Jasper, Clear as Crystal

I preached a couple of Sundays ago from Revelation 21 where John said the new Jerusalem shone like “jasper, clear as crystal” (Revelation 21:11). I looked up jasper and found it to be green, red or even beige, but not clear. I wasn’t sure what that could mean, but I presented the scripture as it was written.
Of course, I didn’t think any more about it. Then, four days later, I was driving home from Tyler. I noticed a new building being built by one of the local hospitals. This building’s sides are made of tinted green glass. In other words, it’s a normal, windowed building that we all see all the time.
Then it hit me. Wait a minute, that’s what John saw – tinted windows. Of course the new Jerusalem would appear just as any modern city. But John had never seen glass. He had never seen a building – or a whole city – made of tinted glass. That must be what the new Jerusalem looks like!

John was trying to describe something he had never seen before, just as he described helicopters in Chapter 9: 7 – 10.
And some people still don’t believe the Bible is true?

Memorial Day 09

We went out to the Texas State Railroad Park to see the military displays, including a reinactment. Really neat.

A Miracle in Colorado

Has anything like this ever happened to you? I was a kid on vacation with my family, sometime back in the ‘70s. We were in Lake City, Colorado. We had arrived the day before and, as far as I know had not fraternized with any of the locals.

Sunday morning we got dressed and went to the local Baptist church. (This picture is what the church looks like today.) No big deal. I’m sure my mom is the one who insisted that we go. Anyway, when we walked up onto the front porch, a lady met us at the door. None of us had ever seen her before, but she said something astonishing. She pointed at my dad and said, “I believe you are a song leader.” Then she looked at my mom and said, “And you are a piano player. Will you lead us in worship this morning?”
My dad led the singing and my mom played the piano. From what I recall, it was a small crowd. I don’t even remember who preached, but I’m talking to my folks to get a clearer picture of what happened that morning. Mom says my dad even sang a solo. I don’t remember that. But I do remember what happened on the porch. I saw it with my own eyes.
So, how did the woman know that my dad routinely led the singing at our church? More astonishing, how did she know my mom could play the piano? If she had asked, “Can you lead in singing, and can you play the piano?” It would have been completely different. But she didn’t ask – she said it, then asked if they would do what she already somehow knew they could do.
I’m working on piecing this together – when exactly we arrived, what year this was, how old I was. When I get more details, I’ll post.

Finding God's Plan for Our Lives

Are you teaching your children that God has a purpose for their lives? Are you teaching them to fulfill their destinies? I heard Charles Stanley say that we should tell our children every day that God has a purpose for their lives. Good advice, but do we teach them that God has a specific plan for them?
A familiar scripture, Jeremiah 29:11, says, "I know the plans I have for you...", but what scripture tells us God has a plan for us? Does God have one plan -- one destiny -- for everyone?
The Bible says that God sees our whole lives before they happen. He saw us before we were born, knows everything we are going to say and do, and knows how many days we have. Somehow, God in his Wisdom knows what we are going to do, yet he has given us free will so that it is our choice. He knew you would read this column before you were born, but he didn’t make you read it, that was your decision, he just knew you were going to make it. Perhaps God has given us all certain interests and bents, and then uses them to point us where he wants us to go.
What the Bible teaches is that God's plan is to present us in heaven without fault and with great joy (Jude 24), his purpose for us is to build the Kingdom (Matthew 28:19-20) while we love Him and love each other (Matthew 22:37-38). His will is that we be perfect (Matthew 5:48). Anything short of that just falls, well, short.
So, does God have a plan for my life on earth or not? Does God have a plan for my children's lives or not? I think the right question is: "Am I living in harmony with God's plan?" The right thing is to realize that I am just a pixel in God's big picture. I am just a thread in God's master tapestry. (But God loves me individually.)
My goal, then, is to do my best at what I am, where I am. To grow where I'm planted. To ask each and every day if I am loving God most and building his kingdom on earth. That's where true joy comes from -- knowing that I have that purpose.
I think we put extra pressure on our children if we stress that they have some great job to do. The Bible teaches that we should do whatever we do for God, but it doesn't teach that everyone should preach or go to Africa as a missionary. Yes, we should share our faith, but that may or may not be our vocation.
Whether my children become plumbers, lawyers, teachers, office workers or preachers, they can still live out their purposes. They may do something really spectacular, like curing a disease or becoming an evangelist, or they may just live quiet lives loving God and their families. Either way, I'll be pleased.
We're not God's pets, robots or puppets. He gave us our own minds. Many things shape what we become. God somehow uses that to weave his master plan. Only a God powerful enough to create a universe could do that. I think God's true plan for us will only be revealed in heaven. Any plan for us on earth is stained by this fallen world. Some people are murdered -- could that really be God's plan for them? It's a deep and difficult issue and I'll leave it to God to sort out.
I'm teaching my children to fulfill God's will, sure, but I'm also encouraging them to do what they really want to do. I'm reminding them that they have a purpose, but finding God's plan is a little more tricky. I want them to delight in God, then follow their hearts. If they do that, they will have fulfilled their destinies and somehow fit nicely into God's master design.