We Have the Technology - So Study!

In Williamsburg, Iowa, Kinze Manufacturing has invented a new tractor system for farmers. What used to take hours for one person to plow a field may only involve a few hours of programming the system and to watch the tractor and the farm implements do the job on their own. The way the system works is that the tractor will plow rows and make turns in a field with the help of GPS (Global Positioning System), sensors, and a computer programmed to stop the tractor if it encounters a fence, pickup truck or animal. Representatives from the company have not yet set the sale price or the date of release for this product.


The World Magazine article went on to say: “Farmers have been using GPS guidance to reduce overlap and to work at night for years, but it has required a driver in the cab. If cost and safety hurdles are cleared for autonomous tractor systems, they could enable farmers to take advantage of good weather days by doing 24-hour planting—or to automatically run a grain cart alongside a combine during harvest.1

Isn’t that just amazing? Man has achieved so much in the last 150 years as far as modern-day technology. The United States of America has led the world in technological advances and much of the world has benefited from all of the various inventions and patents. If it wasn’t for these inventions men, women, boys and girls would not be wearing clothes that fit properly nor would they be able to keep in touch at the touch of a button on a cell phone, nor would they be able to be fully protected in a car accident. Years ago people only dreamed of some of these things; but now these things have come to fruition.

The issues that we face today are not that we don’t have enough technology. On the contrary, we have plenty of technology that has crippled many people. For instance, the invention of the television may have been a marvelous thing, but now it has crippled communication amongst various families who watch on average five to six hours of television a day. Another example is the internet. The internet was created originally for the State Department and for our Armed Forces but it quickly developed into a world wide web in which anyone from anywhere could be “online.” With this online capability people have been so engrossed that many of them have forgotten how to have a “face-to-face” conversation with someone else because of the anonymity of the internet and the various chat rooms. What about food technology? We have huge freezers full of food while many around the world are starving for just a morsel.

But what is even more distressing is the fact that we have all sorts of modern ways to study the Bible, yet, unfortunately speaking, many do not delve into using these tools. There are websites from where you can read the Bible in just about any known language. There are Bible study tools online and even that one can purchase for their computers, yet, for whatever reason, they are hardly ever used. One can download books on a computer notebook or iPad, but what is downloaded more than books? Movies, music and such things that are merely distractions like computer games.

And what of the Bible itself? We have Bibles that have study notes in them. We have Bibles that you can read that are large print or regular print or small print. You can buy a Bible that has the Greek and Hebrew texts along with the translation of both language. You have Bible studies and videos and Christian music. And yet we find that there are very few people relatively speaking that spend much time in the study of the Bible. When life serves up a bowl of lemons, to whom do people generally turn? Believe it or not, many still turn to the Church for answers. And what do most churches do? They generally turn the away to some other organization that can help them.

The fact of the matter is this: If you have access to the technology of our day that allows you to study the Bible and to learn how to really live life to its fullest, what’s holding you back? God’s Word says very clearly in 2 Timothy 2:15:

Study to show yourselves approved to God, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, rightly teaching the word of truth.

We have all of the tools that we’ll ever need to know the Lord Jesus through His Word. Why not stop, pray and pick up your Bible and read it out loud for a while. You’ll be amazed how God still speaks even in a world that is full of devices and distractions.

1 World Magazine, Auto Farm, September 24, 2011, Vol. 26, Num. 19, pp. 63.

“Tangled in Red Tape”1 is the title of an article in World Magazine.1 The article itself is talking about how small businesses are concerned about the uncertainty in today’s market. Because of the many different policies and regulations that are coming out of Washington, D.C., job growth in the United States is at an all time low while jobless rates are at an all time high. Over 46,000,000 people are considered to be at the poverty level while over 26% of America is now unemployed. The “nanny” state mentality has grown even more ferociously as ever before. People are expecting that the government should be aiding and taking care of them as well as all of their problems—whether they be financial, job, family, housing and the list continues to grow.

But what of the Church? Unfortunately with the turning of the tides so goes the Church. As society appears to be going down in a ball of flames, many people within the Church begin to wonder if everything else is going down in flames—including the Church! However, we all need to be reminded from time to time that the Church does not belong to society or to us. Rather, the Church belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ. And notice that I said ‘the Lord Jesus Christ.’ In reality, because the Church does not belong to society or to us and because Jesus is Lord, the Church still remains as a beacon to a lost and dying world. Society can not and should not be the gauge by which the Church operates nor should we be the standard by which we gauge the Church’s existence. Instead, the Church ought to do what the Head desires for the Body to do.

Let me give you a for instance: the brain in my head is telling my fingers what keys to press on the keyboard to my computer. By the brain in my head telling my fingers which keys to press I am typing this article. The same holds true for the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Head of the Church: whatever it is that He says we as His Body ought to do. So the question arises, what are we to do?

First, we need to believe God and His Word. Proverbs 30:5 says, Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. The Scriptures attest to the fact that every word is true and faithful (cf. 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21). We can rely on what it is God says because what He has said is always trustworthy, faithful, pure, noble, lovely and true.

Second, we need to believe that God is truly in control of all things—whether good or bad. Lamentations 3:37-38 says, Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass, when the Lord has not commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that woe and well-being proceed? Wow! The Scriptures teach us that God is in control woe and well-being. It is from Him that all things can be and it is by Him that we can go through them whether they are woes or well-beings (cf. Job 1:21, 22).

Third, we need to believe God for His provision. Philippians 4:19 says, And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. What a wonderful truth this is. The Apostle Paul was encouraging the Philippians to continue to give so that the advance of the Gospel might continue. And he was also praising God for their faithfulness in their giving. Beloved, God has always been faithful to us and there has never been a time when He has not been faithful. Even in the midst of tough financial times, He still wants us to believe that He will meet our every need and He still wants us to be like He is (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:24; 1 Peter 1:16).

Finally, we need to believe God for His protection. Psalm 34:7 says, The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. There is nobody in whom we place our trust for protection except for the Lord Himself. The psalmist knew that his relationship to the Lord was of utmost importance. That meant that he was being diligent no doubt in reading and studying God’s Word (cf. 2 Timothy 2:15). He no doubt was about the business of doing all that he could to seek God’s face and will. Beloved, God is our Protector from the enemy. We know that our chief enemy is the Great Dragon himself—the devil. But let’s not forget that he is merely a created being who in the end faces the wrath and eternal punishment of the Almighty. He may be the god of this world, but we serve the God of the universe! The devil is here for a time, but our God has been since before time and will continue into eternity!

When your faith is waning, ask the Lord Jesus to help your unbelief. The amazing thing about a prayer like this is that He always answers it by helping us.

1 World Magazine, September 24, 2011, Vol. 26, Num. 19, pp. 34-37.

Ruler of the Storms

World Magazine reported on Hurricane Irene’s many victims in a recent article called Calm amidst the Storm (September 24, 2011, Vol. 26, No. 19). Of it’s many victims, forty-six people were killed and in thirteen states millions were left without power. Homes were damaged—some beyond repair—and early cost estimates of damage ranges $7 to as high as $10 billion. With these high costs, this is estimated to be one of the most costly disasters in the nation’s history. The article stated that wind damage alone could cost more than $1 billion.


And who showed up to help those affected by Irene? Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia. They were removing downed trees and all of this was done for free. Over 13,500 meals were prepared by Virginia’s Southern Baptists and “flood recovery teams spent the week enduring a heat wave in sealed protection suits while tearing out water-soaked insulation and unloading buckets of mud and silt from area homes.” All this was done by Southern Baptists.

But what of the government? The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) budget is almost about to run out due to the tornados in the Midwest and Southern states. FEMA has over $400 billion in claims that are still pending from before Hurricane Irene. New Jersey Governor Christ Christie said, “Our people are suffering now. And they need support now.” Perhaps FEMA should take a few lessons from Southern Baptists!

But more importantly than the material damage to these victims is the fact that many of them were facing a different kind of storm prior to Irene. Many people in the United States today are without the Lord Jesus Christ. Many wander from here to there looking for love in all the wrong places and when inner storms arise they have no where to turn. The swirling winds of thoughts flood their minds causing all sorts of disasters within themselves. They are searching for answers and to whom shall they go? Many of them turn inward or go to someone who they think will help them to get past the emotional scars that they are developing within themselves. Brokenhearted they attempt to resolve the issues by themselves knowing that very few are concerned about others in this me, me, me culture.

But there is One who does care. He is the same One who confronted the disciples on a boat that as they were sailing across the Sea of Galilee. This One was calmly asleep—unaffected by the storm. The disciples on the other hand were feverishly trying to keep the boat afloat. With every wave of fear raging against them one of the woke up the Lord Jesus and said that they were perishing and it did not seem to the disciples that the Lord even cared. Then, when all hope seemed lost, the Lord Jesus simply said, Peace be still! At that very moment, the winds died and Sea was calm like crystal (Mark 4:35-41).

Then a question was asked by the Lord Jesus to His disciples, Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? Beloved, this is the issue facing every believer today: a lack of faith. Rather than trusting that they would reach the other side, even in the midst of a storm, the disciples were fearful. With Hurricane Irene people are fearful wondering how they are going to survive such devastation and those who were ravaged in the tornados are still wondering the same thing. People are fearful of financial ruin because of the stock market. People are fearful of the next beg stimulus package that the President is trying to usher through Congress. People are fearful that their futures are falling apart before their very eyes while looking to everything and everyone to solve their problems. But it is He to whom we should turn. It is He who said, Peace be still! It is He who is the answer to all of life’s problems.

And when we turn to the Lord Jesus with this type of faith it is not a Pollyannaish whim. It is exactly what He wants us to do in the midst of the storms of life. When we turn to Him by faith we come to understand that this world is just our temporary home. We will are not here but for a few generations. The Lord Jesus wants us to realize that our home is beyond this world, that our home which He is preparing for us (cf. John 14:1-3) is beyond anything that we can see.

The writer put it this way concerning those who are listed in the great chapter of faith: But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them (Hebrews 11:16). Turn to the Lord Jesus by faith; seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you (Matthew 6:33).

Trusting in Chariots or in the Lord Jesus

September 11, 2001 -- a day that will live in infamy in the hearts and minds of every American. It was a horrifying picture of two commercial airliners flying into the buildings. At first glance it seemed that perhaps the pilot of the first plane veered off course or perhaps one of his gauges was wrong. Witnesses on the streets surrounding the Towers were shocked to see the first plane hit the World Trade Center.

Then, after a few horrifying minutes, a second commercial airplane hit the second Tower. At this point people began to realize that the United States of America was under attack by a foreign enemy. President George W. Bush was visiting an elementary school in Florida when he received the news of the attack by then Chief of Staff, Andrew Card. The President maintained as best as he could a sense of calmness when he received the news as not to startle the children or other adults present in the classroom with him. As he was scurried off to the White House's jumbo plane, Air Force One (which becomes Air Force One when the President is aboard), President Bush wanted to immediately return to Washington, D.C. to inform the nation from the Oval Office that our Country was under attack. Under advisement, Air Force One remained airborne for the safety of the President.

Then, when it seemed that the firemen and rescue men were starting to make way, one of the Towers collapsed: one floor on top of another until the entire Tower came tumbling down. The second Tower minutes later came tumbling down as did the first. News of other commercial airliners being taken hostage were being reported. One of them flew into the Pentagon while another was lost in Pennsylvania after brave Americans tried to take over the plane from its hostage takers.

It was finished. The attack that was plotted against the United States was through. Rejoicing in other parts of the world by the attackers, Al Qaeda, was taking place. Anguish and turmoil on American soil was ever present all over the Country. President Bush declared war against terrorism and any country that was harboring terrorists. As for the war on terror, it still ever rages from every corner of the world.

But to whom shall we turn in tragedies such as this? To whom shall we go? The Psalmist wrote these poignant words:

May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high! May He send you help from the sanctuary and support you from Zion! May He remember all your meal offerings and find your burnt offering acceptable! May He grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your counsel! We will sing for joy over your victory, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners. May the LORD fulfill all your petitions. Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand. Some boast in chariots and some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God. They have bowed down and fallen, but we have risen and stood upright. Save, O LORD; may the King answer us in the day we call. (Psalm 20:1-9)

The point is this: You can trust in all of the man made solutions that arise from incidents like this or you can trust in the God who is the Sovereign over all things — including the tragedies that all of face in this world.

So, one must ask themselves: Will I trust in what I can do and what others like me can do? Or, will I boast in the name of the LORD, our God and trust Him to see me through? It is without a shadow of doubt in my mind that I not only will but must turn to the Sovereign. It is in Him that I find peace in the midst of tragedy.Many people will turn to the government for help in times like 9/11. However, there are many who will turn to the Lord for His saving of them — especially in times of tragedy like 9/11.