Faith

A 22-year-old man killed himself because, according to WND, he lost his belief in God after reading The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. Young Jesse Kilgore blew his brains out, convinced that God and faith in God are delusions. (I became a Christian some 10 years ago. Unlike young Christians today, I didn’t have to deal with unbelieving college professors challenging my faith or making me question my beliefs. I was just as much a heathen as they were.)

His father told WND that a biology professor was “really challenging my son, his faith…They didn’t like him as a Republican, as a Christian, and as a conservative who believed in intelligent design.”

First, I take a hard stand when it comes to suicide. It’s the work of inconsiderate and self-centered cowards, whatever the reason. But we’ve all had suicidal thoughts – from mild “what if I just offed myself right now” to actually taking a weapon in hand (bottle of pills, gun, whatever) to attempting suicide and ending up in the hospital. If you say you haven’t, you’re probably lying.

[Update: Did she write "inconsiderate and self-centered cowards"? There I go again, being too harsh. Christians aren't allowed, so I've heard. What about the mentally ill, you ask? Well, if someone isn't in his "right mind" when he commits suicide, I suppose that's a different story. In some cases. Generally, my opinion of suicide, which I've contemplated in my younger years, stands. More sympathy for those left behind, please.]

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David Wayne and I go way back. He’s a pastor at a church in Maryland, and his blog was one of my daily reads in the early years. Because of his perspective on political issues, his easy-to-understand exposition of the Scriptures, and his sense of humor, I really enjoyed reading his blog and called him my favorite theologian-blogger.

I finally got to meet “The Jolly Blogger” at a meet-up a few years ago (where I also met the “radical” Carolyn McCulley), and he was just what I thought he’d be…gregarious, funny, kind. We saw each other again at GodBlogCon.

I was stunned to learn, via Twitter of all places, that David has colon cancer. He made the announcement on his blog, and someone linked to the post in Twitter. Here’s the latest:

“I saw the surgeon yesterday and the news wasn’t good. My CT scan revealed not only a large tumor on the colon but a tumor on my liver and 2 nodules on my lungs. Needless to say this was a pretty big blow…The treatment plan as of now is this. I have surgery scheduled for tomorrow – December 24th at 11:00am at Harbor Hospital in Baltimore. After that I am to immediately begin receiving chemotherapy…Don’t know how much or how often I’ll be able to update after this but I will do so as I am able. Please know that I deeply appreciate all of the kind words and prayers.”

What do you say to someone who just found out he has cancer? And at Christmas? You’d think it would be easier to comfort a Christian, who knows and accepts the truth about Christ and forgiveness and salvation and heaven and hell. The Christian knows that God sends trials into our lives to chastise us, teach us, mold us, and make us more Christ-like. We know we’re living in a fallen world in fallen bodies, and those bodies break down. Death and disease are consequences of sin in the world.

Christians know all of that. But I still couldn’t stop myself from being angry. “Why, God?” I asked. “Why him? A man who faithfully preaches the Word, shepherds your sheep…a husband and father with children who still need him. Why?”

Becoming a Christian doesn’t mean pain ends and or that disappointment is a thing of the past. The Christ follower has to live in this world. Heaven comes later. While we’re in this world, we must deal with loss and hardship and heartache. The difference between the believer and the unbeliever is that we are part of God’s kingdom, and we have the privilege of advancing that kingdom.

We advance that kingdom by doing what God commanded: preaching the Gospel. But it’s not just our words that accomplish the goal. How we deal with pain and loss serves as a testimony to the unbeliever and accomplishes God’s will.

I already knew the answer to my question, but that didn’t stop me from asking. The Book of Job provides all the answers we need.

At the beginning of the book, Satan tells God that believers are faithful only as long as they prosper.

“But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has,” Satan said about Job, “and he will surely curse you to Your face.”

But God knew Job, a man he called upright and blameless, a true servant of God who shuns evil. In that moment, God allowed Satan to take away Job’s family, his health, and his wealth. Understandably, Job complains, cursing the day he was born. There seems to be no sense to his suffering, and he questions why he’s been afflicted. It’s important to note that Job remains faithful and loyal to God even in his confusion.

“Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”

Beginning at Chapter 38, God answers Job’s questions, revealing his omnipotence.

“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?…Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it.”( I can’t do the passages justice here, so I encourage you to read Chapters 38-41.)

Job was humbled by God’s series of questions, and he realized he was wrong to complain and to question why God allowed him to suffer. In the end, God restored what Job lost.

The Book of Job is a kind of blueprint for believers. Whenever you’re faced with sickness and loss and other disappointments in life, put yourselves in Job’s place. Imagine that God and Satan are having a conversation about you, and God is making your case as Satan accuses you. Which one do you want to prove right?

I don’t need to tell David Wayne about Job. I’m certain he knows. But I want him to know how sorry I am that he has to suffer through this, and I pray for him and his family. May they continue to keep the faith and know that God is with them.

This post is inadequate, and I don’t think I’m being very articulate right now.

Tomorrow we celebrate the birth of Christ, God made flesh, the One who came into the world to suffer for our sins and to redeem his people. No matter what “bad” things we’re going through, take comfort in knowing he came to redeem YOU. Though you may suffer from The Fall’s consequences, there will come a sweet day when there will be no more suffering, no more tears…

Are you talking to me?

Uh…well…what had happened was, you see:

• I haven’t met The One;
• A middle-aged, politically conservative, Bible-believing Christian black woman is going to have a hard time meeting an available and compatible male counterpart no matter where she lives;

And most important:

• While I don’t feel “called” to singleness, nor do I consider singleness a gift as some Christians do, I trust God and I’m certain — certain — my Father in Heaven “who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all” will not withhold from me that which is good. If he is glorified in my singleness, and it serves his purposes and is a testimony to his awesome grace and unbounded mercy, it is good.

I’m thankful for:

• A loving God whose grace is abundant. He is exceedingly merciful, and I’ll be eternally grateful;
• A loving family, without whom I’d be lost in this indifferent world;
• Having been born in America, land of the free, home of the brave.

Let’s gather together and ask the Lord’s blessing…

Sometimes I wonder how much easier life would be if I weren’t a Christian.

I could, without a conscience or knowledge of the great and terrible truth of the wrath to come, do and say things I’m ashamed to do or say now. I could walk to the beat of my own drum and worship a god of my own making, as I once did. I could craft my own salvation plan, as unbelievers do, and call myself a good person because the “good” I do outweighs the bad.

I feel limited as a Christian, because I know unbelievers are always watching, waiting for me to display “un-Christian” behavior and attitudes. For instance, a homosexual e-mailed to say that last post I wrote was “sneering.” He’s right. And I meant every single word of it.

Is sneering a sin? Is sarcasm an abomination before God? Is disgust wrong? The Bible teaches that Christians should be disgusted by sin, especially our own. If I’ve got a plank in my own eye, I must remove it first. I’m still learning how to distinguish sinful anger from righteous indignation.

How do I express myself about these things without being overly harsh? Yes, I’m aware that my tone is sometimes harsh, but I try to say it as plainly as I see it. In fact, I’m exercising a lot of restraint when I blog about things that make me angry. A lot of restraint. No telling what I’d say if I disregarded my conscience, which would eat me alive later, or the shame that would overwhelm me.

God has been merciful to restrain me.

There’s a lot of work to be done, Christians. I want to be effective for the kingdom, not a hindrance to it. People will refuse to hear or accept the truth. They’ll mock us, sneer at us, and even try to harm us. That doesn’t mean we return evil for evil or anger for anger. I’ve accepted my calling to use my writing talents, how ever great or small, to share the Gospel. And I’m preparing for the season when he sends me to hostile places to speak to people, face to face. If you’re a Christian reading this blog, please pray for me…and for one another.

“Keep that blog going!” John MacArthur said after signing my Bible and adding the citation Joshua 1:8:

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

I met him last night at Grace Community Church’s evening service, where he preached about putting on the whole armor of God, beginning at Ephesians 6:10. I was surprised then glad he didn’t change his morning or evening sermons to factor in the election. He continued preaching on the series’ he began weeks ago.

It was a big deal for me meeting John MacArthur. Non-Christians won’t get it, and neither will Christians of certain denominations. But this Reformed Christian still carries around and studies from her 10-year-old MacArthur Study Bible, New King James version. In fact, I told MacArthur the story behind it. Years ago, my Bible-believing youngest sister guilt-tripped me into buying it (at which point Pastor MacArthur shook her hand). I wasn’t a Christian then, and it remained on my coffee table for a year still wrapped in its plastic packaging.

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