, it leads through the nothingness of human futility to the ultimate reality we call God. But we must press things to the limit, because it's a lesson many can only learn after trying all those other things and discovering they end in futility and will not satisfy the truly thirsty soul.

Grace and Peace, Pastor Jeff