If you say so…

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Matthew Boardwell

Is the Bible God’s Word, or not? Many Christians say it is. Some hedge and tepidly grant it some kind of divine meaning, but stop short of ascribing it to God Himself. Others are more adamant, even dogmatic, that it is literally the written Word of God. What believers say about it is important, of course, but it’s easy to chalk up their assessments to religious bias. If they say the Bible is God’s Word, few are surprised or persuaded.

Even more importantly, the Bible says it is.

I was surprised to realize how often the Bible makes this claim. 140 times we read in the Bible the phrase, “The Lord says.” 301 times “the Lord said.” 13 times “the Lord has spoken.” 160 times we read what is called “the word of the Lord.” 38 times we read the “the word of God.” 5 times “God says.” 54 times “God said.” And 5 more times we read “God’s word.”

In just those instances, the Bible says with confidence over 700 times that it is the Divine Word of God. That’s more often than it mentions the common themes of faith or love or praise or the gospel combined. That doesn’t include the many references to the plural “words” of God, the “Law of the Lord”, “God’s law”, the “statutes” of the Lord, the “precepts” of God, or the more generic references to “His Word”.

That also doesn’t take into account all the red letters in the New Testament spoken by God the Son, if Christian claims of Jesus’ divinity are true.

Is the Bible God’s Word? Yes, if it’s to be believed at all, we have to believe it’s God’s Word.

I know what you are thinking. Because I think it, too. That is a circular argument and, as such, it doesn’t prove anything.

Obviously, that’s true. Just because someone says he’s a policeman doesn’t make it true, but we ought to at least realize what his claim implies. If someone tells you 700 times that he’s a policeman, he’s either telling the truth or he is delusional and not to be believed.

It may not prove anything, but we ought to at least notice that the Bible frequently makes this extraordinary claim for itself. It’s a radical claim and made so often that it’s either true or the authors of the Book are simply delusional and not to be believed. However, if the claim is true, then as St. Augustine wrote, “What the Bible says God says, what God says the Bible says.”

There’s another way to evaluate a self-claim like that. We would expect a person who frequently claims to be a policeman to have some corroborating evidence. It would be nice to hear some others affirm the truth of his claim . Hearing him give the inside perspective of a policeman would go a long way. Some crime fighting stories and a badge might help. A bunch of circumstantial evidence might be enough to persuade.

Even with all that though, a person could still deny it. Just because there is a pile of support for his self-identification, it could still possibly be false. Any possibility at all is enough for a willful skeptic.

In the same way, we look for corroborating evidence in a book that claims to be God’s Word. We would expect a book that claims to come from God to be historically accurate with archaeological and geographical evidence supporting it. We would expect it to do a good job of describing human beings and the impact of human nature on one another and the world. We would expect it to be practical. We would expect the application of its principles to be life-transforming and rejection of its ideals to lead to chaos. We would expect it to address ultimate issues in a coherent way. We would expect some parts of it to be difficult to understand. We would expect credible accounts of supernatural activity.

Even then, if all that could be demonstrated, someone could deny it or doubt it. No amount of corroborating evidence will persuade the willful skeptic that the Bible’s 700 self-claims are true.

So, is the Bible God’s Word?

The way we answer that question will determine how much attention we give it, how much confidence we put in it, and with how much reverence we handle it.

If it isn’t, then the words of any religious leader or historian, songwriter or philosopher are potential equivalents. If it isn’t, then the time spent devotionally reading the Bible could just as well be spent reading encyclopedias or poetry. If it isn’t, then there may be insight, encouragement, and morality we can glean, but only as much as we want.

However, if it is God’s Word then it’s an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to relate to God. If it is, then there’s no better source for spiritual truth. If it is, then it’s worth making the time to read it, study it, and relish it.

Is the Bible God’s Word? At the very least, we have to acknowledge that it says so.

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Different this time – Conclusion

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Matthew Boardwell

This entry should be read subsequent to the previous post.

So much in life depends on where you set the finish line.

Secretariat, the greatest racing stallion in modern history, would have lost the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness if the finish line had been ¼ mile shorter. The Pittsburg Steelers would have lost Super Bowl XLIII if the game had ended 2 minutes sooner. World War II would have been lost by the Allies if judged by the wreckage on December 8, 1941. We should be careful where we set the finish line.

When Gideon and his 300 men were crouched in the crags with their crocks and candles overlooking a valley encamped with 30,000 armed soldiers, it would have been the wrong moment to draw conclusions. When Israel was wedged between an army and a sea, reasonable people would have declared them doomed. Only a few hours later, though, both the sea and the army were behind them forever. When they had been fruitlessly marching around Jericho for four days, it would have been a bad time to assign victory to the city. As Naaman washed his leprosy-polluted skin in the Jordan six times, an observer might have thought there was no reward for obeying the prophet.  The last chapters to these stories simply hadn’t been written. Yet.

Or consider the Passion Week. If your last observations were on Palm Sunday, you would presume that Messiah Jesus was poised to set up his earthly kingdom. If you closed the book on Friday night, like Judas you would despair. If you drew conclusions on Saturday, you’d find a dispirited movement mourning a pseudo-savior. The divinely chosen finish line had not been crossed.

And it still hasn’t been.

The actual finish line is up ahead, God the Father only knows where. We are still in the race. Like Charles, we are still heading toward the football and it will be there when we arrive to kick it. The One holding it is no Lucy. He is and he is good. There will be a reward for the diligent seeker.

It is remarkable what moving the finish line back does for one’s faith. For example, I know that prayers are often not answered immediately. Prayers for spiritual awakening, healing, provision, and justice can be frustrating when we demand an instant response from heaven. However, when we consider that the finish line might be some distance ahead, we can lay off, trust God, and still be amazed by his glory and power when he finally reveals it. We may feel like the Psalmist, “It is time for you to act, O God,” but when he doesn’t act we’re just not at the finish line.

(BTW, I know God acts miraculously, too. I’ve experienced it many a time, but more often I must wait to see what God will do in response to my prayers.)

If the faith that pleases God believes that he is and he rewards those who seek him (Hebrews 11:6), then we demonstrate our faith by perseverance. We seek until we find. We knock until he answers. We ask until we receive. We keep on trekking until we reach the finish line. And each step is an act of God-pleasing faith.

That’s how the writer of Hebrews sums up the illustrative lives of faith. “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance (v. 13)… These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect (v. 40).” They knew that God existed, of course, but they also knew he rewarded, just not necessarily in their lifetimes. With that in mind, they kept believing and walking by faith.

God is AND God is good. If we can’t see it yet, it’s only a matter of where you set the finish line.

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Different this time

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Matthew Boardwell

“What a rube! He’s so gullible! And always good for a laugh,” mocked Miss Van Pelt as she skipped away with her football.

There, in the grass, flat on his back, for the umpteenth time, lay the humiliated young Charles, wondering why he was always such a sucker.

Why did he always fall for it? When would he ever learn? What was he believing that always left him looking up at the clouds and listening to snickers? Hmmm.

Well, there was obviously a football. He could see it clearly there in her hands. Though he had never personally made contact with it, he did not doubt its existence.

Nor could he doubt the possibility that someone could kick it. By nature, it was like any other football that can be kicked. Oblong, covered in leather, filled with air, tied tight with laces. It wasn’t impossible for others to make contact. He’d even seen her do it.

In fact, he didn’t doubt his own ability to launch the ball. He had practiced all the skills on his own and he knew how. He’d imagined a hundred times how he would do it. The right number of steps, the right speed, the right technique, the right angle. It seemed he had his end of this kicking thing down.

It was only a matter of someone holding it still for him. But there she was, just as real as ever, in her big toothy smile and her bright blue dress. She was just as as capable of holding a ball and keeping it still as anyone. But would she?

Ah, now there’s the breakdown. Every time she tees it up, she pulls it away. The problem’s not with the football or its kicker. The problem is with the holder. She gets a giggle out of yanking the ball away at the last moment. She purposely keeps him from his goal. As long as she is the holder, he will never make contact. She cannot be trusted.

Believing every time that this time would be different is where he failed. Long before the running, the yanking, the falling, and the gasping for breath, this trust in the untrustworthy was his problem.

He needed another holder, one he could trust not to yank the ball away.

Our church has called for a week of fasting and prayer, a week to do our best to connect more deeply with God. In order for that to happen we need to believe two things: God is and that he makes our diligent pursuit of him worth it.

Hebrews 11:6 – “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

Few of us doubt his existence. We’re honest enough to acknowledge that the natural without the Supernatural, creation without a Creator, design without a Designer, providence without Providence is just absurd. Evasion won’t make the supreme Fact untrue.

But, I wonder as I survey my own heart, whether we believe he won’t yank the ball away as we approach. Are we sure he will be found when we seek him with all our hearts? I wonder if he will permit me to be closer than ever. I trust that he is; I’m just not sure he’ll reward. From that stance, it is impossible to please God.

That he is there, I know. That he will hold still, I don’t know.

“God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

To be continued…

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No Idea

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Matthew Boardwell

“Who do the people say that I am?”

That lead-in question provoked a flurry of responses from the disciples when Jesus asked it.

“A prophet.”

“The Prophet.”

“Elijah.”

“Jeremiah.”

“A reincarnated John the Baptist.”

Jesus must have heaved a disappointed sigh before he asked the apostles for their own opinions.  The people he came to reach obviously were not comprehending him.  But at least they had an opinion.

Last fall, I asked a couple of locals the same question.  Who do people say that Jesus is?  What do the kids at school think?  What would your friends in the military or at work say about him?

“My friends probably don’t know enough about him to form an opinion. He’s never come up at school.”

“I can honestly say that we’ve never had a conversation about spiritual things or Jesus.”

How is that possible? How can a student get through 12 years of public education without ever bumping into Jesus? They know who Genghis Khan and Rosa Parks are and they should.  But how can you have so many years of basic education and not have a clue about such a basic historical figure?

You know, Jesus, the religious leader with 2 billion supposed followers. Jesus, whose birth we celebrate at Christmas and whose death and resurrection give you a week of vacation in the spring. Jesus, whose life is the basis for our BC (or BCE) and AD annotations on the calendar. Jesus, who inspired Newton, Martin Luther King, Jr., Lincoln, and Ghandi to nobility and societal transformation. He’s never come up in a thorough education?

How can people show up to work every day mulling thoughts of rent and relationships, football and fun, but never, never converse about spiritual things? Even if they concluded together that there’s no such thing, it would be something. But they haven’t. For years.

Got an opinion about Tebow, Obama, Romney, Bono, or the Kardasians?

Of course. Who doesn’t?

Any thoughts about Jesus?

Who? No idea.

These two friends aren’t everybody, of course. Maybe they are the rare exception. Maybe there are neighbors of mine meditating on ultimate things all the time. Maybe they are engaging their friends and colleagues about their beliefs outside of school and work. Maybe there’s a lot more spiritual conversation than these two have seen. Maybe Jesus gets noticed by lots of others.

Or maybe through tolerance and timidity we’re producing a society with no idea of Him.

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10 Events, 11 People, 12 Months

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Matthew Boardwell

2011 Boardwell Year in Review

No celebrities here. No cataclysms. No scandals. No sports championships. Just extraordinary ordinary life in our family.

Though I’m about a month later than everyone else’s reminiscing, I wanted to register my rankings for the biggest and best events of our household in 2011. With 11 members in our household every week is eventful, but these highlights stand out.

10. Dramatic developments

Four times this year our kids took part in local theatre productions:

  • Last spring, the Peanut Butter Players staged Annie with Boardwells in some key roles. Watching Mrs. Hannigan (Katelynn) act drunk, rip the head off a doll, chew out the orphans and dance with her crooked brother Rooster (Zach) was a little unsettling since she made such a terrific villain. The plucky Orphan Tessie (Jilliann) charmed the audience and Daddy Warbucks (Jonnavin) was genteel and noble as ever. Jonnavin even shaved his head for the part.
  • No sooner did Annie wind down than Nathanael’s local production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown got rolling. For his Boy Scout Eagle service project, Nathanael elected to work with the local Arts Coalition on their first-ever performing arts endeavor. He produced and directed the project, casting his brother Jonnavin as Charlie Brown and Zach as the light and effects crew.
  • In the fall, PBP produced the musical Wind in the Willows with Jonnavin as Badger, Katelynn as Otter, and Jilliann and Zach holding down several minor parts.
  • When Missoula Children’s Theatre came to town, Jonnavin, Katelynn, Jilliann, and Adam all played roles in their version of The Secret Garden.   Zach was an assistant director.
  • All seven of our oldest kids played parts in our church’s Two Nights before Christmas program, a readers’ theatre version of The Last Mailing Day before Christmas. The oldest two boys even directed it.

With our own backgrounds in music and drama, it is gratifying to see the children developing these talents and using them so frequently.

9.   Colorado Christian Writers Conference

Several times during my Master’s degree studies at Rivendell, I was encouraged to publish some of my writing. So in May I spent a week at the Colorado Christian Writers Conference in Estes Park to learn if and how I could ever be published. While I was there I sat in on how-to sessions, met agents and authors, and had a few one-on-one appointments with publishing representatives.

I discovered that there are many opportunities to write for hire and many pathways for publishing a book. During one of my one-on-ones I was encouraged to pursue a publisher for my Encounter at the Cross materials. In another I was offered the chance to write a week of devotionals for Standard Publishing. (Mine will be published in the 2013 edition of Devotions, November 18-24.) Still another, convinced me to start up Twitter and Facebook accounts. Since the conference, I’ve also been puttering away on a book about the contrasting perfections of God.

Writing doesn’t come easily for me. Like any work, it demands diligence, creativity, and the knack for healthy self-criticism. Still, the process is ultimately gratifying, especially when something I write evokes a positive change in the reader.

8.    Zach’s road trip

This year our Zachary turned 16, so once again I slid into the passenger seat for a three-day adventure in a less-populated part of Colorado. Our May driving tour took us over 900 miles through the central north mountains of our state. We poked around every small town and settlement between Winter Park and Craig and Zach got some experience driving every kind of road from one-lane gravel to four-lane interstate.

That trip took us through some spectacularly beautiful places: Ripple Creek Pass between Yampa and Meeker, the Little Snake River Valley along the Wyoming border, Morrison Creek in the Gore Range west of Kremmling, and both sides of the Mount Zirkel Wilderness.

We intended to camp along the way, but swarms of mosquitos drove us into a Walden motel and a generous friend offered us his basement spare room in Craig. Our kind of camping!

7.    Vacation in Dillon, Silverthorne, and Estes Park

For the first time ever, we stayed near home for our two-week vacation in August. With family so far away, our lengthy getaways usually begin and end with at least a 1200-mile drive. Our plans this summer saved a lot of money and drive time.

We began with 3 days at a church member’s condo on Dillon Reservoir where we swam, canoed, and rode the gondola at Breckenridge. Then we ventured north for a week to Spring Creek Ranch near Green Mountain Reservoir where our neighbors own a mountain lodge. Hiking, playing outside, reading, and long afternoon naps kept us busy there. That weekend we enjoyed church outdoors at Agape Outpost in Breckenridge.

Finally, we stopped in Estes Park for a few nights to visit our dear friend Gail Ellis (who lived with us in Erie for a while). In Estes we found Trout Haven where each of the kids caught a fish. What a feast we enjoyed!

Colorado has so much to offer for recreation and scenery. No wonder it’s a tourist destination for millions. On this stay-cation we got to enjoy our own state for a change.

6.    Zephani potty trained

For the uninitiated, this may seem like no big deal. Believe me; it’s terrific that our 2-year-old agreed to dispense with diapers this year. That’s the earliest ever for our clan.

5.    Ben’s & Nathanael’s Eagle ceremonies

Two of our sons were awarded Boy Scouting’s highest rank this year. To earn the Eagle rank, a boy must earn 6 other rank advancements and 23 merit badges, serve dozens of hours of community service, prove proficient in a variety of citizenship, emergency, and outdoor skills, and provide leadership and planning for one large service project that leaves a legacy for a non-profit organization.  All of this must take place between his 11th and 18th birthdays.

For Ben’s project, he took on the repainting of two underpasses for the Town of Erie that had been slathered in obscene graffiti. Nathanael bit off a HUGE Eagle project directing and producing a local performance of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown for the Arts Coalition of Erie. Both projects required administration, fund-raising, hands-on direction, and a heart for the community.

Ultimately, an Eagle rank award represents years of hard work and persistence. To achieve such an honor as a teenager is praiseworthy. Only 4% of boys join Boy Scouts and only 4% of those persevere to earn their Eagle. To have two such accomplishments so far in our family is an honor.

4.    Ben’s Australia Mission

For two months of 2011 our oldest son was on a mission to the other side of the planet. Like his parents, he wants to be useful to God. Unlike his parents, that usefulness includes wet cement and felling trees. So last spring Ben signed up with Teen Missions International for a work mission to either Zambia or Australia. He was selected for the Australia Work Team.

His trip began with an intensive Boot Camp training in Florida where he slept in a tent, kept long hours starting at 5 AM, endured heat and humidity, daily torrential rains, and relentless mosquitos. He also enjoyed Scripture memory, evening worship rallies, and diverse Christian friendships. TMI wants to make sure that the teams they send out are equipped for mission work and able to endure any possible mission setting. One highlight of his time at Boot Camp was watching the final launch of the Space Shuttle, since the training center is only 7 miles from Cape Canaveral.

Following training, his team flew to New Zealand and then on to Australia. There they worked to improve a missions base near the coast for a couple of weeks before serving an Aboriginal community inland. In the village, Warabinda, they assisted a missionary who has been working there for years. They held programs for the children, performed upgrades to the church, and learned to eat kangaroo stew. Ben came home with many new friends, a better picture of world Christianity, and an idea of how a person of his skills and background can serve God anywhere.

3.    Nathanael’s high school graduation

2011 also concluded Nathanael’s formal schooling. On May 22 with family and friends in attendance we presented him with his diploma, the second to graduate from Boardwell Christian High School. At his commencement, three speakers gave words of affirmation and challenge.

Now he is studying French in preparation for some mission work in Europe and hopes to attend college after that. In the meanwhile, he works at AirComm a military helicopter air conditioning parts supplier in Boulder to save money and gain some job experience. We’re proud of him and look forward his adult life unfolding over the coming years.

2.    Harmony Joy

On April 22 a new baby girl joined our family. A playmate for Zephani and a delight to the rest of us.

Some of you have commented on how pretty her name sounds and wondered how we chose it. It was only a matter of time before we chose a name with musical significance. But we mused over middle names for months until a friend from church brought us a Christmas gift in December 2010, namely a wall hanging of the word “J-O-Y.” The first time we tried it out loud we were decided. So our baby is named after our family pastime and holiday décor.

Also, she growls. Some babies coo. Other babies giggle when you smile down into their cradle. Our Harmony Joy growls. Like a pirate, or a bear, or an old man with a popcorn shell stuck to his epiglottis, when she is really happy or wants you to notice her, she growls. Loudly.

Our new score stands at 5 boys and 4 girls. The girls are rooting for a tie-breaker…and so are the boys.

1.    Married 20 years

Of course, without this foundational reality, the other items on this list would never have been.

It all began at a campfire on the first week of Bible College when I shared the urgent call to ministry that God had placed on my life. When Pam heard that message she set her sights to meet that guy. Together we’ve been making life together and living out that ministry for over 2 decades now. The inexpressible blessings and challenges of our daily life give us reason to cling to each other and our Lord.

To celebrate, we spent a few days up at Aspen, a place we had never visited before. Of course, the scenery was fantastic, the food excellent, and the lodgings comfortable, but the best part, as always, was the company we keep and will go on keeping, until death do we part.

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Parable of the Flies

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Matthew Boardwell

Once there was a simpleton who daily milked the cows in a large dairy barn. Each day after milking he would arm himself with a fly swatter and start about dispatching flies one by one. The farmer’s son took notice of his habit and wondered out loud why he was so obsessed with the flies.

The simpleton answered in his dull, oafish words, “In every corner of this barn there are spiders. They are building webs and snaring these poor flies. When they are caught, they are bitten, paralyzed, and saved for later when their insides are sucked out by the spiders.” He paused to shudder in horror. “If I was a fly, I’d rather be splattered in an instant than trapped and wrapped and sucked to death.”

The farmer’s son shuddered, too, at the bizarre logic of putting a fly out of its misery before it is in any. So he asked the simpleton, “That is a strange idea of kindness, my friend. But even if it were coherent, there are hundreds of corners with resident spiders and tens of thousands of flies. What you are doing hardly makes any difference at all. How can your efforts possibly matter?”

The simpleton only swung his swatter again and another fly corpse dropped to the floor. “Matters to this one,” he muttered.

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When will the Judge reach his verdict?

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Matthew Boardwell

Our church has been studying the stories of Elijah. Bold man in dangerous times. This exploration has unearthed a lot of questions and some worthwhile answers.

But here’s one that has always troubled me: Why did God put up with Ahab? This is what God says about him:

Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him. He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him. 1 Kings 17:29-33.

If that’s the kind of man Ahab was, why did God endure him?  After all, many others better than Ahab had perished in The Drought. Even the Baal priests who were killed after the Carmel showdown never had this said about them. Why did God put up with Ahab?

What kind of Divine Judge puts up with the likes of him?

Think about it. We demand more of human judges of insignificant things. Compare the Divine Judge to a Diving Judge. Imagine the stands are full of spectators. The TV cameras are rolling. The athletes have spent four years perfecting their sport. The first diver steps up to the edge of the board and delivers a spectacular back two-and-a-half somersaults with two-and-a-half twists in the pike position. Seconds later the German judge raises his card – 6.0.  The Chinese judge raises hers – 6.2. The French judge – 5.8.  The Canadian – 6.5. The Russian judge reveals an 5.9. And all eyes turn to the American diving judge, waiting for a verdict. And waiting. And waiting.

Instead of reaching a decision, he gets up to grab a soda. When he comes back he scribbles a few notes on a pad of paper. He asks to see the replay on his monitor. He sends a couple emails. All the while the crowd is growing fidgety. Finally, he stands up and announces he’s heading back to the hotel room. “Come see me tomorrow. We’ll review the tapes and I’ll let you know.”

Is that fair? Isn’t there’s something unjust about a judge like that even if he is just in his final verdict?

Or how about a Driving Judge? How would a new driver feel if she’d studied her book, practiced her skills, put in her hours, and showed up for the driving exam, but never got an answer whether she passed or failed? Every morning and every afternoon she calls the DMV to talk to her instructor, “Do I get my license?” And the only answer she receives is, “Call back later and I’ll let you know.” Doesn’t sound very just does it? As the civil rights leaders used to say, “Justice delayed is justice denied.”

But I think you’ll agree that a Diving Judge and a Driving Judge pale in comparison to the Divine Judge. It is more important for Him to arrive at a verdict than for them to. It is more important what he concludes than what they do.  Then why then does God put up with the likes of Ahab?

Here’s the short answer: He won’t always.

Here’s the long answer: READ 1 Kings 21:1-26.

Judgment is coming.

It may seem long in coming, but justice will come. Just ask Sodom, or ask Pharaoh, ask Nebuchadnezzar, ask Herod, ask Judas. Scripture is positively littered with the stories of those who thought they were getting away with something, only to find that the Judge had never stopped judging and His judgment was ultimately unflinching.

Modern history is full of those stories, too. One of them just played out in North Africa this week. An arrogant man with an oppressed people finally bit the dust and in such a fitting way. It may seem for a time that the wicked get away with their crimes, but justice will come.

Why is it so slow in coming? Why is so much evil tolerated in the meanwhile?

Here’s the short answer: I don’t know and it would be presumptuous to claim I do.

Here’s the long answer: God’s kind of justice is slow because there are ultimate consequences at stake.  We don’t expect a diving or driving judge to take very long because what they are deciding is of relatively little consequence. What is the eternal difference between an 5.7 and a 6.6? What difference does it make if one bad driver takes the wheel? There are already millions of them. But we would expect a murder trial where capital punishment is a possible outcome to take a long time. The greater the consequence, the more careful the justice. When eternal judgment is at stake, expect it to take a long time.  As another civil rights leader said, “The wheels of justice grind slowly, but exceedingly fine.”

It’s not a completely satisfying answer, but it helps while we wait. And wait. And wait.

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Welcome, Impact Rock

Posted on October 15, 2011 by Matthew Boardwell

Tonight, at Life Song’s facility, Impact Rock begins meeting every Saturday night.  As you know, the unity of local churches is a huge priority for me.  Thank God for this opportunity for our church to bless another Christian church.  Watch the video below to see Pastor Mark’s take on it.  What a great birthday present this is!

Impact Rock comes to Life Song

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Praying the Promises

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Matthew Boardwell

Recently I heard a pastor say that we shouldn’t pray for things that God has already promised.  …We should pray for risky things that are not so certain.  That’s where real faith comes in.  If God’s already going to do it, he’s going to do it.  He doesn’t need our prayers to pull it off…

True enough.  He doesn’t need our prayers.

Setting aside the problem of demanding from God what he has not promised, how many of us pray because God needs our prayers?  We don’t pray because he needs it.  We pray because we need it.  We don’t pray because God is dependent on us to pull things off.  We pray because we are dependent on God every moment of every day.  Without him, we can do nothing.

But is it true that God will fulfill a promise even when we don’t pray?

The words of Arthur Pink a Colorado church-planter from a century ago:

To natural reason a Divine assurance of anything seems to render asking for it unnecessary: would not God make good his word and send the rain irrespective of further prayer? Not so did Elijah reason: nor should we.  So far from God’s promises being designed to exempt us from making application to the throne of grace for the blessings guaranteed, they are designed to instruct us what things to ask for, and to encourage us to ask for them believingly, that we may have their fulfillment to ourselves.  God’s thoughts and ways are ever the opposite of ours—and infinitely superior.

By asking for those things which God has promised, we own Him as the Giver, and are taught our dependence upon Him; faith is called into exercise and we appreciate His mercies all the more when they are received… God’s promises are given to incite us to prayer.

And the words of some even more inspired men…

Matthew 7:7-11, Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

James 4:2, You want something but don’t get it. You do not have, because you do not ask God.

The promises of God are in Scripture for everyone to read.  Their fulfillment is for those who pray.

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Lewis goes nuclear

Posted on September 23, 2011 by Matthew Boardwell

Somehow, in my mind, poetic experimentation and nuclear war don’t go together.  But I’m not C. S. Lewis.

When I first read this poem, I laughed out loud to realize that he was treating with whimsy the dreadful force of human annihilation.  And then I cringed.  As the central idea of the poem sunk in though, I had to admit that, in the true scope of things, atomic bombs are just one more banal way that people have designed to harm themselves.  From Cain and Abel to now, we’ve only been honing the same dull skill.

This whole poem, first published in The Spectator, is subtitled Metrical Experiment because Lewis was playing with the rhythm of his poetry as much as he was making a profound statement on human nature.

ON THE ATOMIC BOMB

So; you have found an engine
Of injury that angels
Might dread. The world plunges,
Shies, snorts, and curvets¹ like a horse in danger.

Then comfort her with fondlings,
With kindly word and handling,
But do not believe blindly
This way or that. Both fears and hopes are swindlers.

What’s here to dread? For mortals
Both hurt and death were certain
Already; our light-hearted
Hopes from the first sentenced to final thwarting.

This marks no huge advance in
The dance of Death. His pincers
Were grim before with chances
Of cold, fire, suffocation, Ogpu², cancer.

Nor hope that this last blunder
Will end our woes by rending
Tellus³ herself asunder–
All gone in one bright flash like dryest tinder.

As if your puny gadget
Could dodge the terrible logic
Of history! No; the tragic
Road will go on, new generations trudge it.

Narrow and long it stretches,
Wretched for one who marches
Eyes front. He never catches
A glimpse of the fields each side, the happy orchards.

© 1945 The Spectator, London

¹ A light leap by a horse, in which both hind legs leave the ground just before the forelegs are set down

² The Soviet police and secret police from 1923 to 1934

³ The Roman goddess of the earth, representing here the Earth itself

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