Do You Have a Back Scratcher?

Do you have a back scratcher? If you do, you know how handy it is for relieving an itch that you can’t seem to reach. But another kind of back scratcher exists that all of us might be better off not having. It’s the human back scratcher, the person who says in effect, “I’ll scratch your back if you’ll scratch mine.” In other words, he will do something nice for you if you will do something nice for him.

Too many Christians are back scratchers. They play up to someone who is able to do them a favor. They seldom go out of their way to do something nice for someone who cannot repay the favor. The Good Samaritan was not a back scratcher. He rescued a wounded traveler who had been robbed, stripped of his clothes, beaten, and left half dead on the road that led from Jerusalem to Jericho. He didn’t even check to see if the poor man had medical insurance. He bandaged his wounds, poured on oil and wine to soothe the inflammation and fight infection, and then he put the “patient” on his own donkey, transported him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he paid the innkeeper handsomely to take care of him, and promised to reimburse the innkeeper later for any additional expenses.

Jesus commended the Good Samaritan for his selfless actions and singled him out as a worthy example to follow (Luke 10:36, 37).

So if our backs itch, let’s buy a brush, but brush off any thoughts of human back scratching. Surely we can do something neighborly for someone today who isn’t able to repay the favor.

Election Day

Election day has arrived. Gloria and I voted early, but millions of Americans will cast their votes today, and we will all stay close to our TVs tonight to find out who won and what issues prevailed.

Election is not only a political process; it is also a theological truth. First Peter 1:2 describes believers as “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.” Although Christians have debated the subject of election for centuries, the fact remains, God elected us. One group believes He elected us because He knew in advance (foreknew) that we would believe on His Son as our Savior. The other group believes that he knew in advance (foreknew) we would believe on His Son as our Savior because He chose us to do so. The second group sees far more in the word “foreknowledge” than simply prior knowledge. It bases God’s foreknowledge on His determined purpose. For example, Acts 2:23 links God’s foreknowledge of Jesus’ crucifixion with His determined purpose that Jesus should die for us. The first group believes what man does regarding salvation determines God’s decision. The latter group believes what God does determines man’s decision regarding salvation.

Complicated? As they say in Minnesota, “You betcha.” But anyone who sincerely questions whether he can be saved because he may not belong to God’s elect can resolve the issue by simply believing on Jesus as his Savior. Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37).

I cannot explain why God elected me, but I do know I cannot take any credit for my salvation. I owe it all to the triune God’s grace, love, and redemptive plan (1 Peter 1:2).

As we await today’s election results, we hope for a better tomorrow, but nothing is guaranteed. However, God’s election carries the guarantee of a better life now and forever for all who believe (1 Peter 1:3, 4).

May God bless America!

Too Much Money?

Does too much money have you?

I know some wealthy Christians. Some of them support the Lord’s work generously; others support themselves generously. Obviously, the former group practices good stewardship; the latter group doesn’t. The former group doesn’t have too much money, but too much money has the latter group.

Too much money has people if
• they squander it on selfish interests;
• are ungrateful;
• refuse to give liberally to the Lord’s work;
• always crave more;
• assume a snobbish attitude;
• waste it on worldly pleasures;
• place a higher value on it than on their children;
• fail to help the needy;
• think it can buy happiness;
• think it offers lasting security;
• think it can buy true friends;
• expect special privileges.

We don’t have to wait until Thanksgiving to thank the Lord for what He has given to us and to accept the responsibility of wise stewardship. Offerings to churches and Christian organizations have decreased this year, and unemployment has risen. If you and I have more than we need, shouldn’t we give more of what we have to support the Lord’s work and offer a helping hand to the needy?

James 2:15 and 16 offer these challenging words: “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?”

Making Good Time Or Making the Time Good?

PILOT: I have some bad news. We are lost, but there is some good news: our navigator just informed me that we are making very good time.

We are all making very good time on our journey through life, aren’t we? Doesn’t it seem only recently that we were high school or college students or employees at our first job? James 4:14 reminds us that our life is a vapor “that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

Two evenings ago one of my college classmates (Class of ’57) called me to ask how I was. During our conversation, he told me he disconnected all his incoming calls because he was weary of receiving news that another friend had died. That’s kind of a morose testimonial to the fleeting nature of life, isn’t it?

But life does pass quickly, so how can we make the years count instead of simply counting the years? According to James 4:15 we should say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” And 1 John 2:17 attaches a golden hue to the practice of doing God’s will by stating that “he who does the will of God lives forever.”

So, if we follow God’s direction all the days of this life, we will never lose our way or our purpose for living.

Rescued!

Joy began to ripple from a mine in Copiapo, Chile, last night. The ripple extended to faraway countries as the world watched the first of 33 trapped miners emerge from a dark chamber half a mile below ground. As I write this blog, the number of rescued miners stands at 12. We can only imagine the relief and joy the rescued miners are experiencing after 69 long days and nights in their sealed underground chamber. They owe so much to their own indomitable spirit, to the prayers of many, to the grace of God, and to the engineering genius and persistence of those who planned and performed the rescue.

My grandfather was killed in a mine explosion in Scotland, and my father worked in a mine when he was a boy. He always referred to the mine as “the pit.” “Jim,” he would say, “if we hadn’t left Scotland and moved to Canada, you would be working in the pit today.” That word “pit” occurs in Psalm 40:2 in several English versions of the Bible. King David wrote: “I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth—praise to our God” (Psalm 40:1-3a).

I think we lost some spiritual treasures when many churches banished hymns from worship. When I watched the first rescued miner step out of the rescue capsule, I thought of the hymn, “He Lifted Me.” The first stanza says, “In loving kindness Jesus came My soul in mercy to reclaim, And from the depths of sin and shame Thro’ grace He lifted me.” The chorus follows: “From sinking sand He lifted me, With tender hand He lifted me, From shades of night to planes of light, O praise His name, He lifted me.”

Life may never be the same for the rescued Chilean miners. For sure, it is never the same for anyone who has been rescued from the depths of sin and shame by the grace of our loving Lord!