After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” Revelation 7:9-10

Rosa
“I can’t become a Christian. My husband is a witchdoctor; and if I became a Christian, he would kill me.”

On a recent medical mission to the Dominican Republic (DR), one of our nurses heard this excuse from a woman (I’ll call her Rosa) with whom she had just shared the Gospel.

If someone said these words to you, how would you respond? Would you react with naïve incredulity (“Surely not!”)? Would you – in light of Christians around the world who die every day for their faith – foolishly promise Rosa that “Jesus wouldn’t let that happen”?

On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. Psalm 145:4, 5

Glory abounding

The glory of God abounds on every hand. The whole creation declares His glory, speaks of His existence, reveals to us something of His love, and calls us to wonder, discovery, understanding, and praise (cf. Ps. 19:1-4; Rom. 1:19, 20; Prov. 25:2; Ps. 145:10, 11). God has set up the creation in such a manner as that it continuously reveals aspects of His being and will, manifesting His creating and upholding presence in details great and small.

Controversial art
The newspaper headline caught my eye: “NYers Furious Over Photos Taken Through Windows.”[i] New York City photographer Arne Svenson watched with interest as a glass and steel luxury building was constructed across the street from his apartment building. All the apartments in the new Zinc Building have floor-to-ceiling glass windows, which drew the attention of Svenson and his telephoto lens. He explains:

As people filled the empty units, I was intrigued not only by the implied stories within the frame of glass but also by the play of light upon the subjects, the shadows, the framing of the structure. I don’t photograph anything salacious or demeaning – instead I record the turn of the head, the graceful arc of a hand, the human form obscured by drapery.[ii]

Eight months coming

Imagine greeting the barista at your favorite coffee shop with, “Brother, are you washed in the blood of the lamb?”

I can’t. Probably you can’t either. Let me tell you how I did greet one of my favorite baristas the other day.

After our usual pleasantries, I said, “I gotta tell you, on the way over here in the car, I was reveling in the fact that God is not epistemologically promiscuous.”

You need to check out the philosopher, Paul K.Moser[i], to know what on earth that means and why it might have been a helpful way into a deeper conversation. For now, however, it’s enough to say that my friend and I get together regularly to talk about the big issues of life and for months we’ve been having some fun yet intense, and maybe slightly bruising, conversations.

And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. Matthew 14:28, 29

New and unlikely

It is instructive to meditate on the moment Peter’s foot touched that water.

Something most unusual happened in time and matter which, while unusual, and unlike anything we’ve ever seen, can nonetheless be rather easily explained.

Unless we believe this miracle of Peter’s walking on water has a merely naturalistic explanation – making it thus not a miracle at all –we must consider the reality that something significant happened in time and with time at that particular time.

For the LORD takes pleasure in his people… Psalm 149:4

Giving God pleasure?

Few things please me more than to have Susie break out into a smile over some gift I’ve given her or something I’ve written for her.

We all like the feeling of bringing pleasure – joy, delight, satisfaction – into the lives of others, especially those we love.