There's Something Bigger

A number of years ago, almost ancient history already, Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks did a popular series of comedy sketches called the “2000 Year-Old Man” which developed into several hilarious albums (vinyl records). The premise has Carl Reiner interviewing Mel Brooks, playing the old man, inquiring concerns of life way back when. One such question asked by Reiner was, “Did you always believe in God?” Brooks, the old man, answered, “No. We had a guy in our village named Phil and for a long time we worshipped him.” Reiner wonders, “You worshipped a guy named Phil? Why?” The old man testifies, “Because he was big, and mean, and he could break you in two with his bare hands.” The interviewer asks, “Did you have prayers?” Brooks answers, “Yes, would you like to hear one? – ‘O Phil, please don’t be mean to us, or hurt us, or break us in two with your bare hands.’” Reiner: “So, when did you start worshipping God?” And then came this wonderful answer: “Well, one day this big thunderstorm came up, and a lightning bolt hit Phil. We gathered around and saw that he was dead. Then we said to one another, ‘There’s something bigger than Phil!’ “ There are a variety of things we look to as our gods – material things, immorality, climbing the corporate ladder, entertainment. Oh, I know, we may not call them our gods, but those are the things we build our lives around. That’s where a majority of our time, money and thoughts go. They serve as the center of our lives. But, there are times in our lives when we are reminded that – “There must be something bigger!” Like Solomon shares in the book of Ecclesiastes, we discover that nothing we fill our lives with can truly satisfy us and eventually we come to the realization that all of it will someday be gone. What then? There must be something bigger than success at work. There must be something bigger than collecting “things”. Whether they realized it or not at the time, Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks made a very insightful observation. It is only when we see there is something bigger than all the things around us that we will truly begin to worship God.

[Psalm 13] “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemies triumph over me? Look on me and answer, O Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; my enemies will say, ‘I have overcome him,’ and my foes will rejoice when I fall. But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for He has been good to me.” Throughout the history of these United States men and women have stood up and said, “There’s something bigger than this” and fought for their personal rights and the rights of others to be free and to exercise Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. It disturbs me that so many have been so willing to leave the shores of this country to fight for the rights of others and yet stand silent before a government that is systematically dismantling the rights of its citizens in favor of a socialist dictatorship. At the same time, I know the majority of the citizens of this God-fearing country know “There’s something bigger than this” and their prayers to God are not going unanswered. Amid the chaos of this world, God is bringing down the unrighteous because of earnest prayer. Don’t give up, and don’t give in. On this weekend of memorial to those who have sacrificed it all in the name of freedom, thank God for them, and pray for our leaders.

Un-heeded Warnings

Once again we started last Friday with yet another tragedy acted out by a misguided young man against his high school peers. I know the guns are going to get the blame, again, but the gun didn’t kill anyone. Every weapon needs a trigger-finger, and a brain attached to the finger, before any harm to anyone can come out of the end of the barrel of any gun. It’s the brain controlling the trigger-finger that’s the blame in every case, but nobody wants to look at the reason for these outbursts. The fore-fathers of our country warned us about the crisis we now find ourselves in – even the progressive liberals.

Benjamin Rush (Wikipedia) (January 4, 1746 – April 19, 1813) was a Founding Father of the United States. Rush was a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, social reformer, humanitarian, educator and founder of Dickinson College. Rush attended the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence. His later self-description there was: "He aimed right." He served as Surgeon General of the Continental Army and became a professor of chemistry, medical theory, and clinical practice at the University of Pennsylvania. Rush was also known as a leader of the American Enlightenment and an enthusiastic supporter of the American Revolution. He was a leader in Pennsylvania's ratification of the Constitution in 1788. He was prominent in many reforms, especially in the areas of medicine and education. He opposed slavery, advocated free public schools, and sought improved education for women and a more enlightened penal system. As a leading physician, Rush had a major impact on the emerging medical profession. He promoted public health by advocating clean environment and stressing the importance of personal and military hygiene. His study of mental disorder made him one of the founders of American psychiatry.

[Psalm 34] The following are quotes (A-Z Quotes) by Benjamin Rush: * "I do not believe that the Constitution was the offspring of inspiration, but I am as satisfied that it is as much the work of a Divine Providence as any of the miracles recorded in the Old and New Testament” * "The Bible contains more knowledge necessary to man in his present state than any other book in the world." * "Without religion, I believe that learning does real mischief to the morals and principles of mankind." * "By withholding the knowledge of [the Scriptures] from children, we deprive ourselves of the best means of awakening moral sensibility in their minds." * "The Bible, when not read in schools, is seldom read in any subsequent period of life...The Bible...should be read in our schools in preference to all other books because it contains the greatest portion of that kind of knowledge which is calculated to produce private and public happiness." * "If moral precepts alone could have reformed mankind, the mission of the Son of God into all the world would have been unnecessary. The perfect morality of the gospel rests upon the doctrine which, though often controverted, has never been refuted: I mean the vicarious life and death of the Son of God." * "Without the restraints of religion and social worship, men become savages much sooner than savages become civilized by means of religion and civil government." * "Upon my return from the army to Baltimore in the winter of 1777, I sat next to John Adams in Congress, and upon my whispering to him and asking him if he thought we should succeed in our struggle with Great Britain, he answered me, "Yes-if we fear God and repent of our sins."" Get the Word back in school.

Survival Through Love

When a giraffe is born, it tumbles ten feet to the ground, landing on its back. Within seconds it rolls over and stands, struggling on those tall untried legs. The mother giraffe positions herself directly over her newborn, swings her leg outward and kicks that baby, sending it sprawling and tumbling to the ground again!. If it doesn’t get up, she kicks it again! Even if it grows tired of mom’s teaching, she kicks it again to stimulate its efforts to stand. Each time the baby giraffe manages to get to its feet , the mother kicks it once again. Now, this may seem cruel to you, but there is a reason for the mother’s behavior. She is simply preparing the baby for survival, because that little giraffe must learn to get up quickly and run with the herd when danger comes – otherwise it will not survive.

I think it is fair to say that the attitude of mothers to see their babies survive is reflected across the board of life. The love of a mother is recognized as one of the most powerful forces known to mankind. “There are times when only a mother’s love can understand our tears; Can soothe our disappointments and calm all of our fears. There are times when only a mother’s love can share the joy we feel; When something we’ve dreamed about quit suddenly is real. There are times when only a mother’s faith can help us on life’s way; And inspire in us the confidence we need from day to day. For a mother’s heart and a mother’s faith and a mother’s steadfast love; Were fashioned by the Savior and sent from God above.” To the world she’s just a mother; To her family she’s all the world.

[1 Samuel 1:1 – 2: 21] A beautiful Bible picture of motherhood is found in the woman named Hannah. In 1 Samuel we read of her faithful prayer asking God to bless her with a child. She promised God she would dedicate him to the service of the Lord. When the child Samuel was born, Hannah kept her promise. Although she left Samuel in the service of the temple at around age two or three, she never forgot him. She continued to make him a robe to wear each year, and delivered it to him herself (1 Samuel 2:19). One can only imagine the care she went through thinking of  his needs as he grew older. What a faithful mother! By her faithful remembrance of Samuel, Hannah was exhibiting one of the characteristics of God. Isaiah 49:15 reads, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you.” God has such a powerful love for his people. He never forgets His children! Your mother certainly loves you. But what great comfort we can take today knowing God loves you even more! Let us be thankful for such steadfast love! As Christians, we need to learn the same lesson that baby giraffes learn – When life kicks you down, you must get back up! You must never give up! Our soul’s survival depends upon our ability to persevere. James wrote, “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him” (James 1:12). When things go wrong, Satan would love nothing better than for you to throw in the towel and give up on faith, God, Christ, and the church. That’s his goal – to get you to quit short of the goal of salvation. He wants you to become so frustrated that you will simply quit. Don’t let him get to you. When life knocks you down – Get back up! Always remember, whether they are with you still or have gone on, “Honor your father and mother” – which is the first commandment with a promise – “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on earth” (Ephesians 6:2-3).

A Time To Die

I bring up the subject now and again because it’s one we all need to contemplate on.

"The Obituary of Mrs. Prayer Meeting." Mrs. Prayer Meeting died recently at the First Neglected Church, on Worldly Ave. Born many years ago in the midst of great revivals, she was a strong, healthy child, fed largely on testimony and Bible study, soon growing into worldwide prominence, and was one of the most influential members of the famous Church family. For the past several years Sister Prayer Meeting has been failing in health, gradually wasting away until rendered helpless by stiffness of knees, coldness of heart, inactivity and weakness of purpose and will power. At the last she was but a shadow of her former happy self. Her last whispered words were inquiries concerning the strange absence of her loved ones now busy at work and places of amusements. Experts, including Dr. Works, Dr. Reform, and Dr. Joiner, disagreed as to the cause of her fatal illness, administering large doses of organization, socials, contests and drives but to no avail. A post mortem showed that a deficiency of spiritual food coupled with the lack of faith, heartfelt religion and general support, were contributing causes. Only a few were present at her death, sobbing over memories of her past beauty and power. In Honor of her going, the church doors will be closed on Wednesday nights, save the third Wednesday night of each month when the Ladies Pink Lemonade Society serves refreshments to the men’s handball team. Sad to say, this obituary could be read over many churches, as well as, many Christians today.  This is an awful, and a tragic death, because it shows the relation of spiritual prayer to spiritual power. The lack of prayer means the lack of power; and, the death of prayer means the death of power.
Simply put; where there is NO PRAYER, THERE IS NO POWER!

[2 Samuel 14:14; Job 24:22; Genesis 27:2] The Bible teaches - death is an appointment that we all must keep. An unusual business leader often shocked his banker friend by abruptly saying, “I died last night – where does that leave my family, financially?” That was his way of telling the banker to help him with his money so as to provide for his loved ones. But, friend, suppose YOU had died last night? Where would you spend eternity? What shape, spiritually, would you and your loved ones be in if death had intervened yesterday? Perhaps we are all guilty of passing over the serious nature of this solemn idea. Many consider this subject to be morbid but do we honestly realize that the next funeral could be our own? If death comes for us soon, what heritage have we left our children? Will our sons be the gospel preachers and elders the Lord so desperately needs in the years to come? Will our daughters be the spiritual, modest women the church must have (1 Peter 3:1-6)? Will our children get to heaven by following in our footsteps? If our time on earth were soon over, will we leave behind souls that are saved because of our teaching and example (1 Timothy 4:16)? Will the church miss our voice because of the word of encouragement we spoke? Will our hands be missed because of the good works that characterized our life? Will the brethren say, “...You will be missed, because your seat will be empty (1 Samuel 20:18). Job 3:17 speaks of a place where “...the wicked cease from turmoil, and there the weary are at rest.” Hebrews 4:9-10 mentions the rest that remains for the people of God. Death holds no sting and the grave no victory for faithful Christians (1 Corinthians 15:54-58). It makes an everlasting difference in the end.