Life’s Flags
“’For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.’” Isaiah 55: 8, 9
Some people don’t enjoy life simply because they haven’t taken the time to understand how God intends it to be lived.
How would you like to be on Jeopardy and have God as your opponent? Most realize God would be a formidable opponent. Who could know more and think better than He? If you don’t think you could out think God in a contest on Jeopardy what would cause you think you could out think Him in real life?
God said to and through Isaiah, “My thoughts are not your thoughts….”
A ski instructor said to one of his students, “Congratulations you finished the course faster than anyone. As a matter of fact you set a course record.” He paused, leaving the student feeling very good about himself, and then continued, “The problem is you missed every one of the flags.”
“Flag? What flags?”
Anyone who has even the most elementary knowledge of skiing knows flags mark the right course. Some people are setting new records on life’s downhill run, but they seem oblivious to God’s flags marking life’s correct course. Consequently there is no way they can win in life’s race.
Joy comes in the race lived by God’s standard and victory results in finishing the course.
God said, “My thoughts are not your thoughts.” That is the problem. To correct this measure your every thought by one of His flags. If you think a thought that is not in line with His standard, go back and rethink the thought in accord with His thought.
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12: 2)
Did you get it? It is good and acceptable. That is, it is pleasing to God for us to think like Him. Why? Because He is wiser and knows more than we and He knows what is best for us. It leads to our fulfillment and gratification. He wants that for us.
Back to Jeopardy, can you out-think God? If not, then trust His judgment.
The New Living Translation makes it even more clear. “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)
His thoughts are true, excellent, pure, lovely, honest, just, praiseworthy, virtuous and pure. (Philippians 4:8) That is a standard worthy for you.
Think about it. It is best and more blessed to follow His flags.
Supportive Faith
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11: 1
The English word “substance” is made up of two words meaning: “to stand” and “under.” Faith is the substance that stands under. It is the superstructure of life.
The faith of those mentioned in Hebrews 11 was so strong that they had “assurance” that they responded as though the things promised were already a reality.
Moses had such faith in messianic prophecies that he forsook all material things of Egypt which he could see for the Messiah who wasn’t to come for 1400 years (Hebrews 11:26).
Faith is the evidence of things not seen. The scientist sees the world, it is the evidence of things not seen, the atoms of which it is made.
Skeptics often make harsh statements critical of faith contending that to believe in faith is an absurdity. Yet, they have faith in that very faith believing it to be true. Every human being functions by faith. Persons who make deposits in banks have faith in them, yet there has been a lot of hankie-pankie in some.
Christians are often accused of acting on”blind faith.” Thus they are depicted as having committed intellectual suicide. The opposite is true. Jesus exhorted His followers to “know the truth.” The Christian experience is based on facts. Faith goes beyond reason, it does not go against it. Cognitive capacities are given as doormen to reality opening the door to truth.
Christians should put their entire mind in intellectual preparation, their whole heart into their presentation, and their entire life into their illustration.
Faith is the rapier that foils fear every time. Over the mantle of the Hind’s Hotel in England it is written: “Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. No one was there.”
Faith is needed to guide our reasoning in searching for the unknown. This is done in the same way a geometry problem is served. That involves starting with the known to find the unknown. Do what you know to do and it tends to clear the mind and stimulate creative thought. “Commit your works unto the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.” (Proverbs 16: 3)
Faith and reason are like two wings upon which the human spirit rises in the contemplation of truth. God has placed in the human heart the desire to know the truth.
Faith without reason leads to superstition, and reason without faith to nihilism and pragmatism. Together faith and reason elevate human thought. Think about it. Face this and every day living as unto the Lord.
Our Founders’ Faith
No one can deny that many of the founding fathers of the United States of America were men of deep religious convictions based in the Bible.
Consider these edited quotes by others instrumental in America’s emergence.
“Here is my Creed. I believe in one God, the Creator of the Universe. That He governs it by His Providence. That He ought to be worshiped.” -Benjamin Franklin
“The hope of a Christian is inseparable from his faith. Whoever believes in the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures must hope that the religion of Jesus shall prevail throughout the earth. And may the associated distribution of the Bible proceed and prosper till the Lord shall have made ‘bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God’ (Isaiah 52:10).” -John Quincy Adams. 6th U.S. President
“I believe that there is one only living and true God, existing in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, the same in substance equal in power and glory. That the scriptures of the old and new testaments are a revelation from God, and a complete rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.” -Roger Sherman Signer of the Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution
“The gospel of Jesus Christ prescribes the wisest rules for just conduct in every situation of life. Happy they who are enabled to obey them in all situations!” -Benjamin Rush, Signer of the Declaration of Independence and Ratifier of the U.S. Constitution
“If moral precepts alone could have reformed mankind, the mission of the Son of God into all the world would have been unnecessary.” -Alexander Hamilton, Signer of the Declaration of Independence and Ratifier of the U.S. Constitution
“I have carefully examined the evidences of the Christian religion, and if I was sitting as a juror upon its authenticity I would unhesitatingly give my verdict in its favor.” -Patrick Henry, Ratifier of the U.S. Constitution
“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.” -Patrick Henry of Virginia
“The Bible … is a book worth more than all the other books that were ever printed.” -John Jay, 1st Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
“I do declare to the whole world that we believe the Scriptures to contain a declaration of the mind and will of God in and to those ages in which they were written; being given forth by the Holy Ghost moving in the hearts of holy men of God; that they ought also to be read, believed, and fulfilled in our day; being used for reproof and instruction, that the man of God may be perfect. They are a declaration and testimony of heavenly things themselves, and, as such, we carry a high respect for them. We accept them as the words of God Himself.
“…our gracious Creator has provided for us a Redeemer, in whom all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; that this Redeemer has made atonement ‘for the sins of the whole world,’ and thereby reconciling the Divine justice with the Divine mercy has opened a way for our redemption and salvation; and that these inestimable benefits are of the free gift and grace of God, not of our deserving, nor in our power to deserve.” -William Penn, not a founder of America but Founder of Pennsylvania
How does your statement of faith compare with these who constructed the foundational documents on which our nation was built?
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein is considered to be a great genius. As Hitler rose to power and the Nazis took over in his homeland of Germany, Einstein immigrated to the United States in 1933 after accepting a position at Princeton’s Institute of Advanced Study. Einstein was both Jewish and German-born who left us a treasure trove of truths. Consider these.
“The difference in genius and stupidity is that genius has its limitation and stupidity doesn’t.”
“I fear the day when technology will surpass the day of human interaction.”
“The world will have a generation of idiots.”
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.”
“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”
“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.”
“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”
“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.”
“Let us not forget that human knowledge and skills alone cannot lead humanity to a happy and dignified life.”
“He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.”
“A happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell too much on the future.”
“I speak to everyone in the same way, whether he is the garbage man or the president of the university.”
“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”
“Learn from yesterday,
Live for today,
Hope for tomorrow.
The important thing
is not to stop questioning.”
While at Princeton Einstein commuted by train. One day as the ticket agent moved through the coach Einstein began futilely searching for his ticket. The ticket agent assured him he need not hurry; he would check again when he came back through the car. When he did return Einstein was on his knees searching beneath his seat. The agent again sought to comfort him by saying. “That is alright Dr. Einstein I know you and how honest you are.” He replied, “I too know who I am, but I don’t know where I am going.” Even genius has its limitations.
That poses the question, do you know where you are ultimately going? Have you asked Jesus to punch your ticket to heaven?
Comments by President Jimmy Carter
The faith of a person is expressed verbally and experientially in many ways. In the case of President Carter, he spoke of and showed his faith by actions.
“We should live our lives as though Christ was coming this afternoon.”
“I have one life and one chance to make it count for something… I’m free to choose what that something is, and the something I’ve chosen is my faith. Now, my faith goes beyond theology and religion and requires considerable work and effort. My faith demands — this is not optional — my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference.”
“God always answers prayers. Sometimes it’s “yes.” Sometimes the answer is “no.” Sometimes it’s “you gotta be kidding.”
“Earlier in my life I thought the things that mattered were the things that you could see, like your car, your house, your wealth, your property, your office. But as I’ve grown older I’ve become convinced that the things that matter most are the things that you can’t see — the love you share with others, your inner purpose, your comfort with who you are.”
“I believe that anyone can be successful in life, regardless of natural talent or the environment within which we live. This is not based on measuring success by human competitiveness for wealth, possessions, influence, and fame, but adhering to God’s standards of truth, justice, humility, service, compassion, forgiveness, and love.”
In public he stated many times, “I am a born again Christian.”
“Piety alone isn’t sufficient- followers of Jesus must live out their convictions with acts of love.”
Following is an extract from a Carter biography entitled “His Very Best.”
One afternoon in late 1973 Carter called in Dr. Nelson Price, pastor of the ten-thousand-member Roswell Street Baptist Church in Marietta, one of the first megachurches in the world. When he told Price he might run for president, Price replied that it was a good time for an evangelical Christian to run because large numbers of previously apolitical evangelicals were now planning to vote for the first time. The men got down on their knees in front of Carter’s desk and Price prayed. When they got up Price placed his hand of Carter’s shoulder and said, “My brother, get your life right because this might be what God has in mind for you.”
The next time the two prayed together was in the Oval Office in the White House.