Belief in God

Reading a friend’s blog today got my mind thinking about how fast this year has gone by. How fast my life is going by.

As I thought about the years already past (76) and wondered how many years lie ahead of me, I thought of the story in the Bible of Enoch.

In the genealogy of Adam, we are told:

Enoch lived 365 years, walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.

He lived to be 365 years old, but Enoch had such a close and intimate relationship with God that one day he just vanished—God took him.

The writer of the book of Hebrews explains what it meant that “God took him.”

It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—“he disappeared, because God took him.” For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God.

In my head I have this story.

Every day God and Enoch would take a walk. First, as a child Enoch no doubt had a lot of questions for God.

As their friendship grew, their walks got longer and longer. The childish questions became more difficult as Enoch became older, but God had no problem answering them. He was patient and loving. Every day Enoch would rise from his bed excited about another walk with God. He wondered what he would learn today.

Finally, after many years of shared moments with God they came to the end of their walk. God said, “Enoch, we are closer to my house than yours. Why don’t you just come on to my house with me?”

And Enoch happily said “YES!”

Here’s a old song sung by the man who wrote it. Hamblen was one of American’s “singing cowboys.” My parents loved Dale Evans and Roy Rogers.

This song, “How Big is God,” is one my husband has performed many times over the years. It has been one of his most requested. Hope you enjoy it!

I posted this two years ago but with the upcoming election next month, think it is good advice for us again this year.

To What Do You Pledge Allegiance?

I’m sure many of you have heard the story behind this song “It Is Well.” But if you have not, here it is. It is an inspiring testimony of how God is present in the middle of our tragedies. That does not mean a Christian feels no pain, heartache, sorrow. Rather it proclaims that God is present with us and gives us the courage and strength we need to face the problems life sometimes brings us.

This song has been a great encouragement to me at different times in my life. If you are struggling with a problem, I hope it will also encourage you to look to God for the strength you need.

The writer of the hymn, Horatio Spafford, was a successful lawyer and real estate investor in Chicago. Along with his wife, Anna, and their five children they were active in service to their church and their community in Chicago. In 1871 their young son died of scarlet fever and the great Chicago fire destroyed their real estate properties living them in difficult financial circumstances.

Two years later, in 1873, the family planned a trip to Europe. When business required his presence in Chicago, he sent his wife and four daughters on to Europe. On the trip, the ship was struck by another ship and it sank. His wife was rescued, but all four daughters were lost.

Spafford booked a ship to Europe to join his wife. As the ship neared the place where his daughters had been drowned, he wrote the words of this song.

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” Jesus in John 15:12-15

And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:10

Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. Isaiah 12:2

Recently I posted about a book I have been reading, “Cold-Case Christianity.” Written by J Warner Wallace, this homicide detective applies his investigative skills to an examination of the Gospels. The basis of the Christian faith is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Many have tried to deny the resurrection. Wallace lists many of the arguments given to refute the resurrection. One argument is the disciples were delusional. Full of sorrow over the death of this one they had followed for three years, they only imagined they saw the risen Christ.

Could this be?

First question to ask: How do you explain the empty tomb? While they might have imagined they saw a vision of Jesus, the empty tomb was clearly not a hallucination.

When someone dies, friends and relatives will share all the beautiful memories of the deceased. Seldom, if ever, will people share the negative memories they have. The image given of the deceased will tend to be perhaps a little different than the actual person.

However, as people share their stories it’s hard to believe that they would all share the same identical stories. That a large group of people would have the same hallucinations.

Wallace raises reasonable questions to ask about this proposal of disciples just imagining the resurrection.

While individuals hallucinate, there are no examples of large groups of people having the exact same hallucination.
While a short, momentary group hallucination may seem reasonable, long, sustained and detailed hallucinations are unsupported historical and intuitively unreasonable.
Not all the disciples were inclined favorably toward such a hallucination. The disciples included people like Thomas, who was skeptical and did not expect Jesus to come back to life.
If the resurrection was simply a hallucination, what become of Jesus’ corpse? The absence of the body is unexplainable under this scenario.

Again, I know for those who believe it may seem silly to even spend time addressing these arguments. But as our nation grows further and further from belief in Christianity, we need to be able to “always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, but with gentleness and respect.”

Again, I highly recommend this book. It addresses much more than the resurrection and is an excellent resource for those wanting to learn more about the Bible.

This song from the 70’s is special to me. My first husband played this song every day for weeks before he was killed in an accident. I had it sung at his funeral. It’s a comfort to know he is “home where he belongs.”

I look forward to the day when I join him and I’ll be “home where I belong.”

Read this very great post from Mrs. T’s Corner. Ask yourself:

Are you hungry?

Is the World Experiencing a Spiritual Famine?