"He satisfies the longing soul"

Have you ever heard the quote that there is a “God-shaped hole” in the heart of every person?  This sentiment is attributed to writer and philosopher Blaise Pascal.  But he didn’t actually put it quite that way.  Here is an excerpt of the quote (incidentally, I’m going to add some brackets for clarification, but I will have the full quote in a link):

“This [inherent emptiness] he tries in vain to fill with everything around him…though none [of the things he turns to] can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God Himself.”  By the way, I didn’t know that we had accidentally morphed Pascal’s words until I discovered a blogger who relayed his real quote.  All credit goes to her.  Here is the link to her blog with the Pascal quote in its entirety.

https://itsjustme.wordpress.com/2011/04/19/the-correct-quote-of-blaise-pascal/

Pascal wrote this way back in the 1600’s, but it is as relevant today as the day he first penned it.  He said that mankind has an inner emptiness in their soul and they don’t know what will alleviate it.  So they turn to anything and everything under the sun: money, power, food, recognition; here’s a particularly relevant one: do you think anyone has turned to sex today?  The answer, of course, is yes.  It just amazes me how this culture is completely fixated and obsessed with the topic of sex.  The culture proclaims that living a life of unrestrained sexual expression is not only the normal existence for every human being, but that this road leads you to fulfillment, satisfaction, and bliss.  But this is a lie.

The truth of the matter is, none of these things ultimately have the capacity to fill the emptiness of the soul.  Why not?  Because as Pascal put it, “this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God Himself.”  The Bible says that God “satisfies the longing soul” (Psalm 107:9; ESV).

You say, “This sounds great!  But will you flesh this out for me?  What do I have to do to experience this?”  In short, you need to commence a relationship with God; you can’t experience fulfillment with someone you don’t know.  Got questions.org has a great article on this.  I’m not citing the whole thing, but I will quote a couple of paragraphs.  First and foremost, I do this because of the fantastic content.  But secondly, I do it because their copyright policy is quite gracious.  They simply ask that the content from the article is copied just as they wrote it, and that they are credited for the work.  Here now is their material:

“The only way any of us can have a relationship with a holy God is to admit that we are sinners, turn away from that sin, and accept the sacrifice that Jesus made to pay for sin.  We connect with God through prayer.  We pray in faith, believing that God hears us and will answer.  Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”  We confess our sin, thank Jesus for making a way for us to be forgiven, and invite Him to take control of our lives.

Coming to God through faith in Jesus Christ means we transfer ownership of our lives to God.  We make Him the Boss, the Lord, of our lives.  We trade our old self-worshiping hearts for the perfection of Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21).  Romans 12:1 gives us a visual description of what takes place: “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice.”  Picture an altar dedicated to the only true God.  Then imagine crawling onto it, lying down, and saying, “Here I am, God.  I’m a sinner but you love me anyway.  Thank you for dying for me and rising from the dead so my sin could be forgiven.  Cleanse me, forgive me, and make me your child.  Take me.  All of me.  I want to live for you from now on.””

http://www.gotquestions.org/give-life-to-God.html

It’s Easter Sunday!  I once heard someone refer to this day as “Super Bowl Sunday” because this is the big day for so many Christians around the globe.  My mind has been on those of you who are still on the fence.  Nothing is more important than giving your heart and life to Jesus Christ.  If you’ve never made this important choice, Easter Sunday is a great day to do so!  I've been praying for you; I've been praying that you would say "yes" to God.

To clarify, it’s not the words that you say; it’s the attitude of your heart.  A reciting of words doesn’t save you; faith in Jesus Christ saves you.  The Bible says, "Whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."  Call on the name of the Lord, beloved reader.  “Come, everyone who thirsts,” Isaiah implores, “Come to the waters; and he who has no money, come buy and eat!  Come buy wine and milk without money and without price.  Why do spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?” (Isaiah 55:1-2)  As Blaise Pascal put it, “This infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God Himself.” 

In conclusion, making a decision like this doesn’t mean that all of your problems will magically go away forever.  On the contrary, life will still tough.  But, that said, giving your heart and life to Jesus is the best decision you will ever make.  I can attest to this from personal experience.

Kevin

Healing on demand?

The other day I was watching a TV preacher.  You say, “That was your first mistake.”  Well, there’s sadly a lot of truth to that observation.  Anyway, he was talking about healing.  He said that too many Christians today use the phrase “It wasn’t God’s will to heal” as a cop-out answer.  For all intents and purposes, he was mocking Christians who didn’t believe that God always heals people, without any exceptions, from their physical maladies.  He was essentially speaking of what is commonly referred to as “healing on demand”.  As you might have guessed, I strongly disagree with this TV preacher.

Let me begin by stating this: with all of my heart, I believe that God has the power to heal anyone from their debilitating sickness.  God is all-powerful.  I’m actually an example of how God can heal; I’ve experienced His healing touch on more than one occasion in my life.  So don’t get the idea that I’m proposing that God is weak or somehow incapable of healing.  I don’t believe that at all.  In fact, God can do “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20; NKJV).  But this preacher is wrong to suggest that God will always heal everyone, no matter what.  Such a claim makes this preacher sound like he believes God is more like a subservient genie in a bottle that exists solely to give you whatever you desire.  This is not the God of the Bible.

The Apostle Paul was an amazing man of God.  Acts 19:12 says that if people simply touched the handkerchiefs that Paul had touched they were healed of their diseases (by the way, for those of you who have a phobia of germs, verse 11 says that these miracles were “unusual”; so you don’t have to touch other peoples handkerchiefs today).  However, despite this, Paul states in 2 Corinthians 12 that he received a “thorn in the flesh”.  We don’t know exactly what this thorn was because Paul didn’t specify.  But the speculations abound anyway.  Many believe it was some sort of physical issue.  I’ve heard a compelling case for Paul’s “thorn” being very poor eyesight, for example.

Whatever Paul’s thorn in the flesh was is largely immaterial, the point is Paul wrote that he prayed three times that this thorn would depart from him, but God said no.  Think of that.  God declined to remove Paul’s thorn from him.  Instead God communicated to Paul that He wanted to teach him that God’s strength is best shown in human weakness.  “Therefore,” Paul concludes, “I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

In Matthew 6 Jesus taught, “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your Kingdom come.  Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven” (verses 9-10; italics mine for emphasis).  James said not to go around boasting about what you are going to do, rather you should say that this event will happen only if it’s God's will (James 4:13-15).  1 John 5:14 says, “And this is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us.”  Contrary to the opinion of the TV preacher I began with, it’s not a “cop-out answer” to bring up God’s will in the area of healing (or any other area); it is right and appropriate to do so.

I don’t know why God heals some and not others, but it’s an undeniable fact.  Proverbs 3:5 is easy to quote but harder to live; it reads, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.”  Our finite understanding says, “God will heal me from my physical affliction.”  But God is God; we are not.  We have to trust Him in these matters, and to demand that God heal isn’t trusting in Him.  You see, we can’t put God in a box.  We can’t manage, control, or manipulate God.  The Bible says, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out” (Romans 11:33)!  Amen belongs here.

Kevin

The gift of sleep

I recently came across an interesting article from the website got questions.org.  The title is fascinating: “Why is sleep/sleeping necessary?  Why did God create us with the need for sleep?”  Have you ever wondered about that?  Let me add another layer to this: why are we wired in such a way that we have to sleep every night?  We don’t hibernate for months on end like some animals.  We need sleep nightly; if we don’t get it, we suffer the consequences in a myriad of ways.

For instance, Bruce Wayne once told Terry McGinnis in the TV show “Batman Beyond” that sleep deprivation is a classic tactic for cults.  That makes sense.  After all, if you are deprived of sleep, you get to the point where you just can’t think straight anymore.  So it would be easy for the cultist’s propaganda to seep in and have a psychological effect.

I’m not going to quote the whole got questions article, but I do love this quote from it.  The author writes, “One possible explanation for our need for sleep is that sleep reminds us that we are creatures, not the Creator.  Our physical bodies must be constantly replenished with food, water, oxygen, and sleep in order to continue functioning.  Meeting these needs takes up much of our time and energy.  We need to be continually reminded of our limitations and that we are completely dependent upon God for our very existence.  Physical need is such a reminder.”

http://www.gotquestions.org/sleep-sleeping.html

As I thought about this, I was reminded of a verse in Psalm 121.  It says that God “shall neither slumber nor sleep” (NKJV).  We are the created; we constantly need sleep.  God, on the other hand, is the Creator; He doesn’t need sleep.  This is a stark contrast.

Kevin

The storms of this life

Peter Parker once said these words: “Life is like a thunderstorm.  It’s unpredictable, uncontrollable, sometimes even dangerous.  We’d like to think we have a handle on life, that we are in charge, then without warning, we find out how wrong we really are.”  The context of this quote might surprise you.  It’s from an episode of “Spider-Man: The Animated Series”.  The storyline is that Peter is framed for a crime he didn’t commit.  In fact, the episode itself is simply entitled “Framed”!  Where’s Perry Mason or Ben Matlock when you need them?  No, Peter isn’t defended by either one of them, of course, but he is able to have the capable Matt Murdock (alias the masked hero, Daredevil) as his defense attorney.

Having given you that background, I want to return to the quote itself because I think it’s an important one.  Peter said, “Life is like a thunderstorm.  It’s unpredictable, uncontrollable, sometimes even dangerous.  We’d like to think we have a handle on life, that we are in charge, then without warning, we find out how wrong we really are.”  Have you found that this is true in your own life?  I sure have.  As much as we believe we are in control of the developments of our lives, we find out we don’t have near as much control as we thought.  Let me give you an example of this.

Recently, during a snowstorm (something we have to deal with regularly in Colorado), as I was trying to drive home from work one night, I found that my faithful car wasn’t performing as well as it normally does in snow.  It was sliding around in ways that I’m not used to.  Furthermore, several cars were honking at me; they were all trying to tell me that something was wrong.  I finally pulled over to the shoulder of the Interstate.  In that moment, I was quite aware that I was not in control.

To wrap up the story (and just so you know, I’m giving you the abridged version), ultimately, it was discovered that a piece of the brake shoe had broken off and had somehow managed to lodged itself in the tire.  This made it so the tire wasn’t moving at all; it was basically locked into place, immobile and unable to turn.  No wonder it felt like I was ice skating out there!  It was certainly snowy and icy, but under normal circumstances, my car would have traversed it just fine.  “We’d like to think we have a handle on life,” Peter Parker said, “That we are in charge, then without warning, we find out how wrong we really are.”

Why am I telling you this story?  Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33).  To live is to endure tribulation; such is the nature of living life on this speck in the universe called Earth.  I endured a crazy episode regarding my car’s tire, but maybe you are going through a painful ordeal as well.  I empathize with you.  We all know what it’s like to endure the challenges that life can throw at us.

If you are in a particularly trying situation right now, I hope this passage from the Word of God will be a healing balm for you today.  “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the Earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging” (Psalm 46:1-3).  There is a safe haven from life’s storms: the amazing God of the Bible. 

Kevin

Fun facts

In the film “Back to the Future: Part 2” Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) traveled from the year 1985 to the future in Emmett “Doc” Brown’s (Christopher Lloyd) time machine.  Interestingly, he went to the year 2015 – October 21st, 2015, to be exact.  I did some Internet research and have discovered that this impending date is a big deal for a lot of people who deeply love the “Back to the Future” trilogy.  There’s even a website that is literally counting down until this day arrives.

It’s funny to see just how much the film got wrong in its depiction of what 2015 would look like.  For instance, there was the flying hover board (essentially a skateboard minus the skates that simply floats in mid-air, defying the laws of gravity).  Marty sees a promotion for the upcoming movie “Jaws 19”.  Doc Brown demonstrates that in 2015 the meteorologist’s weather reports were so accurate that he was able to relay to Marty the precise second that the rain would stop falling.  Further, there was what I’m going to call a smart house; whenever someone walked through the front door, an automated voice welcomed the person that was entering the house by name.  And of course, like the futuristic TV show “The Jetsons” popularized, there were flying cars.  There’s much more, I’m just hitting some of my favorites.

However, as of right now, there’s one thing in real life that might happen just as it did in the film.  Marty is surprised at the announcement that the Chicago Cubs had just won the World Series!  They had defeated Miami.  When “Back to the Future” was made, there actually was no baseball team in Miami, but today there is: the Marlins (although the Marlins are a National League team, so the Cubs can’t beat them in the World Series because the Cubs are a National League team as well).  Wouldn't it be ironic if the Cubs did win the Series this year? Personally, I think it would be great if the Cubs won it all.  It would certainly make a great storyline for baseball.  So I say, go Cubs!

Kevin

Yield to God's way

It is a sad fact that there are Christians that looked at the circumstances of their lives and concluded that they could do a better job of running their lives than God.  They don’t understand why God permitted what He did, or why He didn’t come through in the way they thought He would.  Thus they decided to take over the reins of their lives, because they thought they knew better.  So, through their actions, they sang the lyric of an old Frank Sinatra song: “I did it my way.”

 

I want to express an important truth to you right now.  And if it turned out that this was the last blog that I ever wrote before God deemed that it was time for me to be with Him in Heaven, I would be so delighted if this fact gripped and liberated you for the rest of your life.  It is simply this: God’s way is always the best way.  The late Rick Ferguson used to say that God could run his life a whole lot better than he ever could.  Further, he said that if it were left up to his own ingenuity, resources, and skill, his life would result in a complete train wreck.  I echo the same thought for myself.  If it weren't for God, my life would have turned out to be nothing more than a joke without a punch line.

Don’t get me wrong on this one: just because you make the decision to yield control of your life to God doesn’t mean that His plan for your life will make sense to you every step of the way.  In fact, there will be many situations in life where you will not understand His logic in the slightest.  As I stated earlier, the fact that God didn’t act in the way that they thought He would is perhaps why some Christians have thrown in the spiritual towel.  God seemed detached, aloof, and uncaring.  But the reality is, we only see a small section; God sees the whole.  Let me give an illustration for this.

Many years ago, I tried my hand at writing fiction.  I wrote several Batman stories.  Suppose that, in the midst of my stories, Batman and Robin were able to converse with each other.  Good versus evil stories need to have struggle.  That's a simple fact.  Pretend that there have been a string of disappointments and setbacks for the Dynamic Duo.  After a particularly bleak chapter, Batman and Robin are frustrated.  With that in mind, let’s eavesdrop on their conversation.

“Can you believe this writer?"  Robin asks.  "Can you believe what he has been doing to us?  The direction this guy is taking us in is pathetic.”  “Yes,” Batman replies.  “It’s quite clear that he has no idea what he is doing; he doesn’t know what is best for us, or for Gotham City.”  “I almost feel like I should write this story myself,” Robin counters.  “I would do a much better job than he ever will."  At this point, Alfred speaks up.  He says, “Sirs, please.  You must not speak this way.  The writer cares for you both a great deal.  Trust him.  He knows what he is doing.  In the end, I have little doubt that he will make all things right.”  And, indeed, in every Batman story I wrote, justice, righteousness, and good prevailed.

This isn’t the perfect illustration by any means, but I hope you find it beneficial.  You see, contrary to popular opinion, God is in absolute control.  The Bible says, “His dominion is an eternal dominion; His kingdom endures from generation to generation" (Daniel 4:34).  No, we won’t always understand why He allows this or that, but to quote from Daniel again, “Everything He does is right and all His ways are just” (Daniel 4:37).  God knows what He is doing.  Further, if you’ve attempted to wrestle control of your life away from God, stop fighting; surrender afresh to God. 

Kevin

The nobility of superheroes

I love superheroes.  I know they are fictional, but a fictional superhero can inspire us.  I know they inspire me.  Today, I want to list three lessons that superheroes teach us.  This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means, but it’s a good start.

#1: We can do the right thing, no matter how difficult

You may not have ever thought about this before, but the life of a superhero is hard.  A little while back I referenced the short-lived TV show “Birds of Prey”.  In the pilot episode of that show, Helena Kyle (the daughter of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle) is having second thoughts about spending her nights being a crime fighter.  I love her description of the life of a superhero.  She says this to Barbara Gordon (one of Batman’s proteges): “Doesn’t it ever bother you?  We spend all our time trying to save the city; fighting crime lords and super-villains.  For what?  Lousy hours?  Non-existent pay?  No recognition and traffic tickets?”

Spider-Man is the one who perhaps best illustrates this point.  He selflessly protects the citizens of New York from evil, and he is rarely ever appreciated for it.  The media doesn’t laud Spidey as a hero; it falsely accuses him of being a public menace.  Therefore, he is generally shunned by the very masses he defends.  But he continues to do the right thing, even though his life is hard. 

#2: We can place the well-being of others ahead of our own

A superhero always chooses to put the needs of others ahead of himself/herself.  If they did anything else, they would cease to be a superhero. 

For example, in an episode of “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” entitled “The Last Patrol”, Batman’s heroism takes a backseat to a group of heroes called the Doom Patrol.  A villain wanted to show that when push came to shove, the Doom Patrol would choose self-preservation over protecting the lives of others.  The villain had rigged explosives on two islands.  One was uninhabited, except for the Doom Patrol.  The other was a small island town which had a population of just 14 people in it.  The villain left the choice of which island was to be destroyed to the Doom Patrol.  In the end, they chose to give their lives in an effort to save those 14 people.  At the end of the episode, Batman, grieving their loss, laments, “Rest well, heroes; rest well.”

Naturally, that’s an extreme example.  Giving your life for someone else is, of course, the ultimate act of putting the needs and well-being of others ahead of yourself.  There are other examples as well, however.  I’m reminded of a scene from the 2004 film Spider-Man 2.  To set up the context, Peter Parker is in love with Mary Jane Watson.  He wants to be with her, but he thought it best to put Mary Jane’s well-being ahead of his own by not sharing his Spider-Man identity with her. 

In one scene, he pretends to tell Mary Jane his secret identity on a pay phone.  He says, “I’m Spider-Man.  Cool, huh?  Now you know why we can’t be together.  If my enemies found out about you; if you got hurt, I could never forgive myself.  I wish I could tell you how I feel about you.”  I always found Peter’s decision to do this incredibly noble, considerate, and unselfish.  Just re-playing this storyline in my head makes me want to watch Spider-Man 2 again!

#3: We can have an example that inspires others

I recently saw a fantastic movie called “The Iron Giant”.  In it, a boy named Hogarth befriends a massive 50 foot tall robot (the Iron Giant).  In one scene, Hogarth shows the robot some of his comic books; one of them being a Superman comic.  He tells the robot something to the effect of, “Superman is a good guy; you are a good guy, too.”  Superman’s example of goodness and righteousness inspires the robot.  I won’t reveal any spoilers, but, in the end, the Iron Giant performs a heroic act.  As he does, he hears the voice of the boy in his head, “You can be whoever you want to be.”  The giant says, “Superman.” 

You say, “That’s only a movie.”  OK, but Superman’s example inspires people in real life, too.  A few months ago, I purchased a Superman hoodie.  It has nothing more than Superman’s famous S insignia on it.  I marvel at how many comments this hoodie has gotten from people.  Even from strangers.  One time, I was at a grocery store, wearing the Superman hoodie.  A dear elderly lady comes up to me and says, “Superman!  That’s who we need today.”  Well put.

While Superman is the gold standard of superheroes, he isn’t the only superhero that has an example that inspires others.  In my own life, for example, Spider-Man is a superhero that has inspired me to persevere.  Batman’s influence has positively impacted me.  I love Captain America because of his morality and integrity.  You get my point.  Even a fictional superhero can inspire us to be better people.

Kevin