I concluded my previous blog with the following questions: Was God fair to impose the condition on Adam and Eve? Was God fair in driving them from the garden, and forcing them to live by their own physical labor? Was it fair for Cain to kill his brother, presumably because he was jealous that God accepted Abel’s offering but rejected Cain’s? And finally, was it fair for God to impose on the entire human race the penalty for an act of disobedience committed by His first human family?

I then asked for input and/or insights from my readers, to which I received the following:

“Fair” is that which is equitable. An “if . . . then” statement sets the parameters of an exchange.

The most lopsided exchange ever was when God exchanged the life of His son for mine.

“Fair” is death for disobedience.

Maston Jackson

Was it fair for God to impose the condition on Adam and Eve? Since He is the Creator of all things, yes, it is totally fair. It was His prerogative to be creative to begin with, so therefore it’s His prerogative to set the tone, the standard, the rule.

Adam and Eve had ONE rule placed upon them to obey, and they failed; forfeiting their rights to live in God’s paradise, and to live in unbroken fellowship with Him. To be faithful to His character, God has to carry out His promise. God gave the meaning and set the standard for what fair is and should be.

Donnie W. Helms

I also received messages from others relating their appreciation for writing the blog, and their anticipation in reading part two. So, let’s move on. I would like to focus this week’s installment on passages of Scripture from which we might glean a deeper understanding, as well as a greater appreciation, for Biblical instruction on this controversial subject.

We must begin at the beginning if we are to grasp the Biblical teaching concerning fairness. The Bible begins with the simple, yet profound assertion: “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.” That verse gives us everything we need to know to reach an understanding of fairness. To be overly simplistic, this verse teaches clearly that everything there is belongs to God. And the simple conclusion we can draw from that is, since we belong to God, He can do with us whatever He chooses. That verse establishes the fact the God created us, He owns us, and He can choose to do with His creation whatever He deems to be right. In other words, fairness is to be understood in light of God’s ownership. Let me now try to illustrate this by looking at a few Biblical characters which will give us a glimpse at what true fairness looks like.

First, think with me about the story of the universal flood that destroyed the entire human race except for Noah, his three sons, and their wives. Was it fair for God to destroy all of humanity? Some would argue that this event gives a picture of a capricious, angry, manipulating God. He created mankind, gave them the freedom to choose to obey or disobey, and then wantonly destroyed them when they used that freedom to go their way rather than God’s way. Was that fair?

Second, let’s consider the story of Moses (I will only use a very small ‘slice’ of his life due to time and space limitations). At the age of eighty, God spoke powerfully to Moses, instructing him to go to Egypt, stand before Pharaoh, and demand the liberation of the people of Israel. Moses then presented God with his excuses for not wanting to complete this task, culminating his reasoning with the following feeble attempt to walk away from God’s calling: “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent – either in the past or recently or since you have been speaking to your servant – because my mouth and my tongue are sluggish.” Listen very carefully to God’s response to Moses: “Who placed a mouth on humans? Who makes a person mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?”

No one knows for sure what Moses’ speech impediment was, but it is clear that to him, it was an insurmountable problem which he felt would preclude him from accomplishing the task at hand. God’s response is profound: He says that He is the One who makes a person to be deaf, or blind. We are His, and He alone has the prerogative to establish limitations on individual humans. Again, is that fair?

A third Old Testament case study would be Joseph, the son of Jacob (Israel). His life was one challenge after another. Let’s focus our thoughts on that chapter from his life when he was sold by his brothers to a band of traders. This started a series of events that led to his promotion, to his demotion, to his arrest, to his release, to his becoming the second in command of all Egypt. Was it fair for his brothers to have treated him with such anger and animosity? From the human perspective we might think it was completely unfair. But from Joseph’s perspective, he saw it all as being brought about by the providence of God. In other words, it was all brought about by his brothers act of jealousy and envy, but it was orchestrated by the invisible hand of God. And again the question: Was that fair?

Time and space limitations will only allow two more examples from the New Testament. Consideration will be given to the Apostle Paul, and then to Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul was a man, after his conversion, who was totally committed to evangelizing the world. It is obvious from a mere cursory reading of Paul’s letters, as well as the account of his ministry found in the book of Acts, that he was a man consumed with the desire to make Christ known. It would seem reasonable to think that such a man would be protected by the providential hand of God, and yet, we see Paul suffer horrifically throughout his life of ministry. For his own recounting of some of his sufferings, please read Second Corinthians 11:24-29. His sufferings were extreme, much worse than anything most of us will ever experience.

Paul then gives us a bit of insight into how he viewed his suffering. In Second Corinthians 12:7-9 he informs his readers that he experienced something he referred to as a ‘thorn in the flesh.’ He then states that he prayed to God for deliverance from this ailment, to which God replied, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Paul’s response? “Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Paul understood that every situation and circumstance in life is an arena in which we have the opportunity to glorify God, our creator and sovereign Lord.

Finally, consider our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. God the Father set a plan in motion from before the foundation of the world that ordained Jesus to be slain for the sins of humanity. Jesus came into the world as one of us according to this preordained plan of His Father. His life ministry was filled with acts of rejection, humiliation, and ultimately crucifixion. Was it fair of the Father to ordain His Son to suffer such actions? From our perspective perhaps not, but from God’s eternal perspective it was the plan through which He provided salvation for fallen humanity.

There is a thread running clearly through each of the examples cited above: the thread of God’s sovereignty over His creation. Everything that happens is set by the standard of God. He can do whatever He chooses with His creation. He could have chosen to destroy His human creation after the rebellion in the garden, but knowing what man would do before ever creating him, He preordained a plan by which fallen man could be reconciled to God.

Every act of God throughout human history has been to make His plan known to the human family. Whatever happens to us as individuals should not be compared with what happens to anyone else, trying to determine if an experience is fair or unfair. Rather, we should look at the immensity of God’s love and grace, and realize that everything in life is designed in such a way as to reveal that love to us.

Fairness should be weighed as we look to God as the standard of what is truly fair. To think that He has gone to such lengths to demonstrate His love for us – even to the preordained plan of setting His own Son aside to be the sacrificial Lamb who would take away the sin of the world – should be the standard to which we look. And then, in the spirit of the Apostle Paul, let’s consider whatever comes our way as an opportunity to show and share God’s love with our world. To Him be the glory, both now and forever.

You’ve heard it, right? As a matter of fact, you’ve probably said it, perhaps multiple times. Something happens that doesn’t go exactly the way you had hoped, or planned, or dreamed, and the thought immediately comes to mind: That’s not fair!

It begins at an early age. You ask permission to do something, to go somewhere, to purchase the newest gimmick, to get in on the latest fad, to go to the once-in-a-lifetime event, to attend the greatest party ever, or any of a gazillion other must-have, must-do things. And in response to your request, you hear your parent say, “If….. then.” If you finish your homework,” or “if you complete all your chores,” or “if you clean your room every day,” or…… You get the picture. To which you immediately responded, “That’s not fair!” Oh, really? Why do we think that we are the standard setters for what is fair and unfair? As a matter of fact, what exactly does it mean to say that something isn’t fair? What, exactly, is fairness?

To see how diverse the word ‘fair’ is, simply look it up in the dictionary. It would take a lot of space to copy and paste the multi-faceted definition of this much often over-used word. It goes far beyond the scope of this blog to deal with the varied nuances of this word.

What I do want to focus on is this matter of fairness when we feel that in some way we have been wronged, treated in an unfair manner. And again, I would pose the question, who sets the standard for what is fair and unfair?

* “That teacher is so unfair! I deserved a better grade than this!”

* “My parents are so unfair! All my friends are going to the party – why can’t I?”

* “My employer is so unfair! I deserved that promotion more than Ted. They only gave it to him because he is such a manipulator.”

* “This diagnosis is so unfair! Why did God allow me to contract this disease? I’ve tried my best to live for His glory. Why does He allow so many wicked people to enjoy a carefree life, while He has robbed me of the future?”

* “It’s so unfair for that my son has made the choices he has made! We did our best to rear him with the best opportunities, and he has just wasted it all!”

Every one of those statements establishes one truth: we define the word “fair” according to our personal situations and preferences. Fairness is often defined by circumstances of life. Something happens, and we immediately conclude that it is either fair or unfair by our personal standard. We may be the recipient of the awful diagnosis, and immediately think that it is so unfair. However, we might hear of someone else receiving the same diagnosis and think that they have received exactly what they deserved. So, it was unfair for me to receive that word, but it was totally fair for them to receive the same thing. I would ask the question: Is that fair? Is it fair for us to think something is fair for one and unfair for another? That, to me, is the perfect picture of being unfair!

I would suggest that this idea of fairness, and more importantly how we define fairness, is based completely on our worldview. How do you view the world? Through which set of lens do you see things, understand things, define things? There are many different sets of lens that can be used: the lens of humanism, secularism, atheism, agnosticism, pantheism, panentheism, deism, theism. Our personal understanding of fairness will be based on our worldview.

We could spend much time and space discussing each of these, but that is not the purpose of this blog. Rather, I will focus my thoughts on the theistic worldview, and, even more specifically, the theistic worldview based upon the teachings of the Bible.

I will look more in my next blog about specific teachings from Scripture pertaining to this subject, but I do need to at least introduce the matter here. The Bible teaches clearly that God is the creator of all things, and that all things were pronounced to be ‘good’ by Him at the conclusion of six consecutive days of creation. This pronouncement of ‘good’ is to be understood in light of the fact that it was made before the corruption of sin entered the picture. God created man and woman, placed them into a perfect environment, blessed them immensely, and then instructed them to fill the earth.

God did, however, introduce a condition to the couple’s ability to remain in the perfect paradise, and to enjoy continual fellowship with God. That condition was broken by Adam and Eve, and thus ensued a state of brokenness between man and God.

The taint of sin affected everything. Adam and Eve were banned from the paradise they had enjoyed, and their intimacy with God was severed. Whereas they had enjoyed the provisions of God, they would now have to work for those provisions. The ground, which had previously yielded its fruit voluntarily, would now have to be tilled, and weeded, and watered, and nurtured. The labor would now be by the sweat of the brow.

Soon it became obvious just how awful the introduction of sin would affect mankind. Adam and Eve’s first two children, Cain and Abel, would graphically display the terrible consequences of sin, as Cain would murder his brother.

Now, you may be wondering how all this fits into a discussion on fairness. Let me conclude this week’s discussion by posing a couple of questions for you to ponder before next week’s blog. Was God fair to impose the condition on Adam and Eve? Was God fair in driving them from the garden, and forcing them to live by their own physical labor? Was it fair for Cain to kill his brother, presumably because he was jealous that God accepted Abel’s offering but rejected Cain’s? And finally, was it fair for God to impose on the entire human race the penalty for an act of disobedience committed by His first human family?

Please look for my next blog, “That Isn’t Fair,” part two, next week. In the meantime, please join the discussion. If you have insights you would to share I would love to hear from you. I will gladly include your insights in my next blog. Let’s learn from one another, as we strive to come to a better understanding of true ‘fairness.’

What are your goals in life? What do you hope to accomplish? Attain? Accumulate? Where would you like to be five years from today? Ten years? Twenty? How do you see your future self? How do you plan to get from your present self to your future self? What will you have to do to see that future self becomes reality?

As children, we probably didn’t give much thought to the future. Each new day was a day of adventure, games, friends, fun: but it was just another day. We enjoyed each day individually, without any concern for tomorrow, or next week, or next month. Life was just a succession of days, not necessarily connected in any meaningful way.

But, as we grew older, our minds began to turn a little more to what lies ahead. Still not a matter of focus, or any serious thought, but we did begin to look beyond today. As we moved into higher grades of public education, we began to realize the importance of planning ahead. Still not necessarily looking ahead, but simply planning ahead. We started having project assignments that were due on a certain date, so we planned ahead, developing a strategy to meet the deadline.

However, at some point in time, each of us began to do more than plan ahead: we actually began to look ahead. What will I do after graduating high school? College? Graduate school? Post grad? Or, do I even want to further my education beyond high school? If so, which college will I attend? We begin to research colleges and universities that will best serve us in reaching our goals. Career goals. Family goals. Financial goals. Retirement goals. Living life for the moment becomes a little less important, and planning for the future becomes crucial.

So, right now, at this stage of your life journey, what are your goals for the future? Over the years, I have done pre-marital counseling for many prospective couples planning their marriage. I have always felt that one of the most important aspects of this type of counseling is to get the couple to look beyond the infatuation of the moment. I have given an assignment that forces them to look to the future, far beyond the “we’ll live by our love for one another” feelings of sentimentality. I ask them to write down their goals, both individual as well as relationship goals, for their future. I ask for specifics: educational goals, career goals, family planning goals, financial goals, etc. at one year, five years, ten years, and twenty years.

It has become glaringly obvious that many, if not most, of the couples I have counseled have given little to no thought about matters pertaining to their future. Too many believe that their love for one another will be all they need to have a successful marriage.

I have truly been amazed at some of the responses I have received from their answering questions pertaining to their future. Many have no plans, no goals, having given no thought to these concerns. One of the most unbelievable episodes I have experienced in counseling was when I asked the question, “How many children do you hope to have?” They both answered at the exact same moment, but their answers were far from being exactly the same. She said, “Two,” and he said, “Five.” They turned immediately to face each other, and she said, “You have got to be kidding!” This was followed immediately with a heated argument in my presence, which ultimately resulted in further counseling sessions being cancelled, and the wedding being postponed.

That is a rather extreme example of how desperately we need to have well-defined goals for our lives as individuals, and as partners in relationships of all kinds.

So, the question is, how do we go about setting goals? Is there some sort of program that is a one-size-fits-all method of goal setting? It would certainly be nice if there was such a thing, but, as I’m sure you are already aware, there is not.

But, I can show you one way NOT to go about setting goals and making plans for your future. It is an overlooked passage in the Epistle of James. This passage contains words of wisdom that will guard us against the heartbreak and headache of misguided goals if we will but practice its simple teaching. James says:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring – what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.

James 4:13-16

To some, goal setting and decision making are based upon the mentality of those who operate by such a philosophy. They are looking for the next big investment, the next guaranteed financial activity, the next get-rich-quick scheme. It’s what we might refer to as the “fly by the seat of your pants” method of goal setting.

In this same epistle, James gives us another important word of instruction:

Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God – who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly – and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord, being double-minded and unstable in all his ways.

James 1:5-8

These two passages from James’ pen give us important elements of effective goal-making. First, don’t make goals based on presumption. He warns us against making decisions based on presuming we know what the future holds. We’re going here; we’re doing that; we’re staying for this duration of time; we’re going to make a profit; we’re going to return. There are so many unknown variables in those statements. Now please understand, I don’t think James is telling us not to make plans. He is simply warning us about making plans based on presumption.

That leads us to the second important element of goal-making in this passage: Seek wisdom from God. We don’t know what tomorrow holds, but He holds tomorrow in the palm of His hand. He is unchangeable, immovable, unwavering, all-knowing, all-seeing, and all-powerful. His wisdom is what we need to give us guidance and direction as we look toward the future. Make sure that He is the foundation upon which we stand as we strive to set goals and make plans, realizing that, at any time, life can change or even end without a moment’s notice.

Allow me to conclude this blog with another quote from Scripture, this time from the Lord Jesus Himself:

Then He told them a parable: “A rich man’s land was very productive. He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops? I will do this,’ he said. ‘I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there. Then I’ll say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”‘

But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared – whose will they be?

That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.

Luke 12:16-21

And that’s how it is with us. Goal setting is to be built upon the wisdom of God. Anything else is sheer presumption. His wisdom is the sure foundation upon which we should live day to day, and by which we should look to the future.

Life is filled with times of decision. We might call these times the crossroads of life. We are driving along, enjoying the scenery, basking in the beauty of the changing countryside, when all of a sudden we come upon an unexpected crossroad. The decision must be made: which direction will we go to continue our journey? We can continue straight through the intersection, or turn to the left or the right. Each of these would take us to our desired destination, but each would go through different terrains, different views, different levels of comfort and danger. We must make a decision before we can move forward on our journey.

One direction would take us on the quickest route, however, it would be a rather boring drive with little scenery to enjoy. It would be pretty much a straight shot from where we sit at the crossroad and our point of destination. We would get there quickly, but see nothing on the way.

A different direction would be a little more scenic, taking us through several changes of terrain, and providing us with some rather breathtaking views. However, it would still be a smooth, comfortable ride, and would get us to the end of our drive with little chance of mishap or trouble.

And finally, we could choose to take the longest, most difficult trek. It would provide us with the most beauty, the grandest vistas, the most spectacular views with many different geographical shifts. But, it would be by far the most dangerous of the three choices. There are many twists and turns along this route. There are also some points of danger along the way, with the road leading through several passages which have been the site of many wrecks as vehicles have veered off the narrow passages into the deep ravines below.

And now, we find ourselves at this crossroad, and we must choose. Which way will we go? Of course, there are many factors which must be considered as we ponder the choices. Are we looking for a life of relative ease, with little chance of difficulties and distractions along the way? Or are we a little more adventurous, wanting some excitement along life’s journey, but with little chance of danger lurking around the next corner? Or, are we the hyper-adventurous type, looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead, not really knowing what we might encounter along the way?

And then, to add a little more confusion to the matter of making a choice, if you are like me and want to super-analyze every facet of each choice before reaching a final decision, then you ask yourself the question: “Of the three choices, is one the RIGHT choice, or would either of the three be right if I chose it?” Wow! That will make your head hurt, for sure!

If it is true that either of the three would be right, then how do we reach a decision? Again, there are so many factors which would be involved in making a final choice. For instance, personal preference would be a factor. Do I enjoy adventure, or am I more of a comfort-zone fanatic? Also, how will my decision affect others: spouse, children, grandchildren, etc.? Another consideration would be to give thought to the desired result of my decision: will one path give a better chance of fulfilling the desired outcome?

And then, if either of the three choices would be right, does that mean none of the three would be wrong? I admit that all of this sounds rather confusing, but in reality, this is life. We all face crossroads throughout our lives: we face times of decision with several choices before us. We must choose one over against all the other options available, and then we have to live with the decision made.

Thinking back over my life, now 68 years in the making, I can see clearly how big decisions made at many crossroads of my life have brought me to where I am today. I made many choices based upon my own personal preferences. I would weigh out the options, and after much consideration I would choose the path to take.

However, there were other times when the choice was made for me. Allow me to use an experience from the life of the Apostle Paul to illustrate my point. In Acts 16 we read the following account:

“They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia; they had been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. When they came to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. Passing by Mysia they went down to Troas.”

It is clear from these words that Paul and his companions had decided to speak in Asia, but were forbidden to do so through the communication of the Holy Spirit. This was then followed by an attempt by Paul to go to Bithynia, but was not allowed to go there, once again by direct communication of the Holy Spirit.

It would be wonderful if we knew exactly how the Holy Spirit communicated this information with them. However, if we did know, we would probably expect God to communicate with us in exactly the same manner. And, the point seems to be simply that there are times when personal preferences are trumped by a direct mandate from God. On those occasions we are to understand that there is only one correct choice, and that is the one to follow.

But on other occasions, when there are more than one option available to us, and they all seem to be of equal value and importance, and the Holy Spirit does not give explicit instruction to go one way as opposed to the other, then we are free to choose for ourselves. But even then, we are to do so only after much prayer and seeking the mind and heart of God.

I will conclude by repeating the obvious: life is filled with crossroads. Some will be of great magnitude and consequence, whereas others will be of far less significance. But each decision should be made only after giving serious consideration to each option, and seeking the will of God before making a final decision.

And one final word: once the decision is made, don’t spend needless time second guessing the decision. Live with it. Use it to God’s glory. Invest wisely in the use of your time and your decisions. As we are encouraged from the pen of Paul: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it all to the glory of God.”

In my previous blog I wrote about deceivers – specifically how Satan disguises himself in order to deceive individuals by causing them to question God’s Word. I would like to follow up on that topic by writing about a very real problem in many churches: tares among the wheat.

“Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; ²⁵ but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. ²⁶ But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.”

Matthew 13:24-26

In my opinion, a very big and ever-present problem in many churches is that there are tares among the wheat. What I mean by this is simply that often there are individuals in churches who are tools of the devil, always bringing about dissention and divisiveness in the local church. Sadly, this problem is all too real, and all too destructive. Perhaps a Biblical example will clarify the subject to which I speak.

“I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.”

3 John 9, 10

The Apostle John is exposing an individual in the church to which he writes this brief letter. Diotrephes is apparently a trouble-maker. There are a couple of things that John says about him that is rather alarming. First, this man “loves to have the preeminence.” He loves to be the center of attention. He seeks to control the church through means of manipulation, even to the point of striving to demean John. He is obviously taking measures to suppress John’s leadership as an apostle of Jesus Christ, as John points out that he had written a letter which Diotrephes had apparently either destroyed or kept hidden from the other members of the church. Second, John points out that he “refuses to receive the brethren… putting them out of the church.” This man decided who could come in, and those who would be left out, or even put out.

Clearly this man is one who wants to be in charge, to make all decisions, to decide who may and who may not be part of this local body of believers. The spirit of Diotrephes is alive and well in many churches today. They want to control everything. They want the final decision in all concerns. They refuse to follow the pastoral leadership of those called to serve in that position. They demand the final say.

Far too many of us have already thought of a Diotrephes we have met. Perhaps we have been in a local church with one. Perhaps we have witnessed the hurt, divisiveness and dissention a Diotrephes can cause. Perhaps we have suffered spiritual wounds from the assault of such a person.

Sometimes, I believe, these are unsaved individuals who have become part of a local body and are simply tools in the hands of Satan. They are lost, and they are acting out their lostness.

However, sadly, sometimes these individuals are truly saved, but they are living unspiritual lives. They operate in the human spirit rather than relying on the Holy Spirit. Their motives are self-centered rather than Christ-centered. Their desire is to be on the throne of the church, rather than allowing Christ to be on the throne.

Diotrephes was certainly that type of person. He sought the preeminence. There is only One who is preeminent in the church: Jesus Christ. By Diotrephes seeking the preeminence it is obvious that he wanted to overrule everyone, including Jesus Himself.

From my personal observations through the years of my Christian life, I have witnessed this first hand, and have heard countless stories of this happening in other places. The spirit of Diotrephes is alive and well. There are many tares among the wheat. They may appear to be the real thing, but after a while their true colors come shining through. It is pretty easy to spot them: they are the ones who are always striving to be the decision maker. They want the last word in everything.

Their actions and attitudes are clearly centered on themselves. They truly want to be the ruler of the church, and they will do anything to get their way, even if it means leaving a path of destruction in their wake.

It is a sad day in the local church when an individual, or a group of individuals, decide that they know what is best for the church. They have secret meetings behind closed doors. They scheme and devise plans to have their way. They may get on the telephone and call others who are sympathetic to their cause. And the, they drop the hammer. And most of the time they clothe their words and plans in what appears to be super spiritual phraseology. Perhaps they have prayed, perhaps not, but even if they have prayed, it was with the decision already made. The prayers were simply a means of telling others that they had truly sought God’s guidance, but in reality they were only seeking God’s permission to do what they have already decided to do.

Our actions should be centered on one thing only – glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the preeminent One, and He should always be the center of attention. All decisions should be taken to Him in seasons of prayer, and only made when He has directed our path.

“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.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

Let’s keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. And let’s make a commitment to do all that we do for His glory, and His alone.

In my reading through the Bible, I once again find myself marveling in the story found in the book of Exodus. I have now read through the Bible 43 times, and each time I am amazed when I come to this particular book (not that I’m not amazed at the reading of each book, but this one in particular). There are many things that make this book amazing to me, but for the sake of time and space I will focus on only one: deceit.

We find the subject of deceit very early in the pages of Exodus. Moses, as you will recall, had been commissioned by God to stand face to face with Pharaoh, demanding that he set the people of Israel free. This would prove to be an extremely costly for Pharaoh to do, since the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, serving the taskmasters in hard, demanding physical labor.

Moses goes to Pharaoh with God’s demand, but Pharaoh refuses to heed the command and hardens his heart against God and God’s messenger. This precipitates a series of ten miraculous plagues God brings against Pharaoh, which were displays of God’s omnipotence to both the Egyptians and the Israelites.

However, the interesting thing about the story is that the Egyptian magicians were able to duplicate the miracles God performed through Moses. When Moses and Aaron stood before Pharaoh initially, Aaron’s rod became a snake, and amazingly, the magicians of Egypt brought about the same result. Then, the series of ten plagues began. The first and second of those plagues – water turned into blood, and frogs throughout all of Egypt – were duplicated through the magicians of Egypt.

The point I want to emphasize is simply this: there is a deceiver who has been at work since the beginning of time, working tenaciously to blind the eyes of those who are seeking truth. We see it in Exodus, and all through the Bible. Satan, the devil, the archenemy of God and all things of God, is continuously and consistently at work, utilizing the weapon of deceit to keep people from the truth.

It all began in the Garden of Eden, where Eve was deceived by the subtle serpent (Satan in disguise). He (the serpent) persuaded Eve that the Word of God was not true, and offered her a very alluring alternative. That’s the way he works. He presents us with alluring temptations that are disguised as something worth pursuing. And, once the bait is taken, we are truly hooked.

Paul says it this way”

“Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.”

2 Corinthians 11:14-15

Deceit is one of the most powerful weapons in Satan’s arsenal. He is always at work deceiving multitudes into believing a lie. He presents alternatives to the truth of God’s Word. He calls into question the absolute truths presented in Scripture, leading those who will follow into paths of deceit, destruction and death.

Just as we see in Exodus, and Genesis, and so many other instances in Scripture, multitudes have been duped by his extreme forms of deceit. There are so many examples of this in our contemporary American culture. Things that were once seen as sinful acts of rebellion against God are now viewed as the cultural norm.

As I shared last week, there is a huge difference between the world’s view of right and wrong, and the Bible’s view. Culture accepts certain practices as perfectly right, while the Bible says that those things are an abomination in the eyes of God. We hear of the big ones all the time: adultery, murder, rape, homosexuality, abortion, child abuse, spousal abuse, etc. Those acts that are viewed as less evil are sometimes overlooked altogether: lying, stealing, gossip, child neglect, spousal neglect, etc.

The deceiver begins to place questions in the minds and hearts of those who are susceptible to his guile. Once he has convinced some individuals that an action is not so bad, then a movement begins to change the culture to embrace the new “norm”. Society at first revolts against the introduction of a new cultural practice, but over time it is embraced by the majority. Once this happens, what was once right becomes wrong, and what was wrong becomes right.

It is obvious that the deceiver is working with all his might to wreak havoc in American culture. If there is no standard of right and wrong, then nothing can be right and nothing can be wrong. We then find ourselves in the cultural plight described in the book of Judges: everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Please understand that there is a very real enemy who is out to do as much damage to the human family as possible. One of his major weapons is that of deceit. The only was we can protect ourselves against his deceit is to know the truth, and then to stand with boldness on that truth. May that be true of each of us as we strive to represent the truth of God’s Word to the world.

What makes one viewpoint different from another? Or, perhaps a better question would be, what makes one viewpoint correct and another incorrect? Especially in matters of religious belief, what makes one correct and worth embracing while others are incorrect and needful of exposing?

I realize an attempt to deal with this subject is dangerous, as it infringes on the demands of political correctness. Advocates of PC would argue that every religious system of thought and doctrine is of equal validity, so one cannot, indeed must not, say that one is correct while all others are incorrect. One can believe what he chooses, but must never impose his beliefs on others.

Now, if the premise of PC is correct, then that means no one can claim to know “the truth.” The reason for this is that there is no such thing as “the truth.” If all religions are of equal validity, then we must understand that none have validity. How can one religious system be valid if it is contradicted by another? If they are contradictory and mutually exclusive, then neither can be the truth. A system of belief cannot possibly be true if another system of belief, also embraced by some to be true, advocates a different set of “truths.” To use an overly simplistic illustration, a thing cannot be black and white at the same time in the same space. It is either white, or black, but not both. In the same way, a religious system of belief cannot be both true and false at the same time. It is either true or false, but not both.

A brief blog cannot possibly delve into all the multi-faceted intricacies of all the religious belief systems, even if we focused only on the major religions of the world. So I will deal with a simple, yet profound, claim of Jesus Christ that really makes all the difference in the world. In the Gospel of John we find this amazing statement:

“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

John 14:6

Advocates of other religious belief systems would teach that there are other means of attaining entrance into heaven. Some would lead us to believe that through certain religious practices one could go to heaven. Others would teach that living moral lives would gain us entrance. Still others would lead us to believe that as long as my good deeds outweigh my bad I will be given entrance. Each of those are based in some form on the goodness of man.

But, the Bible teaches that there none who are good. Allow me to share just a few examples of verses from the Bible which would establish this as an absolute truth:

“There is none righteous, no, not one.”

Romans 3:10

“Every one of them has turned aside; They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.”

Psalm 53:3

“They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”

Romans 3:12

These should suffice to make the point: no one is capable of earning entrance into heaven. So, let’s revisit the quote of Jesus cited above. He claims to be the only way for one to gain entrance into heaven. He states emphatically that the only way for one to go to heaven is through Him. Not through Him plus something else. Not through Him plus religious activity, good works, adhering flawlessly to a system of belief, behavior or practice. But through Him and Him alone. Jesus plus nothing.

Now, since two opposite and contradictory beliefs cannot be true at the same time, either Jesus’ statement is true, and He is the only means of gaining entrance into heaven, or He is a liar and not to be trusted. That statement makes all the difference in the world, as well as in the world to come. If I choose to deny His statement, and reject it as being false, that does not negate the truth of the statement, it simply means that I accept a different belief as being true.

So, it all comes down to what we believe. I can choose to believe that living a good life will gain me entrance into heaven. I can choose to believe that adhering to certain religious practices will get me in. I can choose to believe that certain ritual and ceremony is the means of getting in.

But, just for the sake of discussion, what if Jesus really IS the only way to gain entrance? Imagine for a moment you have passed from this life, and are not standing before the Judge of the universe. According to Scripture, you will not be asked to rehearse before the Judge all the good you have done, or all the religious ritual you have performed, or how upright and moral you were during your life. No, He will simply look in the Lamb’s Book of Life. If your name is there, then you are welcomed in. If not, you will hear the most anguishing and agonizing words you could possibly imagine: “Depart from Me, I never knew you.”

What makes the difference? Jesus! He died to pay the penalty we all justly deserve. He suffered in our place. He bore the price of our sin: death, separation from the Father so that we might be welcomed into the presence of the Father.

If you would like more information about this amazing truth, and how you can personally experience His grace and forgiveness, then please send me a private message. I would love to speak with you further about the one thing that makes all the difference.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love the mountains. And I mean LOVE! I have always wanted to live in the mountains. There was a brief period of one year when I was privileged to live in Chimney Rock, NC, while attending Fruitland Baptist Bible Institute (now College) as a student, and I cherished every moment of that time in my life.

But now, I LIVE in the mountains. I get to wake up every morning, look outside, and enjoy the majestic beauty of the mountains of eastern Tennessee. As I told someone just the other day, before moving here I was privileged to drive to the mountains to teach at Fruitland Bible College, but now I have the even greater privilege of driving through the mountains to arrive at that beautiful campus.

I will never tire of gazing upon the unbelievable beauty of these mountains. Teresa and I have been so blessed through the years of our marriage to travel to many different places in the United States. We have seen mountains and flatlands, oceans and lakes, canyons and cliffs, painted deserts and underground caverns, thunderous waterfalls and tranquil streams. Every different place has its own beauty, its own special majesty and grandeur.

As I enjoy the vistas and the valleys of the mountains, and look through picture albums of trips we have taken to other places, I am reminded of the creativity of our great God. I suppose had He chosen to do so, He could have created a world that was rather bland and boring. He could have created the earth with no variety in landscape. He could have created the earth with no mountains, no deserts, no lakes, no canyons, no waterfalls, no – well, nothing.

But He chose to give us a planet of endless beauty. He gave us a planet to enjoy, to experience, to explore. We have so much to see, so many different landscapes to cause us to marvel at His indescribable creative activity.

But more than that, He gave us a planet which should lead the human heart into a spirit of thanksgiving and praise for allowing us to experience His amazing creativity. It is a testimony that should bring us to a state of awe and wonder as we worship the Creator of this amazing creation we call earth. Listen to the words of the psalmist found in Psalm 19:1-4:

The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
² Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
³ There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
⁴ Their line has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.

It is abundantly clear from those words that the psalmist understood and underlying, foundational fact: everywhere we look we see a testimony of God. So, why not make it a habit of praising Him for His creation. No, we are not to worship the creation, but the One who created it.

So, based on this simple yet profound truth, let me encourage each of us to develop the habit of really seeing Him everywhere, and worship Him for His wonderful gift to us: the gift of His tremendous work of creation. And, let that knowledge lead us into a deeper state of worship and awe of the one true God.

I love music – all kinds of music. I enjoy relaxing to the sounds of soothing, soft music, and I also enjoy patting my foot and playing “finger drums” to the sounds of contemporary Christian music. In my younger years of life I thrilled at the opportunity of playing drums in a rock and roll band, playing a wide range of music – from Credence Clearwater Revival to Grand Funk Railroad. Music has always been, and continues to be, a source of great enjoyment for me.

Have you ever been to a big band concert? It might have been anything from the annual concert of the local high school band, to the amazing music of our armed forces bands on the lawn of the Washington Monument. It may have been in a major concert hall with amazing acoustics, or in an auditorium with horrible acoustics.

What I would like you think about for a moment is that brief period of time in which the musicians assembled in their assigned places, and began the process of warming up. It is such an awful sound. Every instrument playing with no regard to the other instruments: a smorgasbord of sound, with no distinguishing tune, no melody, to rhyme or reason. Noise. Just loud, obnoxious, noise.

However, after a few minutes the orchestra maestro walks to center stage, opens his folder of music sheets, taps on the podium, raises his wand in the air, and those horns, strings, percussion now blend together to make such beautiful music.

Life is much like that, if you think about it. There are times in which life is so chaotic and confusing, with seemingly no rhyme or reason. Just like those instruments playing all at once, but with no guidance, no music sheets to lead them to make the beautiful music they could make if they would just play together. But when the maestro lifts the baton, what follows is majestic.

Now, to the subject of this blog. Have you ever considered your life in light of God’s orchestration? Have you paused lately to give consideration to the amazing fact that there is indeed a maestro – or, should I say, THE Maestro, who is watching over your life, ever ready to raise the baton which will bring clarity out of the chaos? He is ever-present, and all-powerful, and, believe it or not, has all the necessary tools to make a majestic masterpiece out of the miserable mess we oftentimes make of our lives.

As I think back over my life, and specifically over the past few years, I see the amazing orchestration of the Maestro as He has lifted His baton to bring about a beautiful masterpiece. Teresa and I now reside in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. We have always had the desire to live in the mountains. As many of you know, I have the awesome privilege of teaching at Fruitland Baptist Bible College in Hendersonville, NC, which enables us to make a weekly trip to that beautiful campus located in the mountains of North Carolina. But that is only a two-day trek each week. But, now, we have the amazing privilege of living in the mountains of eastern Tennessee.

Some who read this may be wondering how all of this ties together. Allow me to share briefly how this came to be a reality for us. Through the providence (orchestration) of the invisible hand of the Maestro (God), events in our lives led us to make the decision to make this move. The final decision was reached after much prayer as we sought the will of God in this matter. He made things so crystal clear to us that there was no doubt in our minds that this was the path He had orchestrated for us.

Looking back over how all this came to be is a truly fascinating story, but the point I want to reiterate is that the Maestro orchestrated every small detail of this new adventure. We have only been in Pigeon Forge nine days as I write this blog, and His hand of providence continues to be proven each day in remarkable new ways.

What I hope that you will take away from this blog is this: Teresa and I are not special, other than the wonderful truth that we are God’s children. His hand of providence is just as real in your life as it is in ours. You may be in a season of confusion and chaos. You may be struggling to make sense of the mess you are now in. Please be aware of this amazing truth: the Maestro is at work, and He will soon walk out center stage, raise His baton, and the confusion will disappear while all becomes incredibly clear. You will then hear the beautiful music of His orchestration in the events of your life.

Stop! Be still! Listen! Do you hear it? It’s the sweet music the Maestro is bringing your way as He orchestrates the movements of your life. Take heart. He is always working on your behalf for your good. Bask for a while today in that reality, and enjoy the concert!

In June, Teresa and I took a week off from our responsibilities at Carowinds, and visited Dollywood, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Those who know us well know that we have been amusement park junkies our entire married life. So, we took a week off from working at one amusement park to go play in another!

Let me insert a brief aside here before getting to the point of this blog. We love Carowinds. We have worked here for a few years and have thoroughly enjoyed it. We have made many friends and shared many memories. We will miss this place immensely.

When we visited Dollywood in June, we fell in love with it, just as we had fallen in love with Carowinds years ago. On the way home we began discussing how great it would be to work at Dollywood, making new friends and sharing new memories. So, when we arrived home we decided to fill out on-line applications, just to test the waters. We chose a position we felt we would both enjoy, signed an electronic signature, and hit send.

A couple of days later we received an email asking if we would do a telephone interview. Teresa and I agreed to this, and spent a while talking with a human resource representative. After the interviews, we received an invitation to come to the park for a face-to-face interview with the HR rep and the director of the department of which we had applied.

Appointments were made, and we once again made the drive from Carowinds to Dollywood. Our applications were submitted with the understanding that, if hired, we would begin next season. However, on the drive up we talked about the possibility of being hired for the remainder of this season, and what we would do if that opportunity presented itself.

Arriving on Monday, we began visiting campgrounds (Teresa and I live in our fifth wheel camper), trying to find one that we might move into in March if we were hired. We visited several, all of which informed us that they had long waiting lists for long-term campsites. The last campground we visited was Mill Creek Resort. Once again we were told that there was a long waiting list.

After talking with the owner of the campground for an extended period of time, she then informed us that a campsite would be available the first of September. We informed her that we were applying for positions next season, not next month. But, she penciled our names in for that campsite, with a move in September.

The next morning we arrived for our interviews at the park. It didn’t seem like an interview at all; rather, it seemed like having a conversation with an old friend. At the conclusion of the two interviews, we were asked when we would like to begin. I replied that we were applying for next season. He then repeated the question: when would you like to begin? I repeated that we were applying for next season. He then said, “Let me rephrase my question. When can you begin?”

Teresa and I looked at each other for a brief moment before I said, “When would you like us to start?” He then replied, “How about September 23?” We had discussed this very thing on the way up. We also had been offered a campsite, at the campground of our choice, being able to move to the site on September 17.

We had prayed diligently before making this trip, and had committed it to the Lord, asking that He would make our path clear. We also prayed that He would give us perfect peace in making a decision. All of the events described in the preceding paragraphs occurred in such an extraordinary way that we feel God was indeed answering our prayers.

Therefore, the adventure continues. We are looking forward to this next chapter in our amazingly blessed life. God has led us to many places of service. We have tried to follow in obedience the paths He set for us. And now, the path is leading us to Pigeon Forge, TN, to enjoy the excitement of spending time at another amusement park, and, to bask in the beauty of the mountains of eastern Tennessee.

It’s a tough job – but somebody’s got to do it!