Opus 2026-391: I Like That

One of the subterranean channels of thought that I always have going concerns the fate of the large part of the human population that seemed to have no opportunity to respond to the good news of Jesus and the hope that is in him.  I must confess that it doesn’t seem fair or just that people who never heard the gospel should be doomed.

The easy part of this is to answer for those who were raised in the biblical tradition before Jesus.  They did not know about the cross.  They did not know about the resurrection.  Their knowledge is very limited.  They do, however, know the God of the Bible, or at least have the opportunity to know the God of the Bible.  So I think it’s pretty easy to come up with some kind of rationale how people like Moses, Abraham and Ruth can know eternal life.

What about those who know nothing.

What becomes clear to me is that this is one of those areas where I must walk in faith.  God has not explained to me how a peasant raising rice in a remote Chinese province who has never heard of Jesus and has never heard any teaching about the afterlife other than vague, ancestral traditions is going to go to hell from a lack of knowledge.  I say I walk in faith because I believe that God has it all worked out, but hasn’t filled me in.  I can come up with all kinds of speculations.  My imagination can run wild.  I realize that that is just speculation and imagination.

There is an answer, I just don’t know what it is.  I expect that when I enter into eternity, it will either become abundantly clear to me, God will sit down and explain it to me in such a way that I nod my head and say that’s obvious, or I may just forget all about it in the glory at the moment.  I don’t like the idea of eternal damnation.  I don’t have to like it.  Last time I checked my emails God had not asked me for my approval or my recommendations.  I do believe that when I finally hear the details with my unencumbered mind, I will say, “I like that.”

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-362: The Benefits of B

As I try to figure out why my plans for life did not work out I come up with lots of speculations.  In reality that is all I have.  In trying to understand how life works, it is all any of us have.  I felt called to preach.  I struggled with it, gave in and put all my eggs in the basket.  Then came the day I had no place to preach.  Although I kept looking for chances I was forced into plan B.

Plan B turned out to be in education.  I taught middle school for the next 29 years.  I think I did a good job.  I never felt like it was a life calling.  I had chances to preach on occasion but nothing worked out to allow plan A.  B was it.  

I have many theories.  I know I never said “No” to anything God asked.  I was not living in disobedience.  I was frustrated but kept moving forward.  One of my theories is that if I had forced the issue I would have lost my children.  I think I would have put the church first and caused them to hate the things of God.  Another theory is that the struggle with plan B kept me on my spiritual toes.  I was not able to stick in my thumb and pull out a plum as the nursery rhyme goes.  

Think back over the people you know who have had “success”.  How many have lost their children?  How many have gone through divorce?  How many have abandoned the faith?  Does substance abuse figure into their lives?  One of the truths of life is that there are few people who can handle being on top.  The Bible character in my mind today is Solomon because I am reading about him in II Chronicles.  He started out so well.  Even today he is remembered for his wisdom.  Few bother to remember how he ended up.

Chronicles leaves out the bad part of his fall.  You need to go to Kings for that.  In the chapter after the visit by the queen of Sheba you find a chapter entitled “Solomon Turns from the Lord”.  That is not in the original Hebrew but it is a good summary.  A few key verses,

(1Ki 11:5 KJV)  For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
(1Ki 11:6 KJV)  And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.
(1Ki 11:7 KJV)  Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.

I would suggest that Solomon started being impressed with himself and that became his downfall.  He needed a little more suffering and a little less praise.

There is a good reason for the paths that God leads us down.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-337: The Laws of God and the Lies of Man

As I’m driving home from church I noticed signs that I often ignore when I’m coming up to a certain curvy part of the road and it tells me to slow down to 45 miles an hour.  I’ve seen these signs on other road trips.  Generally I’ve found that it’s pretty safe to add 20 mph on that without even having to worry about it.
 
There is a difference between the laws of bureaucracy and the laws of physics.  Bureaucracy wants to slow you down to keep you safe, and to get personal satisfaction of exercising control over your life.  Physics deals in unchanging reality.  It’s based on what happens when certain conditions are met.  It doesn’t have much to do with your attitude or your focus or your health or anything else along those lines.  It’s a matter of what it is.

Too often our government runs on the basis of what will make them feel good and what they can get away with.  God on the other hand has certain moral standards that don’t vary.  He acquaints us with them.  He let us know that there will be consequences if we violate them.  Don’t fall into the trap that God is like any other authority figure.  He will not be mocked and cannot be gamed.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-229: Blessing Not Luck

And it was definitely not skill.  I am referring to the recent attempt to take out President Trump. I read an article at American Thinker.

The article was analyzing the release of enhanced video from the scene.  The author describes how the perpetrator went into a room which should have been secured, but wasn’t, to assemble the shotgun he had under his coat.  While in the room a K-9 unit entered the room and then went on with no reaction.  When the shooter came out with the shotgun a group of security types down the hall saw him and “ran” the other way.

My point here is not to analyze what he said about the film or even cast stones at the Secret Service and White House security, although that needs to be done.  My point is to remind us that in pagan terms the only thing that keep the president from harm was “luck”.

I say “in pagan terms” because it is becoming clear that what is keeping President Trump vertical is not luck but the grace of God.  Blessings.  More than coincidence.  It certainly isn’t skill on the part of the Praetorians.  God has His hand on Trump.

This does not mean he is qualified to be your pastor.  It does not mean we should let our guard down.  It does not mean they will never succeed.  It means that we need to continue to call upon God and live righteous lives ourselves.  Trump is not the Messiah nor is he the Antichrist.  He is a tool that God is trying to use but we need to realize the success of Trumps efforts depends more on whether God’s people are living as salt and light than on the wisdom of his advisors.

So keep trusting.  Keep praying.  Live in repentance.  Be the faithful remnant that God will be preserving.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-211: Thanks Thoughts: Lamb not Mutton

I continue to keep having the question of “Why me?” pop up in my thinking and thanksgiving. Why am I so blessed. I try to avoid the question and just rejoice.

I have also learned to be thankful for whatever level of blessing God chooses to give me. Think of it as the difference between lamb and mutton. Since I rarely eat lamb I can’t speak from experience, but I understand the difference is dramatic. Lamb can be tender and delicious. Mutton can keep you alive and that is about it. Mutton is old, stringy and tough. It will supply you with the nutrients to stay healthy but it is not a joy to eat.

I feel like God supplies me with lamb much more than mutton. What I need to keep in mind is that I should be thankful for either one. God knows my needs. He knows the nutritional value of different foods and the emotional value of different experiences. I rejoice in His level of providing.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-137: Not a Clue

Recently I had a providential encounter, or maybe I should say “almost encounter.”  I am alive and moving because I saw the truck coming through the red light without even slowing down. I saw the truck.  I see the hand of God.

The thought occurred to me that this might be an indication that God still has something in mind for the time I have left on this earth.  Since I have time on my hands I wondered what that might involve.  The answer is a total case of No Clue.

There are times when we can see clearly what God has in front of us.  Other times we might have a glimmer but no long range map.  Frequently we have No Clue.  I tend to think that is the most common experience.  In fact it is the usual path because I am not sure we are always thinking about it.  When you got up to go about your business for today did you wonder what earth changing events you might influence?

I don’t see any path forward where I am going to change the course of world events.  That is nothing new for me and it is probably common for you.  The plain reality is that God is working things together according to His will and He does not need our approval to get it done.  It might be that if we knew the plan we might try to stick our fingers in and mess the whole thing up. 

Be content that our task is to be obedient and live upright lives.  We have influence that we might never think of.  Someone that is totally off our radar might see how we respond to a situation and rethink their attitude.  It might be that we are simply that drop of baking soda that makes the biscuits rise.

Go ahead and question.  Try to figure it out.  On the way to a bigger question mark in your day rejoice in trust for the one who does not need a clue since He wrote the rules.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-135: Monday Pulpit: Needs and Wants

The pastor was out of town and we had one of the back ups in the pulpit.  He was preaching on John 4 and the encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well.  He lifted out a couple of verses that I know I have read many times but I don’t remember noticing,

John 4:3-4 (KJV) 3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. 4 And he must needs go through Samaria.

Jesus is going from Judea in the south to Galilee in the north.  In between was Samaria.  Jews and Samaritans did not get along.  Jews would usually go the long way around if they had to take this trip.  It was doable and a regular path.  For some reason Jesus had a “need” to go directly.

No, He didn’t.  There was a recognized path to avoid polluting yourself by passing through Samaria.  “Needs” here does not mean that there was no option.  It means that He had a compelling reason that He did not share.  All I can conclude is that He needed to run into the woman at the well and share the good news with her and her village.

We need to keep that in mind as we go through our day and run into situations that we would rather avoid.  There are times when God has plans that we are not privy to.  It is hard to know when we should press for change and when we should accept but we need to have a basic understanding that God often has multiple goals and we might not know any of them.

Be faithful.  Walk upright.  Live a righteous life and trust that He has more irons in the fire than He cares to share with us.

homo unius libri

In Which I Pause to Look Both Ways

On my way to the midweek service at our church I have a left turn that I must make.  Several month back I resolved to make sure that I look both ways before I take advantage of the green light.  This time it paid off.

It is a T-junction controlled by a signal.  The signal sometimes seems to be in nap time so it is not uncommon to get frustrated.  I still make it a habit to check cross traffic.  This time the traffic from the left was slowing visibly.  On the right, however, there seemed to be a different pattern.  As I paused a full sized pick up blew through the red light without a hiccup.  He sailed through and kept going.  If I had been in a hurry it would have been my last left turn.

I guess God still has something for me to do in life.  I thanked Him and my guardian angel and proceeded to church.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-093: Not the First Test

I was reading in a book where the author talked about Israel being led out of Egypt toward the promised land.  There were certain key moments that were overlooked.  The author had a point to make, and those key moments did not follow the narrative, but my memory would not let it go.

The moment in question was when Israel came to the Red Sea and made camp on the shore and noticed one little detail:  Pharaoh was coming after them with his chariots.  He was not coming to offer a loan of his boats.  The children of Israel in typical fashion reacted, as if there was something threatening them.

Exodus 14:11 (KJV) And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?

Of course, you know the story.  God opened up the Red Sea and miraculously let them across.  Pharaoh tried to follow and was drowned.  This made me think of where we are today in our country.  I don’t know about you, but one of the common themes is that people feel everything is falling apart, everyone in power is greedy and stealing from the coffers of the country.  Anarchist are rioting in the streets and things seem to be going definitely south.

We find ourselves looking over our shoulders and noticing that the chariots are coming.  Am I the only one?  Are the people I meet the only ones?  I think there’s a lot of concern about the direction of the country is going.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could actually move into a position where we realize that we are under His wings.  I wonder, if the Hebrews had not panicked but simply gone to prayer and made a request that God would see them through, what would have happened.  Would the scenario have gone on pretty much the same or would God have come up with some other miracle?  Would Pharaoh’s horse have gone lame and done a cartwheel with him in his chariot?  We’ll never know.

What we do know is that God saw his people through.  Historically, even in the times when Israel was being decimated for their rebellion and evil living the faithful remnant came through.  I know we can trust God, but the question is, “Are we part of the faithful remnant?”  I like to think I am and I hope you are.  So as we approach the Red Sea and the mob is chasing us remember that God has a plan and we are part of it.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-073: Pictures of Providence

As I look at the chaos approaching I wonder how this will play out for the people of God.  I have different pictures.  One of my favorites is “Pocket of Providence”.  I also coin “Bubble of Benevolence”.  The concept is that there always seems to be a remnant that survives when God allows His people to face persecution.

There are better terms and phrases found in the Bible itself.

Under His wings

In His hand

A shield about me

A Fortress 

Thy rod and they staff, they comfort me

Fire by night and the cloud by day

Angels to stand guard

The more I look the more examples I find. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-022: Uber Bugs

I am previewing an album from the Gaither Vocal Band and in the song that I’m listening to they mentioned the little birds that God feeds. This of course was reflecting upon the verse,

Matthew 6:26 (KJV) Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

The point was that if God takes care of the birds, won’t he even more so take care of you?

Of course, my rabbit trail brain goes off on a tangent.

You should consider what the birds eat.  Generally speaking they eat bugs and seeds, at least the birds that are being discussed in this verse.  That’s not a lot of variety.  I mean there are many kinds of bugs but don’t they all taste the same?  I’m not sure I would flourish on that kind of a diet, which brings up the second point that I want to make and this one is probably the significant one.

If you’ve ever watched birds as they are going through their day, they are constantly in pursuit of food.  Yes, God provides the bugs and the seeds, but they have to go looking for them.  The bird does not just find a nice comfy spot in the grass and expect the bugs to come to jump in his mouth.  The bounty of God is there for him, but he has to reach out and take it.

So part of this lesson is not just that God is the ultimate provider, but that he expects us to do our part.  We are not on celestial welfare.  He gives us our health and our abilities and we are expected to go out and work.

Consider the words of Paul,

2 Thessalonians 3:10 (KJV) For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.

As a man who thought he was wise said, “God does not play games.”  He expects you to put them away too.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-437: Passengers Don’t Need GPS

I get very frustrated at times not knowing what’s down the road.  You would think by my age I would have learned to stop fretting over things I have no control over.  I think part of being created an image of God is that we want to take charge of things and to make decisions.  At least we want to know what the decisions are and what the options are.  We want to know why the decisions were made.  When you’re in the backseat, you don’t have that opportunity.

When you’re sitting in the back and the seat in front of you has a headrest, it’s a very good chance that you can’t even see the choices that are ahead.  There’s no way which you would know which is the right route.  You have to trust the driver.  If you are the driver, you might have a GPS, you might have been there before, you might have checked out a paper map.  You might have a wife giving you instructions.  But if you’re in the backseat, all you can do is look out the window and listen.

That’s kind of like what it is living by faith.  Often in life, we are not in the driver seat.  I guess in reality you would say we never are really in the driver seat.  I remember the semi humorous line that somebody submitted to the title, “God Is My Co-Pilot”.  The correct statement should’ve been that God is the pilot and I am the passenger.

Relax.  God will give you the information you need when you need it.  Think of an actually reliable GPS.  I don’t mean the ones that tell you to go right 10 feet past the intersection.  I’m talking about the GPS that tells you well ahead of time to get over in the right lane and get ready to turn right.

I almost wish that God could give us a little loudspeaker on our shoulders, which would tell us every once in a while in that phrase that someone came up with, “I’ve got this.”

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-405: Another Chance

Last week at our midweek Bible study, we were looking at Jeremiah 9.  In the discussion, the pastor, using the KJV, quickly went through verse seven and made a few comments about God, melting people, and seem to imply that the point here was God being wrathful.

Here is the verse and the King James,

Jeremiah 9:7 (KJV) Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?

Sounds serious, and it is.  Then I looked over at the NASB and saw this,

Jeremiah 9:7 (NASB95) Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, I will refine them and assay them; For what else can I do, because of the daughter of My people?

Notice the terms being used here come from the mining industry.  First you have “refine”.  That is the second step after smelting in which you remove the impurities or dross.  That tells me that God had not given up on these people and is going to give them one more shot at coming clean.  He’s going to put them on trial.  He’s going to make life difficult.  He’s going to do whatever it takes to give them a chance to repent.

Then it says He is going to “try” them in the KJV, which becomes “assay” in the NASB.  This is more of the trial were they actually weighed and see how pure they are.

Either way, I see here sandwiched in the middle between promises of retribution and punishment a chance for recovery.

God is in the business of redemption, not punishment.  Because He is holy, and He is a God of wrath and will not be messed with.  There comes a time when He is forced to go with violence and punishment.  He shows incredible patience before He actually brings down the hammer.

We should rejoice in His patience and not see how far we can push it.  

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-399: Angel Vector

While driving down the highway listening to the song “Oh God ,you are my God” I noticed that it talked about following him “all the way”.   Somehow that got me to thinking about my guardian angel and wondering if he were cruising ahead of me on the highway.  I could almost see him slicing a wedge of peace, tranquility and safety.  I wonder how many accidents he has prevented.  I wonder if part of the promise of scripture is that if we are on the right path, the highway of holiness, our guardian angel is clearing the way for us.

I know he has been working overtime keeping my body in one piece.  I tripped on a curb recently and although there were enough scrapes and boo-boos to make me more careful I was able to walk away with only a handful of tissue for first aid.  I keep wishing I could leave him a plate of cookies or something.

I miss the old hood ornaments:  Pontiac, looking into the future, airplanes, bulldogs, all kinds of great things.  If they were still allowed I would want one that looks like an angel.  I realize that the absence of hard pointing things on the hood might save a life some day but I don’t think those people should be in the middle of the street anyway.

Sometimes my imagination gets away from me.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-375: Divine Warranties

I was meditating early in the morning on the attributes of God.  One of those is immutability.  That has to do with the fact that God’s character does not change.  It’s sometimes stretched to the point where some claim that God can’t even have the flexibility to change His mind, which is non-biblical nonsense.  We know God changes his mind.  The Bible says so.

As I was thinking about this, I got to thinking about the chair I was sitting in made by La-Z-Boy.  The original La-Z-Boy I bought 40 years ago was an awesome piece of work.  It lasted seemingly forever and the warranty was honored without question.  I lived in that chair.  I am now on my third, and it may be my last because the quality has gone down seriously and the warranty is not near what it was on the first one.  Yes, they will still fix them, but it becomes a major issue.  In addition to that, the feature that I like the most with the extended legs is being phased out.

I thought of other products that I’ve bought in the past that had great warranties along with quality.  I don’t know if you’ve ever had a Tilly hat.  I loved them because I could wash them and get rid of the sweat smell.  They also replaced them for free if they wore out.  They were expensive but the warranty made it a great deal.  Then they changed the warranty.  Think of batteries that used to resist corroding and now they start developing that ash on them while they’re still in storage.  Think of things you used to eat that now have all kinds of weird additives that have changed the texture and taste.  My wife used to stop at Jack-in-the-Box for their tacos on a regular basis.  Then some brilliant mid-level executive decided to change the oil they cook things in.  Hasta la vista, Jack-in-the-Box.

God‘s warranties, however, never change.  His personality never changes.  His promises never go away.  I think investing my life in him was a wise decision.  I rejoice in the fact that he will never wear out and I won’t have to buy a second unit.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-259: Who Has the Baton?

Have you ever found yourself lecturing God?  Some people only do it when they’re angry and they’re yelling, “Why?”  I find myself going off on these long speeches where no one is listening.  I have some great things to say.  One of the problems is I can’t remember what they were.  Another problem is nobody cares but me.  But I do have a lot of good things to say.

Sometimes I find myself lecturing God on how things should be or what a particular verse means or something like that and I will suddenly get this tap on the shoulder.  It’s God.  He looks at me with that look He has and ask me am I preaching to the choir again?  I guess I was.  That would be bad enough if there was a choir, but there isn’t.  There’s only a choir Director and me.  I am not the Director.  That is God’s role.  I guess that means that I am either in the choir or the entire choir.

Either way I need to be listening to the choir Director and following his baton.  He establishes the rhythm.  He establishes the tempo.  He is the one who sets the volume.  My job is to take the gifts that I have and join them in the celestial chorus.

I need to remember who has the baton.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-171: The Glorious Wipe Out

I was watching a meme that had some motion to it, and it showed a skier on a truly awesome slope going through an even more awesome wipe out.  He bounced, he twisted, he shot up into the air, he slammed into the ground.  At the end, he raised his hands in victory signifying the fact that he was still alive.

I don’t think he would I have tried that in the middle of summer.  He would have bounced once, broken half the bones in his body, bounced again and broken the other half, crushed his skull, and if he lived to tell about it, would not be able to walk to the microphone.  He was able to take the risk because of the cushion of the snow.  It was not a smart risk, but there was some chance of surviving.  Maybe he tried it first in his driveway.

Some people choose to ride roller coasters for the thrill.  You have seen the looks of terror on people in the first car when they come over that first downslope.  Some will run around to get in line again.  The reason for most of them is they feel they can trust the engineers who designed it.  They actually believe that the minimum wage employees who inspected the nuts and bolts to see if they were still tight came into work that day.  That is real faith.

Some people race motorcycles.  That is dangerous enough.  Have you seen those camera shots taken behind the foot of the rider as the sparks fly on a turn?  It is either awesome of incredibly stupid.  In the memes you occasionally see some of the stunts that bikers will do on the streets.  I enjoy the ones where they end up chasing their motorcycle down the street.

Life is full of challenges.  Some are required.  They are part of the package.  Would you have voted yes about heading down the birth canal?  Some we can avoid.  You don’t really need to do a wheely on the busy freeway.  

My trust in God  makes it possible for me to keep moving forward even in the face of adversity and struggles.  I have a confidence in Providence.  I don’t know that everything will go according to my plan or that I will always have money left in the check book of life.  I do know that God can work miracles out of seeming disaster.  

I always said I would get another motorcycle when my kids got old enough for me to die.  I never did.  The ground looks awful hard and I don’t heal as fast as I used to.  I am also wiser if not smarter.  Some things deserve trust.  Some things are a mirage.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-125: Starlight, Star Bright

As I sat in the dark on the porch I noticed a very bright star.  I have not seen it before.  It didn’t take me long to realize that it was an airplane coming in for a landing, and that it was still very far away.  That made it look like it was not moving if I just glanced at it but if I stared at it, it did move continually.  What was strange about this is I can’t remember seeing that star for the last month.

How could this be?  It’s bright.  It’s hanging right out there in the middle of dark everything.

I didn’t see it because of the cloud cover.  Why I didn’t hear it I don’t know.  It could be that I’m just so used to the sound that I didn’t pay any attention.

What does that tell us about our lives?  You knew I’d ask that didn’t you?  It tells us that just because we don’t see something doesn’t mean that it’s not there.  Just because we don’t hear something doesn’t mean it isn’t making noise.

This can be interpreted in terms of Providence.  God is working.  Just because we don’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not happening.  Miracles are going on around us all the time but the confusion and clouds of life blind us to them.  The fact that we’re not looking for them makes them invisible.  I’m sure you’ve had the experience where someone walks by you that you know well, but you don’t see them because you weren’t expecting to see them at that point in time.  They are out of their place.  That makes him invisible.

We can also be interpreted in terms of our interpersonal relations.  We make assumptions based on what we may or may not see, and don’t consider the fact that we may or may not have been looking.  We may not have been listening.  It doesn’t mean that people around us aren’t doing things.  All gifts don’t come wrapped in pretty paper and wonderful bows on our birthday.  Most gifts come quietly, secretly, and unannounced.  Those kind of gifts vastly outnumber the obvious.

Celebrate the unknown.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-060: Which Title

Two songs are going through my mind this morning. The first one starts off, “Creation shows the power of God.  There’s glory all around…”  The chorus begins, “I believe in miracles.”  I’m thinking of that as the title.  The other song going through my mind is a popular song which starts off, “Do you believe in magic?”  Take it either way, miracles or magic.  We just saw that demonstrated on January 20.

Many of us were worried about what the elite cabal that controlled the Biden administration might be planning on pulling during that day.  They were all kinds of conspiracy theories.  At this point, everyone will laugh at them, and pat the conspiracy theorists on the head.  What we will never know is how many of those potential conspiracies were actually considered by the left.  Were they really thinking assassination?  Were they really thinking of some massive explosion to wipe out the leaders of the nation?  I was very nervous as I watched multiple times that both President Trump and JD Vance were standing just a few feet apart.

Did we dodged a bullet?  Was there a bullet to be dodged?  It’s time to consider miracles or magic.  I personally will go with miracles.  One of my theories is that we are surrounded by miracles all the time, but we don’t notice them because we think that’s the way things are supposed to happen.  Sometimes when I’m driving on the interstate across country and see all of these cars rushing to wherever they think they have to be and I noticed how few are broken down by the side of the road.  I wonder why there aren’t more accidents.  So many things I wonder about, and in reality, it may be just that the hand of God is causing multiple miracles in order to reduce the amount of mayhem that we are able to produce.

We made it through the inauguration.  How many plots were foiled by faithful civil servants in the Secret Service, sheriffs department, capital police or any other Agency involved in protecting the president and the country.  There seem to have been enough serious about their responsibility to do the job.  I thank them.

Do you believe in magic?  I don’t.  But I do believe in miracles.  Bismarck is quoted as saying, “God has a special providence for fools, drunkards, and the United States of America.”  I can live with that.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-031: That Still Small Hand

If you’ve been around Christians much, you have somewhere heard the term “the still small voice.”  That refers to the way in which sometimes God speaks to us quietly in our in our hearts.  It is the voice of the Holy Spirit.  It is another one of those phrases that are found in the Bible.

(1Ki 19:12 KJV)  And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

I’m wondering if we don’t miss a lot of what God does in our world because He often moves with a “still small hand”.  We tend to think of miracles as glorious and extravagant intervention into our world.  We think of things like the parting of the Red Sea.  In reality, I think there are probably numerous daily miracles going on that are done quietly, and with what we might call divine sleight-of-hand.

We had a small miracle shared at church on Sunday.  The speaker was at an intersection turning onto a main highway from a side road.  There was a signal, and he was the second car in line.  The light turned green and the car in front of him started out into the intersection and suddenly slammed on his brakes and came to a halt just quick enough to be missed by a crazy guy in a big pickup running the red light.  The telling was very dramatic.  It seems that the car in front of him had inches to spare before he was destroyed by this behemoth.  It didn’t take much to wake the guy up to impending death.  It sounded like the kind of miracle that takes place all around us every day; less dramatic, but just as life-changing.

I wonder how often this is the way God works.  In fact, I’m pretty much convinced after thinking about it that this is usually the way God works with His still small hand.

My attitude of thankfulness includes all of those little incidents that I don’t even notice and encompasses the work of guardian angels.  You do believe in guardian angels, don’t you?  It’s a good thing that their pride is not on the line when it comes to serving us.

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