Everlasting Place - Eternal eyes: a blog about forever

Read the instructions!

2/18/2020

Some years ago, a young man I know bought himself a new mulching lawn mower from a local Toro dealer. He loaded it in his truck and headed for home, almost beside himself with excitement; the sales rep had promised that its mulching feature would transform his lawn in very short order. “Just put some gas in and fire it up,” the salesman said. “You won’t believe the results!”

Unfortunately, the young man followed the salesman's instructions to the letter, not pausing to check the operator manual. Which means he missed the part about putting in both gas and motor oil before operating his new machine. As a result, the engine soon seized up and died. And not surprisingly, the dealership refused to replace the mower, insisting quite rightly that the young man should have read the manual.

It was a costly mistake. But what’s really sad is that the young man apparently did not learn his lesson about the importance of reading the directions; he recently told a mutual friend that he was definitely heaven-bound, because he’d been following his priest’s instructions almost perfectly.

It seems that this young man didn’t feel the need to consult our Manufacturer’s instructions personally. Once again, he’d chosen to rely on the word of a middleman.

Sadly, he’s far from alone. According to Christian researcher Barna, only 24% of American adults consult their Bibles frequently. And even among the well-churched, many let a minister, pastor or priest tell them what God has said instead of doing their own research. As a result, far too many are missing the most important part of all – the part about how to become irrevocably heaven-bound.

I talk to such trusting souls all the time, especially among the elderly who’ve spent their entire lives following man-made instructions as faithfully as humanly possible.

“I sure hope so,” they say when asked if they’re sure they’re going to heaven. The reason? Almost invariably, it’s some variation on “I’ve tried to live a good life.” Often, they proceed to list all the things they’ve done, from going to church and performing the requisite sacraments to saying their prayers and doing lots of good deeds.

Alas, these people remain ignorant of what’s arguably the Bible’s most important message: Eternal life is not a reward for a life well-lived. It is God’s free gift to all who repent and trust in Jesus Christ to have paid the penalty for their sins.

In the end, the cost of ignoring the directions will depend on what’s at stake. Blowing up a lawn mower will set you back hundreds of dollars. But that’s nothing compared to the everlasting tragedy of ignoring the word of God.

Bottom line? Begin studying the Bible now, before it's too late – and encourage your friends and loved ones to join you!

Designer gods

2/11/2020

We’ve all heard of designer dogs – pups produced via deliberately selecting and mating distinct breeds in an attempt to produce a cross offering the best of the parents’ qualities. It probably started with the cockapoos introduced 40-plus years ago; today we see a bewildering array of options, from adorable Labrador/poodles to clever dachshund/cavalier spaniels to rare afghan/collie crosses.

Unfortunately, this same idea is being applied with abandon to theology these days. Not satisfied with the one true Creator God who revealed Himself in the Bible, many lost souls have invented their own New! Improved! hybrid gods in a vain attempt to improve on the real thing.

There’s nothing new about this; “spiritual” people have been doing it for millennia. Nor is there anything new about the nature of these designer gods. They all just happen to agree with whatever his or her inventor believes and wants to do.

You’ve probably heard some version of this explanation more than once: “The God of the Bible is nothing but an ancient myth, and a vengeful one at that. Whereas my god understands why humans may have a need for _____________.”

Fill in the blank with the speaker’s sin of choice – committing adultery, for instance. Stealing from the fat cats. Lying to protect themselves or flatter others. Drinking themselves into oblivion every night. Even becoming obsessed with something like gardening, home decorating or entertainment -- activities that might otherwise have been nice little hobbies.

This is how people make up designer gods that bear an astounding resemblance to ancient deities like these:

Egypt’s Isis, who would have endorsed the all-out nature worship practiced by modern pagans
The Baal of the Carthaginians, who sacrificed their children to him in an ancient prelude to 21st century abortion
Rome’s Bacchus, who promoted the sort of religious ecstasy and libertinism we see in certain circles today
Taoism’s Caishen, the prosperity god who promised wealth and good fortune to all who would worship him

And that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. With designer gods, the possibilities are virtually endless.

The common denominator? Perhaps most notably, designer gods approve whole-heartedly of whatever pursuits their inventors favor – usually something explicitly condemned by the God of the Bible.

What’s more, proponents of designer gods often believe that their personal righteousness is just the ticket to eternal joy. “Of course I’m not perfect,” they might say. “Who is? But my god will welcome me into the afterlife with open arms, knowing that I’m much better than most people. After all, I’m good with tradespeople, I’m very tolerant of alternate lifestyles, I donate a lot to charity every year, and I even do some very important volunteer work.”

Sadly, those who embrace this line of thinking are taking risks of eternal proportions. In ignoring the Bible, they are rejecting the only source of divine authority that is demonstrably true. And that means they are ignoring what the true God has said is prerequisite to a heavenly eternity: repentance and trusting in Jesus Christ alone to have atoned for their sin on the cross.

If you know someone who worships a designer god, I hope you’ll make an attempt to lead him or her to the truth. Your efforts may not be appreciated, at least not now. But some may end up being eternally grateful that you cared enough to introduce them to the One who is the way, the truth and the life.

Lessons from a jigsaw puzzle

2/4/2020

“How ‘bout starting that puzzle?” I asked Dave one Saturday morning in January of 2006, as I got ready to run some errands. “At least get started on the frame?”

“Mmmmph,” said my aging and aching husband, who had just crammed the upper half of his body into the cabinet under the bathroom sink in yet another heroic battle against an apparently permanent clog. It would have been a painful task even for a young fellow, and I admired his persistence.

As it turned out, we didn’t start the puzzle that morning. But as I drove down the gray streets toward the stores that at least add some color to our bleak winter landscape, the image of that jigsaw frame kept dancing around in my mind.

At first, I thought it was just wishful thinking, because for some reason it’s the part of puzzle-making I like the least; perhaps I was hoping I’d come home to find that Dave had already completed it.

But later, as Dave and I sat and watched an AFC divisional playoff game between the Broncos and the Patriots (a game of little interest to us, since the Packers had weeks earlier been eliminated from playoff contention), I picked up my knitting and found that the puzzle frame was still hanging around in the back of my mind.

“Get lost,” I thought to the image. “Maybe we’ll get you started next weekend.”

It grinned at me like the Cheshire cat – no doubt because I’d seen Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland” again just before Christmas.

“Okay,” I told the image. “What are you trying to tell me?”

The analogy suddenly became obvious: A finished jigsaw puzzle represents truth. And the frame – that all-important first step in puzzle-solving – represents one’s worldview.
I wish I could say that this was an original idea, but I’m quite sure it wasn’t. Although to my shame I can’t say specifically which of the authors I’d read over the previous five-plus years had used the jigsaw analogy, I know that more than one had done so.

But thanks to these writers, whoever they may be, as the Broncos were whipping the Patriots, I saw my jigsaw frame as a worldview.

It winked at me, Lewis Carroll and Walt Disney conspiring to entertain me into thoughts deeper than defensive strategies and the knit-one-row, purl-one-row scheme of my sweater-in-progress.

What if we could see the Truth in a jigsaw puzzle – a puzzle so enormous and elaborate that it couldn’t be completed in this life, but one that anyone with any sense is compelled to work on?

Well, then, we would start out just as I wanted Dave to begin our mystery puzzle: By identifying and positioning the corners, each having two straight edges, as well as the pieces making up the frame’s four “legs” – those having a single straight edge.

These pieces would share certain characteristics making them trustworthy as contributors to the worldview of Truth. There would be none based solely on speculation or emotion or fantasy; all would be verifiable. There would be no missing pieces, and no pieces that merely came close to fitting. In the end, they would all have to fall into place perfectly, without the need for force or distortion. And there could be no edge pieces left over, to be discarded because they just didn’t fit into the framework.

I liked this idea. My fingers flying fast and furious on automatic pilot as I knitted up the no-need-to-count sweater back, I tried the idea out on various worldviews.

For instance, I figured that if we chose the frame of biblical Christianity, we might find that the corner pieces are the evidence for Jesus Christ’s resurrection, for a young earth having undergone a catastrophic hydraulic event, for the Bible’s unfailing historical accuracy, and for thousands of detailed prophecies fulfilled. And we might find that the rest of the frame is composed of associated evidences, everything from archeological findings at Jericho and Sodom to modern science’s discovery that the sun does indeed have its own orbit, just as Psalm 19 revealed thousands of years ago.

From what I’d learned over the last five-plus years, was there any piece that would fit only when forced, or one that would have to be discarded because of incompatibility with the biblical framework? I couldn’t think of one, not even from all the atheist stuff I continued to put to the test.

Dave woke me from my reverie with a disgusted groan. I focused on the TV again: Denver had apparently scored again, putting the game out of the Patriots’ reach. Not that it mattered, of course, but because Denver had defeated the Packers in SuperBowl XXXII, whereas we beat the Patriots in SuperBowl XXXI, we would’ve been slightly happier with a Patriots victory in this game.

“Oh well,” he said, returning to his paperback thriller.

“Oh well,” I agreed, returning to my knitting and phantom jigsaw puzzle.

I tested the framework of evolution-powered naturalism, and immediately ran into a problem with what would have to be a corner piece: positive, additive genetic mutation, the mechanism evolution relied on for transforming creatures from one kind into another. This sort of mutation is necessary to this worldview – and yet the evidence says it doesn’t happen: Instead of adding information to a creature’s DNA, genetic mutations almost invariably distort or destroy existing information.

I tried substituting another corner piece: TBD, as in To Be Determined. “Scientists just haven’t figured it out yet,” an advocate of this framework would say. “But they will some day.”

But TBD was speculation – way too shaky a premise to serve in the framework of a worldview, let alone as a corner piece. It wasn’t verifiable. And that meant we were left with another gaping hole in our frame.

I took a spin with what I knew about pantheistic religions, and again found myself without decent corner pieces. “Because it works” just doesn’t cut it when “it” involves entirely subjective criteria.

I tried the “everyone’s right” philosophy of One World Religion and noticed immediately the two-sided “Jesus was nothing more than a great teacher” piece. That ruled out this framework; I’d determined long ago, with the help of writers from C. S. Lewis to Lee Strobel, that this idea had no legs.

“Go Steelers,” Dave said.

The Patriots had just been intercepted, ending any chance of a miracle come-back.

“Or Colts,” I added. We were torn. We liked Bill Cowher and his Steelers a lot. But we’ve always liked Tony Dungy a lot, too, and he and Cowher would be facing off the next day.

“Or Colts,” Dave agreed.

It struck me that for years, I’d been willing to use any Jesus-free worldview frame, even though they provided practically nothing to work with; that’s probably why I figured no one could answer these big-picture questions. I was immediately grateful that I was no longer stuck in that no-man’s-land, because now my puzzle was coming along very nicely.

It won’t be finished this side of heaven; we can’t even imagine what the finished picture will look like. But there’s only one spot for each piece – and every time I put another into place, I get another glimmer of eternity.

(from Heaven Without Her, pages 186-190)

Pure Gold

1/30/2020

Eric Liddell, 1902-1945

Be still, my soul,
The Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide,
Through every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still my soul, thy best, thy heavenly friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
--Be Still My Soul, Katharina A. von Schlegel, 1752

I’ve never seen the 1981 biopic “Chariots of Fire.” For most of my life, I’d never even heard of its subject, a Scottish runner and 1924 Olympic gold medalist named Eric Liddell.

But then at the turn of the millennium, I was soundly saved. I started a monthly Christian Music Hour for nursing-home residents, and became immersed in the old hymns that they loved. In the process, I fell head over heels for “Be Still My Soul,” written in 1752 by German hymnist Katharina von Schlegel. And I learned that it was the favorite hymn of this fellow Liddell.

Not interested in track or the Olympics, I didn’t pay much attention. But his name stuck with me. And as I memorized the lyrics to “Be Still My Soul,” I occasionally wondered about this man who shared my love of this beautiful hymn.

Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Then, a couple years ago, I began to read articles about, and biographies of, great Christians of the past. And soon my mind and heart were filled with the stories of people like Adoniram Judson, William Carey, John Bunyan, Lottie Moon, John and Charles Wesley--men and women who lived and died for Christ's Great Commission.

It was a month or two ago that Maranatha Baptist University professor David Saxon and his wife Jamie recommended a biography of Eric Liddell, Pure Gold by David McCasland. I quickly found a used copy and added it to my Must Read stack.

Here’s the story in a nutshell.

When Liddell won the gold medal in 1924, the world was his oyster. Or it would have been, had he been interested in the world. But he wasn’t; he was interested only in serving the Lord. And so, having been born in China to missionary parents, it was to China that he returned after winning the gold.

Liddell’s was not a spectacular missionary story. He didn’t carve out new territory for Christ in uncharted lands, as did Judson in Burma. His work didn’t necessarily lead to millions of converts over the generations, as did the efforts of Carey in India. Instead, Liddell spent his years in northern China teaching, coaching various sports, sharing the gospel with the residents of remote villages, and being a godly and beloved role model to all who knew him.

When World War II reached the Pacific, Liddell was among the hundreds of foreigners who were confined to a Japanese prison camp in Weihsien, China. It wasn’t a horrific place—nothing like Auschwitz or Dachau or any of the other monstrous camps run by the Nazis. But it was a prison nonetheless, separating him for three years from his beloved wife Flo and their three daughters, who had escaped to Canada.

It was in this camp that 43-year-old Eric Liddell unexpectedly died, months before the end of the war in the Pacific, of a brain tumor.

Be still, my soul, though dearest friends depart
And all is darkened in the vale of tears;
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrows and thy fears.
Be still, my soul; thy Jesus can repay
From His own fulness all He takes away.

Eric Liddell's wife Flo and their daughters Heather, Maureen and Patricia

Pure Gold is not quite perfect, in my mind anyway. I prefer my biographies to be strictly factual, and author McCasland rather frequently imagines his subjects’ innermost thoughts and feelings in novel-esque fashion.

But it is a wonderful book nevertheless.

I think one of the main reasons I loved Pure Gold is this: In many ways, Liddell was a very ordinary man. He was intelligent but not a great genius. Nor was he known for astounding bravery in the face of enemy attacks or for a spectacular sense of humor or light-up-the-room personality. He was apparently as reserved as he was humble. But those he lived and worked with seem to have loved and respected him beyond measure for his kindness, his concern for others, his self-sacrificing conduct, and his overriding love for, and complete surrender to, our Creator God.

“He wasn’t a great leader, or an inspired thinker,” wrote an unnamed internee in a personal diary, “but he knew what he ought to do, and he did it. He was a true disciple of the Master and worthy of the highest of places amongst the saints gathered in the Church triumphant.” (Page 285)

Liddell did some writing towards the end of his life, and Pure Gold contains many enlightening and uplifting quotes. For instance, he opened an essay entitled “The Key to Knowing God” thusly: “One word stands out from all others as the key to knowing God, to having his peace and assurance in your heart; it is OBEDIENCE … OBEDIENCE to God’s Will is the secret of spiritual knowledge and insight. It is not willingness to know, but willingness to DO God’s Will that brings certainty.” (Page 241-242)

The book also quotes a number of moving tributes at memorial services following Liddell’s death. For instance, long-time friend A. P. Cullen said this:

“The most noteworthy feature in Eric’s life was the regular and rapid progress of his spiritual development. It is as phenomenal as the speed with which, in a 100-yards race, after being yards behind at halfway, he would catch up and pass the winning post an easy first, leaving the other competitors standing. In the athletic world, no one knows how he did it—it remains a mystery; but for his progress in the spiritual race, there is a very clear and definite explanation. First of all, absolute surrender to the Will of God … It was toward the attainment of that ideal that he directed all his mental and spiritual energies.” (pages 283-284)

Though I painstakingly nursed Pure Gold, not wanting it to end, I regretfully finished it early this morning. I’d been saving the last chapter but woke at 4 a.m. and, well, there the book was. Irresistible.

As I mentioned, I don’t like it when biographies imagine what the author couldn’t possibly have known. But in the case of Pure Gold, I will make one exception. It’s at the very end of the book (page 298), where McCasland imagines the thoughts of Eric’s widow Flo on the first New Year’s Eve following his death:

“Eric’s race was over, but hers had just begun. She vowed to run it willingly, eagerly, and, at the end, to throw back her head to finish in triumph and joy. Eric had gone on ahead, and one day she would be with him again.

“She needed neither hymnal nor piano as she softly sang:

“Be still, my soul; the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul; when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.”

A perfectly poignant ending to a close-to-perfect book. Highly recommended!

Beware the Broad Way

1/21/2020

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

Some time ago, I was meditating on this passage when it suddenly hit me: How many American cities and towns have streets named Broadway?

I couldn't find a count online, but I've known some Broadways personally over the years.

My hometown Broadway in Green Bay, Wis., was lined primarily by dumpy taverns. Legend had it that bars were not allowed west of this north-south street paralleling the Fox River, so it was the thirsty man's last oasis before heading out into the booming west side of the city. My gang didn't know if that was true or not; all we knew for sure was that Broadway was easy street for any underage drinker armed with a fake ID and a powerful thirst for the forbidden.

Then there's the most famous Broadway, in New York City. I haven't been there since I was a kid, but just glanced at what's running right now. Among the biggest hits: Wicked, The Book of Mormon, Hadestown, Beetlejuice, Bob&Carol&Ted&Alice (the musical, if you can imagine), and Rock of Ages (no, it's not about THE Rock of Ages; it's a "rock musical set in Hollywood in the 1980s, when it was all about big chords, big dreams and big hair!") So many ways to be amused, entertained and distracted from life's most important questions.

I google-mapped "Broadway" in a random assortment of cities and found every last one to be run down and dotted with taverns. Precisely what you'd expect from "the way that leads to destruction."

I'm sure there are plenty of exceptions, but still -- it makes me wonder what the biblically literate city planners of 19th century America were thinking when they named so many of our nation's streets "Broadway."

I'm just eternally grateful that the Creator of the universe did what He had to do to persuade me to seek the narrow way "which leads to life." I hope that you and your loved ones have all done so, too.

How an atheist handles sorrow

1/15/2020

When I was an atheist, I found several different ways to handle the pain of life and loss.

One of my early solutions, discovered in the wake of my beloved daddy's 1970 death, was illegal drugs. "Better living through chemistry" was DuPont's motto and mine. And until it occurred to me, at age 21, that the stuff might actually be dangerous, I was able to vanquish my sorrow by simply downing a pill or smoking a little marijuana.

Alcohol followed. Nothing like a good cold beer or two or three to chase away thoughts of never seeing loved ones again.

And when all else failed, a good long cry often provided some relief, especially when it was propelled by the most maudlin hits of the hippy era. As I reported in Heaven Without Her:

[It] seemed as though the entire music industry was conspiring in those days to remind me that life was hopeless and that sorrow would always be the rule. Amidst all the bubble-gum ditties and drugged-out rock of the early 1970s were heart-wrenching songs like James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain” and Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “Alone Again (Naturally).”

And then in 1974, Helen “I Am Woman” Reddy released “You and Me Against the World” – a song in which a mother is apparently telling her daughter that, once one of them has died, it’s pretty much over:

"Then remembering will have to do,
Our memories alone will get us through …"

What marketing types now call the “takeaway” was pretty clear: One day death will separate us, and that’ll be it: memories only, no hope for an eternal reunion.

I played that song over and over again late into the decade, trying in vain to cry the sorrow out of my system once and for all.

These were all just temporary fixes, of course. It would take me another quarter century, and a killer heartbreak, to seek comfort beyond my own thinking, and that of our culture's thought leaders.

Thank God, I found it at last in the truth of His word.

Don't let worries keep you awake

1/8/2020

Seems that there’s plenty to lose sleep over these days. Whether it’s the rising cost of living or a loved one’s illness, a child’s unbiblical lifestyle or the very survival of our nation, we each have a list of concerns that can keep us awake at night.

Sometimes the solution is simply to pray. “Be anxious for nothing,” the apostle Paul told us in Philippians 4, "but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” The result? “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

I can’t count the number of times I’ve reminded myself of this passage in the wee hours of the morning. It invariably gives me peace for at least a few minutes, until my personal bugaboos creep into my thoughts once again.

What’s the solution?

For me, it’s meditating on God as He has revealed Himself in the Bible—especially His character and His promises—and then taking Him up on His word through prayer.

Specifically, I ponder:

1. His omnipotence. He is all powerful, after all. Which means that “With God, all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

2. His sovereignty. As the Creator of the universe, the Lord has supreme authority and complete control over it all, from the functioning of the tiniest mechanisms in our cells to the traits, position and behavior of every last star and galaxy. Matthew 10:29 puts this concept into terms we humans can easily grasp: “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.”

3. His omniscience. He knows it all, including everything about us as individuals. He knows about that dormant cell that’s going to wreak havoc in Mrs. Anderson's body 23 years from now. He knows all about the worries that consume Mr. Zemke, including what each concern's outcome will be. And He knows every last thing about you, down to each thought you've ever entertained.

In fact, God knows us better than we know ourselves. As King David pointed out in Psalm 139:16, from the moment he was conceived, “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.”

4. His love. Next time you find yourself tossing and turning, remember this: “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” (1 John 4:16).

Want proof? “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). He so loves us that God the Son, Jesus Himself, suffered and died on the cross to pay the penalty for mankind's entire sin debt. And He invites us all to avail ourselves of this payment simply by repenting and trusting in Him.

As a result, in the Bible He commands us, about 365 times in almost as many different ways, not be afraid. My personal favorite: “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).

In a nutshell, then, God is omnipotent, sovereign, and omniscient, and He is love. Which means that, at the very least:

He is able to do absolutely anything in your life, including changing your circumstances.
He is willing to do so, in order to achieve His purposes.
No matter how frightening or upsetting it may be to us today, with our oh-so-limited understanding, everything He does will work together to the eternal good of all His children.

So next time you’re tossing and turning, remember that He is allowing those distressing circumstances, for His perfect purposes, according to His perfect timing. Take some time to meditate on Romans 8:28: "all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

By all means, go boldly to His throne of grace, bare your soul and ask Him for strength, wisdom and peace (Hebrews 4:16). Then follow King Solomon’s advice in Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

Sweet dreams, dear reader.

Countering contradictions

12/25/2019

If you’re an obedient, gospel-sharing, Bible-believing Christian, you’ve no doubt run into this familiar challenge from scoffers: “The Bible is full of contradictions. On the one hand it says we should turn away from bad people. On the other, it says we shouldn’t judge anyone. Which is it?”

The short answer to such a protest is context – immediate and Bible-wide. If one faithfully studies out an alleged contradiction, he will eventually be able to resolve the issue. And in the process, he’ll gain invaluable wisdom.

Unfortunately, the “context” defense doesn’t seem to satisfy everyone. In such situations, it might help to use a worldly analogy.

Say, for instance, that someone tells us his dog Bowser bit Joe Blow, and adds that Bowser is one good dog. Sounds contradictory, doesn’t it? But suppose we dig a little and find out that Joe Blow is a veterinarian, and his owner had taken his normally benign pup into the clinic with an extremely painful dental abscess. Or maybe we learn that Joe Blow is a burglar, and Bowser was simply defending his family.

Whatever the explanation, we see that context has resolved an apparent contradiction.

A book I read some time ago shows how this principle can be applied to Scripture – in this case, to show how it’s possible for a believer to be both in the world and of the world.

"If we had only the story of Lot's life as it is told in the book of Genesis, we would never have imagined that Lot was a true believer. But 2 Peter 2 tells us three times that this conflicted, compromised man was 'righteous' -- and more, that he was 'distressed' and tormented by life in Sodom … Ironically, though Lot was revolted by Sodom, Sodom was in his soul. It is possible, then, for a believer to be distressed by the world while willfully clinging to the world." (Set Apart: Calling a Worldly Church to a Godly Life, R. Kent Hughes, 2003, p. 13)

The point is that you could look at multiple biblical references to Lot and wind up being confused: With all that happened with him, how could Peter, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, call this man "righteous"? But when you look at the whole counsel of God, the answer comes into focus: Lot had not allowed himself to be fully "set apart" for God, which is the very definition of holy. Yet he was a believer, and his God-given righteousness did express itself in his refusal to participate in, or condone, Sodom’s sin.

There are many other biblical principles folded into these thoughts, but I think it’s a good illustration of why a scoffer can’t justify taking a couple verses out of context and saying they contradict each other. Just as we needed more information to determine how biting Bowser could possibly be called “good,” he would do well to look for more information in the face of an apparent biblical contradiction.

Of course, this assumes that our scoffer wants to resolve the alleged contradiction. And that's another issue entirely.

An irresistible story -- and now it's free!

12/17/2019

UPDATE: UNTAKENABLE IS NOW FREE FOR THE ASKING!

Just heard from the author that this terrific ebook is available free via a number of websites, all accessible at books2read.com. Here, you can choose your favorite ebook reader and then download the book at no charge (except for Kindle; Amazon insists on charging $0.99). If you do read it, I hope you'll consider posting a review, perhaps on its Amazon page. In the meantime ...

Here's my review

There are so many things I love about this book, starting with the subject: What will it be like for those who are left behind when the Rapture occurs? What might they think about what has happened? How might they react?

What born-again Christian has not thought about these things in the face of beloved unbelievers’ stubborn resistance to the good news of Jesus Christ? Wyler tells us what she thinks, and I suspect she’s right.

To be honest, I didn’t like narrator Sarah Colton very much, but I think that’s because she reminded me of myself before I came to Christ (and sometimes since then, I’m ashamed to admit). She’s a self-absorbed feminist atheist, viewing the world through her own selfish eyes. Just one example: When a plane crashes near her home, the ambitious photojournalist grabs her equipment and races to capture the scene on video. Her motive? “This will make me famous. Sarah Colton has arrived …” (location 736).

The author’s presentation of Sarah is consistent from start to finish. More than once, I wondered how someone so familiar with what Scripture says about everything from salvation to the Rapture could also have such accurate insight into a feminist atheist’s thinking. It’s really a brilliant character sketch.

I also appreciate Wyler’s generous use of foreshadowing. It’s fairly subtle; there’s none of the obvious “you could hear her coming in her wooden shoes” foretelling. But it’s the sort of thing that makes this reader’s heart smile when it plays itself out.

Then there’s the pacing. It’s flawless. The author continually turns up the tension and then gives the reader a breather with detours into less intense territory. For instance, in location 751, Sarah is rushing out to capture the aftermath of the crash on camera. Her heart is pounding, and so is mine. She takes this opportunity to tell us about her witnessing the convenience-store shooting of the governor’s son. Not a pleasant diversion, to be sure; but it’s in the past and Sarah has clearly survived the incident, so it lets the reader relax for a few moments.

But not for long. Wyler ramps it up again in short order, keeping my pulse racing and my eyes leaping through page after digital page.

As a result, I found it difficult to set this book aside. That may be due in part to the author’s use of the present tense throughout. Interestingly, I’m not at all a fan of present-tense novels; in the past, it has always struck me as gimmicky. But not in this case. The present tense is integral to the story. And Wyler handled it so transparently that I didn’t even notice it until I was halfway through the book.

But perhaps my favorite thing about Untakenable is Sarah’s voice. This book is not simply written in the first person; it is written to the reader. Sarah holds a running conversation with you from beginning to end. She asks you what you think, and if you saw, heard, or felt what she did. She wonders if you’re still with her, or have abandoned her, as of course you are free to do. She invites you to tell her what you would do if you were in her shoes.

She gets kind of personal, too. In the aforementioned scene when she’s racing to the crash site, she asks, “Are you keeping up with me? I do not know what shape you are in healthwise, but step it up as we must get to the scene before anyone else does.”

Sarah even admonishes the reader a time or two for failing to help her. “Are you here with me?” she asks at location 1784. “But why do I bother asking you? You have been of no help since we started this relationship.”

It’s crazy and I found it endearing. Since there’s nothing new under the sun, as Solomon told us in Ecclesiastes, I suppose that other writers have pioneered this technique. But I’d certainly never seen it. In fact, I’ve never read anything quite like Untakenable.

A bonus: Wyler closes with an interesting discussion of the choices she made in writing the story and an appeal for the reader to believe on Christ. She also includes Bible passages describing the Rapture and God’s plan of salvation.

Bottom line: This is an irresistible book that I think virtually any true believer would thoroughly enjoy--one that all unbelievers really should read and ponder, before it’s too late. Find it here.

Suffering? Pay attention!

12/12/2019

In recent weeks, we’ve been taking a look at the subject of suffering in our nursing-home Bible study—specifically exploring the oft-asked question, “How can a good God allow such suffering in the world?” In the process, we have discovered that the Bible provides us with many reasons that the Lord allows tribulation in our lives, from guiding to disciplining us, from impacting a loved one to displaying His power.

But let’s focus for the moment on one answer in particular: God allows some people to suffer in order to get their attention, especially if they are unbelievers in fact or in effect.

That’s what He did with me, back when I was an atheist. He broke my heart, and the rest is a tiny dot on the sweep of feminist/atheist history.

If you are suffering today—physically, emotionally, financially, or spiritually—perhaps the Lord is trying to get your attention.

Maybe you’re a professing Christian—you believe in Jesus Christ, but you have no relationship with Him. You haven’t actively sought Him through His word, the Bible. No doubt you have your reasons—too busy, perhaps, or not interested, or maybe you were exposed to scripture when you were a kid and figure you already know all you need to know about Him.

Or maybe you’re religiously pluralistic, convinced that it doesn’t matter what you believe just as long as you’re a good person who believes in something. You acknowledge some sort of supreme being, so you’re good; if there is a heaven, you’ll be fine.

Or perhaps you’re not so good. Perhaps you’ve lived such a sinful life that you know you’re headed for the other place. You’re sure that there’s no way out, not for you.

Whatever your circumstances, if you are suffering, rest assured that the Lord knows it, controls it, and is at work in your life. And if any of the descriptions above sound even remotely familiar to you, realize that this may be the only way He’ll ever be able to get your attention, and therefore to save you—putting you irrevocably on the path to heaven, as promised in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Will it work?

Will you repent and trust in Him to have paid your entire sin debt on the cross?

That’s up to you, of course. But consider: If you are saved, this world is as close to hell as you’ll ever get. But if you are not, this world is as close to heaven as you’ll get.

Seems like a no-brainer, doesn’t it?