As we continue to take a close look at the Creation account in Genesis, knowing that we can’t cover all the details in this format, I think that I’ll select a verse or two of interest each week for the remainder of this blog series. The verse that strikes me today is 1:16 … And God made the two great lights – the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night – and the stars.

Wow! Almost parenthetically, God “made … the stars.” All 200 billion trillion of them! Let me say that another way: all 200 sextillion of them! In case you’re wondering, that’s 200,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. From our perspective – and I’m so glad that the Bible communicates with us from our perspective – the sun and the moon will figure most prominently in our daily rhythms, but we don’t want to miss the wonder of the much bigger picture here! It’s an overused word, friends, but our God is simply AWESOME. The Creators of the heavens and the earth spoke into existence all 200,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 of those incredible stars.

We’re up to Creation Day 4 now, but we already see clearly a remarkable pattern of design and order. Not to mention beauty. As you know from science, “randomness” doesn’t evolve into order, but rather it devolves into chaos. But chaos is not what we see in early Genesis, thankfully.

In fact, here’s what I see when I look through either a microscope or a telescope. I see design, order, and beauty. The harder I look, the more I see: design, order, and beauty. I’m no expert on these matters, but I’m simply sharing with you what I observe: design, order, and beauty.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and submit to you what I believe. I believe that “nature” itself points to a higher and deeper reality. I see that in at least six different ways …

LAW. The mere existence of natural laws reminds us that universe itself obeys certain rules. This is no inconsequential observation. You won’t have to worry about gravity doing its thing today, and neither will I. These laws are quite precise, and some are in fact mathematical. I submit to you that these natural laws are in place, and that we observe them as logical, because they have a God who is logical as their origin. In fact, I can’t think of any other possible explanation.

LOVELINESS. I think that it’s safe for me to claim that scientists of nearly every worldview agree that the universe is exquisitely fine-tuned, and that it’s exquisitely fine-tuned for human life – and for life in general. Scientists don’t all agree on the why, admittedly, but they see the “fine tuning” of what are generally referred to as the physical constants. When I think of making a case for the evidence of God, I think of this as my Exhibit A. It’s not “proof” of God in the test tube sense, but it’s certainly some very compelling evidence in my humble opinion. This world is simply gorgeous in its intricate design! (I’ll refer you to the newest images from the Webb Telescope.)

LIFE. I know that we haven’t yet reached Creation Day 6 in this series, but I have to mention that the origins of life and consciousness sway me even further to believe the claims of the Bible – and specifically the claims of Jesus Christ. Like C.S. Lewis, I believe that the human conscience uniquely provides genuine insight into reality. Did the Nazis treat the Jews in a cruel manner? Of course they did. This is more than a historical observation, isn’t it? That inner knowledge of right and wrong, though we may try to hide from it all too often, becomes somewhat of a universal moral argument for the existence of a holy God. Call me crazy, but I think that we sometimes feel guilty because we are guilty.

LOVE. The staunchest atheists you know have relationships that matter deeply to them. They love others (at least somebody, somewhere), and they desire deeply to be loved by others. From where does the real existence of love come? Again, I submit, this can’t be explained by a strictly materialistic view of the universe. Love makes no sense without a gracious Creator God who is Himself Love.

LOGIC. I’ve already hinted at this, but I’d like to take it one step further. Could it be that what we refer to as “the laws of logic” are really just descriptions of the ways in which God thinks? Let’s take the rules of inference, for example. I can’t imagine these as human conventions! (You couldn’t even make an argument for that without employing the laws themselves. LOL.). On a lighter note, this time I’ll quote C.S. Lewis verbatim: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

LIGHT. I have to tell you how I see it, because I can do no other: I believe that there has never been a human being who has not been addressed by God deep in their inner being. There is at least some knowledge of our Creator wondrously present in every human soul (Romans 1:19). Somehow, perhaps strangely, love arouses knowing. Please let that sink in. Love arouses knowing. I’ll bet you haven’t forgotten when your first child was born. Or the first time you saw the ocean. Or your first kiss (yes, that kind of kiss). Such defining moments in our lives often open our hearts to consider higher and greater realities. Such moments seem to us, and rightfully so, to be more than the sum of all possibilities. Philosophical arguments have their place, but sometimes we just know.

Again, I’m no expert. But I can’t tell you how excited I am to be able to share these things with you. I welcome your input, correction, and ongoing dialogue. Iron sharpens iron.

Yours by grace,

Pastor Charles

Today we’ll focus on the days of Creation. We see these six days unfold in Genesis 1, each one marked by the language: “there was evening and there was morning.” I don’t have to tell you that these “days” spark quite a bit of controversy, primarily centered on whether or not the Bible demands that we view these days as six literal (24-hour) periods of time. I’ll start with a simple observation: an interpretation including literal days allows for the easiest, and the most natural, reading of the chapter. The “evening and morning” language I would also put into the category of “evidence for literal days,” as I would the ordinal numbers in Hebrew (“the first day,” “the second day,” etc.). I would also add that the Sabbath pattern which follows in Scripture (see, for example, the Fourth Commandment in Exodus 20:8-11) is based upon a concept of literal days.

All that being said, we must be careful not to declare something unequivocally unless we’re certain that God’s Word has made it clear. In the case of six literal days of Creation, there is room for humility. The Hebrew word for “day” does not always refer to a literal day, but can refer to an unspecified period of time (see, for example, the same word “day” in Genesis 2:4). I would also point out, as we read the Creation account carefully and take it seriously, that the sun is not created until Day 4, so defining a “day” based solely on the earth’s rotation (as we think of a literal day) could not apply to Days 1 to 3. And I would remind you, as I remind myself, of the Bible’s call to let God be God! Second Peter 3:8 comes to mind as of possible relevance to this particular discussion. It’s also wise to keep in mind that we’re talking about the miracle of Creation – may Jesus Christ be praised! There will always be dimensions of something as wonderful as Creation that you and I can’t fully comprehend.

In the fourth century, St. Augustine expressed a helpful caution with these words: “In matters that are obscure and far beyond our vision, even in such as we may find treated in Holy Scripture, different interpretations are sometimes possible without prejudice to the faith we have received. In such a case, we should not rush in headlong and so firmly take our stand on one side that, if further progress in the search of truth justly undermines this position, we too fall with it.” You may remember from history that Copernicus and Galileo were soundly condemned by the church for advocating heliocentrism (that the earth revolves around the sun). The church had misinterpreted passages such as Psalm 93:1, Psalm 104:5, and Ecclesiastes 1:5, and – perhaps ironically – it would be science that would help clarify the meaning of Scripture in that circumstance. I remind you of all of that simply to urge all of us to be careful in our study, and careful with our conclusions. And don’t let people convince you that science and the Bible are at odds with each other. People may politicize science and make it at odds with the Bible, or people may misinterpret the Bible and make it at odds with science, but an honest search for truth is never at odds with God’s truth – the truth. We used to sing it regularly: “This is my Father’s world!”

Sometimes even well-intentioned followers of Christ get at odds with each other over specific details which ought not divide us. I’ll remind us of the first miracle of the earthly ministry of Jesus, when at the wedding celebration at Cana our Lord turned the water into wine. What did the master of the feast say to the bridegroom? “You have kept the good wine until now (John 2:10).” Why do I mention this? Because making something new and old is absolutely no problem for our magnificent God! That’s right. He’s the potter. I’m the clay. Note to self: stay humble.

The morning after a national election, this call to humility serves as a pointed reminder that we need Jesus! The Bible always tells the truth, and about human nature the Bible is abundantly clear: as people suppress the knowledge of God, spiritual darkness and psychological inversion mount. By “psychological inversion,” I mean to describe how we become larger and God becomes smaller. In the human heart, the center of gravity shifts from God to self. People become the center, and the Creator gets pushed further and further toward the margins. We do this by denying God’s existence, or by twisting His character, or by distorting His glorious and saving gospel. Arrogance breeds more arrogance, and vile behaviors result. The problem is: vile behaviors become abusive behaviors, and abusive behaviors cause suffering and death. We see this in Israel’s history, and in the history of every other nation on earth.

May our gracious God give us not what we deserve, but may He give us leaders who are driven by Christ’s righteousness. May He protect our government from those who are blinded by their own power and affluence. May He give us leaders who recognize the shallowness of human wisdom. So let it be.

Yours by grace,

Pastor Charles

It’s starting to get really exciting now …

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day (Genesis 1:3-5).

Light amazes me. It moves just shy of 300,000 kilometers per second. If you drove your car to the sun at the speed limit, it would take you 157 years to arrive. But if you could ride a beam of light to the sun, it would take you only eight minutes and twenty seconds! Whether we’re talking about light produced by friction or nuclear reactions or fire, it all comes from God! That includes the long-wave radio waves and the short-wave x-rays. And I’ve just scratched the surface. Light is built into the very fabric of our universe. As Einstein taught us, mass is but latent energy, and energy is unleashed mass; and the amount of energy contained in mass is represented by the elegant equation E = mc2 … E for energy, m for mass, and c for the speed of light.

So we’ve completed the first day of Creation, but we don’t yet have a sun. I only mention that so that we don’t get too dogmatic about some of the details which we may not fully understand. Where we do have questions in our study of Genesis, whenever possible, we ought to look to the New Testament to shed light (pun fully intended) on the subject. For example, last week I mentioned that I question the validity of using the word “now” at the beginning of Verse 2 to open the door to a pre-Adamite race. My questioning doesn’t come from my expertise in either Hebrew or science, but it comes from Romans 5:12. If we lose the doctrine of sin “coming into the world” through Adam, then we’ve gutted much of the Bible. If nothing was corrupted before sin, I find it hard to wrap my mind around any kind of death before Adam, though I know that some scholars insist that Paul is referring only to human death. So I would encourage you to “let Scripture interpret Scripture” whenever possible. It won’t settle every question in your heart, but it will go a long way.

One thing we know for sure: what sin corrupted into disorder (I know that I’m getting ahead of myself in the Creation account), Christ’s Cross has the power to bring back into order! Praise God!

So let’s get back to Day 1. “And God said” is used nine times in the Creation account. God spoke, and from nothing everything was made. This is (I’ll quote John Gill here) “expressive of the will, power, authority, and efficacy of the divine Being; whose word is clothed with power, and who can do, and does whatever he will, and as soon as he pleases; his orders are always obeyed.” God by definition reigns supreme and unchallenged. That’s why we call Him “Lord” or “the Lord Almighty” or “King of kings and Lord of lords.” In Greek mythology, the gods compete with each other. Even Zeus can be undone. But not our God! He rules. He reigns. Period.

“Let there be light!” When we lived out in Southern California we learned all about the “May Gray” and the “June Gloom.” It looks cloudy and foggy until about 11:00 in the morning, but–without fail –the sun breaks through for yet another gorgeous day. “And there was light.” Was this light physical? Yes. Was this light philosophical? Also, yes. I don’t think this was an either/or. I don’t think that Moses is only referring to physical light here. This light is the very knowledge, power, righteousness, and Word of our great God expressed via the medium that is light. By the way, there is ultimately no darkness which can overcome the light (John 1:1-5).

“And God saw that the light was good.” The word employed here for “good” is used 44 times in the Old Testament, and can mean practical goodness, desirability, beauty, quality, moral goodness, or even philosophical goodness. So I think that we can take this sentence to mean that God determined that the light was fulfilling its intended purpose. God delights to shine His truth into the darkness of our ignorance. “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet …”

So what made the “night” night? I think this: that it was distinct from the day. Maybe God our magnificent Creator used some kind of cloud cover which allowed light to penetrate – or not. I’m speculating now, so don’t take those clouds to the bank, but suffice it to say that this “evening and morning” refrain of distinction (and order) will be used by the Lord on every successive workday. But it will be conspicuously absent on Day 7, which I’ll get too later in this series. If you’ll indulge me, I’ll blog more about the wonders of Creation next week, but I encourage you today to take a quick journey from the Bible’s first book to the Bible’s last, to Revelation 22:5 specifically. In Christ, you and I are headed to a place where “night will be no more.” Can you imagine? Jesus the Light of the world will be so present with us – forever – that He alone will be all the light we’ll ever need.

Let there be …” When God speaks to us, His word is invincible. There is no other. I’m so glad that Christianity is not a system of rituals and rules meant to gain God’s favor. No! The beating heart of the Bible, from cover to cover, is truth. And it all starts with the truth of who God is. Only the Light of Jesus can deliver us from the folly and foolishness and futility of religion. We need Light!

Yours by grace,

Pastor Charles

You’re a patient group of friends, always putting up with my ramblings and rumblings!

Last week I shared some thoughts from Genesis 1:1, and today I’d like to focus on Genesis 1:2 … The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Whatever was was not yet beautiful, because God our Creator had not yet made it beautiful. In the words of C.S. Lewis: “All that is made seems planless to the darkened mind, because there are more plans than it looked for. In these seas there are islands where the hairs of the turf are so fine and so closely woven together that unless a man looked long at them he would see neither hairs nor weaving at all, but only the same and the flat. So with the Great Dance.” I wish that I could interview the great professor so that he could explain to me all of the nuances of what he intended to communicate there, but I think I get the thrust of it: the Sovereign God of the universe is so unfathomably above and beyond us that we can’t ever fully grasp His ways. But, and these are my words now, we can trust that all His ways are nothing but good.

The things of the Lord are “foolishness” (1 Corinthians 2:14) to the person who doesn’t know Christ by faith. But, even for those of us who follow Christ and who deeply desire to understand the Bible, there are parts of the Creation account that are downright difficult to comprehend. I think it’s O.K. for us to admit that. And the Bible’s second verse is one of those passages that tends to yield a plethora of interpretations. Part of the reason for the confusion stems from the fact that multiple English translations insert a connecting word at the beginning of the verse (specifically, “now” or “as”). For example … Now the earth was formless and empty …

The reason for adding a connecting word (or not) is a matter of relatively complex Hebrew linguistics, but suffice it to say that the opening clause of Genesis 1:2 is circumstantial in nature. It’s not intended to communicate timing (as we might normally think when we hear the word “now”) as much as it is intended to describe the circumstances of Genesis 1:1. Nevertheless, in about the year 1814 (and I think it was launched in Edinburgh, Scotland), there began to circulate various interpretations of Genesis 1:2 which opened the door for a long period of time between the verses. You may have heard of the “gap theory,” and I’m attempting to describe the reason for the perceived gap. If you’re interested in my take on it, I don’t believe that the language of the text itself intends to communicate a time gap. I’m not going to fight over that, but I owe it to you to at least state my personal conviction.

What is of even more importance to me is the mind-boggling description of the Spirit of God here. Against the backdrop of a formless earth is this powerful presence of the Ruach Elohim. Genesis 6:17 will translate that first word (“Spirit”) as “breath of life,” and Genesis 8:1 will translate it as “wind.” Wow! Wow! Wow! So, back to Genesis 1:2, the waters don’t yet contain any life … but we already know that there is hope for life … and we already know the source of the new life that will soon be described quite beautifully by the Scriptures.

I’m so glad to be able to tell you today that the Holy Spirit has always been! From the vantage point of Creation I’m getting ahead of myself, but I want you to celebrate with me that it is the Spirit of God who applies the work of Christ to us personally (John 16:13). He (not “It”) bears powerful witness for Jesus (1 John 5:7-8). He teaches us gospel truth (John 14:26). He fills us (Ephesians 5:18) with spiritual life! And I’ve just barely scratched the surface.

Earlier this month and 70 miles from here in Hurricane Mills, at the age of 90, country music legend Loretta Lynn passed into glory. Her 60-year career included four Grammys and a multitude of other distinguished awards, but her early life – if you know anything about the “Coal Miner’s Daughter” – was anything but picture perfect. That she would ever be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom would have been unthinkable from the perspective of the young girl for whom poverty and chaos would mark much of her childhood and young adult life. I tell a snippet of her story not to exalt her in any idolatrous fashion, but rather to exalt the God whom Loretta learned to trust. From a 2020 interview, these are Loretta’s own words: “I pray a lot. I think God is always with me. When I need Him, I know He’s there. He’s been with me and pulled me through stuff that I didn’t even know I was going through until it was over. And when it did hit me, and I realized that God had been with me the whole time, that made all the difference to me. He’s gotten me through everything, good and bad, and that fills my heart with peace.”

“It hit me,” said Loretta. Friends, I hope it hits us too. There is holy in the hover.

What seems chaotic about your world today? Don’t be fooled! Christ is very much alive and in charge. You can trust Him. He specializes in making masterpieces out of madness.

Yours by grace,

Pastor Charles

If you’ll bear with me, I think that I’ll start fashioning a blog miniseries focused on why the first chapters of the Bible really matter. So we’ll make this blog posting Part One. I’m motivated to some degree by all of the current debates on gender, but my pastoral concerns are much more widespread. In a nutshell, I fear that the evangelical church in America is losing its foundation.

So let’s start at the very top (Genesis 1:1): In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. We need to think of the Bible’s first five books, Genesis through Deuteronomy (often referred to by scholars as the Pentateuch), as one continuous account. All of it was either written or edited by Moses (see John 7:22, for example). And, ultimately and supremely, God authored it all.

Genesis includes some poetry, prophecy, and even drama, but it is primarily theological and historical narrative. Based on Biblical and extrabiblical evidence, we can date it at about the fifteenth century B.C. This really matters, friends, because there are so many voices today urging us to put Genesis into the category of fairytale. This is especially true when it comes to the first eleven chapters.

The Hebrew word translated as “created” is a rare word, and it’s used primarily in connection with something that God does. Creation itself is a noble concept, and quite difficult to capture with human language. But the main point that I’d like to offer today is simply this: don’t ever let anyone persuade you that Creationism is for the weak-minded and the primitive, while Evolution is for the academic, the enlightened, and the sophisticated. And here’s why I’m making this claim: in order to adopt any worldview other than “In the beginning God created …”, you have to swallow at least three outrageous claims …

1. Nothing caused something.

2. Non-life produced life.

3. Chaos naturally morphed into order.

I would urge you to sit with all three of those for a minute. And I invite you to challenge me if you think that I’m oversimplifying things.

“The heavens and the earth” is Hebrew’s way of communicating the totality of creation. It’s not even limited by our Earth or our solar system. So it’s really important that you and I remember that the Bible’s opening sentence is an intentionally broad summary statement. It’s meant to include everything in the universe!

Just to help you wrap your mind around the enormity of the Bible’s opening line, I’ll quote from George P. Dvorsky, a “transhumanist” secular Buddhist: “It’s hard to wrap our heads around the size of our galaxy, let alone the Universe. At 100,000 light-years across, it would take the New Horizons space probe – the fastest object ever launched by humans – some 1,844,000,000 years to travel from one side of the Milky Way to the other (it’s currently moving away from Pluto at 58,536 km/h or 36,373 mph). But there are structures even larger than single galaxies. Back in 2013, astronomers discovered a concentration of galaxy clusters stretching some 10-billion light years across. There are also cosmic filaments to consider – massive strands of rarefied and highly ionized gas which stretch like spider webs across the observable Universe linking galaxy clusters across billions upon billions of light-years. And then there’s the Universe as a whole, an expanse of expanding space that appears to be about 92 billion light-years in diameter. And that’s just the observable Universe.”

Now Mr. Dvorsky and I would not agree on any number of things, but I wanted you to see even his take on how awesome is this thing we call “the world.” And here’s one place where Mr. Dvorsky would likely disagree with me: I’m claiming that God made it ALL.Even before the foundation of the world, there was Someone. Nothing else makes sense.

His first pastorate was the First Presbyterian Church in Lockport, New York, but his ministry would influence college students from around the world, especially those from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore – where Maltbie Davenport Babcock would go on to serve the Brown Memorial Church. But back in New York, not too far from that first church building, Pastor Babcock loved to hike at a spot called the “escarpment” – a natural ledge from which you could see for miles. He’d say to his friends: “I’m going out to see my Father’s world!” In 1901, as he took in those breathtaking views of farms, orchards, and even Lake Ontario about fifteen miles away, Babcock wrote down what his heart took in …

This is my Father’s world, and to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world: I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.

Yours by grace,

Pastor Charles

It’s great to live again in a city with professional sports franchises, and here we are in the center of Smashville! Tonight at dinner with friends from church we were talking about the fun, excitement, and overall energy which the Nashville Predators bring to the metro area. Our city loves its sports, and our people love their teams, and that’s as it should be.

But today I want to unpack another subject which has been on my mind and heart: how can we love in such a hateful world?

I know that sounds a bit dramatic, friends. Perhaps I’m painting with too broad a brushstroke, and I’m open to your correction, but I am increasingly disturbed by what I perceive to be the all-or-nothing nature of public discourse in America. Expressed another way: “If you and I agree on everything, then we can be friends, but if your opinion at any point collides with mine, then I will have to make sure that you are silenced.” From my point of view, that attitude is about as close to non-love as we can get.

Have we forgotten that we all bear, and so we therefore all share, the image of God? Even those who vehemently oppose us have been endowed with intrinsic dignity and worth. Though the whole world may fail to see this glorious reality, followers of Christ have no excuse.

Have we forgotten the doctrine of general revelation? Other perspectives are critical as we search for the truth, because our selfish humanness prods all of us to misperceive some facts while glossing over other facts which may feel presently inconvenient. Sometimes the perspectives I least appreciate are the ones I most need, as they help me see my own blindspots, prejudices, and idols.

Have we forgotten the notion of common grace? We cultivate widespread civility only when we demonstrate respect and kindness toward all people. As best we can, we want to love like God loves. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made (Psalm 145:9). We who claim to know Christ ought to lead by love.

Have we forgotten the values of free speech and diversity of opinion? You and I have something to learn from the whole of humanity. Surely we’re not so proud that we can’t take a step back from the turmoil of today’s social and political climate long enough to thank God that not everybody thinks like us!

So how do we free ourselves from this destructive pattern of thinking and behavior? Here’s where my proposed “smash” comes in …

S. Set yourself free from tribal urges. Cable news and social media soundbites can’t feed our souls, but they can feed the monster of our self-righteous anger. Don’t let that happen. Anchor yourself, again and again, in your most important identity: your identity in Christ.

M. Make grace amazing again. Jesus has told us some strange things. We’re to love our enemies. We’re to pray for those who persecute us. And He has led us by example, for that is exactly how Jesus dealt with those who nailed Him to a cross. Ultimately, it was our sin that drove those nails, so you and I must love as we’ve been so lavishly loved.

A. Aim higher. It’s easy to get caught up in “cancel culture,” but you and I are called to the exact opposite: we’re called to edify and encourage! Your simple acts and words of kindness will speak volumes into this climate of bitterness and rage. We’re on the narrow road, so let’s live each day with profound gratitude and joy that cause others to look up.

S. Stay in the Word, and stick with the Word. That’s where the difference really lies, friends. Garbage in, garbage out. Goodness in, goodness out. Both are true. Which will it be for us? This is a great time to commit Scripture to memory. The Bible is the only Word that can illumine the otherwise murky path before us in a relentlessly unforgiving season such as this.

H. Hold your fire. And I’m not just referring to avoiding inappropriate responses to those with whom we disagree, but I’m referring to actively fanning the flames of our own spiritual passion. You and I desperately need the Holy Spirit! It is only the Spirit of the resurrected Christ who can keep us loving God and loving others at a time when love seems to be yet another supply-chain casualty.

Perhaps we will see our Sovereign Lord use His people to turn this tide of worldly disrespect and disdain into something shockingly heavenly and beautiful. We should pray for nothing less. Revival in the church always means good things for the culture, and we sure could use God’s good things here and now.

By grace alone,

Pastor Charles

I saw on Twitter something which caught my eye. Along with a short video, Zach Ragan tweeted: “Hendon Hooker has gotta have some gospel music going before he runs out of the T.” Apparently U.T.’s senior quarterback gets ready for a game by enjoying what he calls “slow jams,” which include gospel music, prayer, meditation, and devotional reading with his teammate, Joe Milton.

I want to share with you Hendon’s exact quote about his pregame ritual from the video: “I gotta have the gospel music bumpin’.” I like that. I really like that. It sounds to me like a man who knows the source of his strength. The prophet Isaiah promised on behalf of our great God: “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength” (40:29). And, quite unlike us, God does not grow weary.

You know me. I was intrigued by what might be Hendon’s favorite song for a pregame jam. It’s “Indescribable” by Kierra “Kiki” Sheard …

From the highest of heights to the depth of the sea
Creation revealing Your majesty
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming …

Indescribable, uncontainable
You place the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing God
All-powerful, untamable
Awestruck we fall to our knees and we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God!

Who sees lightning bolts and tells them where they should go
Or sees heavenly storehouses laden with snow?
Who imagined the sun and gave source to its light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night?
None can fathom …

Incomparable, unchangeable
You’ve seen the depths of my heart and You love me the same
You are amazing God!

As somebody who can barely wrap my mind around Hendon’s incredible athletic ability, I find it way cool that the man who helped his team soar to victory over Florida last weekend chooses, when he most needs to stand strong in the game, to focus on God’s strength instead of his own …

Awestruck we fall to our knees and we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God!

But don’t think of Hendon’s slow jams as an entirely private affair. I found another quote in which he describes what happens after the music and worship: “I kind of go through the locker room, dap up everyone, just make sure to let them know, ‘Hey, I’m ready to roll.'” That’s what I’m going to start doing around here on Sunday mornings. I’m going to make it my job to dap up everyone, at least as best I can. We all need a little, or a lot of, encouragement!

Friends, encouragement starts with Jesus. He’s our well of endless supply. We have no other. We tend to get so busy that we forget to go back to the source of every good and perfect gift. Christ is the Way. He is the Truth. He is the Life. And He is the only Way. John 14:6. You may not need Him on the football field today, but you need Him. And so do I.

This is a season of great turmoil in the world, so you and I must be drawing near to God. And that’s the door which Christ has opened for us. Anytime. Anywhere. Pregame. Postgame. Game. Many centuries ago, St. Augustine issued a timeless warning: “Remember this. When people choose to withdraw from a fire, the fire continues to give warmth, but they grow cold. When people choose to withdraw from the light, the light continues to be bright in itself, but they are in darkness. This is also the case when people withdraw from God.”

I think I need a slow jam.

Thus saith our gracious Lord: “Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Like Hendon, you and I have been called to run, and to finish well. Maybe we ought to start making some time for some slow jams along the way.

Pastor Charles

I probably don’t have to tell you how important it is that we are able to distinguish the law from the gospel. Salvation comes to us by faith alone in Christ alone, and so it’s crucial that we never confuse our justification by faith with any form of earning God’s favor by self-improvement … or by our own righteous or religious works … or based upon our own intrinsic merit. It sounds simple enough, I suppose, but I never cease to be amazed at how much confusion surrounds what is perhaps the central tenet of evangelical doctrine.

Our works contribute in no way to our justification, which rests perfectly and solely on the righteousness and merits of Christ. There on Calvary’s cross, “It is finished” became the most hopeful judicial declaration ever uttered. And the penitent thief on the cross next to Jesus, through no good work of his own, received the same free gift of grace which you and I have received so completely and gloriously in Christ.

The law is good, but we are not (Romans 7:7-12). We need the law, but we are powerless to obey it. The law uniquely and wonderfully reveals to us the holiness of God, while it reveals to us our personal depravity and sin. So we need it to drive us to the end of ourselves. We need it to show us a true and objective measure of morality. We need it, most of all, to drive us to Christ.

But the law, without the gospel, is powerless to save. And when we confuse the law and the gospel, we end up burdening people with a phony sense of self-righteousness, while at the same time leaving them plagued by a gnawing sense of guilt and shame, because they know (on some level) that they’re failing to meet God’s perfect standard.

You and I, and everyone else, need an alien righteousness, a goodness that doesn’t depend on us … so we need the good news of a perfect Savior and an empty tomb! Then, and only then, can we be set free: free from sin, free from the wrath we rightfully deserve, and free (truly) to live righteously for an audience of One.

But we must never confuse our righteous living, what the Bible calls our sanctification, with our justification. And our failure to keep that distinction clear in our minds and hearts leaves us confused and angry when the unbelievers around us behave like, well, unbelievers.

We don’t preach self-help. We don’t preach moralism. We don’t preach religious therapy. We preach Christ!

As well we should. He is our only hope. And He is the only hope of this fallen world. In a day of widespread turning away from the simple hope of the gospel, I’m asking you to recommit with me to making the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ front-and-center in all that we do. We are gospel people. We are free!

John Bunyan (1628-1688) expressed it like this …

“‘Run, John, run,’ the law commands,
But gives me neither feet nor hands.
Far better news the gospel brings;
It bids me fly, and gives me wings.”

I absolutely love that incredible and hopeful and liberating truth.

Fly!

Pastor Charles

I was a huge fan of Queen Elizabeth II, and I was a fan on four different personal levels. As a British history junkie, I was always fascinated by her willingness to assume so much responsibility at such a young age, and to remain steadfast in her duties for over seven decades. As a pastor, I was always impressed by her unrelenting commitment to what she perceived to be the divine calling upon her life, and by her execution of that calling with excellence and grace. As an undershepherd, I was always moved by her unwavering example of true servant-leadership, nearly unparalleled in the public eye in my opinion. And, as a follower of Christ, I continued to marvel at her humble and sincere devotion to our Lord.

A couple of days before the queen’s funeral, I posted a prayer request on Facebook: that others would join me in asking God to bless Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in a special way as he prepared to preach the gospel to a global audience. I trust that those prayers were answered. The one true Sovereign has promised us that He never sends His Word without accomplishing His intended purposes through that Word (Isaiah 55:11).

There are many moments that could be recounted, but I’ll focus on just one. In your mind’s eye, travel with me to Westminster Abbey and let’s perch for a moment under those magnificent gothic arches. Imagine a congregation gathered for worship, and imagine 5.1 billion people watching and listening, many having never before witnessed a Christian funeral service.

Imagine the words of resurrection hope that were shared with conviction, and imagine the gospel truths which were communicated in the historic and majestic liturgy of the Church of England. Imagine.

Now, picture this! The congregation, comprised of the most powerful leaders of the free world, breaks out in song …

Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heav’n, to earth come down,
Fix in us Thy humble dwelling,
All Thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, Thou art all compassion,
Pure, unbounded love Thou art.
Visit us with Thy salvation;
Enter every trembling heart …
Finish then Thy new creation;
True and spotless let us be.
Let us see Thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in Thee.
Changed from glory into glory,
‘Til in heav’n we take our place,
‘Til we cast our crowns before Thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise.

It blows my mind. Worldly power on display, in living color, and yet an undeniable testimony that the grandest and brightest crowns of this earth will one day be strewn at the feet of Jesus. Soon and very soon in fact.

Many may have missed the message, but I suspect that many did not. This is my hope for this war-torn, pandemic-weary, and morally bankrupt world: the matchless Word of the living God. We have no other.

Shining light into the darkness. Speaking truth into the deception. Sparking hope among the hopeless. It’s simply what God does. We don’t even have to imagine. Said Welby, “The pattern for all who serve God … famous or obscure, respected or ignored … is that death is the door to glory.”

Even the 1662 Book of Common Prayer can pierce the modern heart, because its words are not its own. God’s words shake heaven and earth. In the lyrics of Martin Luther, “God’s truth abideth still. His kingdom is forever.”

Forever indeed, friends. And here’s the good news: Christ’s tomb is empty! Elizabeth’s King lives! He reigns! He reigns! He reigns!

So you and I do not lose hope.

Pastor Charles

My friend David Gagel is refreshing my love for the psalms. Each morning he sends me a verse or two to contemplate, and with which to start my day, and I’ve decided that God’s songbook is the best one on the market. In fact, last time I checked, you could enjoy everything in it for free!

Today I’m thinking about Psalms 51, 52, and 53. Psalm 51 is my go-to when I’ve sinned. Psalm 52 is my wake-up call – among many others – when I’m afraid of my enemies, or when I’ve been overcome by own pride and confusion. (God’s Word can cut both ways like that. Some days I relate to the “green olive tree in the house of God,” but other days I know all too well that the antagonist in the story is none other than me.) And Psalm 53 puts me in my place when I’ve become caught up in my own religious pride. I’d love to be able to tell you that I never need any of those psalms, but the truth is that I need all three of them far more often than I consult any one of them. I suppose you could say that I can be a slow learner.

David, Israel’s king, pours out his heart in all three songs. They’re like the best love songs in the entire universe! I like the thought of pouring out my own heart before the Lord, but sometimes I’m really good at making excuses … “I don’t have time for that” … “I really don’t need to repent of that” … “If I get real with God about all the junk in my heart right now, there’s no telling what He’s doing to make me deal with in there!” I repeat: I can be a slow learner.

But, if you’re interested, here are some things that I’m finding to be true of God – and they’re right out of His own hymnal. Beloved friend, I hope they encourage your heart today …

God doesn’t have to be impressed with how well I’m doing. The achievements of Pastor Charles, meh. But the achievements of Jesus, now we’re talking! (And I’m clothed with Him.) So I don’t need to impress God. On the cross, Christ provided all the validation that I will ever need. Despite my best efforts, or my worst days, I am loved. I. Am. Loved.

God wants to redeem the most broken pieces of my soul. “He restores my soul,” if I may borrow from another psalm. Will this restoration always be a fun journey? Well, certainly not every step. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. That’s a hard moment of surrender for me, but it’s also my lifeline – and Christ’s tender mercy in disguise.

God longs to hang out with the real me, even when the real me doesn’t have his act together (at all). “Adam – I mean Charles – where are you?” Where. Are. YOU. (And it’s not like He’s seeking any new information for Himself.) You and I are the wayward rebels, but our gracious God is the relentless pursuer. He is the hound of heaven!

God already knows that I’m worse than I think I am. He knows that I judge others more strictly than I judge myself. He knows how severely my tongue can bite, and my heart betray. Only He can usher me into the presence of the godly … but that is the door that Jesus has opened wide for me. I can come right on in, and meet with my Father, anytime. His door is open and His light is on.

God doesn’t fool around with lying or with liars. I can be either or both. Just put me in the right (wrong?) circumstances. I can flipflop like the flipflopper of all flipfloppers! I am human to the core. I am flawed to the bone. I am a restless idolater. I need a Savior.

God will set the record straight. He doesn’t even need my help. I keep forgetting this one, but the songbook keeps singing me gentle reminders. I can rest. Even now, I can rest.

God knows what’s going on when no one else has a clue. (He never has to Google a thing.) He’s the Master. He’s the Potter. He’s the Alpha and Omega.

God isn’t depending on any one of us in order to accomplish His sovereign purposes. His kingdom isn’t propped up by my goodness. Were the kingdom of Christ dependent upon my own faithfulness, it would be in perpetual peril. No! The kingdom of God rests upon a firm foundation, and “It is finished.”

God wants to show me the connections between my faith struggles and my favorite sins. Ouch. Do I want to know the truth? No! No. Well, maybe. Yes. Yes! Yes! Yes! I need His living water. Maybe you do too.

I wish I could show you, by means of my own life, a pastor who always has his act together – a spiritual hero or a theological giant – but I simply can’t. I’m a wayward traveler. Your fellow struggler. A beggar who’s found some bread. But I can show you a real Hero who’s recorded some awesome songs. He used David. He used Moses. He used Solomon. He used the family of Korah. But, make no mistake about it, these songs are God’s living and life-giving songs. And as we sing His songs along our journey, He writes the song of our lives.

Shall we sing?

Pastor Charles