Your Divine Umpire

Many people seem to still be singing along with U2, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” The reason is they have looked in all the wrong places.

You have got to know what is basic if you are going to get back to basics. Therefore, “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another…” (Col. 3: 15, 16).

The information barrage has led to a nation of people who feel culturally naked, personally disconnected, professionally perplexed, spiritually undernourished, and emotionally uninspired. Although we have the machines and means to grind our reams of information, we have little grasp of how to humanly interpret data and wisely apply accumulated knowledge represented in the ocean of facts readily accessible. Inner strength is missing because of uncertainty resulting from not having a well defined set of core values.

We are to let “the peace of God rule” in our hearts. The word translated rule can be translated as “arbiter.” An arbiter is one that makes the rules. The word translated “rule” came from athletic jargon and is the equivalent of “umpire.” Let the peace of God umpire in your heart.

Our hearts are arenas of conflict and competition. All sorts of feelings compete for our devotion. Cynicism and goodwill, indifference and concern, fear and hope, jealousy and trust all need an arbiter. It is the peace of God based on the Word of God that is to call the plays for us.

Dramatic change has contributed to making us a nation of insecure and uncertain worriers. A divine arbiter is needed.

The first step to becoming confident and content is to allow Christ’s peace, instead of Satan’s fears, to rule in our hearts.

Spin doctors and cultural therapists are at work to modify your moral values. However, some values never change. Regardless of how sophisticated the formula for putting humans in space there are still 16 ounces per pound and 12 inches to a foot. A ball is still a ball and a strike is still a strike. Let the Lord help you know the difference.

Certain moral and spiritual laws are just as inflexible. As William Penn observed, “Right is right though all men be against it, and wrong is wrong though all be for it.”

Establish as your divine standards such principles as these:

        I believe in the eternal loving God who sent His Son, Jesus, to seek and to save.

        I believe the Bible is the divine revelation of the mind of this loving God.

        I believe the Holy Spirit to be a supernatural invisible companion Who abides with me as an on board guidance system.

        I believe I am eternal and immortal and have two and only two options open to me regarding my eternal state.

        I believe in “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever more.”