“It is hardly complimentary to God that we should choose Him as an alternative to Hell: yet even this He accepts.”

C.S. Lewis

There’s an old story that talks about a Preacher’s visit to a man’s home.  The man was once an active member of the church where the Preacher served.  He participated in worship, he attended, listened and contributed in Bible studies.  His life revolved around Christ – not just as seen by his involvement in his church but in all ways.  He enjoyed reading the Bible and praying.  Talking about Christ was a joy.

Something happened; no one knows what for sure.  These days he seldom talked about about Christ anymore.  Prayer was more of a task and a burden than a joy.  His participation in things at the church were less and less frequent. 

As the preacher was visiting with the man, a fire was crackling in the fireplace.  Its warm glow illuminating and comforting to both.   While they were sitting next to the fire the preacher took one of the fireplace tools and plucked out an ember from the fire.  He laid it on the hearth.

When he first placed it on the hearth it was red hot, glowing brightly.  The preacher just sat there and intently watched the ember as it slowly cooled.  Eventually the ember became nothing more than a charred piece of burnt wood sitting on the hearth; reduced to ash.  There was no heat for comfort, no glow for light.

The preacher asked the man why the ember had gone out.  The man replied that it was because it had been removed from the fire.  The preacher responded, “you are correct.  Once the ember is removed from the fire it cannot sustain its heat or light.  It must remain a part of the fire.  It must stay close to the fire.”  The man was beginning to get a knowing look on his face.  The preacher continued by saying, “so it is with each one of us when we are removed from the fire, that is, the communion with the Holy Spirit.” 

The man had a somber look on his face.  He knew what had happened with his life.  The good news is that with the fire of God, it merely takes placing ourselves back into the fire to become glowing and burning again.

The ironic vanity of it all is that we think man can fix the world, when indeed man is what is broken.

Philippians 4:8 

I have written in a previous post that we cannot control what thoughts come into our minds but we can control what we do with them once they are. All of us are tempted and those temptations always start out as thoughts.  We all have had thoughts come into our head that we did not like.

While we cannot control what thoughts come in to our minds we can impact the frequency and severity of both positive and negative thoughts coming into our minds.   The material we read, the programs and things we watch on TV and the internet, the conversations we participate in all will increase the frequency of thoughts similar to them entering our heads.  This can work both positive and negative.  

From the negative side of things we will also have more difficulty dealing with and ridding our minds of such thoughts.  They have found a resting place and a playground.  They are on familiar turf and are far more difficult to convince to leave.

On the positive side of things we can apply the lesson that Philippians 4:8 teaches us.  Paul is not only telling us to not think about bad or negative things, but rather he is much more telling us to think about good or positive things. 

This passage of scripture admonishes us to be proactive in this type of thinking.  We aren’t just being encouraged to think about good things when we find ourselves struggling under the force of temptation.  We should think about the good, the holy, the noble, the pure things at all times, training our minds in this form of thinking.  This mental exercise is a part of the “renewing of our minds”.  

A proactive approach to this will help reduce the frequency of bad and negative thoughts coming in to our minds.  It will reduce the severity of their impact and it will prepare us to deal with them more effectively.

From Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Worry and stress can lead to an unguarded heart. Likewise, rejoicing in the Lord helps guard your heart. Paul tells us to rejoice in the Lord in all things. We are to rejoice and know that the Lord is near.   He is not distant or unknowing of your needs at anytime. With God near, what do we have to worry about? Who is greater than God?

Instead, we should confidently be thankful to God in everything,  both what seem good and bad.  Present your requests to God who is standing right next to you.  Present them in a spirit of thanksgiving.  Why would you be thankful if God was not going to take care of your request for you?  Oh, but He is going to take care of it. 

Living this way allows you to experience the transcending peace of God.  This protects and guards our hearts from temptation, fear, and disobedience.  Certainly as we live in this world we need our hearts to be guarded.

Eliab, leader of the people of Zebulun; Elizur, leader of the people of Reuben; Abidan, leader of the people of Benjamin; Abiezer, leader of the people of Dan.  Do you know any of these people.  Are these names you recognize?

These individuals were leaders of their tribes – a significant position.  This was a position of responsibility and honor.   Yet I doubt very many know about them or recognize their names. 

Our real significance in life comes from our position in relation to God, not in relation to people.  We may hold a position of power, responsibility, and power in this life, but what lasts is the position we hold in our relationship with God.  That which will be remembered through eternity is where we stand with God.

There are two pillars to build a belief in God upon; both involve nature. One is the law of nature, specifically human nature. The other is the physical nature, creation around us. These two pillars form the basis upon which we can build our case for the logic surrounding belief in God.

Physical nature, all that we see around us tells us much about the existence and even the character of God. We must be careful relying solely on creation to build our belief and understanding of God. While creation is magnificent, amazing and powerful, all of which display characteristics of God, it can also be harsh and chaotic, certainly not attributes that should be ascribed to God.

The old-timers understood the Law of Nature differently than we do today. They thought of the Law of Nature in regard to mankind. We today more often think of the term in regard to laws such as gravity. Is it really a law that a rock falls to the ground when released from your hand? Does the rock have a choice in the matter? On the other hand we decide whether we are going to obey the law that tells us not to steal.