National Healthcare - "'The Danger of 'Superior' Truth"

National Healthcare

The Danger of Superior Truth
(Article 1 of 3)
Note:  Lack of interest warrants efforts into other areas than follow up articles

Rampant in American culture is an attitude that is most destructive.  However, one should not assume that this attitude is exclusive to America or to this time for it has been rampant throughout recorded history.  What attitude might this be?

One does not have to listen in Academia or to the Media for very long to hear this attitude.  It is the attitude of superior or exclusive truth. It simply says in one way or another, I know something or hold a position that is superior to what you think or think you know!

What is the effect of such an attitude?  This is a little difficult to explain but try this.  In addition to giving the person or group possessed of such thinking a sense of superiority, this attitude does something much more destructive--it gives a certain permission to do such things as deal in false and misleading information.  After all, superior attitudes mean a person lives above the normal person.  Such an attitude divides people from one another.  Further, people even die because of this most destructive attitude.

Again we see this today in politics, some religious denominations or other "faith" groups, and in some "superior" people. That precisely is the reason that some have felt it their right to publish revisionist histories, engage in underhanded activities, cause the death of others or take certain other "corrective" actions.  Take for instance the 9/11 attack on America.  Those who perpetrated such dastardly action believed they had a religion superior to all others and thus they could do as they chose and 3,000 people died.

Another case far more reaching but a great deal less obvious are those who believe they should revise the truth of history to support their political and social ambitions.  Such believe they are of superior purpose and such a purpose means that they have no responsibility to accurately reflect the past.  Thus the lessons of said history are distorted to fit the revisionists aims and purposes.

Make no mistake, no matter the revision's attempts at distorting the truth of what occurred, what occurred  remains constant.In other words, the truth of what happened in history remains constant no matter how one chooses to write, teach, or talk about it.  However for the revisionist the burden of conforming one's "truth" to the genuine reality of history is lost from view because of "special" or "exclusive" truth reasons. 

Prayer During Constitutional Convention

For example, the Founding Fathers recognized that there is for every man across the earth, certain God designed, ordained, and instituted rights, indeed responsibilities.  Among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  The Founding Fathers of our country, most of whom were men of deep faith and religious conviction, believe such to be so or such wording would not be in the founding documents.

In the Capital Rotunda in Washington D.C. hangs four paintings commissioned while most if not all of these men were alive which gives the painting credibility as to their accuracy.  One painting in particular shows that these men found prayer a necessary part of the deliberation process.  Indeed they knew that God was a necessary part of the founding of our country.  Sorry historical revisionists, the facts of history once again do not support your "superior truth" secular agendas. 

Even so, there have been for the last 50-60 years, those who do not believe in the God who shed His grace upon this great country.  They reject the importance of Christian ideals to our country.  They have made it their business to at every opportunity stand against American Exceptionalism.  Therefore they are intolerant of those three basic rights as being universal to all.  Such an attitude is so since they unlike the Founding Fathers, have devalued the Divine and the man created in His image.

Such brings us to the point that it is the responsibility of every American, indeed all of every culture, to know the truth and to defend that truth along with such values as made this country and other countries great.

How does that happen?  The first and primary activity is the seeking of the intervention of the Divine in the affairs of our country.  Second, it is then when one is empowered and directed address these issues with their government.  Then one should do all else that is necessary.  Such necessary may even mean that one joins those heroes that gave their full measure of their devotion in the defense of the country that once embraced these ideals.

President Obama signing National Healthcare

Oh, where we began, "superior" truth.  It would appear that the leadership in Washington D.C. believe they have superior truth when it comes to the matter of Healthcare.  They certainly act like they believe such to be so.  So it is we are about to be saddled with law that incrementally and subtly will fundamentally change the American experiment.  If all is enacted the American we used to know will be lost in the dust of history.

Yet those most affected, the American citizen, glibly go about their pursuits of leisure, entertainment, and pleasure oblivious to the great evil that soon will befall this great nation.  Soon another piece of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness will be lost--all because there are those in Washington D.C. who believe they have special and superior truth.

As one observed most Americans are apathetic and do not care that they are so.  Instead of singing that prayer "God Bless America" we do well to sing a new prayer, "God Wake-up America" followed by "God Help America!"

"Hurricane Isaac and My Normal Life!"

Then came the typhoon that "nested" over the base and for two days.  The winds blew, the rain fell in sheets and beat against the house in waves, the window shutters creaked and cracked but the house stood firm and we who were inside were safe and sound.

Ever been in a hurricane?  Or if you are in the Western Pacific, a typhoon?

Our years in Guam gave us the experience several times since there is a potential for a typhoon to arrive within 72 hours.  That is to say that at any day and at any time a typhoon could be brewing and in just 3 days it would be upon the island.

Typical Typhoon Construction House on Base

Our home was typhoon construction, complete with heavy doors and with hurricane shutters to protect the windows.  Several times we buttoned up and sat out the storm.  As long as we stayed in doors, we were safe from the wind and the rain.  We were safe from flying object such as palm branches and coconuts.  Of course there was the loss of electricity and with it the air conditioning.  Often phone service would be lost as well.


Then there were those storms called "super-phoons" because the wind speeds were so very high that it even drove rain through the small cracks where the walls were joined to the roof.  No matter the storm, soon it moved on and before long it was time for clean up around our yard and across the base.

How like our lives!  We can be going about the day to day business of living and with little or no warning suddenly the winds pick up, the rain starts, a storm breaks out upon our lives, and we begin to look for a place of shelter.  It may be the typhoon of a lost relationship, the super-phoon of a failed marriage, the typhoon of financial loss, the storm of confusion about what to believe, the blinding rain storm of a death, the hurricane of unemployment, the storms of difficulties with children, and the list goes on and on. 

What is one to do?  Just as we put in a little extra water, some canned goods, a lantern and candles, battery powered radio, etc. so too we can do similar things to prepare for the typhoons of difficulty.  Instead of the things mentioned we do well to store in our lives some other things.

When word of a typhoon was passed across the base, there were those who had not prepared and thus they scurried about making preparations at the last minute.  Then there were those who had prepared ahead of time and had plenty of time to take care of those last few preparations.

We do well to be like the latter group.  Like the five wise virgins of whom Jesus spoke.  They had extra oil for their lamps and so were prepared for any eventuality.  What might we do to prepare for the typhoons of adversity for there will be many along the roadway of life?

First and foremost, we would do well to get our relationship with God not just straitened out but on a firm footing.  That is exactly why Jesus Christ came!  It was His purpose to show the way to God and as well to show the "hows" of having a durable relationship with Him.  That is what it means to be "saved" or as others term it, "born-again." 

We also can prepare by establishing and maintaining a good and solid relationship with a local congregation, a church--those who have a personal relationships with God and enjoy fellowship with one another.  It is in such a congregation that we find support and care, comfort and correction, and much, much more to assist in the stormy times of life.  Just like our typhoon construction house, it can be a place of refuge.

Another resource with which to prepare are the Scriptures.  That is not to say that one prepares by finding a few promises in an attempt to manipulate God into some course of action or another.  No, it a commitment to study and prayerfully follow what the Bible says to do in the good times so there will be a foundation in the bad.

Just as the wise person prepared for the typhoon before one was in the forecast, so too wise is the person who prepares well before hand for the uncertainties of life.  Does it not make sense that if one waits for the wind and rains before they consider the Bible, it might well be just a bit late?  Said another way, to be helpful in times of difficulty one is wise to read and study the Scriptures well before the winds of adversity and rain of pain break out upon one.

There are many other ways in which to prepare for adversity. Know this, that all of them, that is each and every one of them begin with a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

How about the clean up of the residue after the storm has moved on?  God through Jesus Christ can help with that as well!

Perhaps, just perhaps the preparation just listed are the reasons that that some seem to weather the hurricanes, typhoons, and even the super-phoons of life while others find themselves at the mercy of the winds and the rains.

"Something is Missing from Ministry! But What?"

What does it mean to be mighty in faith and power?

The libraries of the world could not contain all that comes in pursuit of the answer!  However, in the current discussion and pursuit of same...something is missing. 

Of recent date I engaged with another on the subject of supernatural signs and wonders that are to be normative in the Church.  Certainly I agree such is to be so.  Further I agree that these things should not be limited to some move of God here or there.

However, there is a concern!  In the course of the discussion and to no avail, I referenced what one denominational leader had said some weeks earlier, "The Scriptures provide the river banks within which the Holy Spirit flows."  Made sense to me but apparently not to the other in the discussion.

One asks, "What do those river banks look like?"  Such is currently under study for me; however, I can say that paramount is the matter of humbly aligning thinking, belief, and one's life with the principles and precepts set forth in the Scriptures.  In other words studying in depth God's Word and then applying it in the small and the great arenas of one's life!   Applying it even when one does not understand it.  Though out of fashion in many congregations the terms we used to use for such things are dedication, sacrifice, repentance, holiness, righteousness, obedience, humility, etc.

Throughout the history of the Church, known and unknown there have been men and women of power who would die rather than bring any kind of reproach upon the message of the Scriptures as lived out in their lives and situations. These are those who humbly live lives above board and who were and are on a constant hunt for a deeper life that aligns more perfectly with the Word of God and the God of the Word.

These are those who clearly understood that to fail ethically while in ministry was not a matter to be taken for granted nor lightly.   It was not a matter to be hidden but confessed.  It was not a matter to be explained away but prayed through. It was not a matter to be pridefully regretted but of which one humbly repented. It was not a matter to be arrogantly dismissed but submitted to spiritual leaders for such restoration as was possible.  Failure certainly lead to forgiveness but also it was understood that it would put blight upon a person's character and ministry.  Such seems not to be so today as such things are explained away as being "just" one's fallenness, frailty, and fallibility and that we must forgive and forget and move on.

These were men and women who clearly understood that any part of their lives that was not totally committed to being a follower of Jesus Christ would impede the flow of the Holy Spirit of worship, of love, and of power.  They were on a quest for those signs and wonders previously referenced but they understood it all began with one's life being pleasing to God! They understood that such came as one humbled one's self before the Master, Jesus Christ.

These were men and women who clearly understood that one day there would be those who touted their spiritual power and prowess and would hear, "Depart from me, I never knew you."  They purposed to not be among that number but to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

These were men and women who clearly understood that in order to have spiritual might in their lives and ministries, their relationship with God had to go beyond citing some promise or another with an "I deserve" almost prideful attitude.  Even today in conservative Christianity there are those who make demands of God and propose that they know the will of God.  It has gone so far for some that they teach, preach, and counsel that praying; "Never the less not my will but Thine be done" is wrong.  I see such praying as deferring to God's decisions and in that being submitted to His will.  Wonder what they do with the "Our Father?"

If someone cares to look throughout the pages of Church history, on every continent, in every Christian movement, in every age, there are men and women who lived exemplary lives dedicated to serving God and man.  They lived lives of prayer and the Word.  They lived lives of confession, submission, and dedication.  Often they were thrust against their own druthers into the local, national, and international spotlight.  Even so they sought with all of their hearts to be humbly faithful--trustworthy in the eyes of their Lord, Jesus Christ.

These were men and women who clearly understood that one shunned evil and the very appearance of evil.  They took seriously the injunction to "...take up your cross daily..." and thus were denigrated by even their fellow Christians.  No cost was too great a sacrifice for following Jesus Christ.  These are those who chose to sacrifice ease, personal wealth, popularity with the world, position, safety and security, a comfortable future, retirement from service, and much, much more in an eternal cause greater than themselves.  They demanded nothing of God and in fact only demanded of themselves in their service.  They knew nothing of, "You have to love yourself before you can love others."

Some years ago there was a couple at a major Christian University who though wanting to marry realized that to do so would not be in keeping with God's call upon their lives and so sorrowfully parted. There is another who gave up success, power, position, the possibility of marriage, and even his name to become a follower of Jesus Christ.  Indeed to listen to some today is to hear an opposite message. Today's message all too often is, "you deserve."  One can only wonder how that squares with, "Seek you first the Kingdom of Heaven and His righteousness..." which is what that couple and that man did.

Thomas Cranmer Memorial, Oxford

There is great danger in this opposite and wrong message.  Yet the message of plenty, leisure, and pleasure has been foisted upon the unwise by the winsome.  The message is simply unfounded in the Scriptures.  This has been carried to the extreme, teaching that those who belong to God deserve.... (You fill in that blank).  The reality is that because of our own sinfulness we deserve eternal punishment!  That is what we deserve!  Thankfully God in His mercy and grace made it possible for us to escape that which we deserve through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

How inconsistent these new beliefs, with the lives of people such as the Apostle Paul, martyred by Rome; Thomas Cranmer, burned at the stake; David Brainerd, died at a young age, spent serving the American Indians; Jim Elliot and his 4 friends, martyred while seeking to reach the Auca Indians of South America; John and Betty Stam, martyred by the Chinese Communists; then there are those who occupy the pages of Foxe's Book of Christian Martyrs, and yes, the Christians who are even now being persecuted, enslaved, and dying in places such as Egypt, Africa, China, and Iran.

When you think about the sacrifice of these and others, it leads one to conclude that some of us ought to give up the title "Christian" for its use suggests that we with our easy faith are like they who traveled long and difficult trails of travail.  It connects us with these and others who gave so very much.  Most of us, it seems to me, are unworthy of such a connection.  Indeed as with the closing of the Hebrews 11 list of similar people, the world was not and is not worthy of them.  The degree to which the world is in us is the degree to which we are not worthy of them or the name by which they are remembered.

What does it mean to be mighty in faith and power?  That too is to be studied but there are some things we can know.  This comes of submitting to spiritual disciplines to include the following.

Such comes when one in humility seeks to perfectly aligns his or her life with God's Word through the study of the Bible, through the ministering presence of the Holy Spirit, through prayers of repentance, through humble obedience, and through long seasons of intercessory prayer.  It comes of establishing and maintaining the eternal view.  It comes with companions in prayer.  It comes as one seeks God for strength to do the will of the Lord.  It comes of Christian fellowship, and service.  It comes of having those to whom one is accountable for word and deed.  It comes of failure, confession, and restoration.  It comes of selfless obedience.  It comes of implicit trust in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, even when they seem not to make sense.

"Enslaved by Freedom!"

The Apostle Paul was no stranger to plenty and certainly no stranger to want.  He writes a piece that suggests how one should live out his faith. It is in these various circumstances that he finds contentment.  Such contentment then gives him freedom.  He writes,

"Not that I speak of want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.  I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need..  I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:11-13).

There is one thing that this man understood and it was and continues to be what allows the Christian to enjoy contentment and comfort in the most dire of circumstances.  It is this "God is God and I am not!"

How can this be?  It is all in building a trust relationship with the Heavenly Father.  Paul understood that point quite clearly and in fact such trust underpins much of what he writes about.  He understood that in that trust relationship he was a slave to Jesus--he had freely made the choice to be in a slave-master relationship with God!.  Here is this very trained and accomplished man with accolades beyond number who counts it all as "refuse" and assumes the position of a slave.

While many have chosen to employ the word servant in order to attempt to take the sting out of the original word, however translated or mistranslated it is, in the original the word is "slave." The interesting point is that everyone is a slave to someone or something.  One cannot be a slave unless one has a Master.  Such being so, one must choose carefully one's master whether it be Jesus Christ, the insatiable self, or the evil one.

So it was that the Apostle, vested with great power and authority in the first century church, still understood that he was but a slave--a love slave under the tutelage and direction of his Master, the Lord, Jesus Christ.  It is from that perspective that he sets the example not just for Christians of his day but for every Christian who has named Jesus as his Master!

People of that day unlike we in the west today, would understand the meaning of this since a high percentage of the Roman economy and culture was based in the owning of slaves.  Within that population there were those who chose to be permanently attached to their master and as such never sought freedom.  They freely gave themselves most often it was to a benevolent master.  What a picture of the Christian's relationship with Christ.

Therefore, once one is born again it is into the relationship with Jesus Christ.  As noted then one is to becomes a slave with Christ as the benevolent Master.  So it is that one would sell himself into slavery with Christ thus we might well say, Jesus is Lord and Master, I am not!

Jesus Christ does not demand that anyone enter this relationship.  In fact, if it is not a relationship entered freely and without reservation, no Christian relationship exists.  But here is the key.  If one chooses to be a slave of Christ, he then chooses a life style of obedient service.  Some years ago the USAF had three core values.  "Service before self,  Integrity, and Excellence in all we do."  What great core values for the slave of the Lord.


However, if one does not become a slave of Christ, Jesus it is very likely that he will become a slave of another.  It begins with being enslaved to self and self gratification.  Even those who are altruistic in effort when quarried will often respond with "Serving makes me feel so good."

However noble its beginnings, without Christ such slavery spirals downward into bondage and other forms of incorrect enslavement.  These are not without spiritual elements and thus one become enslaved to the Kingdom of Darkness and to its malevolent master, Satan.

In other words, one is either knowingly a slave of the benevolent Christ or one tacitly is enslaved to self leading to one's enslavement by the malevolent evil one.  Either way such slavery shapes one's life-style.  Such brings changes in thinking--both content and process.  Changes in thinking then brings about changes in attitudes.  Relationships are scaled up or down according to whose slave one might be.  The list goes on and on as to the effects upon the slave.

The notion that to come to faith in Christ and to enter such relationships as He has designed is to lose one's freedom is in fact not true.  It is the one who demands his own way and then becomes enslaved to that way that loses his freedom.  Said another way, in giving one's self to Christ Jesus and then living out life in the power of His resurrection grants true freedom--freedom from bondage, oppression, etc.  Freedom to contentment, faith, trust, and confidence in God.  It is these latter things that once established in one's life grant freedom no matter the circumstances in which one finds himself.

"Connections That Count"

Well there it is, my flip phone just chirped in a most annoying way to tell me that it was now out of power and going to shut down, go to sleep, stop performing its functions.

What can be the problem?

The phone shows some wear (don' we all) but overall it works.  It contains contact numbers, calendar information, Push To Talk contact data, and the list goes on.  Certainly that information should be enough to keep the phone going but it is not!

Ever notice how people have come to believe that if they just know enough, have enough connections, etc. they can overcome any and all situations?  Still my phone just does not work.

The last time the phone was charged, it accepted the charge until the battery was full.  Certainly that battery should be enough to keep the phone going but it is not!

How about people seeking to have some internal power based upon some inherent element of their lives and/or personalities?  Still life just does not work for them.  Something must be different but what?  No matter the personality and uniqueness of my phone it just does not want to work.

The transformer and power cord function just fine.  In fact there are two power cords, one for the car and the other that came with the phone.  Both are fine and are capable of charging the phone's battery.  Not too long ago they did so.  Yet, there is a problem--no power and thus no phone.

Ever notice how people have come to believe that if they attend church an hour a week and read their Bible once in a while, and maybe say grace at a meal now and then that their faith works for them.  Yet it does not because there is a faulty connection!  Then something goes wrong and they question, "God where are You?" or "Where did You go?"

You see that is the problem with the phone.  It is not the phone itself, nor is it the source of power.  Both are fine!  It is just that the connection does not work very well and so getting the power into the phone thus to recharge the battery just does not happen.  There is a connection problem or we might say problem connection.

So too with God.  He is there, all powerful, ever present, all knowing, and very interested in a solid relationship with each of us (that would be a solid connection).  Here we are with our bumps and blemishes and imperfections, but even at our lowest ebb, with enough capacity to establish and enjoy that connection.  The problem is in our side of the connection for we seek to dictate the terms thereof.

So it is with the phone.  If I am willing to hold the phone and the power cord in just the right attitude to one another it will take a charge.  There is a problem with the phone's side of the connection.  So too there is a problem with our connecting with God but it is not on His side, it is on ours. 

The connection between God and man and man and God is decided and designed by God.  If we are ever going to experience that connection to its fullness, then we are going to have to come on God's terms and in His ways not our own good ideas. Just because we have a good idea about this connection does not mean that it is reality.

So why doesn't faith work for me?  --It is a connection problem.
So why can't I feel God's love?  --It is a connection problem.
So why does this bad habit hang on to my life?  --It is a connection problem.
So why can't I feel God's presence? --It is a connection problem.
So why doesn't my prayer work?  --It is a connection problem.
So why can't I feel connected to other people?  --It is a connection problem.
So why doesn't the Bible make sense to me?  --It is a connection problem.
So why doesn't __________ work for me?  --It is a connection problem.

The reality is that the beginning place is the Lord, Jesus Christ and a relationship with Him.  It is from that initial start that one can have an unshakeable relationship (connection) with the Divine.  It is in that initial connection and as we grow in that relationship that we find power to do not just the day to day of life but even in those times when we are called upon to do the impossible.

"Setting a Heading for the 'Truth'"

Note:  Somehow I deleted the original post.  What follows is an attempt to rewrite the post.  If you should have a copy of the original post, please forward to arobbfam@yahoo.com.  Thank you.

Maybe you saw the YouTube video of a military aircraft, a C-17 landing at the wrong airport.  If not  you may view it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkuqsd_tRHw.

Did the aircrew fly a perfect downwind, base, and final?  Yes they did.
Did the aircrew turnout on the correct final heading?  Yes they did.
Did the aircrew execute a flawless landing?  Yes they did.
Did the aircrew execute a flawless roll out, tactical as it was?  Yes they did.

The problem was that both airports were on the same heading and although they did everything right, they ended up landing at the wrong airport!  Why?  Because the aircrew did not validate the decision of the pilot, assuming that he had made a correct decision.  Thus, they ended up in the wrong place on the wrong runway.

So it is with many of the decisions of our lives and as well those things which we have come to believe.  Some beliefs have consistency, integrity, even believability and yet because the underlying assumption is faulty the outcome is faulty as well.  That which appears to be true in reality is anything but so.

If you view the landing you will see that the aircrew and the airplane survived.  Not so when one lands on the wrong runways in one's life and in doing so misses the truth or reality as some choose to term it.  The consequences will be dire.

Simply said, what may sound so very good at first hearing and accepted on that level may not alert the believer in that "truth" to the difficulties in that particular belief system.  However, when one devotes effort to a deeper examination of the "truth" and one looks into the presuppositions and assumptions that underpin it then the belief breaks down.

Fortunately with the skill of the pilot, the C-17 was stopped before the end of the runway.  At some point the aircrew seeing how short the runway was, realized they had a problem.  So too with beliefs.  If one is to push them out to their logical conclusions, their failed veracity will be seen.  However, many become so caught up in the initial relationship with truth that they fail to see the eventual outcomes.

What are some of the outcomes of belief systems build on faulty assumptions?  First there is the question of validity.  Just know that a valid belief cannot be deduced based upon a faulty assumption.  In addition there can be other outcomes such as incorrect biases, chaotic relationships, deception, denial of conflicting truths (these may in fact be reality), imposition, intolerance, crisis of truth, and much, much more.

As to outcome for the C-17, you may view the take off at the following site.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=805M1svwp_8.  It is interesting as you view the various videos available at YouTube the reactions of the people.  Indeed their view of the landing and take off and their reactions were once again based upon their assumptions about the airplane's capability.

We must exercise great caution in the matter of what we accept as truth and/or reality.  Such should begin with a careful examination of such presuppositions and assumptions that underpin our beliefs.

"Traveling the Routes of Life..."

“Transiting Life According to My Way or God’s Way”

All of the following is to say that for most, it is easier to have a healthier expectation of a local transit system than to have a healthy expectation of God and His ways.

THE EXAMPLE OF THE TRANSIT BUS:  When was the last time you went to catch a bus and did one or more of the following?

Demand that the bus be there waiting when you arrived at the stop in order to avoid inconvenience.

Demand that the bus arrive in order to avoid unpleasant weather or a bad situation.

Demand that the bus stop be situated where it was most convenient.

Demand that the bus arrive on your schedule and/or according to your plan no matter the effect on others.

Demand that the bus travel on routes that are pleasant.

Of course this is most ludicrous.  The transit system plan insures that the bus arrives according to a schedule designed to fit with a greater plan?  Perhaps it is traffic volume, a city’s traffic flow pattern, the number of riders, where and when those riders typically travel, high use facilities such as shopping malls, etc.

BEFORE WE BEGIN:  Before continuing be clear about one very important thing.  God is not the prisoner of His own good ideas and thus He is free to interrupt our expectations of Him according to His good pleasure.  He is to be trusted beyond our understanding and we must be willing to accept His interruptions whether they be quiet or dramatic!  He is the great healer, the provider, the One who blesses, the destroyer of spiritual strongholds, the one who commissions signs and wonders, and the One we call on to be against the evil one and his kingdom of darkness.  However, there is a problem and we need to think about it in terms of man's limitations!

CONCERN - MAN’S LIMITED VIEW:  As one does not expect the bus to be there according to one’s personal plans, pleasures, purposes or agendas, so too one does well not place those expectations and others like them upon God and His interventions in the lives of His followers.  Consider the following.

God's Love?  Most certainly God does love each and every person.  However, such love is expressed in ways one may not understand.  The example is that of a parent who expresses love in a way that may not be understood or accepted by the child.  

Consider as well the matter of what God likes.  He may love everyone but that does not mean that He likes everyone.  To be in the favor or the "like" relationship with God means that one seek to live a life which is pleasing to the Heavenly Father (More about this in a later post).

Man's View:  Remember man’s view is limited by many factors.  To suppose that any one person has the grand plan is to suggest that the finite fully understand the Infinite.

Man's Supposition:  As one makes way through life, it is to say the least naive to suppose one knows the best course to follow and/or the best course of action.  From my Navy days consider the following.  Imagine a ship transiting the entrance to a sea port without soundings, navigational aids, navigational charts, and/or a channel master.  God is the ultimate Channel Master who knows best the channel in which His follower’s lives are to flow individually and corporately.

God's Timing:  Consider too that to demand God to be there upon one’s own schedule is very often to limit one’s view of God's intervention.  

When one enjoys the event we call a Divine encounter, most often it is best experienced when God shows up or intervenes in one's life in an unexpected manner at an unexpected moment.

MAN A GOD? A SUBTLE TRAP:  Consider this question.  Do you recognize these words, “…You will be like God?”  Yes, from the earliest records of mankind in the Garden of Eden, it was all about man placing himself in God’s position.  That which was once presented as a temptation now has become ingrained in man’s depraved thinking and the ultimate expression of the “self.”  

Whether tacitly or directly stated such insidious thoughts often becomes a part of one’s mental content and process.     Unfortunately such cannot be limited to those outside of the Church for it has made inroads into those of faith.  It all sounds so good, designer god on my terms at my time. 

RESPONSIBLE SURRENDER:  It is far better to surrender indeed commit to and live out the words, “Not my will but Thine be done.” Immediately some will counter that it is some kind of “Christian Fatalism.”  That is to say they counter with the criticism that such commitment means; “I am absolved of any and all responsibility when I pray, ‘Not my will but Thine be done’.”  Not so!

Join me back in my Navy days for another illustration.  In order for a ship to have steering, it must be underway.  In other words, a ship dead in the water and unanchored is at the mercy of current and tide.  Such is also true of the Christian. 

In order for the “Thy will not mine” to work one must go forward in one’s faith.  However, one must also be willing for such plans and purposes as are in place to be interrupted.  Neither does it serves God’s purposes to be unwilling to go in ways found to be inconvenient—God’s way is always comforting and confidence building but often found to be not convenient.

All of the preceding is to say that for most, it is easier to have a healthier expectation of a local transit system than to have a healthy expectation of God and His ways.

THE CHALLENGE:  Trust in the Lord and do not give in to the propensity to try to figure it all out for such is always limited by our finite perspective.  Leave such to the side and God will lead in the path in which one should go, the path that lines up perfectly with His Kingdom plan.