Category Archives: God

What is ‘New Age’ Religion, and Why Can’t Christians Get on Board?

Posted by Dan C. on

What is ‘New Age’ Religion, and Why Can’t Christians Get on Board?

Barbara Curtis

Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer

If you haven’t run into it before, it would be hard to avoid it now. Oprah’s rolling out the red carpet for the New Age: a weekly online class with New York Times bestselling guru Eckhart Tolle and a daily broadcast with Marianne Williamson, whose Course in Miracles was beckoning seekers thirty years ago when I was tripping through the wonderland of discovering my own divinity and wielding the powers of the universe to create my own reality.

Ah, but I didn’t know Jesus back then – that is, I didn’t know him as the Son of God. I knew him only through my guru, who taught that Jesus was a great spiritual master and who blended quotes from the New Testament with quotes from the Bhagavad-Gita to produce a spiritual foundation for people like me – too hip, too cool, too sophisticated to tie themselves to the narrow-minded thinking of Christianity.

As someone plucked out miraculously from the New Age, I can only hope that Christians who love and trust Oprah will not blur the lines of their faith. Oprah has stated that though she was raised as a Baptist, she no longer believes that Jesus is the only way to reach God. It sounds so much more rational and compassionate, doesn’t it?

Why can’t we all just get along?

There are questions we don’t have the answers to. And there are questions that are not seeking an answer, but rather opening a door leading to “a wider path” – questions like the one posed long ago: “Hasn’t God said that you could eat of every tree of the garden?”

The New Age is based on concepts that sound almost irresistible. Like Eve, some hear the spiels of modern gurus like Tolle and Willamson and begin to think the faith of their fathers is too rigid, too narrow – that God would never impose an “irrational” boundary between us and “full knowledge of the spiritual realm.”

Sometimes the lie creeps in subtly as Christians begin to research natural or holistic medicine – alternatives which can be very God-honoring but for years were shunned by Christians, thus becoming New Age territory by default. Or a doctor may recommend yoga or meditation to reduce stress. No matter how uplifting and innocent some New Age practices appear, Christians need discernment in these areas, just as at the seashore they need to know where the undertow begins.

The more we understand the distinctions between New Age religion and Christianity, the less vulnerable we are ourselves and the better able to address the confusion of people who may be – as I once was – earnestly seeking the truth.

What exactly is the New Age? Impossible to narrow down, the New Age is actually a vast smorgasbord of beliefs and practices. Each New Ager fills his tray with whatever assortment fits his appetite. All is liberally seasoned with self-centeredness. It’s really a Have-It-Your-Way religion – thus its modern appeal.

Although there are many branches of New Age thought – ranging from meditation to firewalking – they stem from an ancient stock. The roots of the New Age tree spread around the globe to India. One might think that the desperate, degraded human condition of a land dominated by Hinduism would speak louder than words about the truth of the religion. But New Agers seem blind to the contradiction.

Instead the typical New Ager believes: 

  • God is in everything (pantheism)
  • All things are one (monism)
  • Man is God
  • Mind creates reality
  • One’s own experience validates the truth

New Agers do not believe in evil. Therefore, they do not accept man’s problem as separation by sin from God. Instead, they believe that each of us has forgotten his or her own divinity. Therefore, the New Age solution is to seek “higher consciousness” through meditation, breathing exercises, yoga, diet, crystals, channeling. spirit guides, and more. Each of these diverse practices has the same purpose: to awaken the god in man.

While these practices may seem too far out to pose much of a threat to those abiding in the truth, Christians need to be on guard. In the past twenty years, New Age influence has been steadily creeping into our culture in schools, corporations, and doctors’ offices. Since Star Wars, movies have become dominated by New Age spirituality. Reincarnation, karma, the cosmic consciousness – all these once obscure ideas have become commonplace.

A true understanding of New Age practices makes one thing clear: Eastern practices cannot be blended into Christianity to produce something better. New Agers are Universalists, believing that all paths lead to God. They fault Christians for being intolerant and narrow-minded. But God’s word anticipates this: “Enter the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the path that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13, NIV)

The good news is that, in a way, the New Ager’s broad acceptance holds the key to getting him back on the straight and narrow. Most New Agers hold Jesus in high regard, believing Him to be a great spiritual teacher, or guru. Many study the words He spoke, although they put a different spin on them.

How can we reach those under such subtle deception? The answer is Jesus Himself. Since Jesus is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” He Himself can be the common ground on which the New Ager and the Christian can meet, though one stands in darkness and one in light.

Here is a five-step approach to discussing Jesus with new Agers:

1. Whom do you believe Jesus is?

2. Whom did Jesus say He is?

3. What did Jesus say about other spiritual paths?

  • “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

4. Jesus was either who he said He was or He was a fraud. Given His claims, we can’t logically believe he was only a great teacher, for He would have been teaching falsehood rather than truth (this is an argument by C. S. Lewis).

5. Jesus alone is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

New Agers are in a lot of confusion. That’s because they haven’t found the Truth, but only what fits into the spiritual perspective they have constructed. As in the Garden of Eden, the lie has never changed.

But neither has the Truth. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t see immediate results from sharing with New Agers. In many cases – like my own – when they finally come to Christ, it’s because God had been planting seeds and watering for a long time. Just keep praying and loving and sharing the words of  Jesus (from experience, I’d say they really won’t hear much else).

And remember, God loves New Age seekers too!

Barbara Curtis, now a prolific Christian writer, was a New Age seeker for seven years before learning the truth about Jesus Christ in 1987. She lives with her husband Tripp in a rapidly-dwindling nest with 6 of their 12 children in Waterford, Virginia

Is God’s "Unconditional Acceptance" a Biblical Concept?

Posted by Dan C. on

Some time ago I participated in a Bible study concerning the importance of knowing what we believe as Christians – a great subject! A major point of the study book and materials was the topic of “unconditional acceptance” – God’s unconditional acceptance of us and the need for our unconditional acceptance of others. We should accept others with all their sin and faults, because we know that God accepts us even with our sin. This has become the mantra of much of today’s evangelical church – the new gospel, if you will. But is it biblical?

Well, I can’t find in anywhere in the Bible, and believe me I did my homework. What I do find in the Bible is Christ’s death for our sin as the first point of the gospel message that Paul preached, among others. What the death of Christ in our place means is that God can only accept us through the shed blood of His own Son. Saving faith hinges on recognizing our sin, repentance and a wholehearted turning from it, not bringing it with us!

I found that “unconditional acceptance” became the centerpiece of humanistic psychology beginning in the mid ’50s.  It gradually invaded the church until the condition we have today that it is this ‘new gospel’ permits avoiding the sin issue in the proclamation of the good news, as well as the need for continuously confronting the sin in our lives and turning from it in the process of sanctification as we grow spiritually.

Did I pose a rhetorical question? You bet, as far as I am concerned! The myth of God’s “unconditional acceptance” of sinners is the greatest lie the enemy has ever fed the human race (especially the church), except for the original lie in the Garden when he hinted that we can be like God and the first couple bit.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it, unless someone can offer solid scriptural proof that I am wrong.

Concerning Fear of God and the Wrath of God

Posted by Dan C. on

“Why is it that even among those who profess to be the Lord’s people there is so little real subjection to His Word, and that its precepts are so lightly esteemed and so readily set aside? Ah! what needs to be stressed to-day is that God is a God to be feared. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7). Happy the soul that has been awed by a view of God’s majesty, that has had a vision of God’s awful greatness, His ineffable holiness, His perfect righteousness, His irresistible power, His sovereign grace. Does someone say, “But it is only the unsaved, those outside of Christ, who need to fear God”? Then the sufficient answer is that the saved, those who are in Christ, are admonished to work out their own salvation with “fear and trembling.” Time was, when it was the general custom to speak of a believer as a “God-fearing man”—that such an appellation has become nearly extinct only serves to show whither we have drifted. Nevertheless, it still stands written, “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him” (Psalms 103:13)! —A. W. Pink (1886–1952)

“If this generation were to take a crash course in the fear of God, our shallow view of sin would immediately deepen.”
-C.J. Mahaney

“While falling all over ourselves trying to conceal this ’embarrassing’ feature of God’s character, we’ve sent this signal to our culture: God is infinitely understanding, sympathetic, patient, and sentimental. God is nice! God is a kind of cosmic Mr. Rogers, always ready to greet you with a warm smile and a pleasant word.

Because we have difficulty reconciling wrath with our perception of a loving God, the Church and this culture have sought to create God in their own image. But Scripture makes no apologies concerning the wrath of God. In fact, A.W. Pink notes that there are more references to God’s wrath in the Bible than to his love. We probably don’t have any of these passages underlined, but perhaps we should. We need to give serious study to the wrath of God.”
-C.J. Mahaney

The above quotes were borrowed from the Reformed Voices blog. It’s a great place to visit!

Salvation Apart From Repentance?

Posted by Dan C. on

Is salvation apart from repentance even possible? I am not talking here of some agonizing exercise of dredging up every little sin ever committed in order to make a verbal confession of each and every one. I am speaking however, of recognizing one’s sinful wretched state apart from Christ  and a consciousness turning away from sin and toward God.

“The idea that God will pardon a rebel who has not given up his rebellion is contrary to the Scripture and common sense. How horrible to contemplate a church full of persons who have been pardons but who still love sin and hate the ways of righteousness. And how much more horrible to think of heaven as filled with sinners who have not repented nor changed their ways of living.

I think there is little doubt that the teachings of salvation without repentance has lowered the moral standards of the church and produced a multitude of deceived religious professors who erroneously believe themselves to be saved when in fact they are still in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity.” A. W. Tozer – The Root of the Righteous

There are those who would say that ‘repentance is an act, something one ‘does’, making it a work and therefore not necessary for salvation.  I have even heard on more than a few occasions and from various sources that you are accepted by Jesus and will be embraced by God “with” your sin. Such is the popular notion of “unconditional acceptance”, and what appears to be the modern definition of grace. Not only that, it is being preached as the gospel of Jesus Christ in churches all across America, not to mention ‘sold’ as the gospel in Christian bookstores filled with ‘spiritual junk food’ as the main fare.

Step right up! Come to Jesus!  NO repentance necessary! If you give up on sin later, that’s ok. If you don’t, that’s ok too! God loves you SOOOOOOOO MUCH he cannot imagine heaven without you!

My friend, the creator of the universe did not send his Son to die for our sins so that we could just drag them along with us when we eagerly raise our hand, walk down front, or sign a little card in order to have our ‘best life now’. God sent his own Son, literally ‘gave him up’, so that when faced with our sin, we would hate it, forsake it, turn to Him and live the rest of our lives for His glory!

For God so loved the world. . .

Posted by Dan C. on

“For this is the way36 God loved the world: He gave his one and only37 Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish38 but have eternal life.”39 – John 3:16 (NET)36tn Or “this is how much”; or “in this way.” The Greek adverb οὕτως (Joutws) can refer (1) to the degree to which God loved the world, that is, to such an extent or so much that he gave his own Son (see R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:133-34; D. A. Carson, John, 204) or (2) simply to the manner in which God loved the world, i.e., by sending his own son (see R. H. Gundry and R. W. Howell, “The Sense and Syntax of John 3:14-17 with Special Reference to the Use of Οὕτως…ὥστε in John 3:16,” NovT 41 [1999]: 24-39). Though the term more frequently refers to the manner in which something is done (see BDAG 741-42 s.v. οὕτω/οὕτως), the following clause involving ὥστε (Jwste) plus the indicative (which stresses actual, but [usually] unexpected result) emphasizes the greatness of the gift God has given. With this in mind, then, it is likely (3) that John is emphasizing both the degree to which God loved the world as well as the manner in which He chose to express that love. This is in keeping with John’s style of using double entendre or double meaning. Thus, the focus of the Greek construction here is on the nature of God’s love, addressing its mode, intensity, and extent.37tn Although this word is often translated “only begotten,” such a translation is misleading, since in English it appears to express a metaphysical relationship. The word in Greek was used of an only child (a son [Luke 7:12, 9:38] or a daughter [Luke 8:42]). It was also used of something unique (only one of its kind) such as the mythological Phoenix (1 Clement 25:2). From here it passes easily to a description of Isaac (Heb 11:17 and Josephus, Ant. 1.13.1 [1.222]) who was not Abraham’s only son, but was one-of-a-kind because he was the child of the promise. Thus the word means “one-of-a-kind” and is reserved for Jesus in the Johannine literature of the NT. While all Christians are children of God (τέκνα θεοῦ, tekna qeou), Jesus is God’s Son in a unique, one-of-a-kind sense. The word is used in this way in all its uses in the Gospel of John (1:14, 1:18, 3:16, and 3:18).38tn In John the word ἀπόλλυμι (apollumi) can mean either (1) to be lost (2) to perish or be destroyed, depending on the context.39sn The alternatives presented are only two (again, it is typical of Johannine thought for this to be presented in terms of polar opposites): perish or have eternal life.

B4B NOTE: I think it worth noting that it only those who believe have eternal life, although the extent of God’s is love is to the world. The question then becomes “Who CAN believe?”, followed by “What does it mean to believe?”

‘Doing’ Church

Posted by Dan C. on

You hear that phrase quite a lot these days. I’m not sure when the phrase ‘do’ became connected to ‘church’, but the recollection I have of the verb ‘do’ replacing ‘go’ was hearing ‘Let’s do lunch’, probably in a television program or commercial in which a couple of upper middle class friends/business types. It actually sounded a little pretentious. Most ordinary folk either ‘go to’ or ‘eat’  lunch depending on whether or not they are headed that way, or are seated with something ready to be consumed on the table/counter top in front of them. ‘Doing’ lunch includes the other things that will occur during the period of time designated/allotted for an event for two or more people. If you are alone you don’t ‘do’ lunch, unless maybe you are talking to yourself. If you are ‘doing’ lunch you aren’t in the kitchen fixing, cooking, making, or preparing it.

From what I have observed, ‘doing’ church involves the sum of activity  that is associated with an entity called ‘church’.  The term is used by those involved in planning and presenting, along with those who attend. ‘Doing’ church is ‘hip’, ‘cool’, ‘fun’, and oh. . . ‘so now’ (as opposed to ‘so yesterday’). ‘Doing’ church is contemporary, positive, encouraging, upbeat and exciting. It is never a negative experience. It’s everything YOU could want!

. . .but is it what GOD wants?

First of all, ‘church’ by definition is the ‘called out (of the mass of fallen humanity and by God) body of believers, not buildings, programs or activities. That, however is a small point compared to the bigger issue reflected in the question “WHO is the central focus of ‘doing church’?”

By all appearances, even the casual ‘unchurched’ observer would probably conclude it’s in order to get as many of the ‘unchurched’ IN church and then keep them coming so that they can become ‘churched’?  Well, not exactly. The goal is for the ‘unchurched’ to become believers, or followers of Christ, which IS the right goal. So why not just use the term ‘non-believers’? Well, in the always positive, upbeat and encouraging world of ‘doing church’, if we called the ‘unchurched’  ‘non-believers’ it could be perceived as negative, maybe a personal attack, or even hate speech! That’s an opinion – maybe exaggerated a bit, but I think there’s truth in it.

Everywhere I look at the typical American church these days, it seems to all about ‘satisfying the consumer’ than first and foremost about God and his glory. I see self-centeredness  instead of God-centeredness. I don’t care if you call it seeker-friendly, purpose driven, ‘real’ church for ‘real’ people, or whatever, if God is not at the center, it’s upside down, and in direct opposition to everything Jesus had to say about the new covenant and discipleship.

This is not about music or worship styles, or any of the other ‘things’ that accompany the gathering of God’s people, although some of the ‘things’ these days are highly questionable. It’s about  GOD and HIS glory. But to grasp what that really means, one must have a proper understanding of who we are and who God IS.

. . .and that’s another worthy and much needed discussion these last days.

Be blessed,

B4B

"I Saw the Lord. . ." – Isaiah 6:1-5

Posted by Dan C. on

1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said:

      “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
      The whole earth is full of His glory!”

4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

5 So I said:
      “Woe is me, for I am undone!
      Because I am a man of unclean lips,
      And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
      For my eyes have seen the King,
      The LORD of hosts.”

One commentary  (Gill) has this to say about the fifth verse:

Isa 6:5 – Then said I, woe is me,…. There’s no woe to a good man, all woes are to the wicked; but a good man may think himself wretched and miserable, partly on account of his own corruptions, the body of sin and death he carries about with him; and partly on account of wicked men, among whom he dwells,

because I am a man of unclean lips; he says nothing of the uncleanness of his heart, nor of his actions; not that he was free from such impurity; but only of his lips, because it was the sin of his office that lay upon his mind, and gave him present uneasiness; there is no man but offends in words, and of all men persons in public office should be careful of what they say; godly ministers are conscious of many failings in their ministry.

The particular significance to this old guy at 04:15 AM, April 11, 2008 is this:

To see the Lord is to be abruptly confronted with the sin that still remains within us. I cannot imagine it otherwise.

There is also a question that comes to mind: “When Dan steps into the sanctuary of the church he attends, or even other churches, is the presence of the Lord so noticeable that there is a consciousness of personal sinfulness? Even a little bit?” There should be something about a church sanctuary that reflects his unique holiness, separate from this world and all it’s sin and sensual appetites.

That’s Sunday morning. No matter what the day of the week, I should live with a humble, ever-present consciousness of who I am in the flesh in comparison to the High and Holy One who dwells within me by His Holy Spirit. That’s not something I can somehow ‘drum up’ on my own. It is however present when the Holy Spirit within has sufficient sway over the still remaining lusts of my flesh. It comes ‘NEW naturally’ when His Word is hidden in my heart. (Psalm 199:11).

Whatever any person places as #1 in his/her life is that person’s ‘god’ – true or false?

Posted by Dan C. on

I suppose you could call this an ‘opinion’ piece, but then again maybe not.

If we take a serious look at the history of man, we find that humans have a tendency to worship something, whether they call it God, a god, or something else. One of themes carried throughout the Bible is that the God spoken of therein is he God we were created to worship.

In the end, the bible tells us that God does anything and everything in order to bring glory to Himself or to His Son. We were created to love, worship and glorify the God who created us. To that end, we were created with the ability and need to worship. The problem that the fall of the Adam brought to the human race is, among other things, the corruption of human nature to the extent that we now enter life in rebellion against the God who created us to worship HIM and bring HIM glory.

Being religious beings by nature, we will find something to worship. If not the God of the bible and His Son, it might be another religion apart from Christ. Or, we might claim to be ‘atheist’ and that we don’t believe in any sort of ‘god’ or ‘religion’. In that case, whatever takes the first place in the endeavors of life, that thing for which we labor and strive to please, becomes our object of ‘worship’. No matter what that might look like, in the end I think it comes down to pleasing ourselves first and foremost in all of our endeavors. We call it ‘self-actualization’.

What is terribly sad is that much of today’s American Christianity is nothing more than ‘self-actualization’ disguised as proper religion.

What does it Mean to Glorify God?

Posted by Dan C. on

In this continuation of a Thomas Watson sermon that addresses the chief end of man (Part 1 is here) and (Part 2 is here), four ways of glorifying God are discussed. . .

“Q. What is it to glorify God?

A. Glorifying God consists in four things: 1. Appreciation, 2. Adoration, 3. Affection, 4. Subjection. This is the yearly rent we pay to the crown of heaven.

1. Appreciation. To glorify God is to set God highest in our thoughts, and, to have a venerable esteem of him. Psalm 92:8. “Thou, Lord, art most high for evermore.” Psalm 97:9, “Thou art exalted far above all gods.” There is in God all that may draw forth both wonder and delight; there is a constellation of all beauties; he is prima causa [the first cause], the original and spring-head of being, who sheds a glory upon the creature. We glorify God when we are God-admirers; admire his attributes, which are the glistening beams by which the divine nature shines forth; his promises which are the charter of free grace, and the spiritual cabinet where the pearl of price is hid; the noble effects of his power and wisdom in making the world, which is called “the work of his fingers.” Psalm 8:3. To glorify God is to have God-admiring thoughts; to esteem him most excellent, and search for diamonds in this rock only.

2. Glorifying God consists in adoration, or worship. Psalm 29:2. “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” There is a twofold worship: 1. A civil reverence which we give to persons of honour. Gen. 23:7, “Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the children of Heth.” Piety is no enemy to courtesy. 2. A divine worship which we give to God as his royal prerogative. Neh. 8:6,”they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces towards the ground.” This divine worship God is very jealous of; it is the apple of his eye, the pearl of his crown; which he guards, as he did the tree of life, with cherubims and a flaming sword, that no man may come near it to violate it. Divine worship must be such as God himself has appointed, otherwise it is offering strange fire, Lev. 10:1. The Lord would have Moses make the tabernacle, “according to the pattern in the mount.” Exod. 25:40. He must not leave out anything in the pattern, nor add to it. If God was so exact and curious about the place of worship, how exact will he be about the matter of his worship! Surely here every thing must be according to the pattern prescribed in his word.

3. Affection. This is part of the glory we give to God, who counts himself glorified when he is loved. Deut. 6:5, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul.” There is a twofold love: 1. Amor concupiscentiae, a love of concupiscence, which is self-love; as when we love another because he does us a good turn. A wicked man may be said to love God, because he has given him a good harvest, or filled his cup with wine. This is rather to love God’s blessing than to love God. 2. Amor amicitiae, a love of delight, as a man takes delight in a friend. This is to love God indeed; the heart is set upon God, as a man’s heart is set upon his treasure. This love is exuberant, not a few drops, but a stream. It is superlative; we give God the best of our love, the cream of it. Cant. 8:2,”I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate.” If the spouse had a cup more juicy and spiced, Christ must drink of it. It is intense and ardent. True saints are seraphims, burning in holy love to God [from the Hebrew word saruph, to be burned up]. The spouse was amore perculsa, [an overwhelming love], in fainting fits, “sick of love,” Cant. 2:5. Thus to love God is to glorify him. He who is the chief of our happiness has the chief of our affections.

4. Subjection. This is when we dedicate ourselves to God, and stand ready dressed for his service. Thus the angels in heaven glorify him; they wait on his throne, and are ready to take a commission from him; therefore they are represented by the cherubims with wings displayed, to show how swift they are in their obedience. We glorify God when we are devoted to his service; our head studies for him, our tongue pleads for him, and our hands relieve his members. The wise men that came to Christ did not only bow the knee to him, but presented him with gold and myrrh. Matt. 2:11. So we must not only bow the knee, give God worship, but bring presents of golden obedience. We glorify God when we falter at no service, when we fight under the banner of his gospel against an enemy, and say to him as David to King Saul, “Thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine,” 1 Sam. 17:32.

A good Christian is like the sun, which not only sends forth heat, but goes its circuit round the world. Thus, he who glorifies God has not only his affections heated with love to God, but he goes his circuit too; he moves vigorously in the sphere of obedience.”

So What?

How am I doing? I  need to grow in both ‘inward devotion to’ and outward expression of’ all of the areas discussed. I am grateful for a particular verse of scripture found in Paul’s letter to one of the early churches.

” . . .for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” Philippians 2:13

To glorify God with my everything in my life sounds like a tall order (it’s impossible in purely human terms), but the God who saved me will bring it to pass as I yield to the written word as it instructs me and to the Holy Spirit who guides, strengthens and empowers me.

Grandma’s House and God

Posted by Dan C. on

When I was just a little boy (isn’t there a Simon and Garfunkle tune somewhere in there?) we would visit my Grandma ‘s house in Wisconsin, out in the country several miles away from the nearest town.

Among the memories of my grandparents’ farm, apart from all the great times playing in the barnyard, looking for arrowheads and picking fresh strawberries, peas and sweet corn from Grandma’s garden, are thoughts of God.

Two things in particular reminded me of God at Grandma’s house. The first was being outside and looking at the night sky and seeing so many stars! If you have ever been in the country where there aren’t any street lights, city lights, neon signs, etc., you know what I mean. My little mind would go WOW – God made ALL THAT!

The second thing that left a “God’ impression on my little heart was the little white country church with the tall steeple and stained glass windows, surrounded by tall fragrant pine trees, across the road from Gtandma’s house.   Well, not the church itself – I don’t remember the inside, the preacher or a Sunday school teacher. I remember being being outside on Sunday morning and hearing the organ and the hymn ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’, echoing through those tall pines and fill the atmosphere! It was awesome!

I knew I was just a little boy and just about everything and everybody was bigger than me (except kittens and puppies), but God was bigger than the whole WORLD and everything it!  It was kind of like Abraham’s attitude when he bargained for Sodom:

“Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes.” Genesis 18:27

It was a sense of my own smallness and God’s greatness. Well, that God is still my God , the God who is sovereign over all the affairs of men, the God who sent his own son to die for my sin and who will come one day to judge the earth.

It seems that somehow that much of the church today has made mortals bigger and God smaller. God seems more like a kindly grandfather that wants to ‘spoil’ us – that he lives just to gives us all the things we want in our quest for our ‘best life now’. Or, that God cannot imagine heaven without us in it, and that he sent his Son to die for us, hoping that some of us might (all on our own) someday choose him.

The Bible is full of this idea that God does everything he does first and foremost for his own glory – even our salvation! Listen to these few words from Ephesians.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
      To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:1-14

Many years have come and gone since I visited Grandma’s house, but I NEVER want to lose that picture of God!