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Minute Meditation • Rest

11/24/2015

Henry Ward Beecher wrote, “A world without a Sabbath would be like a man without a smile, like summer without flowers, and like a homestead without a garden. It is the most joyous day of the week.”

“I’m too busy to take a day off.” Have you ever found yourself saying that? I know I have.

I am guilty. I find it very difficult to stop work and activity and take some rest. But God gave a commandment about 3500 years ago that too many of us ignore…

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:8-11, NIV)

Many of our Jewish friends are much better at this than we are. From sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday, they cease and desist from their regular routines. They reflect on the goodness of God. They enjoy time with family and friends. It is the highlight of the week.

God knows that we need time to rest, to recharge, to recalibrate our souls.

God asks us to give him one day in seven to enjoy him and enjoy relationships with our family and friends. For those of us who are Christians, our Sabbath is usually on Sunday—the Lord’s Day.

Moses, when he gave Israel the Ten Commandments, informed them that even God took one day in seven to rest when he created the universe. Now God doesn’t need a “day off.” He never gets tired or weary. But he knows we need this day—and he models this for us.

Old Testament scholar Doug Stuart wrote, “To love God is not to have a lazy day one day a week; rather it is to focus on doing his will specially on one day a week—to worship, learn, study, care, and strengthen the spirit.”[1]

Do yourself a favor this week? Take a day off from the routine and focus on the blessings of God in your life and enjoy time with your family and friends. Maybe you’ll even find yourself going to church to worship the One who wants to give you His rest.

[1] Stuart, D. K. Exodus (Vol. 2, p. 460).

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Minute Meditation • Why God?

11/2/2015

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One of the most common questions I’ve been asked is something like this, “Why does God allow suffering in this world?”

Why does a good, all-powerful, all-loving God allow suffering in this world? Have you ever asked this question?

In 1710, a theologian by the name of G. W. Leibniz coined a term called theodicy. According to the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, this study “has been applied to that part of natural theology which is concerned to defend the goodness and omnipotence of God against objections arising from the existence of evil in the world.”[1]

T. C. Oden writes, “Theodicy seeks to vindicate the justice and goodness of God in the face of the disturbing facts of evil and suffering. Pastoral theodicy seeks to answer the recurrent, sometimes urgent, existential question: If God is so good and powerful, why is so much evil and suffering permitted?”[2]

I can almost hear you shouting now, “What is the answer?”

Has God forgotten us? Is he ignoring us? Does he not have the power to alter the painful events in our world and in our lives? Of course God hasn’t forgotten us. He is not ignoring us. He is all-powerful yet he permits suffering.

We live in a world that has been scarred and marred by sin. God created a perfect environment for that first couple in Eden. But they chose to disobey their creator and all of sudden there was poison ivy, mosquitos, and all kinds of pain and suffering.

You see, it is we who create evil in this world, not God. You see, we are not puppets or automatons. God is a gentleman. He does not force his ways on us. He provides us, by his grace, with the opportunity to choose him and choose life. But taking a phrase from Frank Sinatra, “I did it my way.” You see, that’s what sin is—doing it my way rather than God’s way.

Why does God allow suffering? I don’t really have a good answer for that. But this I know—the same God who allowed suffering is also the God who came to us, taking on human flesh, and died for our sins so that we might have the opportunity to receive his free gift of forgiveness and one day be experience life as God meant it to be so many millennia ago in Eden.

The apostle John writes of this day in his Revelation…

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.[3]

You see, there is no easy answer to the question Why God? How could we finite beings understand the infinite God. But there’s a new day coming. Are you ready?

[1] Cross, F. L., & Livingstone, E. A. (Eds.). (2005). In The Oxford dictionary of the Christian Church (3rd ed. rev., p. 1609). Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.

[2] Oden, T. C. (1986). Crisis Ministries (p. 57). New York: Crossroad.

[3] The Holy Bible: Today’s New International Version. (2005). (Re 21:3–4). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

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Minute Meditation • Rest

Minute Meditation • Why God?

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