Prayer ~ Zacharias

Expelled: No Intelligence Required: ~ Ben Stein (Exposing Humanism Pt 2)

Ed's Note:  

RELATED:  Exposing Secular Humanism Pt 1 (click here)

Not many years ago, I met Ben Stein when I was still working in corporate aviation.  I even had the pleasure of flying him to a few places when he was promoting this movie (below) that he produced. As a Jew, his perspectives on life have been altered because of the way his people, the Jews have been treated throughout world history.  He has an unusual sense of humor and is fun to be around.  I will relate one of the things that happened during my brief time with him that was hilarious. 

Here is a quick link to Ben Stein's Bio (Wikipedia) .  You will see he is a very interesting character. He is a lawyer, actor, teacher and humorist to name a few aspects of his broad public life. (For those of you who are Ferris Beuhler fans, Ben played the school principal in that movie).

During one of the stops at a destination I flew him to (Jefferson City, Missouri), he saw a popcorn machine at the airport counter just before he boarded my flight.  He paused to put a fresh bag of popcorn into a bag from the machine to eat on the trip. As he was loading up with popcorn, I as the captain of the corporate jet walked out to the plane to make sure everything was ready for Ben Stein our passenger.  He had just given a presentation to the Missouri State legislature about his movie, so he was dressed in a nice light brown suit and dress shirt and bow-tie, yet true to his trademark style he had his running shoes on (instead of the normal dressup/wingtip dress shoes a guy in a nice suit would wear). 

The Missouri sky was very black with signs of heavy rain, and I could see the black rain cloud begin it's advance across the airfield toward us.  When Ben finally got his popcorn and newspaper ready he walked out the 400 feet or so towards my jet.  Wow, at precisely the same time, the sky let loose with waterdrops so heavy, that you could hear the thunderous, fire-hose-size blast beating on the roof of the plane where I stayed waiting for him. The sight of Ben Stein walking out to the plane in the pouring rain in a dress suit and tennis shoes, with popcorn in one hand and a newspaper in the other and a very shocked face was very, very funny and we all had a big laugh.  He finally arrived at the plane and was absolutely and totally dripping wet.  

The problem for him now was that I was taking him to another presentation where had to look his best.    

After Ben was on board, he simply took his dress clothes off to dry out and he flew in his underwear to our destination.

 It was hilarious to look back at our corporate VIP passenger flying in his underwear, and we again all had fun with what had happened.

Little of what I've just related has much to do with the movie, other than Ben was actively promoting it.  Ben Stein's movie "Expelled, ~ No Intelligence Required" is an awesome expose' on Academia. If you believe or teach about Creationism in Universities, you will be shown the door.  Yes, they will kick you out, get you fired or discredit you. Ben uses a number of ways to inform us about how Secular Humanism protects "it's own".  

Watch this movie, you will enjoy it I'm sure! Here is the YouTube version:

Ben Stein's "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" is a movie about the freedom of speech suppression to which Intelligent Design proponents are being subjected to by the atheistic American academic dictatorship.

_____________________________

Ed's Note 2:  Here is the chart that I used to help us understand Humanism ~ Part 1 of this study:

I am Not Ashamed ~ Romans 1

Steering your young adult back to faith ~ Focus on the Family

I hope this isn’t true for you, but for many, it’s a reality: 

Sunday after Sunday, parents across Canada feel the anguish of sitting in church alongside an empty seat – the place where their teen once sat, worshipping with them. And there are a lot of those now-empty seats.

According to a 2011 study commissioned by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, half of Canadian young adults (ages 18-34) who were raised in Evangelical Protestant churches no longer attend church regularly. Two-thirds continue to self-identify as Christian, even though a big chunk of those are now church no-shows.1

That leaves a lot of parents wondering, Which group does my no-longer-in-church child fall into? Is he or she merely disinterested in traditional church, or are they seriously struggling to hold on to faith?

Parents are worried, yet they’re reluctant to pose the question to their young adult. There are a number of reasons for that reluctance, say religion and culture experts Alex McFarland and Jason Jimenez, authors of Abandoned Faith.2

Parents assume it’s too late to influence their now-adult child. Or parents are intimidated; they’re afraid they can’t match their child intellectually in debating God’s existence. Some parents hesitate to demand time from kids who already have a packed schedule. There are solid reasons, however, why you shouldn’t hold back. You have more clout than you might think.

Millennials want close relationships with their parents – and need their support too

Unlike our generation, who tended to see our parents as authority figures, Millennials see parents as friends, helpers and cheerleaders. They’re more than just open to hearing their parents’ advice and encouragement: they crave it.

Take, for example, Bring Your Parents to Work Day. Launched by LinkedIn in 2013, this initiative is already hosted in 80 companies across 18 countries, and has been heartily embraced by Millennials as a way to encourage parents to keep sharing their advice and life experience. Millennials who participated in the program said that, even though their careers were well underway, they still felt mom and dad “stepped back too soon” from sharing their wisdom.3

Parents are far from irrelevant to their adult kids, say McFarland and Jimenez. Their kids need them. Seen as a whole, Millennials can appear resilient: they’re highly educated, tech savvy and seem poised for impressive careers. But parents need to remember that Millennials are also highly stressed, in part because they can’t find entry points for those careers. In Canada in 2014, one third of 30- to 33-year-olds, and 73 per cent of 25- to 29-year olds, had not been able to find full-time work in their field.4

A youth’s need for a parent’s influence deepens the longer they live, says McFarland. “You get out there in the crucible of life and you’ve got all of these responsibilities and stresses, and I’ve heard so many late-20s saying, ‘I wish I could have one more conversation with my dad.’ ”

Take advantage of that desire for guidance, McFarland tells parents. “On spiritual and moral and life decisions, mom and dad have the most clout of any voice in the life of their young person. They really do. . . . I believe – and this is designed by God – that influence . . . that a parent can have, it does remain, and we need to leverage that.”

Issues parents need to be ready for 

Pew Research once dubbed Millennials “the least overtly religious American generation in modern times.”5 Yet Millennials are still searching for God. “They are very spiritual,” says Jimenez, “but they are misguided.”

When Millennials who were raised in church are asked why they now struggle in their faith, they give many reasons. There are, however, some common themes that emerge. David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group, laid out some of these themes in his book You Lost Me.6

If your own child seems only lukewarm in their faith, it’s important to get to the heart of the specific issues they’re struggling with. Here are four common issues – among others that Kinnaman identified – that you may need to be ready to address.

1. Millennials are looking for a real experience of God

Millennials have a “prove it to me” mindset. In their spiritual life, that often translates into an expectation that God will reveal Himself to them unequivocally and on their terms. Relying on God’s promises alone isn’t enough.

What’s striking about the EFC study is that church attendance by young adults exactly mirrored the degree to which they had encountered God tangibly. Although they struggled to describe what the experience was like, nearly all the young adults who continued to attend church said they’d experienced God’s love for them personally. They claimed they’d felt Him.

Heartbreaking to read, in the EFC study, are comments from other young adults who felt they’d pursued God, but never found Him. Others rejected God when He did not answer fervent prayer for themselves or loved ones.

“Unfortunately,” write the study authors, “many believe that only two options exist when God does not answer their prayers in the way they expect. Either God exists and doesn’t care for them, or God does not exist at all.” Both options bring bitter disappointment and pain. “In many cases, in the absence of other explanations, young adults choose to stop the pain by deciding God does not exist.”

That’s an important message for parents to grasp and consider how to address. On the surface, your young adult may project aloof indifference to God, but underneath they may harbour deep disappointment, or even the belief that God exists, but has rejected them specifically.

2. Millennials expect believers to make a difference in their community

Millennials are highly altruistic. They are concerned about social causes and strongly motivated to help others in need. In Canada, a 2016 study by the Environics Institute found that one in four Millennials interviewed had been actively engaged in a cause or issue in the past year, mostly involving social justice, the environment, politics or health care.7

Today’s emerging adults disdain churches that appear too self-absorbed, or too afraid of the outside world to get out there and set about making it better. If your Millennial is not plugged into a faith community, they may need help to find a new church living out a vibrant sense of community engagement. Look for non-traditional, ambitious outreaches – or a church that’s willing to try something startlingly different. “Edgy” appeals to Millennials. “Many desire to take on truly great challenges to make a difference. They want to be heroic,” says Jimenez.8

Don’t be shy, either, about talking about the “good works” you are doing, both large and small. It speaks to your young adult about the authenticity of your faith.

3. Millennials need their doubts addressed

“A lot of the [Millennials] that grew up in the church – when you talk about the ones who abandon the faith later on in life – they had a lot of doubts early on and did not feel safe expressing those doubts,” says Jimenez.

Parents can’t assume that just because apologetics wasn’t necessary for them – because they were able to take everything on faith – that their kids will be able to take everything on faith too. Apologetics is important for Millennials. Today’s young people are seeking answers to big questions, and we need to have those answers ready.

“Don’t make excuses,” McFarland tells parents. “You can read Josh McDowell or Ravi Zacharias. . . . Be able to answer the questions that your sons and daughters might have about the objections they’ve heard out in the world or out on the campus.”

You needn’t wait for issues to come up. You can casually drop ideas into your conversation too with comments like, “I was reading recently about how the Bible was put together . . .”

View some of our apologetics resources
Mere Christianity audio download

4. Millennials struggle with conflicting views of sexuality

For Millennials raised in the church, their natural temptation to explore their sexuality leads to intense conflict between their personal values. On the one hand, Millennials highly value authenticity (the antithesis of hypocrisy) and the freedom to decide for themselves what’s right. Both are cultural norms strongly championed by our sexually permissive society. On the other hand, however, Millennials also highly value their relationship with God, and their relationship with their parents. 

If they become sexually active – and some American studies suggest as many as half of Christian young adults are – a sense of personal hypocrisy makes it difficult to for them to remain in the church, or even in the faith. 

Parents shouldn’t assume either choice, sexual purity or “sleeping over,” are easy choices for their young adult. If your son or daughter has abandoned their commitment to sexual purity, it’s a moment to carefully consider your next steps, because the possibility of more loss hangs in the balance. 

Here’s what I mean by that: sometimes young adults see their sexual activity as a “deal breaker.” They’re so certain that God is going to reject them, they reject Him first. They’re so certain their parents are going to reject them, they push their parents away first, opting for a more distant relationship. 

When that happens, parents need to work hard to break through those false assumptions – to reassure that their love, and God’s love too, is unfaltering. Parents need to stay close alongside, now more than ever, because sexual activity outside a committed relationship so often leads to heartache and emptiness. And many young adults, once they reach that place, are ready to reach again for Christ.

“God is moving on this Millennial generation,” says Jimenez. “They are talking about the Bible. We’re seeing this happen. And a lot of them are going back to their moms and dads and they’re wanting to have spiritual dialogue with them that they’ve never had before. So there is hope. So we are not to give up.”

😎 United Airlines quip ~ "...getting dragged down the aisle doesn't bother me!"

Love is ... ~ Ravi Zacharias

I'll Rise Again! ~ Ivan Parker

Lyrics

Go ahead, drive the nails in My hands;
Laugh at me, where you stand.
Go ahead, and say it isn't Me;
The day will come, when you will see.

'Cause I'll rise, again,
Ain't no power on earth can keep Me down!
Yes, I'll rise, again,
Death can't keep Me in the ground.

Go ahead, mock My name;
My love for you is still the same.
Go ahead, and bury Me;
But very soon, I will be free!

'Cause I'll rise, again;
Ain't no power on earth can keep Me down!
Yes, I'll rise, again;
Death can't keep Me in the ground.

Go ahead, and say I'm dead and gone,
But you will see that you were wrong.
Go ahead, try to hide the Son;
But all will see that I'm the One!

'Cause I'll come again!
Ain't no power on earth can keep me back!
Yes, I'll come again;
Come to take My people back.

Written by Dallas Holm • Copyright © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc, BMG Rights Management US, LLC

Christian Girl Instagram ~ John Crist 😎

Christian Girl Instagram, the new best selling book by 

John Crist, will help you take the perfect devotional photo. 😎 

Christian Politician Declares "Jesus Is Coming Back Again!" In Middle Of Government Meeting

Ed's Note:  I couldn't find this excellent video except on this website.  Click here for the actual video.

__________________________


Apr 13, 2017 by Will Maule

A Canadian politician received an incredible standing ovation after preaching an Easter message during a parliamentary session. Speaking about freedom of religion, Christian MP Ted Falk highlighted the important role of Judeo-Christian values in the formation of the country. Then, he started to PREACH.

He spoke of how this weekend Christians will celebrate Easter, and mentioned a well-known worship leader! "Easter is a time when singer-songwriter Chris Tomlin so wonderfully expresses 'God's love ran red,' and he sent his only Son to be crucified to pay the price for our sins," declared Falk.

Click here for the actual video.

Falk also addressed the issue of the sanctity of life. He said: "Freedom of religion is the cornerstone of democratic societies.

"One of the things that makes Canada so great is the freedom we enjoy to follow our consciences and to live out our faiths in a diverse society," he added.

Falk has previously spoken up in the Canadian Parliament against assisted suicide, stating that he believes in the sanctity of life "from conception to natural death."

He concluded with these incredible words: 

"The really good news is; the cross couldn't hold him, the tomb is empty, we serve a living Savior, and he's coming back again!"

He is Risen!

Resurrection Morn ~ Collingsworth Family

Circumcision of the Heart ~ Robert Friedman

by Robert Friedman

A bris in the heart!” Sounds strange. Maybe even a bit ridiculous to modern ears, doesn’t it? Yet God Himself speaks of circumcision of the heart in the Jewish Scriptures. And strange as it may seem, it holds as deep a meaning for us today as it did when God first gave circumcision in Abraham’s time.

To understand circumcision of the heart, we first must look at the rite of circumcision of the flesh.

The record begins in the 12th and 15th chapters of Genesis. God made unconditional promises to Abraham that his descendants would be more numerous than the stars in the sky; that through his descendants all the nations would be blessed; that Abraham’s people would be given a great land to occupy and that all who blessed them would in turn be blessed.

Then, in the 17th chapter of Genesis, we read:

“This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised.

And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. And every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, a servant who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants.

A servant who is born in your house or who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised; thus shall My covenant be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.”
-Genesis 17:10-13

What is Circumcision All About?

The key here is that circumcision was to be a “sign of the covenant” that had already been given, with no strings attached, to Abraham.

The rite of circumcision was made a part of the Law of Moses several hundred years later when God gave instruction concerning the birth of a male: “And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised” (Leviticus 12:3).

This practice was continued generation after generation, but when the nation of Israel was forced to wander 40 years in the wilderness the rite of circumcision temporarily ceased.

Some authorities believe God demanded this generation die out because of their refusal to believe Him when He told them to enter the promised land (Numbers 14:32-35). And so a rejected generation no longer practiced circumcision.

The disobedient nation of Israel, roaming like lost sheep in the wilderness, were momentarily taken out of the covenant. They had refused to believe God’s promise when He told them to take the land, and now they were paying for their rebellion.…

Yet with God’s punishment comes God’s love, for when the 40 year journey was ending, the covenant—and all its blessings—returned.

As soon as the nation of Israel crossed the Jordan into the land of milk and honey the Lord God immediately gave a command to Joshua: “At that time the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Make for yourself flint knives and circumcise again the sons of Israel the second time.’ ” (Joshua 5:2.)

Now that they were in the land, back in the place of faith enjoying obedience and fellowship with God, the practice of circumcision was restored and the people of Israel were blessed by God.

Israel has always had a special place in the sight of God. He chose the nation to point the way to Himself and to spread His love among all the nations. Since circumcision was the sign of the covenant which involved this universal blessing, it had significance beyond its observance as a national rite.

Beyond the Physical

Practically, we can’t show the world we’ve been circumcised, but God’s covenant extends further than just the physical realm. A way has been provided in which our words and actions can show the nations God has touched us. We read His promise in Deuteronomy 30:6:

“Moreover, the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live.”

This type of circumcision, by definition a circumcision of the spirit and not the flesh, goes to the heart of a man, to his soul, his essence, his attitudes and relationship with God. Because this theme of an inner circumcision is so important, God repeats and stresses it, as in Deuteronomy 10:12-16:

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

And to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?

Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it.

Yet on your fathers did the Lord set His affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day.

Circumcise then your heart, and stiffen your neck no more.”

The Inner Man/Woman

Over and over again God probes the inner man, the real person. His discerning eyes won’t allow us to hide behind social facades, adopted mannerisms or walls of materialism. Before God each man is seen just as he is. His innermost thoughts, thoughts he may wish to hide from the world, are exposed by the light of God.

God requires us to keep all His statutes and laws, and yet which one of us can possibly keep all of them all the days of our lives? The prophet writes:

“For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”
-Isaiah 64:6

On one hand God tells us to keep all His statutes. On the other the prophet recognizes the human condition: we all fall short of perfection and therefore cannot possibly keep all the Law all the time.

Yet, as we read in Deuteronomy 30:6, God does not expect us to circumcise our own hearts. He says He will do that. But how? And what does He expect from us? Let’s look at Leviticus 26:40-42:

“If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me—

I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies—or if their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled so that they then make amends for their iniquity,

Then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land.”

Just Once a Year?

Ah, is that it? Must we confess our iniquity and rebellion against God? Fine, maybe we do this once a year at Yom Kippur. But, in addition to confession, our uncircumcised heart must become humble.

This appears to be a spiritual operation, but we sense within ourselves that we lack the divine power necessary to perform this—to change our own heart. Then we remember this is an operation God said He would perform.

But how?

King David knew the secret, for after he had sinned against God by taking Bathsheba, he pleaded, in Psalm 51:10-12:

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Thy presence, and do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit.”

David said, “Do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me.” The Holy Spirit, the Ruach Ha’kodesh of the ages is the renewing force. It was the Holy Spirit of God which brought peace, comfort and joy to David. He knew what it was like to live both with and without God’s Spirit dwelling within him.

It’s this very Spirit which David called upon to create a clean heart within him—to renew him. In other words, it is the Holy Spirit of God which performs the circumcision of the heart.

From Abraham to David to you, the inner circumcision continues.

Today we have a promise from God, a promise He always keeps. He has promised for every person who places his trust in the Messiah, in the Anointed One of Israel, this Holy Spirit will indwell him and circumcise his heart, making it right with God.

At some point we all face God as uncircumcised, unrenewed searchers after truth. We stand as animated beings of flesh without God’s Spirit inside us. We seek our own truth and walk our own paths.

Perhaps you’ve searched and walked and questioned without finding the heart-changing, spiritual answers you’ve known are there but have never discovered.

You Can Do This Right Now . . .

Maybe now God is telling you that by placing your faith in Messiah Jesus His Spirit will circumcise your heart and refresh you today and forever.

As you confess Messiah Jesus as Lord and Savior, the One promised by the ancient prophets of Israel, the sacrificed Lamb of God, you too will be able to stand with other believers in Him and fully appreciate the words of Saul of Tarsus. Saul, an ancient scholar of Israel who became the apostle Paul, writes of an eternal circumcision of the heart:

“See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Messiah.

For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form.

And in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Messiah.

Having been buried with Him in baptism (of the Spirit), in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions.

Having cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”
-Colossians 2:8-9, 11-14 New Testament

We pray you, too, will seek, find and be refreshed by His Spirit.

Great Is Thy Faithfulness ~ Wes Hampton

Wes Hampton

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee,
Thou changest not, Thy compassion's, they fail not,
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be. 

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided,
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! 

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love. 

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided,
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! 

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! 

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided,
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! 

Written by . Dp, Chris Rice • Copyright © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc

Men's Pain 😎

He Always Wanted to Be a King ~ Spring 2017~ A Season of Renewal

It was refreshing to sit out in my front porch rocker this morning, taking in the steady, cool rain.  Spring is just around the corner, as they say.   The dead-looking flowerbed will soon literally explode in greenery and bright colors.  The rain will be drawn into the plants, photosynthesis will soon work its created annual magic.  Buds on the lilacs and maples are pregnant with their expectations of waking from deep winter sleep to burst out new life.  I look forward to the first scent of those lilacs. This time of year, makes us excited, doesn't it?

Simultaneously, the christian calendar excitingly approaches the most significant time of the year. Not that Christmas looses it's significance in comparison, but Christ was literally born to die that I might have new life in His Resurrection!  He was sent to us, to die willingly for us.  Raised on victorious hymns, seemingly a thousand poignant verses and their sweet melodies come out to refresh my mind of the significance, value and thankfulness the Church has for what Christ did at Calvary. Now thousands of years ago, the story just doesn’t get old.

I recently listened to Ira Stanphill's "Crown of Thorns" over and over again.  Writing in 1952, Stanphill’s beautiful words highlight the ironies in the “upside-down kingdom” that Christ presided over, as paradoxically he surveys that kingdom from a cross.  

“A rugged cross became His throne; his kingdom was in hearts alone; He wrote his love in crimson red, and bore the thorns upon his head”.

I'm reminded that He's always wanted to be my king:

4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead[b] us, such as all the other nations have.”

6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord told him (Samuel): “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”

19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord. 22 The Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them a king. 

~ from 1 Samuel 8

What a heartbreaking Old Testament chapter.  God always wanted to be their king, but he was rejected by the very people he loved so much.  God allowed Israel to have their earthly king after they rejected him.  Perhaps this was the first time he faced so major of a rejection of his theocratic kingdom; - he cared for them and fought their battles, he deserved honorable-mention, but they just couldn't "see" him as their king.  So many of their neighbours had visible, brave, strong and handsome kings.  I guess that if you're trying to keep up and compete with the neighbours, and if he personally is not your King, it must have been very hard to desire him corporately as their nation's King.

Different bible figures viewed him differently.  Kingship was not his only attribute.  Isaiah "saw" him prophetically 750 years before his arrival in very great detail, but not always majestically (Isaiah 53).  He was accurately portrayed as the "suffering servant".  Before that, Moses "saw" him prophetically very much a king: 

"I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel." ~Num. 24:17

David certainly saw him majestically and very much a King. David and his Almighty King had much in common; they were both shepherds, both kings (with compassion I might add) and from the same family, same hometown. It seemed easy for David to identify with this king. 

In Revelation, Jesus says, “I am the Root and the Offspring of David.” That is, He is both the Creator of David and the Descendant of David.  David composed about Him, He sang about Him.  He worshiped and praised his King.  God identified David as "a man after His own heart".  David, wretched man that he was definitely "saw" Him.

It's a sad New Testament scene when God, rejected as Israel's king then sent his only Son to be their very special King. But through Jesus the Son, God's kingdom was again rejected by humanity and murdered on a cruel Roman cross.  Rising again and defeating Death itself,  the promised Messiah ascended from David's royal line to rule as King of a very different kingdom. "The kingdom of God is within you!" he proclaimed, because that was where he really reigned.  While earthly kingdoms all end, His is a coming everlasting kingdom!  To be clear; Not only will he reign in authority as our King, but also as our Judge.

I've been studying Matthew's rendering of the story of a King and His Kingdom. This king is very different from all the rest. He wins by serving, he triumphs by losing, the first is last and the last is first.  This king teaches that to be great, you must be the servant.  Faith propels this kingdom forward, while prayer unlocks its doors. Righteous, obedient living is in focus and brings great blessing.  His own Holy Spirit provides its subjects with great power; - and often in that order. Little wonder authors through the years refer to it as the "upside-down" Kingdom.  It's all backwards to our natural way of thinking.  In His Kingdom, service and humility trumps rivalry and climbing the corporate ladder.

This king welcomed the despised, ate with sinners, preached love for enemies, criticized prevailing religious practices, and was such a threat to both Jewish leaders and Roman rulers that he was tortured on a cross until he bled to death.

Last year I toured Stirling Castle in Scotland where King James V lived in the 1500's.  I learned first-hand of a king's privileged life. I was told of the lavish lifestyles, parties, feasts and high society and exclusivity that accompanies a King and his ultimate authority. Yet gracious King Jesus seeks out sinners, the sick and the lower classes of his society.  He "enslaves" them with righteousness, healing, goodness, kindness and fruits of His Indwelling Spirit!  

Because YOU are the thing that is most important to God, he loves your passion, and He can work with your pain, but your lukewarm heart makes you an acquaintance and not a friend! That's why in God's kingdom, HOT is best, COLD is OK, but lukewarm is repugnant to Him. He warns us in Revelation 3:16 that if we are LUKEWARM toward this King, he will vomit us out of his mouth!  He is indeed a very different and extraordinary King.

Matthew a tax collector and later an evangelist, paints this king well as he vividly gets right to the heart of the matter. He relates this tragic yet amazing story of how my sin was paid for by this loving king.  King Jesus was my Propitiation (Romans 3:25), my sin covering.  Twenty centuries later, my eyes water when I read of how much this king loved me. ...And that's all backwards too!  I have heard many "kingdom" stories, where subjects have died for their king, but how astonishing to learn of a kingdom where the king gives crowns to his subjects and even dies for them! 

Christian, this Easter season, appreciate anew all Christ our King has done for us through his death on the cross. He is our Soon Coming King.  Can you "see" Him?  Is He your King?   

~ St. Mark

Ira Stanphill’s words:

There was no crown for Him of silver or of gold 

There was no diadem for Him to hold. 

But blood adorned His brow, 

And proud its stain He bore, 

And sinners gave to Him the crown He wore. 

          CHORUS 

          A rugged cross became His throne 

          His kingdom was in hearts alone 

          He wrote His love in crimson red 

          And wore the thorns upon His head. 

He did not reign upon a throne of ivory 

But died upon the cross of Calvary. 

For sinners there He counted all He owned but loss 

And He surveyed His kingdom from a cross. 

No purple robe He wore, 

His bleeding wounds to hide 

But stripes upon His back He wore with pride. 

And from the wounds there flowed a crimson, 

cleansing stream 

That was a cover for the soul unclean 

~ Ira Stanphill