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Will You Accept the Gift of Lent?

COVER STORY – Lent

I’ve never found myself in a situation where I felt I needed to refuse a gift. Some obviously have. No honorable woman would ever, for example, accept a diamond ring while refusing a marriage proposal (as much as she might like to). Others may have found it necessary to refuse gifts that would obligate them to unacceptable terms or conditions.
Beginning February 26th, our God will again be offering to each of us the gift of Lent. The question that confronts all Christians each Lenten season is whether we will accept or refuse this divine present. How, why, would any Child of God refuse?

Time for introspection and contemplation

The gift that our God offers in connection with the season of Lent is a unique and invaluable time for introspection and contemplation, but it does not come without certain obligations. Human beings are, by nature, hedonistic, superficial, ungrateful, and lazy. We also have a natural sense of entitlement, imagining that we deserve whatever good things we want or receive. Christians know better, but our Adversary has learned from experience that if he can fill our existence with distractions and obligations, if he can create a world of perpetual preoccupation, he can tap into both our natural laziness and our sense of entitlement, and thereby convince us that the obligations of Lent outweigh the benefits.

Counting the cost

The point here is not that the obligations of Lent aren’t real. They are. Begin therefore by counting the cost. If your plate is truly full, you can’t add more without forcing something else off. “Carving out time” implies that something has to be cut off and discarded. Recognize also that the obligations of Lent involve more than just an hour or two for a half dozen Wednesday services (which can include cleaning off and bundling up little ones, a cold car ride, and the disruption of the family routine). Read More »Will You Accept the Gift of Lent?

The Reliable Word

COVER STORY – INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE

The simple child of God takes those words at face value and knows that when he reads the Bible he is reading the very words of God. What a glorious truth and solid foundation for our faith! Since the Bible is God’s Word, it is completely without error, and we can depend on every word.
However, the inspiration of Scripture, and therefore also its inerrancy, has always been under attack by those who don’t want to submit to every word of Scripture. Those attacks continually get more refined, therefore we must define the truth ever more precisely.
Critics and skeptics have said, “Sure the holy writers were inspired,” but they mean the apostles and prophets were inspired like an artist or novelist, not that God breathed every word into the apostles and prophets. They might even say, “God gave them the thoughts but the writers used their own words.” That is why it became necessary to speak of verbal inspiration, indicating that the very words are given by God.
Then some false teachers said, “Yes, the Bible is verbally inspired in the parts that are authentic.” So they will say “The Bible contains God’s word.” Therefore we now speak of verbal plenary inspiration, which means that every single word in every part of the entire Bible is God-breathed.Read More »The Reliable Word

The Big Unveiling

COVER STORY – Epiphany

How often in our world of self-centered people don’t we hear promises of big things, soon to come. Coming soon, we are told, is the newest, greatest breakthrough in automotive excellence. Coming soon is the ground-breaking, sure-fire, Oscar-winning movie.
But in the world of man, it sometimes happens that a big, public unveiling is merely a moment of frustration and shame. The big movie is a flop. The automotive breakthrough proves a disappointment. Do you remember, some years ago, when the biggest name in electronic devices publicly demonstrated his latest invention—and was embarrassed by a series of glitches? More recently a highly touted inventor was demonstrating breakthrough technology in bullet proof auto glass—and a hand-thrown steel ball cracked and dented the windshield.
We live in a world where hype is normal but is viewed skeptically by careful people. The bigger the noise, the greater the skepticism. We prize the times when good news comes in confident but understated tones. That we can trust.
What about in God’s world? Read More »The Big Unveiling