Baguio City

Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: “I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things. (Isaiah 45:1-7 ESV).

Please don’t ask how I manage to find and retain so many seemingly useless bits of trivia. The haphazard way I have of filling my brain with these tidbits of information surprises me on many occasions. Be that as it may, a bit of trivia came to my attention regarding a city. It was Baguio, on the Philippines’ Luzon Island. The official paragraph from the city’s web site says it is “a mountain town of universities and resorts.” It is called the “City of Pines.” More of the promotional information says: “It’s particularly popular in summer due to unusually cool weather. At its center is Burnham Park, with gardens and a lake. Nearby, Baguio Cathedral, completed in 1936, has a rose-hued exterior. The main thoroughfare is Session Road, lined with shops, restaurants and entertainment options.” I found a picture of Session Road. As you can see it is not much more than controlled chaos. I suppose that could be seen as a “tourist destination,” though I cannot imagine navigating my way through those confines. But, isn’t our lives often little more than controlled chaos. We have assignments due, deadlines to meet, pressure at work, sudden illnesses to face, and unsettling news to face. It is easy for us to ask if anyone is really in control. When life doesn’t make sense and stress mounts, where do you look for order? When chaos erupts in our lives it is essential that we recognize that there is someone in control. In our reading today God’s words were spoken to Cyrus, a pagan monarch. God assures Cyrus that he has anointed and appointed him to accomplish his perfect plan. We ought to remember that God’s promise to us is the same. We need not panic in the face of chaos; God has not abandoned control of circumstances. “He creates light and darkness, happiness and sorrow” (v. 7) so that all people may recognize that he alone is God. He wants us to know this so that we will trust him alone. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather trust the God who loves me than blind fate or chance when chaos strikes.

Just Trust Me

His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:29-33 ESV). Without quoting actual portions of various politician’s speeches, I think all of us would agree that a general theme in them is how much they should be trusted with our support for the office they are seeking. In one way or another they will implore us to “just trust them.” Or, it may even be said by implication that since we obviously can’t trust their opponent, we certainly ought to be able to trust them. And, it is not unusual to see this in our daily relationships. We ask our spouse or our children to do a task for us and simply trust that it will be done. I’ve heard it numerous times since we have been around our grandchildren through parts of the school term when asked if they have completed an assignment, the confident reply is, “Sure, trust me!” Interestingly enough, our experience in trusting these people, especially those whom we don’t know well, is often disappointing. Sometimes they simply are not true to their word. You may remember that we are in the process of getting the house built in Texas. It has been an adventure in some ways. Not long ago we saw the foundation finished and ready for the framing. The materials were delivered and the crew was set to begin on a Thursday. It is certainly not a big job, though it is important to us. The General Contractor, who is quite wonderful, received a call from the framers that they would not be able to keep the original schedule as they had fallen behind in another job. They would, however, be there to start on Saturday with no more than a two day delay. The promise was “just trust me.” A mere ten hours before they were to arrive and begin work he received another call saying they couldn’t come. Other jobs had come up and he was going to need to just fit our job in somehow, but he confidently assured us that we should “trust him.” Well, we didn’t. He was dismissed from the job and others had to be hired to do it. Like so many others, his actions belied his words. He couldn’t be trusted. God has promised us that we can trust him, and we can’t even see him. Jesus’ disciples could see him and had the same questions. In our reading today, Jesus was preparing them for the great shock of his impending death. He knew they would need to have peace in the face of turmoil. It’s the same for us today. But we have the Gospel’s declaration of Jesus’ victory over death. He keeps on declaring to us, “I have overcome the world!” He is not like someone who shouts, “Trust me!” but can’t be trusted. His actions prove his trustworthiness. Because Jesus has overcome the world, we can fearlessly trust him.

Bad News

Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments! His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous. It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice. For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever. He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries. He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honor. The wicked man sees it and is angry; he gnashes his teeth and melts away; the desire of the wicked will perish! (Psalm 112 ESV). July has been a disturbing month. While some of the terrorist attacks have been more widely publicized than others, it may be a surprise to you that there have been 151 attacks in the month of July resulting in the death of at least one person. Executions, bombings, shootings, rocket attacks, and vehicular attacks have all been in the headlines. It makes me wonder what bad news will be making the headlines in August. If you are much like I am, you are ready for some good news. I suppose we could look for a place in the world that is isolated from all of the bad news of our world. However, I haven’t found such a place yet. So, it begs the question, where can we turn to escape bad news? The truth is that we should not seek to escape the bad news as we should learn to face it fearlessly. No matter where we live on this tired old planet, bad news will always be there. Freedom from fear is one of the blessings of trusting God. Our reading today makes that abundantly clear. That trust does not make all the awful things go away. It teaches us that we must trust in God’s sovereign rule because we know that he bends evil to accomplish his good purposes. So we are not ripped by a maelstrom of seemingly random bad circumstances. Our reading uses some words that bring great hope to me. They are long range words like “generation” and “forever.” They call to us to view life from a broader perspective. Now might be a bad news kind of world, but there is a time promised where all of those things that cause us to wince with the blow of more destruction and death will certainly and forever be done away with. In the midst of this kind of world we can focus on the big picture. When our focus is on that world, we see God’s news which is always good news. This is how John sees it: And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4 ESV).

Safe at Home Plate

Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him. Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. (Daniel 6:16-23 ESV).

The Texas Rangers are doing very well this year. They are still in first place in the American League West leading the Houston Astros by two and one-half games. We try to watch as many games as we can. I always enjoy a good play at home plate. One particular play came as the result from a great hit moving Elvis Andrus from first all the way around toward home. I saw it unfold in real time as we watched. As he neared third base, he saw the ball scooped up. The base coach is being conservative and trying to hold him at third; but Andrus wants to score. He wheeled around the base and headed for home. In a cloud of dust, he slid into home just as he heard the ball smack into the catcher’s mitt and the umpire called, “Safe!” Sometimes we have close calls in life. They are exciting in games, but when larger issues press us, they can be daunting at the least. Our reading describes such an experience in the life of Daniel. As a result of his refusal to worship any other god but the God, he is cast into a den of lions. It must have been an incredible emotional experience. He had to feel the whole gambit of emotion, from fear and terror to peace and acceptance. None of those emotions would subside until the doors were opened and he was released. The king had declared him “safe.” Perhaps of greater interest to us as we face our own “lion’s den” in death is to understand that the decision whether we are safe or not has already been determined. Jesus’ death and resurrection has already won. We don’t have to run for our life. Just a little trot on to home plate will do. Jesus is safe!

Knowledge

I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion. The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate. I have counsel and sound wisdom; I have insight; I have strength. By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just; by me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly. I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me. (Proverbs 8:12-17 ESV). I am amazed how often I am told I need to know something new. In less than a week I will have another birthday. At sixty-seven you would think I had learned just about all the stuff I need to know. A recent exchange with my son proved that to be an error. Kyle was working with the remote to access the computer that controls the programming of the pool pumps and cleaners and asked me a question about the variable speed pump. My response was that I didn’t know and didn’t want to know. His comment was that I was not old enough to stop learning new things. I hate it when my kids are right. Knowledge is exploding more quickly than any of us can keep up. It seems that the more there is to know, the more we “need to know.” Many people have felt the pressure of acquiring more knowledge. Sometimes we just aren’t satisfied until we know more. The best grades and the most certificates of training are prized. In fact, sometimes it’s almost as if we worship knowledge. It is good that we desire to know more. However, when we begin to trust knowledge to keep us safe, to keep us ahead of the pack, to get the best deals and the best jobs we fall into a dangerous trap of our world. Please don’t misunderstand, knowledge isn’t bad. However, there can be a dark side to it. When we want to know the inside story about people so we can talk about them, it can only lead to our destruction as well as others. When we want to know certain facts about others so that we can control them; that will always end badly for both parties. Look at our reading today. The writer simply states that wisdom can be found (v. 17). It does require effort. He uses the word “diligently” in talking about the search. I have found that to be true in my life about every subject. If it is worth knowing, it usually comes with a greater price than merely opening a file on the computer and watching a video. Once we get this knowledge there are some good things that come with it. The writer says we gain insight and strength. We bring honor to God when we seek to know the things he has shown us. We bring honor to him when we trust him for what he has shown us of himself in his world and his word. Now, I don’t know if I’m convinced I need to know all the parameters of the variable speed pool pump and how to program it for maximum benefit. I do know that learning is a process that should never stop. Renew your commitment to gain wisdom and knowledge. You’ll be better for it.

Christmas Surprises

And the LORD said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.” (Exodus 33:17-23 ESV). Today’s reading is one of my favorite Old Testament passages. I often return to it when I need the encouragement that God has never secreted Himself away from me, even when the days seem to be darkest. He has always planned for a “cleft in the rock” that I might see Him and experience the knowledge of His goodness and glory.

And, as crazy as that might sound, that thought brings me to thoughts of Christmas. I know, that’s not a very apparent leap, but stay with me. I am not good at waiting for a specified time to open gifts. My curiosity seems to get the better of me most of the time. I am a “peeker.” Some of you may be a “shaker.” Either way, it almost always spoils the surprise of the gift. Even when just a small bit of the gift is revealed, it always collapsed our anticipation at the moment of the actual opening of the gift. Maybe that’s the reason I am always tempted to give others their gifts early encouraging them to go ahead and open them. The immediate gratification of seeing their surprise is worth it. That’s exactly what God did for Moses. He let him open his “gift” early. That glimpse of God’s glory as it passed Moses and began to fade was not to be the final gift; however, it was enough of a revelation to settle the hope of his ultimate victory. Remember that he would ultimately appear at the transfiguration with Elijah and Jesus. That certainly was the great moment of revelation of God’s glory. It also reminds me that God has shown me all I need for this day through Jesus and the Scripture. With the gift of his Spirit living in me, I shouldn’t need God to reveal anything more of Himself than that. I know that it is still a great temptation to ask God to prove himself through miracles and works; but, really, have you seen a sunset lately? Check it out. God is there in mighty glory every evening! Don’t give in to peeking or shaking. The gift is being revealed more and more each moment of the day as we are drawn closer to our heavenly home. Just enjoy!

URGENT! Read This First!

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. (Psalm 25:1-5 ESV).

URGENT! Read This First! These were the words written in bold red letters emblazoned on the first page of the instructions of my new saw. Some months ago I bought a 12” sliding compound miter saw. I needed to mount it on a portable stand in anticipation of some of the requirements of the new house and my “shop.” The stand I chose to purchase came in an awfully small box considering the display model. There were lots of “pieces and parts” packed perfectly in the box, all of which required that I read the instructions to determine how to put it together. Being the experienced man that I am I was tempted to skip the first page with the warning. That would have been a grave mistake. Among other things, it cautioned against using any sort of mallet to force the axles through sleeves for the wheels. It seems they are made to twist on rather than slide on. Sliding them on causes the wheels to become frozen to the axles and not roll. What would be the use wheels that don’t roll on a portable stand! Rushing through the process would have been a disaster. But, waiting is always so difficult. We rush, all excited and eager, for whatever reason. Our eagerness to plunge ahead without waiting is usually a sign of trusting the wrong thing, or not trusting at all. This is at the heart of our reading today. By waiting on God, the psalmist asks God to do several things for him. He is asking to be shown, taught and led. He knows there would be disastrous consequences to rush headlong into life without waiting on the Lord. Abraham learned that lesson as well. When he was 75 years old, God told him he was to become a father. That was great news; however, the timing was to be extended. It would be twenty-four years before the promise was fulfilled. Think about being 75 years old and being told you’re about to become a parent and then waiting 24 years. God told Israel that they’d be a nation, able to leave the slavery of Egypt and be independent, but they had to wait 400 years. And then God told Moses he would lead the people to the Promised Land, but they had to go to the wilderness and wait 40 years. Then came the great promise that the Messiah would come. God’s people waited. They waited generation after generation, century after century, when God seemed silent. Then when the Messiah came, he was only recognized by a few. In fact, he was only recognized by those who were waiting for him. Are you being tempted to plunge ahead of God’s direction? Pause now and ask for God’s guidance and instruction today.