But my wife in her wisdom, has made sure that we take the opportunity to take a break from ministry, even for just a couple of hours at a time each week. This week, we went to see the movie “God is Not Dead.”
A great movie, and I won’t spoil it for those who may want to see it, but it does make you ask yourself, “Why do you believe what you believe?”
It’s On You!
Now, please note, I am not asking “What do you believe…but why do you believe.” Most of us have been greatly influenced by our parents as we have defined our sense of faith.
For some, you are entrenched as a result of a deep cultural heritage. For others, we simply adopted our faith much of our parents. Yet for others, you may have resolved not to go the way of your parents and choosing to simply go the other way.
For me, our parents insisted that we go to church each Sunday, it was never a hardship because they didn’t press us in any real way.
They didn’t harp and say you have to believe thus and so…we just went—with the hope that something that was taught or said would stick. Don’t get me wrong, my parents had their measure of belief that was equally influenced by their parent’s beliefs.
But I truly believe that somewhere along the way—we all find ourselves in the position of whether we have our own faith—or our parent’s faith. And in the long run, our parent’s faith can’t keep us—we must choose for ourselves—which way we will go!
In fact, I cannot say that any of my extended family were not Christians—although some spent much of their lives not demonstrating it…but they have become alive in Christ in their later years.
The interesting thing is that even in the instances where the parents didn’t lead their children in the way they should go at a young age—most of their children as adults have systematically found their way to the Lord.
Perhaps this is the wonderful miracle of being a Christian that is not found in any other faith. That is, that the Lord, in the leaving of a Comforter—the Holy Spirit is always searching us out…seeking us; speaking to us to come to the Father.
In fact, that is my assertion—that even if our parents didn’t lead us to Christ, Christ would have found us—and we would have found Him anyway!
It’s All in His Plan!
Honestly, I believe that even though today I have an intense love for the Lord, that even if no one in my family new Christ, the Lord would have still found me! Sure this sounds crazy to those who don’t have a strong faith in Christ.
They may believe that our relationship with Christ is subject to prescribed environments and conditions. See there are folks that believe that since I am a black man, that there is a strong correlation between what we believe today as Christians of African American descent and our so called “slave-masters.”
They would conclude that without that twisted point of our history, we would no more be Christians than we would be Americans. But I firmly believe that “God has a plan for my life.” And that my role in His plan was specifically orchestrated to bring me to a walk with Him.
That is, no matter what I had to go through to get here—I was still going to be where I am right now! But before you insist that I must be a fatalist, I strongly assert, “No, I am not a fatalist by any measure.”
Neither was God’s plan for me such that He restricted or directed my movements like a puppet-master in the sky, but God needs me (just like He needs you) to be in the right position to work His plan in the earth. It is not that I believe that my life is so important that God needs me and me only to accomplish His Will.
If I don’t do it—it will hurt me, and the Lord will weep for my lost or misdirected soul. But I do believe that if I am listening and hear Him that He orders my steps so that I am where I am supposed to be when He needs me. Don’t believe me? Check this out….
The Church Reunion
About fifteen years ago, we traveled as a family to Colorado for a vacation and church reunion before we ended up in Arkansas for a family reunion. Our youngest children had never been to Colorado, even though our oldest was born there, so we were excited to be heading back.
See for us, Colorado was a place of first for our family. Colorado was where we got married, and where we had our first child. It was where we bought our first home, and even my first (and only) job after college! So we were excited!
But Colorado was also where we first saw the Lord opening us up to the church culture. That is, church life no longer being totally separate from our family life. In fact, that was where I had perhaps my first opportunity to mentor a young man who was struggling to find himself.
As it happens all too often, he had a father who denied him, which of course shook his self-image. So as a young man myself, the Lord gave me an opportunity to minister to this young man who was searching for himself.
When we arrived in Colorado, we were able to catch up with most of our old church family who rejoiced with us and for us. Most remembered our meager beginnings and now here we were, a family of five! God had truly blessed.
But for all those that we did see, I longed to see the young man who I had mentored so many years before.
The God Reunion
But before we left, we decided to show our children the beautiful scenery from the lookout point just above the city of Boulder.
When we arrived, the kids were amazed by how high we were, and we cautiously let them wander around the observation area, wanting to return home with the same number of children that we left with!
Boulder Scenic Overlook
After about a ten-fifteen minute stay we were ready to leave when we began to hear a faint sound of music. Following the sound, we reached the edge of the overlook and just down below, on a ledge were about five young people playing wooden flutes and other “new age” instruments.
When the people playing saw us, they quickly realized their secret place was no longer secret and they began to leave.
And if you are looking for the God moment, here it is: one of the people on that ledge was the young man that I mentored. What a reunion that was.
Even more, once again it showed how righteous God is. So much so that He ordered this “God reunion” even though we had missed each other at the church reunion.
Divine Appointments
Okay…so what does this story have to do “Why We Believe?” It has everything to do with it!
When God wants to accomplish His Will in our lives—just like He did in this instance, He will “order our steps aright,” so that when we find ourselves in His Will we will absolutely be in the right place to accomplish or participate in something great.
Not a great puppet-master, but a loving God who ordered everything, just because of my desires see this young man. You may ascribe to the position of why I would attribute this “chance encounter” as a “God encounter?”
Think of it this way, the Word of God says that the Lord will “give us the desires of our heart,” which this day was to see and fellowship once more with this young man. Just think about it, to facilitate this reunion, look at what God had to facilitate:
- God had to schedule a church reunion
- God needed us to decide to go (because we originally had not planned to attend)
- God needed us drive over 1000 miles from Illinois to Colorado
- He needed us choose the specific day and time that we did to go to the scenic overlook
- He needed us decide to linger (with small children, we almost just stayed in the car)
- He needed the young man and his crew to be at the right place on the side of a mountain
- He needed us to hear the music and to investigate the source of the music
The net of all this is this: if God can orchestrate such a specific place and time for our reunion…how much more has he worked to orchestrate the exact time and place of our meeting Him?
To that point, I don’t believe in accidents, coincident or chance—but rather in “divine appointments” with the Lord! Is your divine destiny to walk with Christ? Don’t miss your appointment!
In fact, you can begin your walk with Christ right now. Simply receive the Lord Jesus Chris as your Lord and Savior by praying this prayer:
Dear Lord, come into my life. I relinquish being on the throne in my life and ask that you restore your position on the throne in my heart. Heal me. Keep me. Guide me. Protect. Lord, I repent of my sins, the things in my life that are not like you. I accept Christ as my Savior and declare you are the Risen King. In Jesus Name I pray…Amen!
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