Monday, December 8, 2014

ANTHONY FLEW: AN ATHEIST WHO LOOKED AT THE EVIDENCE

For more great blogs as this one go to Daniel’s blog site at:  www.Mannsword.blogspot.com

Anthony Flew: An Atheist who Looked at the Evidence

Antony Flew has been called the “foremost atheist thinker of the 20th century.” However, after 40 years of debating Christians, he surprised the world.

At a 2004 debate at New York University, Flew declared that he “now accepted the existence of a God” (p. 74). In that debate, he said that he believed that the origin of life points to a creative Intelligence,

       Almost entirely because of the DNA investigations. What I think the DNA material has done is that it has shown, by the almost unbelievable complexity of the arrangements which are needed to produce (life), that intelligence must have been involved in getting these extraordinarily diverse elements to work together. It’s the enormous complexity of the number of elements and the enormous subtlety of the ways they work together. The meeting of these two parts at the right time by chance is simply minute. It is all a matter of the enormous complexity by which the results were achieved, which looked to me like the work of intelligence.” (Antony Flew with Roy Varghese, There is a God: How The World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind, 75).

Reviewer Lita Cosner points out that:

       Flew was particularly impressed with a physicist’s refutation of the idea that monkeys at typewriters would eventually produce a Shakespearean sonnet. The likelihood of getting one Shakespearean sonnet by chance is one in 10690; to put this number in perspective, there are only 1080 particles in the universe. Flew concludes: http://creation.com/review-there-is-a-god-by-antony-flew

o   “If the theorem won’t work for a single sonnet, then of course it’s simply absurd to suggest that the more elaborate feat of the origin of life could have been achieved by chance.” (78)

Why was Flew influenced by this evidence and not the majority of atheists? Did he have a religious experience? He explained:

       “I must stress that my discovery of the Divine has proceeded on a purely natural level, without any reference to supernatural phenomena. It has been an exercise in what has traditionally been called natural theology. It has had no connection with any of the revealed religions. Nor do I claim to have had any personal experience of God or any experience that may be called supernatural or miraculous. In short, my discovery of the Divine has been a pilgrimage of reason and not of faith.” (93).

Flew’s embrace of theism was driven by the evidence! Well, why doesn’t it drive others to the same conclusion? Here’s how the Apostle Paul explains it:

       For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Romans 1:18-20)


Flew might have agreed!

TELLING OTHERS

Today's promise: God is always calling us back to him
Telling others
"Jesus traveled throughout Galilee teaching in the synagogues, preaching everywhere the Good News about the Kingdom."
Matthew 4:23 NLT


Good News
In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when the Pevensies learn from Mr. and Mrs. Beaver that Aslan is "on the move," it has an effect on all but Edmund "like the first signs of spring, like good news."…And of course that promise sounds great to Peter, Susan, and Lucy — they've sought to do the right thing all along. But for Edmund, who has already decided to head down the wrong path on the side of the White Witch, these prophecies sound more like bad news.

The phrase "good news" has spiritual connotations, as C.S. Lewis more than likely recognized. It's the original meaning of the word gospel, which comes from the Old English godspell or good spell, meaning "a good story" or "good news." For Christians, the good "spell" — the great story, the wonderful news — is that Christ's death and resurrection have saved us from the bad "spell" of sin and death: Those who believe in Jesus are free and forgiven and will spend eternity with God. That's the gospel.

Telling people they're messed up and are on the losing side is not good news, no matter how you spin it. It may be true, but it's not helpful if you don't tell the important parts of the story, too: that the forces of darkness are not going to have the last word, that the rightful King has returned, that the Kingdom will be restored. Then the hearers can wrestle on their own with whether or not they'll choose the winning side, the side of the King.

Adapted from Walking Through the Wardrobe by Sarah Arthur (Tyndale) pp 103-9

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

WHAT IS YOUR CONCEPT OF HEAVEN?

Today's promise: God has great rewards for those who remain faithul
What is your concept of heaven?
"How happy are those who fear the Lord — all who follow his ways! You will enjoy the fruit of your labor. How happy you will be! How rich your life!"
Psalm 128:1-2 NLT

Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
Hebrews 11:6 NLT

He died for us so that we can live with him forever, whether we are dead or alive at the time of his return.
1 Thessalonians 5:10 NLT


Made for another world
Most of us find it very difficult to want "Heaven" at all — except in so far as "Heaven" means meeting again our friends who have died. One reason for this difficulty is that we have not been trained: Our whole education tends to fix our minds on this world. Another reason is that when the real want for Heaven is present in us, we might not recognize it. Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise.

"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanatio n is that I was made for another world."
C.S. Lewis

From the The Quotable Lewis edited by Jerry Root and Wayne Martindale (Tyndale) pp 286-87


Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

HOPE IN YOUR ETERNAL INHERITANCE

Today's promise: God has great rewards for those who remain faithful
Hope In Your Eternal Inheritance
"I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called. I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people.

I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him."
Ephesians 1:18-19 NLT


Paul's prayer for the Ephesians
While the believers in Ephesus enjoyed the luxuries and wealth of a cosmopolitan city located on major trade routes, Paul was confined to a small room in Rome, under the constant watch of a Roman guard. But who would ever guess from Paul's prayer that he was deprived of anything?

Paul's confident description of God's power does not betray a hint of hopelessness. Instead, Paul speaks of the rich inheritance and wonderful future he would have in heaven. Paul's future on earth was in the hands of Caesar. Yet Paul's ultimate hopes weren't set on this world; his hopes were set on heaven and eternity.

In your prayers, place your hopes on your eternal inheritance in heaven, just as Paul did. Pray that God might help you understand how powerful he is.

A prayer for today…

Dear Lord, help me understand the wonderful future you have promised me…

From The One Year® Book of Bible Prayers edited by Bruce Barton (Tyndale) entry for December 6
Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House




HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO THOSE WHO SEEK TO HURT YOU?

Today's promise: God is always ready to help us and expects us to help others
How do you respond to those who seek to hurt you?
"Love your enemies! Do good to them! Lend to them! And don't be concerned that they might not repay. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to the unthankful and to those who are wicked! You must be compassionate, just as the Father is compassionate."
Luke 6:35-36 NLT


The sign of a loving heart
Our enemies are out to hurt us. They want to steal from us, cheat us, and do evil against us. Yet Jesus says we are to be kind to them. What is his point? We reflect — or should reflect — God to the world, and God is kind — even to the unkind, the ungrateful, and those whom we consider to be "hopeless" cases. Kindness is based on the love we have for others, not the love others deserve.

Kindness is the sign of a loving heart, one of the greatest of all virtues. A kind person is pleasant, good, gracious — always appreciated. There's a lot of talk these days about "random acts of kindness." Maybe this is because we live in a society starved for good deeds. God is our model for kindness. The kindest act ever committed was God's sending his own Son, Jesus, to die for our sins so that we might live forever in heaven. God also showers us with kindness each day, sending sunshine and rain, food and friends, comfort and encouragement, boundless love and wisdom.

From the TouchPoint Bible commentaries by Ron Beers and Gilbert Beers (Tyndale) pp 889, 1221-22

For more on this week's topic, check this Tyndale resource:

Holding Out for a Hero by Lisa Harper (Tyndale, 2005)
Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House




JUDGING BY APPEARANCES

Judging by appearances
"The trouble with you is that you make your decisions on the basis of appearance. You must recognize that we belong to Christ."
Job 14:5 NLT


Little Woman, Long Shadow
Two weeks before Christmas, on December 12, 1840, a baby girl was born into an aristocratic plantation family in Albemarle County, Virginia. Her name was Charlotte Diggs Moon, but everyone called her "Lottie." She grew to just four feet three inches, yet her intellect and force of personality were enormous. Lottie spoke six languages and earned a master's degree in education in 1861.

Lottie came from a family of dedicated Southern Baptists, but she became a staunch skeptic. Yet, it would be her intellect and skepticism that would bring her to faith one sleepless night in December 1858 as she pondered a message by Dr. John Broadus.

At age thirty-three, Lottie heard a call to missions "as clear as a bell." In July 1873 the foreign mission board of the Southern Baptist Convention appointed her its first unmarried missionary to China. She tirelessly advocated for the needs of the people of China. In 1888 she persuaded SBC women to take an annual missions offering on Christmas Eve. By 1912, despite such gifts, thousands of people were dying every day in famine-ravaged Shantung Province.

At seventy-two, Lottie Moon was coming home. But that same night, aboard a ship off Japan, she died — of complications from starvation. A few months before she had written, "If I had a thousand lives, I would give them all for the women of China." The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering continues to this day. The 2010 goal is $175 million.

Adapted from The One Year® Book of Christian History by E. Michael and Sharon Rusten (Tyndale) pp 694-95
Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House


SACRIFICIAL LOVE

Today's promise: God is always ready to help us and expects us to help others
Sacrificial Love
"Don't forget to do good and to share what you have with those in need, for such sacrifices are very pleasing to God."
Hebrews 13:16 NLT


In His steps
Have you seen kids wearing bracelets with the initials WWJD — "What Would Jesus Do?" The story behind those bracelets begins a century ago, when a minister named Charles Sheldon wrote a novel titled In His Steps. One Sunday morning at First Church, Pastor Henry Maxwell is preaching a sermon about how to follow Christ's example of sacrificial love.

The service is suddenly interrupted when a tramp stands up. He's been out of work for a year, he says, yet not one person in town has helped him find another job. Twisting his shabby hat in his hands, the tramps says, "I was wondering if what you call following Jesus is the same thing as what he taught.…I get puzzled when I see so many Christians living in luxury and remember how my wife died in a tenement.…what would Jesus do?" At that point, to the congregation's horror, the tramp collapses and dies.

The following Sunday, the minister makes a stunning proposal: He's looking for volunteers willing to pledge themselves for an entire year to do nothing without first asking, "What would Jesus do?" Some fifty people make the pledge, and a remarkable series of events begins.

Some of these people pay a high price for their obedience. But they also learn the joy of following faithfully in his footsteps.

A few years ago, a Holland, Michigan, youth leader was so inspired by this classic story that she had bracelets made bearing the letters WWJD and gave them to the kids in her church. The idea caught fire, and today millions wear them.

Adapted from How Now Shall We Live? Devotional by Charles Colson (Tyndale) pp 585-86

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing HouseToday's promise: God is always ready to help us and expects us to help others

REFLECTING CHRIST

Today's promise: God is always ready to help us and expects us to help others
Reflecting Christ
"…you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience."
Colossians 3:12 NLT


Clothed in kindness
A doctor once stepped into a taxicab and discovered an unusually friendly driver.…he asked the man why he was so cheerful. "It all started," he said, "when I heard about a taxi driver who was so kind to a passenger that the man remembered him in his will, leaving him $65,000. I thought I would try it, and maybe somebody might leave me something. But after I tried it, I found it was so much fun being good that I decided I would do it for the fun of it, reward or no reward."

The world would certainly be a more cheerful place if we all had such good dispositions. Imagine walking down the street and seeing nothing but smiling faces.…

Life is not a bed of roses, and most people are too happy to let you know that. That's what we tell ou rselves when we want to appease our guilt on those dark and dreary days. I'm not the only one who's had a bad day, we think. People are just going to have to understand.

Maybe they do, but how does Jesus feel about it? Kindness should flow out of the life of a Christian. The world has an excuse to be angry, but we don't. Redeemed people should act like they're happy to be redeemed.

This is what separates believers from those who haven't discovered the goodness of Christ. We have a reason to rejoice. We have a standard to uphold. We have a Savior to pattern our life after.

From Embracing Eternity by Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins and Frank M. Martin (Tyndale) p 86
Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House



HAVE YOU BEEN USED TO COMFORT OTHERS?

Today's promise: God is always ready to help us and expects us to help others
Have you been used to comfort others?
"All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. You can be sure that the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ."
2 Corinthians 1:3-5 NLT

May our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father, who loved us and in his special favor gave us everlasting comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and give you strength in every good thing you do and say.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 NLT


God's comfort
How often have you noticed that soon after you receive comfort for some troubling situation, you encounter someone else facing a similar situation? It is God who leads us to these people, for the comfort we provide for them seems more credible because they know we have "been there." Paul praises the Lord in his letter to the Corinthian church that God "comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others" with "the same comfort God has given us."

In what ways has God comforted you in the trials you have had to go through? Pray that God may use you to comfort others.

A prayer for today…

Dear Lord, thank you for comforting me. Use me to comfort others…

From The One Year® Book of Bible Prayers edited by Bruce Barton (Tyndale) entry for July 10

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

IS YOUR HOME MARKED BY THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT?

Today's promise: God is always ready to help us and expects us to help others
Is Your Home Marked By the Fruits of the Spirit?
"When the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit is us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.…Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. It we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or irritate one another, or by jealous of one another."
Galatians 5:22-26 NLT


The Spirit-filled home
"How do you remember your childhood home? Was it a loving and welcoming place? Maybe there were evidences of kindness and generosity — fresh homemade cookies, a dollhouse or model planes you and your dad built together, a warm welcome always waiting for you, an old couch to be shared with brothers and sisters.

Perhaps you don't have such wonderful childhood memories. Not everyone does. Homes can be places of cruelty as well — places full of criticism and humiliation, places characterized by conflict, jealousy, and pain. Loving homes don't just magically appear. They are the result of a husband and wife's commitment to letting God's Spirit control their lives. When you follow the Spirit's leading, God produces kindness, goodness, patience, and love in your lives. Then the home a marriage creates can become a light to the neighborhood, a place where friends and neighbors can experience genuine love and acceptance. If you are married, what type of home do you want your marriage to create? Ask God today to plant the seeds of loving kindness in your life, your marriage, and your home."

From Praying God's Promises for My Marriage by Jon Farrar (Tyndale) pp 132-33
Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House



DOES GOD TREAT YOU THE WAY YOU DESERVE?

Today's promise: God is merciful
Does God treat you the way you deserve?
Praise the Lord, I tell myself; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, I tell myself, and never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He ransoms me from death and surrounds me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle's! The Lord gives righteousness and justice to all who are treated unfairly. He revealed his character to Moses and his deeds to the people of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious; he is slow to anger and full of unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He has not punished us for all our sins, nor does he deal with us as we desire. For his unfailing love toward those who love him is as great as the height of the he avens above the earth. He has removed our rebellious acts as far away from us as the east is from the west.
Psalm 103:1-12 NLT


About this week's promise
Mercy is compassion, poured out on needy people. But the mercy of God, which he expects us to model, goes one step further. God's mercy is undeserved favor. Even when we don't deserve mercy, God still extends it to us. Our sin and rebellion against God deserve his punishment; but instead he offers us forgiveness and eternal life. If God was merciful toward us despite our sin, how merciful should we be toward those who have wronged us?
From the TouchPoint Bible 
(Tyndale House) p 1233


Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

DO YOU SHOW MERCY TO OTHERS?

Today's promise: God is merciful
Do you show mercy to others?
"God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy."
Matthew 5:7 NLT


A parable of mercy

Jesus once told a parable of a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. One servant came before him who owed him ten thousand talents — a debt far beyond the means of a servant. When he couldn't pay, the king ordered that he and his family be sold into slavery, but the servant begged for mercy. Then the king took pity on him, canceled the debt, and set the servant free.
The servant did not show similar mercy to another slave who owed him money and had the man thrown into prison. The master heard what had happened, reinstated the debt and threw him into prison.
"That's what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters in your heart," Jesus said, summing up the moral to the story (Matt. 18:23-35).
Have you ever prayed for forgiveness on Sunday than demanded your way on Monday? Have you ever reflected on the cross one moment and inwardly scowled at a brother the next? Ever yelled at your kids for making you late to church? If so, then read the parable again. Jesus' point is simple: Those who have been forgiven of so much should learn to forgive. People redeemed from certain death should act like redeemed people. Those who have received the ultimate act of mercy should learn to be merciful. Anything less shows how little we understand the true depth of the Master's kindness.
Adapted from Embracing Eternity by Tim LaHaye, Jerry Jenkins and Frank M. Martin, Tyndale House Publishers (2004) p 55


Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

HAVE YOU FOUND GOD'S AMAZING GRACE?

Today's promise: God is merciful
Have You Found God's Amazing Grace?

"Only fools say in their hearts, 'There is no God'

They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; no one does good!

…Oh, that salvation would come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel!

For when the Lord restores his people, Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice."

Psalm 14:1-7 NLT


Rescued from rebellion

Young John Newton called himself an atheist, and his life demonstrated his lack of belief in God. Even the coarsest sailors aboard his slave-trading ship could not stand his filthy speech. He brutalized the male slaves and sexually abused the women, and he prodded other sailors to do the same. The ship's captain finally put him ashore on the coast of Africa, and there he became a servant of slavers.
Finally rescued by another merchant ship, Newton once again fouled the ship with his presence. In a drunken stupor he almost plunged overboard, and the captain wished that he had. Then, amazingly in the midst of a vicious ocean storm in 1748, God touched his heart. Years after his remarkable conversion, Newton commented, "I see no reason why the Lord singled me out for mercy…unless it was to show that with him nothing is impossible."
The fool who had said in his heart that there was no God was now transformed. He became famous throughout England, both as a preacher and a writer of hymns. Without a doubt, the best-known hymn of this former atheist is the following:
Amazing grace! how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind but now I see.

JOHN NEWTON
From The One Year® Book of Psalms by William J. Petersen and Randy Petersen,
Tyndale House Publishers (1999), entry for January 23


Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED GOD'S EVERLASTING LOVE?

Today's promise: God is merciful
Have you experienced God's everlasting love?
"Long ago the Lord said to Israel: 'I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.'" 
Jeremiah 31:3 NLT


Rich in mercy

Jeremiah 31:3 is a statement of love and restoration that comes after dark prophetic predictions of God punishing his people. Even when God allows us to suffer the consequences of our sin, he does not withhold his mercy.
Everyone deserves to be punished for sin, but God's punishment is always tempered with mercy because of his great love for us. Ephesians 2:4-5 explains that we are saved from our sin only because of God's mercy.
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much, that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's special favor that you have been saved.)
Although we do not deserve to enter his presence, God wants us to come boldly before him. Hebrews 4:16 promises that we will find mercy and grace — all that we need, exactly when we need it.
So let us come boldly to the throne of our Gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.
God loves to show mercy! He eagerly waits for us to repent so that he can shower us with forgiveness. Micah 7:18 declares:
Where is another God like you, who pardons the sins of the survivors among his people? You cannot stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing mercy.
From Living Water for Those Who Thirst Tyndale House Publishers (2000), pp 137-8

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House



WHAT WILL BE YOUR LEGACY?

Today's promise: God is merciful
What will be your legacy?
"His mercy goes on from generation to generation, to all who fear him." 
Luke 1:50 NLT

But as for me, I will sing about your power. I will shout with joy each morning because of your unfailing love.
For you have been my refuge, a place of safety in the day of distress.

O My strength, to you I sing praises, for you, O God, are my refuge, the God who shows me unfailing love.

Psalm 59:16-17 NLT


A wonderful inheritance

What will your children inherit? What about your grandchildren? Would you like them to know God's mercy as you have or even more so?
What a wonderful inheritance to pass on from generation to generation. If this is what we want for our children, we must help them to reverence the Lord.
Mercy is God's gift to us; reverence is our gift to God. The two work together to leave a legacy of faithfulness to future generations.

Many people think of God as being angry and judgmental, pointing his disapproving finger at our sins and failures. In reality, God is both holy and merciful. In his holiness, he calls us to moral and virtuous living; in his mercy he is willing to forgive us, and he loves us even when we fail. The psalmist is rejoicing that he can rely upon God's mercy, which becomes a protection against the destructive forces of evil. How will you rely on God's mercy this year?
Adapted from TouchPoint Bible with commentary by Ron Beers and Gilbert Beers, Tyndale House Publishers (1996), pp 882, 500

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House


WHAT INFLUENCE DID YOUR FATHER HAVE IN YOUR LIFE?

Today's promise: God celebrates family
What influence did your father have in your life?
"I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord and do what is right and just."
Genesis 18:19 NLT


Soaking up Dad

We teach our children even when we don't think school is in session. Too often we think our lessons are the sit-down kind, the planned-out kind. But our lessons are also how we react as a Little League coach when the ump blows a call, how we treat our wives after we've both had rugged days at work, and what we say when we see a homeless man on the street.
Sometimes our lessons are good ones. I hope my sons — without me saying a word — have become more color-blind by our attending a church with a black pastor and linking arms with a black ministry in rural Mississippi.
Sometimes my lessons are the wrong kinds. As a boy, what hurt so deeply was to hear my mother and father fight; though it wasn't a common scene, the most perfect day could turn blustery cold when their relationship iced up. Without intending it to, I've taught a few similarly chilly lessons to my own sons.
Our children are sponges, quietly soaking up all we say and do.
Bob Welch in A Father for All Seasons
From Men of Integrity Devotional Bible with devotionals by the editors of Men of Integrity magazine (Christianity Today, Intl), Tyndale House Publishers (2002), p 25

All our heritages are flawed — of course some far more than others. Modern men and women are so sensitized to this that many have come to use the sins of their parents as a cloak for their own sins and parental deficiencies. This has brought about, as Robert Hughes writes, "the rise of cult therapies teaching that we are all the victims of our parents, that whatever our folly, venality, or outright thuggishness, we are not to be blamed for it, since we come from 'dysfunctional families.'
R. KENT HUGHES

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House


STRUGGLING WITH ADDICTION

STRUGGLING WITH ADDICTION

READ:
Hebrews 4L14-16

God is faithful.
-1 Corinthians 10:13

Eric was struggling with an addiction, and he knew it.  His friends and family members encouraged him to stop.  He agreed that it would be best for his health and relationships, but he felt helpless.  When others told him how they had quit their bad habits, he replied, “I’m happy for you, but I can’t seem to stop!  I wish I had never been tempted in the first place.  I want God to take the desire away right now.”

Immediate deliverance may happen for some, but most face a daily battle.  While we don’t always understand why the temptation doesn’t go away, we can turn to God on whatever path we find ourselves.  And perhaps that is the most important part of our struggle.  We learn to exchange our futile efforts to change for complete dependence on God.  

Jesus was tempted also, just as we are, so He understands what we’re feeling (Mark 1:13).  He sympathizes with our struggles (Hebrews 4:15), and we can “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (v.16)  He also uses others, including trained professionals, to lean on along the way.

Whatever battles we may be facing today, we know this-God loves us much more than we can imagine, and He is faithful to come to our assistance. -Anne Cetas

FOR FURTHER THOUGHT
Read Matthew 4:1-11 about how Jesus handled
temptations.  Also read 1 Corinthians 10:11-13 t learn
how He can help us when we are tempted.

We are not tempted because we are evil;
we are tempted because we are human.

INSIGHT


The high priest in ancient Israel was the representative of the people before God.  The writer of Hebrews draws a distinction between the high priests of Israel and Jesus, our Great High Priest, who came and experienced life on the earth.  We can approach Him with confidence, knowing that He truly understands what we face, for He faced it as well.