“God is not a man, that he should lie. He is not human, that he should change his mind. Has he ever spoken, and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through” [Numbers 23:19 NLT]
I’m sure you’ve noticed that our wordy world is filled with many basically meaningless messages. Media verbiage is rampant 24/7. God has the Word we really need—creative, illuminating, forgiving, gracious, and authentic.
In contrast to human dishonesty, God is the heart of reality. We cannot depend on erroneous proclamations, but the Book from Heaven is our lodestar. Grass of popular opinion withers, and flowers of human insight fade, but God’s Textbook never needs revising. Galaxies will melt into nothingness on Judgment Day, but timeless lessons are here to stay. God is not just talking—He means every word He says. The Bible is more than words—it is eternal wisdom. There is more than grammar in the Spirit-breathed book—God is between the lines. The Bible is the only book whose Author is always present when we read it. As we draw near God’s heart—searching beyond paper and ink and syllables—we can sense His Presence. To live honestly, we must always tell the truth.
Unlike human deviation, God is the God of fidelity.We cannot depend on elusive philosophical ponderings, but God’s predetermined thoughts are absolutely reliable. God Will Always Be Who He Has Always Been—He has always loved us, and He always will. To live decisively, we must quit wavering back and forth and make up our mind to believe God’s Word and honor Him with every dimension of our life.
Different from human declination, God is the God of follow-through.We cannot depend on evasive plans, but God’s decreed transaction is our final and absolute answer. God never speaks without acting. To live truthfully, we must follow through on our word—doing what we say we will do.
In distinction from human deception, God is the God of the future.We cannot depend on empty pledges, but God’s destined time is our complete assurance. God’s invisible clock keeps perfect time—Truth will materialize when He landscapes earth with righteousness. False advertising disappoints, but God is our Trustworthy Anchor, brightening the future. The Living God has spoken in the Bible; He means every word He says, and He will keep every promise. To live purposefully, we must make our devotion more than words.
Johnny R. Almond
Pastor, Hull’s Memorial Baptist Church - Friends on a Journey of Faith
Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity—Scripture Personalized
There the Israelites sang this song: “Spring up, O well! Yes, sing about it!” (Numbers 21:17 NLT)
Ancient Hebrews were healed by a trusting look at a stinging serpent on a pole—we journey toward real life as we gaze in faith at God’s Son on a cross. If we get depressed and impatient because of life’s difficult score, our Savior teaches us how to sing. Jesus is our Salvation from sin, our Strength for the struggle, and our Song in sadness.
Whatever our situation, we are never in a God-forsaken place! We can sing even in the desert if we delight in the Master of Melody. The Lord satisfies our soul with a perpetual spring of joy even if we should feel like hanging up our harp.
The world cannot match heaven’s sweet air. The siren song of transient pleasures cannot compare to the symphony of infinite joy. The Holy Spirit in our innermost being inspires a rousing victory march. In God’s perfect timing, we will join in an international praise song to the King of the universe—until then, we can stay in step with the Spirit cadence with an optimistic spring in our step. We are dust, but God is Infinite Power—we will not fall out of the ranks if we depend on the Almighty to reinforces us to battle sin and win. Marching in Christ’s triumphal procession, we are honored to sing a glorious strain in harmony with the church triumphant.
The Lord composes a brand new chorus for us every morning. By grace, we can sing out a fresh carol in His honor each day we live—offering an original and creative melody to our listening audience. There is no reason we should ever communicate boredom with a repetitive singsong chant.
Our Father’s promises compose a visionary anthem that sustains us in chaos and loneliness. The keynote of heaven’s hopeful music inspires nocturnal melodies. In the shadowlands of time, we listen for the melody of eternity—banking on God’s promise of heaven on earth materializing at sunrise.
Fear cannot mute grace notes written in our heart by faith. In anxiety-producing circumstances, God’s unfailing care sings a ballad of courage to our soul. In discord, God’s calming peace is our Background Music. In overwhelming responsibilities, the Lord hums a heavenly tune in our ear so we can keep calm and carry on. How can we keep from singing?
Johnny R. Almond
Pastor, Hull’s Memorial Baptist Church - Friends on a Journey of Faith
Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity—Scripture Personalized
"You will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea." (Numbers 16:28 NIV)
Our idea is prestige, but God has a better idea--purpose. By providential brush strokes, God is painting a masterpiece on the canvas of our circumstances to unveil His grace to the world. With heaven's help, we can put spiritual adolescence behind us, refuse to be treated as Egypt's adopted child, and grow up.
Our idea is sinning for pleasure's sake, but God has a better idea--suffering for His name's sake. It is foolish to revel in earth's transient thrills; it is the highest wisdom to travel the harder, higher path. Christ agonized for us, so we should agonize for Him.
Our idea is accumulating more stuff, but God has a better idea--investing in lasting treasures. Linking happiness to things is insane. Dividing allegiance between God and money is impossible.
Our idea is fear, but God has a better idea--faith. There is no need to tremble before the pharaoh of hell. We can exit Egypt and travel heavenward, persevering by focusing the eyes of our heart on the Invisible King. When storms rock our boat, we should not panic that we might drown--Jesus still hushes the sea to sleep and calms frazzled nerves. The Spirit Wind will guide us to a tranquil harbor.
Our idea is selfishness, but God has a better idea--serivce. To be a star for Jesus, we must be a servant. To truly live, we must give.
Our idea is comfort, but God has a better idea--a caring heart. Emulating Christ's example, we will live a life of love.
Our idea is carnality, but God has a better idea--Christlikeness. Hammer blows sculpt us into His image. Pain precedes perfection.
Our idea is materialism, but God has a better idea--mission. Regarding disgrace for the Messiah's sake of greater value than Nile stock, we strike out for the desert with our heart set on the Promised Land.
With all our mind, we should learn God's ideas. With all our soul, we should internalize God's ideas. With all our heart, we should value God's ideas. With all our strength, we should activate God's ideas.
If we let God think His thoughts through us, our ideas will begin to look a little bit like His.
“You must make tassels for the hems of your clothing and attach the tassels at each corner with a blue cord. The tassels will remind you of the commands of the Lord, and that you are to obey his commands instead of following your own desires and going your own ways as you are prone to do.” (Numbers 15:38-39 NLT)
God encircles us with many object lessons designed to charm us to His side. If we are wise, we will pay close attention to the memos He posts:
The cross of Jesus—preaching heaven’s free pardon of our sins, singing of mercy in the maze, inspiring endurance when we are tempted to abandon our mission.
The Book from Heaven—jogging our mind to review our Master’s blueprint for life, raising sights above mundane trivia to eternal realities, keeping us from sin.
The Indwelling Holy Spirit in our heart—an Infallible, Built-in Guidance System to keep us on target morally.
Beautiful, magnificently designed earth, sun, moon, and stars—a billboard publicizing our Father’s sovereignty, awesome power, and loving care.
Our spouse and children—signs of God’s love, solving the problem of loneliness.
Challenges and responsibilities of our work—reminding us of Providence in guiding us into avenues of service honoring the Name above all names.
The church—a loving family, encouraging us to activate good deeds and avoid unholy living in light of Christ’s imminent return.
A table loaded with delicious food—illustrating God’s ability to always provide more than enough to meet our every need.
History—a rearview mirror reflecting tragic consequences of rebellion against God, chronicling Hebrew recalcitrance and prompting us to learn from their mistakes.
Heaven help us to see with our heart—so we can marvel at encompassing traces of grace from the God who loves us, go beyond pondering His memos to conscientiously follow His cues, avoid distraction by the ten thousand lures of the evil one, and stay faithful to the God we love.
Johnny R. Almond, Pastor
Hull's Memorial Baptist Church; Fredericksburg, Virginia
“’Dear woman, why are you crying?’ Jesus asked her. ‘Who are you looking for?’ ‘Mary!’ Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, ‘Rabboni!’ (which is Hebrew for ‘Teacher’). Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, ‘I have seen the Lord!’ (John 20:15, 16, 18 NLT)
The sight of the stone rolled away from the tomb entrance, the folded linen cloth, the absence of the corpse—none of these moved Mary to thoughts of resurrection. The riddle of Jesus’ disappearance remained unsolved.
“They have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid him.” Her logic is faultless. Dead bodies do not just disappear—someone has to move them. We live by laws of motion and mechanics. Science, reasoning, and perception are based upon the familiar and predictable; only what has happened before can happen now—or so we think.
Then Mary hears the One who had been certified as dead call her by name. Like the voice that shatters glass, the voice of Jesus shattered her world—calling her forward to new possibility and a new future.
“Rabboni!” (my very own Teacher) she cries out to Jesus. Then she communicated this too-good-to-keep-to-herself good news to the world. She did not shout, “I have seen the empty tomb and that proves Jesus is alive” The empty tomb never proved anything. The greatest argument for the Resurrection is personal encounter with the living Lord.
If something very real had not occurred on that strange, confused morning, there would have been no church, Christianity, or New Testament. Some still attempt to reduce Jesus’ resurrection to the coming of spring bringing life to the dead earth, or the rebirth of hope in the despairing soul. Some suggest these are the miracles that the Resurrection is all about, but they are not. In some way these things are miracles, but they are not this miracle—the central miracle on which the entire Christian faith pivots.
Konrad Adenaur, post WWII chancellor of West Germany, remarked, “If Jesus Christ is not alive, then I see no hope for the world.” Because He is alive, we are filled with hope that our living Lord will one day solve intractable problems politicians, scientists, philosophers, economists, and warriors have for generations been unable to deal with.
Have you seen the Lord with heart sight? Have you heard him call your name? Have you fell at his feet and called him Rabboni? Is Jesus your very own Teacher—leading you to see timeless truth. Is Jesus your Defense Counsel—defending you from guilt? Is Jesus your greatest Friend—letting you enjoy the pleasure of his company? Have you received his blessing, “Peace be with you”?
“There in the ground His body lay, Light of the world by darkness slain: Then bursting forth in glorious day Up from the grave He rose again! And as He stands in victory Sin's curse has lost its grip on me, For I am His and He is mine - Bought with the precious blood of Christ. No guilt in life, no fear in death, This is the power of Christ in me; From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. No power of hell, no scheme of man, Can ever pluck me from His hand: Till He returns or calls me home, Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.” (“In Christ Alone” by Stuart Townend & Keith Getty)
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Johnny R. Almond
Pastor, Hull’s Memorial Baptist Church; Fredericksburg, Virginia
“Caleb tried to encourage the people as they stood before Moses. ‘Let’s go at once to take the land. We can certainly conquer it!’” (Numbers 13:30 NLT)
“They can conquer who believe they can.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Poise is rare. Very few people remain calm in chaos. The poisonous majority report caused panic. Reconnaissance revealed a rich, fertile soil. A team transported a cluster of grapes from the milk-and-honey land, but cowards kept shaking because of phantom giants. Intimidated by walled cities, would-be warriors became grasshoppers.
Bad press discourages people. Chasing possibilities, they wonder—“How will it all turn out? Will we survive?” When a formidable situation makes your heart pound, take a deep breath—God’s Spirit will soothe your jangled nerves. When you are worried, the Lord is your Comforter. When you are paralyzed by fears, He is your Encourager. When you vacillate with uncertainty, He is your Counselor. He repairs frayed outlooks and heals hypertension. Even if stormy waters lie ahead on your voyage, you can sail through troubled seas on an even keel because He is at the helm.
“What is the use?” skeptics question. “Why try to do what is right? It does not pay to be good.” But defeatist thinking is a downward spiral of moral rottenness and spiritual ruin. You cannot speak for everyone, but make the personal choice of courage—take “the road less traveled.”
Christlikeness is the Christian’s promised land. We still have a long way to go to fulfill heaven’s dream for our life—to be like God’s Son. We are not totally mature, but we are in the process of growing up. We are not pure gold, but we are in His crucible.
Positivism is a by-product of faith in God. Doing “the impossible” is His everyday work. A “can-do” attitude tackles tasks the incredulous would never dare. With Christ’s help, we are strong enough for everything He assigns. His cross is a plus sign. His company is the secret to surviving any situation.
Without God, we cannot win; with God, we cannot lose. Faith flourishes the Holy Spirit sword and slays giants of defeatism. Faith uses God’s infinite power as a battering ram to demolish walls of pessimism. We do not fight alone—God is with us on the front line! We trust the Living Lord, the Victor over sin and death—so we can relax, assured we will ultimately share Christ’s victory. “Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark” (Rabindranath Tagore).
By faith, we rejoice in our eternal partnership with the risen Lord. In joy, we re-voice our Spirit-inspired optimism!
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Johnny R. Almond
Interim Pastor, Hull’s Memorial Baptist Church; Fredericksburg, Virginia
“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less." (C. S. Lewis)
There are no easy steps to humility, but here are ten hard ones—
Respect God. Observe the canopy of constellations He whispered into being and ask yourself, “Who am I that God should care about me?”
Submit to God’s sovereignty. Life built without God is a sand-castle that washes away in the overpowering tide of circumstances. One infinitely greater than you existed eons before your birth. Remember God is God and you are not.
Practice downward mobility. You have a choice to make in life—humiliation or humility. Haughtiness invariably bursts your balloon. Meekness under the authority of Earth’s CEO trains you to reign with Him.
Relax in God’s Presence. Do not feel totally, eternally, irrevocably responsible for everything—that’s God’s job, a position far beyond your pay grade.
Conduct a realistic assessment of your gifts. Whatever skills and talents you have are blessings from heaven. So you should not get struck on yourself.
Exercise self-discipline. To prevent doing something you would regret for years, you need to control your impulses and thoughts. You must crucify your ego if Christ’s holy nature is to shape your life.
Take advice. Listen to the quiet voice of timeless wisdom. Pride breeds arguments; people open to counsel calm storms of stress.
Do not project your character flaws on others. When you arrogantly judge, you are reflexively critical. When inspecting people use a mirror, not a microscope.
Watch your motives. Treat others with as much kindness and respect as you do yourself—then your service to God will be acceptable.
Imitate Christ’s example. Relinquish personal rights, and you will have Christ’s attitude. He is gentle with you, so you should be gentle with others.
Taking these steps may prove difficult; but if you climb this heavenly-designed staircase, you will get nearer God’s heart and experience quiet joy too wonderful for words.
“He that is down, needs fear no fall; He that is low, no pride; He that is humble ever shall have God to be his guide.” (John Bunyan)
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Johnny R. Almond
Interim Pastor, Hull’s Memorial Baptist Church; Fredericksburg, Virginia
“No person is in true health who cannot stand in the free air of heaven, with feet on God’s free turf, and thank the Creator for the simple luxury of physical existence.” (T. W. Higginson, 1823-1911, American clergyman and writer)
“A single grateful thought toward heaven is the most nearly perfect prayer.” (Gotthold Lessing, 1729-1781, German dramatist)
When the Lord overheard His chosen people griping, His wrath blazed up (Numbers 11:1). Dissatisfied, they wailed. Unappreciative of all He was doing for them—liberating them from slavery, transforming them into a new nation, guiding them to the Promised Land—they were greedy for more. To put it mildly, God did not like all that bellyaching. And God still does not like whining.
We can take one of two basic attitudes toward life—we can be grumbly hateful or humbly grateful. Do we appreciate God’s rich provision? Do we trust Him to reinforce us to bear our burdens? Do we rely on His infinite power to solve our “impossible” difficulties? If we’re satisfied with what God gives us, we’ll be truly rich. Our thankful heart will fill our mouth with praise songs.
When life becomes a bitter pill, we should resist the urge to give in to the common human response of complain, complain, complain. If we bring our heartache to the Lord, His wounds will speak to ours and provide solace. The cure for chronic griping is to be thankful for every heartbeat, every breath, and every day God gives us.
When sour notes make our days a dirge, God’s love can tune our heart to sing His grace.
When we wonder if God cares, if we lean on Him we will be reenergized to soar like an eagle high above the complaining world below.
No matter what happens, we can always keep thankfulness alive in our heart. Being humbly grateful paves the path to contentment—the greatest blessing we can enjoy this side of heaven.
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness to each generation.” (Psalm 100:4-5 NLT)
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Johnny R. Almond
Interim Pastor, Hull’s Memorial Baptist Church; Fredericksburg, Virginia
“Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ.
He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us.”
(Ephesians 5:2 NLT)
Unrung bells have not shown their purpose. Unsung songs have not blessed human ears. Love hoarded within a human heart has not proved its authenticity. Love is not really love until we give it away.
Not just once in a while or when the mood strikes us, but every day we should give ourselves away. Our entire life—hopes, possessions, attitudes, personality, and dreams—can become an offering honoring our Creator. The best way to begin every day is to surrender to God the most important gift we can ever give—our heart.
When we remember Jesus’ words, “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” we’ll be prompted to mirror His generous nature. Love will motivate us to give our best effort, deepest thoughts, kindest deeds, and greatest wealth. In Christ’s name we’ll love unselfishly, as He did.
Being a giving person exhibits our dedication to the Master of our heart. God loved the world so much He gave His Son. God is Love—the Giver of life, breath, and every perfect present. It is God’s nature to love—to the degree we are like God, it will be ours too.
What has God given us? He paid our ransom price from sin’s penalty with Christ’s precious blood. He gave us His Holy Spirit as our Coach. He is the Bread satisfying our soul’s deepest hunger. He paves boulevards of heaven with gold. He answers prayers sincerely directed to His throne. His Son suffered excruciating pain so we could be friends with our Father. The Lover of our soul continually gives us everything we need.
When we give more, we live more. If we are not giving, we are not living.
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Johnny R. Almond
Interim Pastor, Hull’s Memorial Baptist Church; Fredericksburg, Virginia
"By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God's command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen." (Hebrews 11:3 NLT)
University of Cambridge theoretical physicists recently simulated how a ring-shaped black hole could cause Einstein’s theory of relativity to break down. Ring-shaped black holes were “discovered” in 2002. Now their dynamics have been successfully simulated using supercomputers. Should this type of black hole form, they say it would lead to a“naked singularity", causing equations behind general relativity to break down.
Einstein’s theory—the foundation of modern physics—tells us that matter warps its surrounding spacetime. Gravity is the name we give to the effect of that warp. Understanding of gravity forms the basis of the estimation of the age of the stars and GPS signals we rely on to help us navigate.
Relativity theory has been accepted as absolutely true for the last century. But now physicists admit one of its limitations is the existence of singularities--points in space and time where gravity is so intense that the laws of physics do not apply.
General relativity predicts that singularities exist at the center of black holes. Those black holes are surrounded by an event horizon--the "point of no return" where gravitational pull is so strong that escape is impossible (meaning they cannot be observed from the outside). A Cambridge researcher stated that as long as singularities stay hidden behind an event horizon, general relativity holds. Theoretical physicists believe this is always the case, because of what they name "cosmic censorship conjecture.”
But what if a singularity existed outside an event horizon? It would be visible from the outside and would represent an object that has collapsed to an infinite density, a state causing laws of physics to break down. Theoretical physicists hypothesize that such a thing, called a naked singularity, might exist in higher dimensions. We think of the universe as existing in 3 dimensions, plus a fourth dimension of time, together referred to as spacetime. But in some branches of theoretical physics, the universe could be made up of as many as 11 dimensions, which are inferred in high energy experiments.
If naked singularities exist, physicists admit that the theory of general relativity breaks down. If general relativity breaks down, it would throw everything upside down, because it would no longer have any predictive power and would no longer be considered a standalone theory to explain the universe.
It is evident that Christians are not the only ones who live by faith. Theoretical physicists research on the basis of theories, prediction, and conjecture. Supercomputers simulate theories. Einstein’s equations are based on theory. Einstein said, "Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere."
Here are a few questions for the researchers. If singularities and event horizons cannot be observed from the outside, how can we know for sure they actually exist? What force designed “cosmic censorship”? Does the predictability of the universe not lend credence to the existence of God? Why do some scientists ridicule Christians who believe in the unseen God, while they conduct research on the basis of what cannot be observed? Since no one can demystify the cosmos, is it not wise to worship its Creator? Does the fundamental principle of quantum physics ("First you believe, then you see") not indicate scientists also operate by faith?
In our humanity, we should be humble to the point of admitting our ignorance before the omnipotent and omniscient Creator. Einstein said, "My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind. That deep emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God."
"Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together." (Colossians 1:15-17 NLT)
Johnny R. Almond
Interim Pastor, Hull’s Memorial Baptist Church; Fredericksburg, Virginia
