“I have to say my three favorite Christadelphian authors are Robert Roberts, Islip Collyer and ‘George the Bookie’…”

What a coincidence, Rachel! You have named two of MY three favorites! My list of three would be: Robert Roberts, Islip Collyer, and Harry Whittaker.

RR had the great facility of making himself clear, while expressing himself powerfully, and his exhortations are dignified and filled with the most profound insights; he sees God at work everywhere and in every way (“Ways of Providence”; “Visible Hand of God”!). And you have to admire a brother who, as a boy of 14, drew up his own Bible reading plan and followed it scrupulously, and then proceeded to share it with thousands of people!

IC sees the big picture, deals with practical day-to-day life, and tells good stories. He is calm, balanced, and kindly. He manages to make his ideas plain, and to show right and wrong as he sees it — without attacking or disparaging anyone. I would have loved to sit and talk with him, and his books are the next best thing. (“Convictions and Conduct”; “Principles and Proverbs”!)

HAW is fun, and challenging, and a little exasperating, but altogether an “adventure” (as he was in person). He’s the professor who cares fanatically about his subject: he’s always asking the tough questions, and pushing you to think for yourself, and “work it out”. He won’t let you take the easy way. Reading him made me want to study the Bible, REALLY study it, and make it MY book, and not just THE book! (“Exploring the Bible”, “Enjoying the Bible”, “Gospels”!)

I have, of course, read everything the Bookie fellow wrote, but then I had to… he practically begs me to proofread it! And I do agree with a lot of it. Sometimes he challenges me too, with things I haven’t thought about before — which I think is a good thing generally (although we can perhaps have too much of that sometimes). But I can always accept or reject what he writes, after putting it alongside the Bible.

But — just between you and me — the proofreading is a tough job: he gets so perturbed when I try to correct his mistakes!

George

There are many questions in life. Where and to whom does one go for answers? And what will you do when the answers are given?

Questions may deal with big issues or little issues. They can be general or specific. They might be on several levels: national, state, local, corporate, division, group, family or individual. But it’s questions pertaining to life and death that are usually the most pointed, pertinent and profitable.

A question can be simply seeking information, or it can be aggressively challenging the status quo. It can be spontaneous, fluff, innocent, irrelevant… or thoughtful, philosophical, provocative, penetrating. A question can be a matter of form or procedure, or it can reflect a hunger and thirst for the right things. Life-changing questions are the most exciting (and the most dangerous), because their answers might convince a person to radically modify his/her thinking and behavior.

The motive of the inquirer is important. Does the person (a) really want to know? intend to do something with the answer? plan to change his/her mindset and lifestyle? Or is the asking (b) merely academic, with no intention of being convinced, much less converted? The fishermen from Galilee illustrate the first kind of seeking, and the Jewish authorities the second.

Consider the record in John’s Gospel. John the Baptist was asking the right questions. He was privileged to baptize the Son of God and to introduce him to Israel as the Lamb of God (John 1:29-34). Andrew was asking the right questions. He was the first of the apostles to be convinced that Jesus was the Messiah (John 1:35-42). Nathaniel asked good questions too, and was swiftly convicted by Christ’s answers (John 1:45-49). Nicodemus came by night with questions, and his life was forever changed (John 3:1-15; 7:50,51; 19:38-40). The Samaritan woman asked her questions at the well, and was persuaded that Jesus was a prophet of God (John 4:7-30). When other disciples stopped following Jesus because of his “hard sayings”, Peter remained steadfast (John 6:60-69). His words express the issue succinctly:

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And we have believed, and come to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

On the other hand, the Pharisees sought to challenge the credentials and authority of Jesus repeatedly (eg, John 6:41,52,59; 7:14-52; 8:13-25; 10:24). But the record shows that they did not really want to know who Jesus was, or where he came from, or the source of his teaching, or the significance of his signs, or the consequence of their own closed minds. An excellent example of their obtuseness is found in John 9:13-41, where they refused to believe in the unmistakable witness of Jesus’ healing of the man born blind.

Herod and Pilate are two more examples of questioners who really did not want an answer. They wanted compliance, not unyielding integrity. They wanted submission, not unnerving courage. They wanted acknowledgement of their power, not forthright truth. These presumptuous inquisitors refused to see Jesus for what he was, even though all the legitimate evidence pointed in one direction. The fate of these arrogant politicians was fitting. Pilate’s career went down the drain shortly thereafter, and Herod was “smitten by God… eaten by worms, and died” (Acts 12:23) — probably a very horrible death.

Do we really want to know the correct meaning of Scripture? If yes, that means reading the text for ourselves, asking tough, relevant questions, and heeding what we learn. Or are we content with the religion of our parents, the interpretation of our church teachers, or the writings of popular theological scholars? If yes, then there is no need to look or ask further — but what a risk!

If our present understanding is correct, it will withstand any reasonable investigation. We will be pleased that our faith has been reinforced. And if our present understanding is found to be lacking, it can be improved. We will be glad that we investigated and that we have the opportunity for strengthening our faith. Either way, we benefit from “searching the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things be so”.

Like some other subjects (the Atonement, for example) — the whole concept of God’s judgment (or judgments) can be a tricky issue if we focus on one passage here or there. The main reason being: not every single relevant point is taught in every single relevant passage. I’ll give you an example:

In 1Th 4, Paul says (vv 16,17 particularly) that Christ will return from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first; THEN we will ever be with the Lord! If one reads these verses alone, without comparing other scriptures (some of Paul’s included), then one might conclude that there is absolutely no judgment at all intervening between resurrection and glorification, and that everyone who is raised must be glorified.

Of course, this conclusion is pretty obviously contradicted by — among other passages — Ecc 12:14; Mat 25;31-46; Acts 10:42; Rom 14:10-12; 2Co 5:10. There will plainly be a judgment, some sort of judgment, intervening between resurrection and the Kingdom of God — although there is room for some different opinions about: where that judgment takes place, how long it will last, what it will consist of, as to procedure, order, etc, etc.

So why does Paul, in 1Th 4, not mention judgment at all? Has he forgotten that there will be one? Of course not! It seems to me that he doesn’t mention it because it wasn’t the main point he had in mind at that time. He was intent on comforting some believers who were grieving for those who had died… by simply reminding them that, when Christ returned, they would all be reunited — both living and dead together. Death before Christ returned would be no barrier to entering his Father’s eternal kingdom; they would be raised from the dead!

I think Paul didn’t feel the need to say, once again, “Oh, by the way, as you should already know, there will be a gathering together of all the responsible, living and dead, and a great judgment before the Lord’s tribunal, where every man and woman will stand and give some account, and by the way again, some of those who are raised will be rejected and condemned to a second death… before the rest of us will be gathered together and given the blessing of immortality, etc, etc.” Such a digression, or detour, would have spoiled his message, or at least introduced a negative element in what Paul intended to be very positive and comforting.

Think of it this way: let us say that Dad is going to work one day, and the little kids know that he will be near their favorite ice cream store. So they beg him, “Please bring home some ice cream this evening.” And he says, “I will”, and he does.

Now, to the little children, all they care about, and in some sense all they “know”, is that: (a) Dad went off to work, (b) Dad bought ice cream, and (c) Dad came home with it! They don’t know, nor at that point do they care to know, that between the time Dad left home and the time he returned, he made six stops and 17 telephone calls, wrote nine letters, had 12 conversations with 25 people, and ate lunch himself. All they want to know is: Where’s the ice cream!?

So sometimes, in especially complicated subjects, or subjects that span the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, it is a mistake to assume that — since such-and-such isn’t mentioned here — it doesn’t happen. But the “argument from omission” is a notoriously unreliable argument. Because something isn’t mentioned, then it MAY not happen. But, just as well, it MAY happen, and God just doesn’t bother to tell us… because (1) it isn’t necessary for us to know, or to think about at this time, or (2) it would have detracted from His main message at this point, or (3) we are EXPECTED to compare one Bible passage with another, and figure out for ourselves that, yes indeed, such-and-such DOES happen too — because it says so over there if not right here!

So… once again… to say that — for example — we are all being “judged” NOW does not contradict the principle that there will be a gathering together and a summary judgment when Christ returned. On different levels, and with different emphases, both ideas may be — in fact, ARE — true.

Or to say, on the basis of Rev 20, that there will be a “second death” at the end of the millennium — for some at least — does not contradict the idea that there will be a “second death” for others at an earlier judgment, that is, the one when Christ returns to set up God’s Kingdom.

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr, noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.

Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn’t.

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your Fourth of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It’s not much to ask for the price they paid.

Remember: freedom is never free!

Surely this is something worth remembering — even if we are not American, and even if we see ourselves as “strangers and pilgrims” and not firmly pledged to any single nation, because our true citizenship is in the Kingdom of God.

Nevertheless, every freedom we enjoy now — in a secular sense — was bought with the blood of courageous men and women! For this we must thank God.

And of course the greatest “freedom” was bought with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, as a lamb without spot or blemish, sacrificed for us. And for that we thank God a hundred times over!

“The LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him’ ” (Gen 2:18).

Is it also true that it was/is not good for GOD to be alone?

We often mention that Adam and Eve in the garden are a pattern of Christ and the Bride/church. But before there was Christ and the Church, there was the Father and “Israel”… also patterned by Adam and Eve.

If God reveals that it was not good for Adam to be alone, but that he needed a companion… surely it was a patterned or figurative way of saying, “It is not good for ME to be alone… l must have a companion!”

And all of God’s work from that day to this, especially involving His Son, has been for that express purpose: of creating a “companion” (actually, a company of companions) for His eternal fellowship. That is what the “new creation” is all about.

Look at it another way: (1) If our own observation/experience shows us how unsatisfactory life can be if lived entirely alone, with no regard for or fellowship with others, and how much we need companionship, personal and spiritual and sympathetic and loving… and (2) If we are made in the image and likeness of God, then… reasoning backward… it is not good that God Himself be alone either!

I remember some years ago a young sister asking in a Bible class: “Why does God love me?” The question passed with perfunctory discussion, and I at first dismissed it from my mind as of no great consequence. But then the question came back to me again later… and it suddenly seemed to be of enormous import: “WHY does God love me?” Not just the fact of His love, but the rationale behind it! I finally came to the conclusion that: God loves me because He needs someone to love, and He needs someone to love Him… and that somehow even the Omnipotence of the Universe would be incomplete without the love, freely given, of His creation!

So why weren’t/aren’t the angels enough? I would think it is because their devotion is almost preprogrammed… whereas our devotion/love is out of our own wills, freely given. And this is what God is looking for! And this is why He had to create beings like Adam and Eve with the potential to choose, and hence the potential to disappoint him greatly… but also with the potential — what a potential! — to please Him.

Now there’s a thought: that our disregard for the Father can truly hurt him! What a responsibility to consider!

The word “grace” (Gr “charis”) means, most literally, a gift. In Biblical terms, it is commonly associated with the gift of mercy, or the forgiveness of sins, which God has provided for believers in His Son. None of us can earn salvation; we are saved by “grace,” which is “the gift of God,” and not by our own works (Eph 2:8,9).

Being saved by God’s grace, we are God’s “workmanship” (Eph 2:10). He has made us all that we are; we have not made ourselves.

Nevertheless, He has “created (us) in Christ Jesus” for a purpose — to do good works (v 10). And so, with God working in us in a mysterious sort of partnership we can scarcely comprehend, we do good works — not to earn or merit eternal life, but in gratitude for the grace or gift already conferred upon us.

What “good works” flow out of hearts which have known the grace of God? “And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches… God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things and at all times, you will abound in every good work… You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion” (2Co 8:1; 9:8,11).

The “good work” of giving to others has its origin, Paul says, not in man’s generosity but in God’s — and not just in God’s generosity in material things, but especially in His grace in Christ. When we understand this, then we see the need to abound in every good work — in acts of kindness, in visiting the sick, and in giving of our material blessings. There is a direct connection between God’s grace and our acts of concern for others, between God’s generosity and ours. And so there is a direct connection between the cross and the checkbook, between the empty tomb and the full collection bag. Those who have been bought with a price (2Co 6:20), the precious blood of Christ (1Pe 1:19), willingly give themselves to the Lord (2Co 8:5). Having made that commitment — of the entire being to Christ and to his Father — there is no question of the commitment of their material resources to the doing of good works. And so one “grace” surely begets another, and another.

Paul writes of the “grace of God” bestowed upon the Macedonians (probably the church, or ecclesia at Philippi) (2Co 8:1). Since this “grace” did not guarantee its recipients against either “severe trial” or “extreme poverty” (v 2), Paul must have meant the grace — or gift — of the gospel of salvation in Christ. So the Philippians gave generously to help others, even though they themselves were neither rich nor comfortable. They gave because they knew the joy of God’s love in Christ as God’s grace had abounded, or overflowed, toward others (2Co 8:2,7; 9:8).

Giving to the work of the Truth — whether it be for gospel proclamation or charitable assistance — is no mundane matter. It should not become just a habit or a tiresome necessity. Even though it should not be flaunted as a reason for pride (Mat 6:1-4), neither should its necessity be hidden away as an embarrassment (Mat 5:14-16; 2Co 8:3,4). It is nothing less than an opportunity, and a wonderful privilege, to contribute in a small way to the saving purpose of God. The printed appeal, which we have seen before — the cold figures on paper, which only an accountant could love — these may be the means by which other people may come to praise God for His grace, for present burdens eased and for futures made infinitely brighter. We need to “see” the circle of God’s grace growing ever wider, and to “hear” more voices being raised to praise His grace. And we need to remember, with our wallets and purses and bank accounts, no less than with our Bibles and hymnbooks, the one who “though he was rich, yet for our sakes… became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2Co 8:9). “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift” (2Co 9:15)!

Some years ago in Houston, we had a weekly radio broadcast; it was called “Herald of the Coming Age” (name borrowed, I suppose, from the Logos booklets on first principles). Brother Troy Haltom did a lot of work on the broadcast and follow-up. Once he showed me a postcard asking for a booklet on a particular subject covered in a broadcast. The postcard was addressed to…

“HAROLD of the Coming Age”.

I still don’t know if that particular writer thought that Troy was actually a time-traveler named “Harold”, who had come back to tell us all about the “age to come”!

But nevertheless, I cautioned brother Troy about inspiring the worship of angels (or “demigods”?)!

And for a while thereafter, I addressed him as “brother Troy of the Coming Age”.

Which suggests, I think, an exhortation of sorts: we all can, and should, live in the “coming age”, to some extent and with some understood limitations. We are… “the children of the Kingdom”; our “citizenship” is in heaven, from whence we look for the Saviour to appear. And — although we all now dwell in mortal bodies, bodies that will surely perish if enough time passes, we are still — Scripturally understood — partakers of “eternal life”! And — Rom 8:3 — right now, there is NO condemnation upon us if we love God and follow His commandments.

In other words, it is possible to be physically alive and spiritually “dead”… OR to be physically “dying” and spiritually “alive” in Christ.

So the question is: where DO we live? In this age, or in the age to come?

George of the Coming Age

When I was about 18, I attended a Christadelphian fraternal gathering. The speaker was an older brother (60 or 65), and a dynamic (and learned) speaker. But on this particular occasion he made a fairly simple mistake (the details are of no consequence, except to say it was plainly not just a slip of the tongue — it was a real mistake). When the time came for questions and discussion, guess whose hand popped up first: “Brother, how could such-and-such be true when it says in so-and-so verse that etc, etc?”

I had him “dead to rights”… and I tell you, I can look back 30+ years and still feel a bit of the smugness I felt then. He was wrong, and he knew it… and now everybody else knew it too.

We all waited while brother X thought it over for a few seconds. Then, quite simply, he said: “You’re right; I was wrong.” Nothing more.

And that was it! Except I still carry the memory of a brother who was (indeed) well-versed in the Bible, and a wonderful communicator, and (justly) revered by many other brethren… who was nevertheless not afraid to say, “I was wrong.”

I think that was worth more than anything I learned that day… and a lot of other days as well.

Actually, come to think of it… that simple story says a lot more — to me at least — about:

1. human nature,
2. the pride of life,
3. the nature of sin,
4. the mind of the flesh,
5. the mind of the spirit,
6. humility, and
7. a few other “deep” Bible subjects…

…than do a lot of quite erudite discourses.

Does God ever act in the lives of believers… in any way apart from His written Word, and the providential arrangements of circumstances external to the individual? In other words, does He ever act — directly — upon the mind of a believer?

I have followed the give and take on this subject before, and of course I have thought about the various Bible passages, and the overall philosophical views expressed. I have come to the conclusion that the means by which God works on human minds is — basically and fundamentally — unknowable. Maybe that’s why Jesus likens the Spirit to the wind in John 3 (besides which, we know that both the Hebrew and Greek words have these two more-or-less-interchangeable meanings):

“Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit [Or “spirit”] gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, “You [plural] must be born again.” The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit’ ” (John 3:5-8).

It’s one of those cliches, practically, that we cannot “see” the wind; we can only “feel” its presence, and “see” the effect it has on other things. The leaves in the trees rustle, and the dust swirls along the ground, and we know the wind is blowing. But we don’t SEE the wind — we only see the effect of the wind; we see the leaves and the dust move! And we deduce the presence of the wind from their movements.

In like manner, a “spirit” being, a new creature in Christ, is controlled by unseen forces and considerations. Until a man is born of this unseen force, he cannot know its cause — only its outward effect in the lives of others… which can always be explained by other factors.

So it seems to me that — given our limitations here and now — we can never “prove” that God is working by His Spirit in the lives of others around us, nor even — to be absolutely certain — in our own lives either. That’s just the nature of things… now.

True, we pray (all of us?) prayers like this:

(1) “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law” (Psa 119:18),

or…

(2) “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psa 51:10),

or a hundred other, Bible-based, prayers… which presume that God works, somehow and some way, in our lives along with His written word.

But we can’t know (can we?) exactly how (or when, or where) He works. If we did know, then we would have the Holy Spirit, and the ability to discern such spirits — in short, we’d be inspired prophets… and then we’d be talking about “a whole different ballgame”.

But, just because we can NEVER “prove” that it is happening, does that in and of itself “prove” that it NEVER happens?

So we have the typical exchange — typical, at least, of this sort of discussion — between two people:

a. Al says, “Jesus ‘opened their understanding that they might comprehend the Scriptures’ (Luke 24)”… to which Bob responds: “Meaning, Jesus *explained* the scriptures to them.”

And… Bob is right! Or, at least, if he were wrong — or, perhaps, only half-right, or 3/4 right, or even 99% right — the point is: How could we ever know?

How could we ever know, for sure, that Jesus “explained” something to the apostles by putting the thoughts which they ought to think directly into their minds, or even in the very least influencing their minds indirectly… when, of course, they had the Scriptures and were thinking about them already, and working on them already — and when, IF Jesus did such a thing, it would appear for all the world as though it were the natural workings of the apostles’ own minds? Well, IF he did, then — here’s my point! — it would have been something other than an unseen, secret divine intervention into their minds — it would have been visible, with real, recognizable, provable “power”… and then it would have been… something else! It would have been the “inspiration” of the Holy Spirit.

b. Then, as if to give the other side of the coin, just as we would expect: we have the second of Al’s points: “The second occasion is in Acts 2:6-8. In this incident the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles and everyone heard them speak in their own language.” To which Bob replies: “This is referring SPECIFICALLY to the Holy Spirit gifts. The discussion is NOT about the Holy Spirit gifts — it is specifically about whether the Holy Spirit ever literally ‘indwells’ the believer OTHER THAN THROUGH the Holy Spirit gifts…”

And… Bob’s right again! Because if you can actually SEE the “power” and can PROVE — by visible, tangible evidence — that it is divine, then it CANNOT be anything but real Holy Spirit power. It can no longer be a secret, unseen, “indwelling” power — because it simply can’t be both things simultaneously.

If you SEE it, then it can’t be an unseen or secret “indwelling”.

And if it is an unseen “indwelling”, then you can’t see it. You can’t even see the EFFECTS of it, for that matter, in such a way that its existence could not be explained by other means — like “reading your Bibles”.

Now, here’s the deal: there are — literally — hundreds of passages in which righteous men and women pray for God to act in their lives… and we are not afraid to ask for such divine intervention or interaction in our own lives.

• “Our Father, be with our speaker this morning as he brings us your word!”
• “Our Father, comfort sister D in her illness.”
• “Our Father, help brother M find a job.”
• “Our Father, we pray for our children… our brothers and sisters… our preaching efforts…”
• “Our Father, help those who are seeking your truth in this dark world around us…”

Etc, etc.

Why would we ever pray in the first place, what would we ever ask for… IF God never worked in the lives of men and women?

But of course He does!

We’ll just never know exactly how He does it… now, in this age. And we’ll never be able to prove that He does — even in ourselves or to ourselves.

And we’ll never be in a position to boast about such “power” in our lives, as though we “earned” it, or “deserve” it.

And [to me this is THE key point!] we’ll never be able to depend on such “power”, to the exclusion or the neglect of reading, and understanding, our Bibles. Because — if and when it is “there”, whatever that means, we won’t be able to know it’s “there” — we’ll just be doing our best, to understand what God has said, and to put it into practice in our lives. And that’s the part we’ll SEE — the other, if it’s there, will be silent and secret, even in our own minds.

And thus, we’ll never be able to depend on such “power” to help us make a decision, or to give us strength to do the right thing… because these thoughts and actions are all things we can do for ourselves, and even if God is helping us to do them — it’ll be a secret, silent, “indwelling” kind of help — not visible to others, and not provable even to ourselves…

Because, given the way all human minds work, the thoughts that seem to come unbidden into our minds could merely be the chemical processes of our own brains (which, left to themselves, are much more often wicked rather than righteous). And how am I to know the difference… between the thought I conjure up out of my subconscious (which, let’s face it, may be good or ill) and the thought that — maybe — God actually put there… because it would look the same, even to me!

So, in the final analysis, the whole question — it seems to me — is a kind of delusion: God’s Spirit MAY BE there, in my mind, helping me think right thoughts, and helping me summon up the will to do right things. But I can never know that for sure (because… then it would be something else!), and I can never depend on its being there. All I can do is read the Bible, try to understand it, tell others about it, and try to apply it in my life.

And pray that our Father will help me think and do right things. But if and when He does help me, I’ll never know it for sure. I’ll still have to be continuing to do my best, to read, think, understand, and apply… as though He isn’t helping at all.

I can’t “put it on automatic pilot”. I have to keep flying the aircraft, and hope and pray that God steadies my hand, and sharpens my eye, and focuses my mind. But I can’t consciously stop doing what I can do, and let Him take over! The plane would crash.

Bottom line: what practical difference does it make? If I can’t see God’s power working for sure, then I just have to do the best I can anyway — and hope that, somehow, He is helping.

“For we are labourers together with God” (1Co 3:9).

“We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain” (2Co 6:1).

How to stay safe in the world today……

1. Avoid riding in automobiles because they are responsible for 20% of all fatal accidents.
2. Do not stay home because 17% of all accidents occur in the home.
3. Avoid walking on streets or sidewalks because 14% of all accidents occur to pedestrians.
4. Avoid traveling by air, rail, or water because 16% of all accidents involve these forms of transportation.
5. Of the remaining 33%, 32% of all deaths occur in Hospitals. Above all else, avoid hospitals.

You will be pleased to learn that only .001% of all deaths occur in worship services in church, and these are usually related to previous physical disorders. Therefore, logic tells us that the safest place for you to be at any given point in time is at church!

Bible study is safe too. The percentage of deaths during Bible study is even less.

For safety’s sake… Attend church and read your Bible…

It could save your life.