Sat, Jan 19th - 11:46PM

The book of Habakkuk is an interesting little book in the Minor Prophets. Consisting of three chapters, it asks and answers a couple of important questions for the folk living during the prophet’s day. The nation of Judah was dying as the call to repentance went out to them. They were stubborn in their continuing rebellion.

The prophet Habakkuk sought God as to how long would He continue to remain silent. Was there any judgement ahead?

Perhaps this prophet of old was asking the same questions as many believers are sending Heavenly today. He was concerned about his day just as are many preachers of the gospel are about the conditions surrounding our nation today. Habakkuk cried out to God in the opening sentences of his short book, "How long, O LORD, will I call for help, And Thou wilt not hear? I cry out to Thee, ‘Violence!’ Yet Thou dost not save".

We have just completed a week of giving attention to the abortion question now plaguing our nation. The numbers of aborted lives in the womb is staggering. In a span of 25 years, dating back to 1972 going through 1997, there were more than 30,000,000 abortions performed in the United States. That averages out to, so the experts tell us, almost 3 per minute.

That is only one of the issues which haunts our nation. There is corruption in high places, greed drives many individuals, abandoning the original intent of God for marriage drives a wedge throughout the country, gambling and liquor are still hardening the hearts of millions of individuals, and the cry for entertainment has become the god of many.

Along with Habakkuk for his day, Christians today must plead the cause of Christ to a world lost in sin. As with him, we must not grow weary.

After hearing from God concerning the judgement which he was going to send by the strong hand of Babylonians, he called out once more to God in Heaven. Some think this might have been sung. But however it came out, Habakkuk pleaded, "Lord, I have heard the report about Thee and I fear. O LORD, revive Thy work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy" (3:2).

When I began my ministry back in 1959, the prevailing idea among most of our churches was to maintain and minister to the sheep. Being too hard on the question of sin might offend some of the church leaders who liked to dabble in a little sin on their own on the side. So, the ministry was focused upon pastoral work.

Today, the tide has turned. We no longer live under a national government which revers God, where the majority of her leaders will do all they can to maintain a godly fear in administering the laws of the land. The world has come to our doorsteps. The onslaught of Satan has been leashed upon our nation. Our church fields are no longer just about shepherding the sheep, but just outside our church doors lies a mission field like none we’ve known before.

The fires of revival must be rekindled in our churches and in the lives of all of us who claim the name of Jesus Christ as personal Savior. Like never before, it is revival or perish!

We are entering the long stretch which shall lead to the next Presidential election in our nation. We must awaken now and pray for God to raise up a leader who will have the interest of our nation as the major concern for their run for the White House, not just a party affiliation. It’s not only the statehouse that needs to be awakened, the church house also needs to be set on fire with Holy Spirit power.

In the end, when all was lost, which can also happen to our great nation, Habakkuk lifted these unforgettable words to God in Heaven. "Though the fruit tree should not blossom, And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail, And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold, And there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation"(3:17-18).

So, however it comes out, let’s determine by God’s grace and power that we will stay true to Him whatever the future holds!

Sun, Jan 6th - 5:16PM

A Fresh View of God’s Sky Reminds Believers of His Majesty and Glory

A few weeks back, I was walking from our mailbox where my newspaper box is also located. The night air was crisp and the sky above was absolutely beautiful. It was a dark sky, the moon had not risen to give it a lighted background, so the stars populated the open expanse. The sky, looking back toward the southwest seemed to unfold into infinity.

I couldn’t help but walk slowly, keeping my head skyward, and verbally shouting out to God, "...how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!" (Psa. 8:1,8). The Psalmist continues to expound upon our mighty God in verse one when he wrote "You have covered the heavens with Your majesty". The entire Psalm 8, according to the chapter heading in the Holman Christian Standard Bible, deals with God’s Glory and man’s dignity.

I could have repeated with the Psalmist on that night in my front yard, "When I observe Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You set in place", I’m astounded that God would have put its care into the hands of man. And yet, that’s what He has done.

"What is man that You remember him" wrote David. And that is perhaps a good question to ask ourselves. What is there in existence that hasn’t come from God? The marvellous invention of the automobile? Well, God has provided the substance from which all the parts are made. And that answer goes for everything else invented by man. It’s all out there! Ready to be discovered, ready to be assembled.

Man has been made the custodian of the handiwork of God’s creation. I’m not one to worship "mother earth", to make some god out of the ground upon which we walk. But, we do have a responsibility to keep our surroundings clean.

Watch the sides of the roadway as you drive throughout the countryside this week. Do you see the trash thrown from within automobiles as they travel the roads? I’ve always been told that if it’s your trash, keep it inside your vehicle. That would make the countryside much more beautiful.

David wrote in verses 5-8, "You made him little less than God and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him lord over the works of Your hands; You put everything under his feet: all the sheep and oxen, as well as animals in the wild, birds of the sky, and fish of the sea passing through the currents of the seas". Mankind has indeed been given a responsibility of helping maintain the resources given by God the creator.

God could have sent special angels from Heaven to rule over the affairs of this world. But He didn’t! He choose to place that care into the hands of created mankind. That’s the dignity which He gave to us all.

Whether looking into the beautiful sky on a partly cloudy day, watching the fluffy clouds float by, or looking into a star bathed night, one can only imagine the splendor of our Creator. And we can again cry out with the writer, "LORD, our Lord, how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!"(v. 9).

Next time you get the opportunity, look up toward the sky and watch the God of creation draw with His finger his marvellous examples of His glory and majesty.

What does all of this say to us in 2008? For one thing, I’m reminded that I serve a powerful God. There are thousands of questions about that sky above and the universe beyond. The debates rage about evolution, about millions of years for creation, about the importance of the "mother earth". And none of the theories are proven facts. I’ve not read the writings of a single person who lived millions of years ago leaving a written record of these hypothetical disclosures.

But I do read how the Holy Spirit has left an overview for people of faith to believe. The God Who can love sinners and forgive them, is the God Who can absolutely speak this universe, including this world, along with Adam, into existence. Before you say that you can’t believe this miracle of creation, remember that the writer of the Hebrews in the New Testament writes, "Now without faith it is impossible to please God"(11:6).

I am also reminded that I serve a loving God. He could have turned His back on Adam and Eve in the garden and left the rest of mankind without any hope of going to Heaven. But in the process of time, when it was right to do so, God sent His only Son to die in our place so we could have opportunity to receive the Savior.

And I’m also reminded that I serve a forgiving God. The cross was His place of suffering and death so that I could have forgiveness of sin and gain a relationship with God through faith in His sacrifice. When I was 17 years of age, that fact became more than a fairy tell to me, it became a reality when I received Jesus into my heart to be my Savior.