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At the End of the Day . . .

How did it go today?

Some days are a challenge from start to finish. Others seem monotonous. Yet always, it is the Lord Who brings us safely to the close of each day. It’s easy to forget the Lord’s role, to feel that each day just grinds along on its own, somehow dragging us with it; or that by our own powers we have seized the day and bent it to our will.

In his evening prayer, Martin Luther (I mean, the first Martin Luther, 1483-1546, Bible-based reformer of the church in Germany) wrote, “I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me today.” YOU HAVE GRACIOUSLY KEPT ME TODAY! The Father has compassionately gotten you past the humps and bumps of today. He has helped you deal with the problems of your own making, and also with those of others’ making. He has given you strength to expend all, if need be. He has given you wisdom to solve the difficult issues. He has given you courage to deal with matters into which you had to be dragged. And so on, and on. “Father, thank You for bringing me safely to the end of this day.”At the End of the Day . . .

Complicating a Simple Ending

Premillennialism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism—these are words that tangle the tongue, and concepts that twist the brain. If there is one thing humans seem to be adept at doing, it is complicating simple situations. God tells us in straightforward language in Genesis 1 that He has created the heavens and the earth, but man invents evolution as his origin. The Lord tells us to simply believe and trust in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ and we will be saved, but man adds his own works and efforts in order to assist God in the work of salvation. Jesus plainly taught that He will bring this world to its conclusion when He returns to gather all believers to Himself, but man says, “Not so fast!”Complicating a Simple Ending

“Seconds” Can Be Good or Bad

“Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation” (Hebrews 9:28).

Our family enjoys disc golfing. Over the years and the courses that we played, we developed the practice of allowing each player one “mulligan” per course—one second chance to replay a tee shot. The benefit, obviously, was that if you had a bad tee shot, you got another try at it; the downside was that you had to accept the result of the second throw, even if it was as bad as (or worse than) the first.“Seconds” Can Be Good or Bad

Luther’s Catechism — A Treasure of the Reformation

“He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it” (Titus 1:9 NIV).

The Apostle Paul wrote these words to Titus to give him direction for appointing elders within congregations. These are words that are applicable to all of us. Simply change the “he” to “we” where it appears above. How can we achieve this? Luther’s Catechism — A Treasure of the Reformation

What God Has Joined…

While I write this, I am pondering the upcoming marriage of our daughter, a new experience for my wife and me. Perhaps a brief refresher on the estate of marriage would benefit all of us. First and foremost, marriage is not an invention of humans. God ordained it, and the Bible is the instruction manual. We must then turn to Scripture for guidance.

God’s Institution

Woman was fashioned out of man to be a helper comparable to him, because it was What God Has Joined…

He Seeks Godly Offspring!

“But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring” (Malachi 2:15).

One reason God unites husbands and wives in marriage is that “He seeks godly offspring.” He desires Christian couples to raise Christian children. The responsibility for Christian education falls squarely in the lap of parents. God tells fathers to bring up their children “. . . in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4), and He says through Moses, “Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul . . . . You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 11:18-19).He Seeks Godly Offspring!

Sharing the Good News of Jesus In A Bad News World

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news” (Isaiah 52:7 NIV).

“I sure could use a little good news for a change!” Do you ever have such thoughts? You encounter the plethora of tragic news stories broadcast on TV and the internet: natural disasters like earthquakes and floods causing widespread destruction; nations at each other’s throats, firing missiles at one another; Sharing the Good News of Jesus In A Bad News World

Refreshingly Uncomplicated

Creation01Aurora_Borealis_EielsonAlaskaI remember the summer I was a tour-bus driver in Glacier National Park. Drivers were taught park history, information, and geological features. It wasn’t any surprise to me that the “geological features” section was full of terms, time frames, and explanations from evolutionary geology. It got old in a hurry. How absolutely refreshing one evening, in the quiet of my room, to open up to Genesis 1 and read the Lord’s simple, straightforward account of the miraculous creation of the heavens and the earth!

In the beginning God created. God said, and it was so.
The heavens, the earth, light, firmament (atmosphere), seas, dry land, vegetation, sun, moon, stars, fish, fowl, cattle, creeping things, beasts. And He made man, male and female. Everything was very good! 

How easy to follow! How simple! The beauties, intricacies, and mysteries of the world, all created by God in six days. Even a child can grasp it!Refreshingly Uncomplicated

Opposite Sides of Different Coins

Our minds were designed by our Creator to work on the basis of logic. Researchers tell us that this is why optical illusions work on us. Our brains, in attempting to see patterns in chaos, will often fill in “missing” information allowing us to see things that aren’t actually present. We all like logic and order in our lives, to different extents. We want to know the sun will rise tomorrow and that two plus two will still equal four. However, our God has given us our logic and reasoning ability to figure out problems and day-to-day strategies in this physical life. There is a whole different set of rules for our spiritual one.Opposite Sides of Different Coins

Worship—With a Purpose

I have held my fair share of gym memberships over the years—enough to realize the purpose behind all the machines that you find there. They aren’t there just to get your body into a wide variety of physical positions—sitting, standing, lying down, bending over. Their purpose is to exercise, and thereby strengthen, the various
muscles of your body as you go through the various positions and the ever-increasing amounts of resistance.

It is the same when it comes to worship—it also comes with a purpose!

The word for “worship” in the New Testament Greek carries with it the idea of a person literally lying prostrate before someone else. Picture for yourself, perhaps, the thousands of Muslims at the call to prayer, on their knees with their foreheads to the ground. Better yet, picture Martin Luther in the movies made of his life, where he is lying completely flat on his face on the cold stone floor of the church. That is the word picture behind the idea of “worship.”Worship—With a Purpose