The Miracle Bicycle

Three of us were in the town of Tremont, Pennsylvania. It was a hot summer day. A church from the nearby town of Bethel was having an event in a park in Tremont.

 It was sort of a Christian carnival, offering several attractions to the local people. They had basic medical screenings by nurses. There was a distribution of groceries, household, and baby products for free. There were free drinks and hotdogs. There were bands and individuals playing music. There were face-painters for the kids, balloons, and they were raffling off several bicycles.

The organizer, Pastor Ted, had invited three of us working in Youth With A Mission to have a “Prayer Station” at the event.

A Prayer Station is basically a table with a banner over it. We simply offer to pray for passers-by. If they say yes, we ask what they want prayer for. If they refuse… no problem, they continue on their way. It’s a way of blessing people.

It was a fun event, but Pastor Ted hoped the love, generosity, and fun would have a spiritual impact on some. There were about 200 people there.

My friends, Chris, Bill, and I set up between the hot dog stand and the music.

It started out slow, but after a while a middle-aged man approached me. His name was Ron.

“What is this?” he asked.

The man looked haggard and weather-beaten to me. My immediate thought was he’d been a hard-drinking man. He had that look about him. We talked for a few minutes. Ron was not involved in religion in any way. He was not religious but curious that we were there.

 “Can I pray for you?” I asked.

He replied, “Why not?”

“Any specific thing I can pray for?”

“No, just pray,” he said.

So I prayed a prayer of blessing over him.

When I finished, after about 45 seconds, we opened our eyes.

Ron said, “I haven’t had a prayer like that prayed over me in 30 years!” He seemed really excited. So was I.

Immediately he asked, “Can you pray for my son?”

“Sure, ” I said.

“Andrew!" He called to a boy of about 12 standing nearby.

The boy came over and Ron said to him, “This man’s gonna pray for you. He just prayed for me. It was really good.”

Andrew looked sheepish and did not seem at all excited about prospect of being prayed for.  I waited for Ron to give a nod and then I prayed a short prayer, in Jesus’ name, for Andrew.

I encouraged Ron to get involved in a church, and read his Bible. He seemed genuinely encouraged as we said our goodbyes.

Later in the day, they had the drawing for the bicycles. There were three bicycles. The first two went to an adult and to a little girl. They drew a name for the third one, a really nice white bike. The name they announced was Andrew!  Andrew went forward and claimed his prize. I clapped!

Later, as I walked back from the stage to the “Prayer Station” table, Andrew and his dad were standing off to the side, about ten yards away looking at the bicycle. Ron waved me over.

Turning to Andrew he said, “See Andrew. See what God can do! God answers prayers!” It was the unchurched man who was now preaching Christ.

I’m not saying that if you pray, God will give you a new bicycle. He could do it. He did it that day. He’s good.

But my point is that Ron was convinced that God had answered prayer that day. He was teaching it to his son.

We find God in unexpected times and places.

Talk to Him today.

He is near.

Seeing the Invisible God

Paul  the Apostle, while preaching in the city of Athens, a city full of idols and images, said, “… he is actually not far from each one of us …”  (Acts 17:27-28) God is actually not far from each one of us. 

God is near to you and I. 

If so, why do we not see him? Why do we battle with doubts about his existence? Why does he seem irrelevant? Is there really someone living, and near us, that we cannot see?

A friend of mine was serving in the army in Vietnam. He was not a religious man. One night he stood waiting for a military transport to take him back to his unit. As he stood there alone in the sweltering Vietnam night, out of nowhere, a clear, vivid thought was impressed upon his heart. “Get to know me.” It was just that simple.  “Get to know me.” He instantly knew it was God. He told me that was the spark for him to begin to seek God. It wasn’t quick, the effect of that sentence lasted about five years. He had good times and bad times. He did many things he knew were wrong. But that one sentence spoken to his heart started it off. Today, he is involved in proclaiming the Christian message among Native Americans.

We can’t see God. Yet Paul says “He is actually not far from each one of us.” How can this be?

In a nutshell, it is because God is a spirit. The things of the spirit are not detectable by our five natural senses. The Bible teaches there is a God who loves you and is very near you, yet we can be oblivious to Him.

For my friend in Vietnam, it was an inner thought. Just a thought, yet it was so profound he did not forget it.

Is there a reasonable argument in favor of  invisible realities?

Yes. First of all there is Jesus. A real person who really lived miraculously, died on a cross, rose on the third day, and was seen by many. God showed himself up close and personal. Jesus said the spiritual realm is real.

Another intriguing thought about the existence of the invisible was put forth by Joseph Butler, an Anglican clergyman in the 18^th century. He used the analogy of dreams. While we sleep, while we are unconscious of the physical world, and of our five senses, we still experience something real.

I once had a vivid dream where I was chased and shot in the arm by an alien weapon. I felt it. I then woke up and found that my arm was asleep. It was profoundly real. By analogy, Butler argued, that as in the unconsciousness of sleep, we have awareness, so too in the unconsciousness of death we will encounter reality.

Why does every nation, even remote, primitive societies, have religion? It is because man senses there is something real, something beyond us. That is spiritual perception, not physical.

So what keeps us from perceiving the spiritual world? Why are we so locked into the world of the five senses?

The Bible answer is that our sin keeps us from perceiving and knowing God.

God is holy. We are not. Therefore there is a separation.

Christ died though, to satisfy God’s justice and anger about our sins. If we believe in his atoning death and resurrection and his love for us, he forgives us. Our sins are removed in God’s eyes. Our "spiritual eyes" are opened.

So, since “he is actually not far from each one of us,” will you begin, more than ever before, to search for him? He is worth it. He is the most wonderful person in the universe.

Take a few minutes now, to talk to the invisible God. He is not far from you. He loves you. Tell Him what’s on your mind.

Faith On a Street Corner

I've been having trouble the past few weeks coming up with inspiration for this blog. What clever topic can I present that will prove to people that Jesus is God and that the Bible is true. I’ve got to be honest, I don’t have anything clever to write.

Part of the problem is that I cannot prove to you that Jesus is God or that the Bible is true. If I convince you of that by proofs, then you would not need to believe. You have proof, - facts, so no faith is required. I cannot prove God or His Word to you in that way. He won’t allow it, and I don’t think it’s possible. If it was possible, then there would be no need for faith.

Last night several of us gathered on a cold Pennsylvania street corner to give out hot dogs and drinks to people. A crowd of maybe 20 people gathered and we cooked and gave out many hot dogs and drinks. In the midst of it, I said, “Does anyone want prayer? We’re here for that reason, can I pray for anyone?” 

Silence.

Later, another one of our “hotdog team” said to a man, “How about that hit and run case you told me about? Can I pray for you for that?” The man refused prayer. I have to admit, I chuckled at that. A hit and run case?!? And he DOESN’T need prayer for that?  If you’re not praying for that, then forget about the minor things of life.

Then it struck me. There is no faith here. People simply don’t believe that prayer works. They don’t believe it has any value.

They wanted the hotdogs but not the prayer.

Jesus said, “when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?”[1]

Finally one man came forward, holding his bundled up little 6 pound newborn son, Jonathan. “I need prayer,” he said. I prayed for him, his wife, and his son.  I prayed for his son’s future. I prayed for the man’s father, who I also knew. I asked God to bless their lives. The very thing God wants to do. There was a little spark of faith on that street corner.

Early in the 20^th Century, missionary James Frazer wrote to the church in England from his missionary post in China: “What I covet more than anything else is earnest believing prayer, and I write to ask you to continue in prayer for me and the work here.”

To believe that Jesus is God and that the Bible is true, takes faith. To pray to God takes faith. May you exercise that faith in this coming week. You won’t be disappointed.

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[1] Luke 18:8 (Revised Standard Bible)

Multiculturalism & Belief

Not all values, beliefs, and lifestyles are equal.

Does this sound contrary to “All men are created equal?“ It is true that all men and women are created equal. But all cultural values and lifestyles are not equal.

The Bible backs this view. The message from God to Pharoah in the midst of the Old Testament plagues was, “I will make a distinction between my people and your people.” (Ex 8:23) God Himself declares a difference between my and your.

Christian leader Josh McDowell writes, “The basic belief of multiculturalism … is that all cultural values, beliefs, lifestyles, and truth claims are equal; there is no standard by which one can judge one cultural value as “better” or “worse” than that which exists in another culture.”1

German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently said multiculturalism has failed in Germany. She challenged Turkish immigrants in Germany to embrace her countries ‘Christian’ values. Not to become Christians, but to adapt to the cultural values, lifestyle, and language of Germany rooted in a Judeo-Christian worldview.

In the New Testament Paul draws a distinction between the believers and the worldly. “All of us also lived among them at one time … like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath… But … God … made us alive…” (Eph 2:3-4) Us and them. In another place he writes, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.” (2 Cor 6:14)

Today, many tell us that all beliefs and lifestyles are equal. If that is true, then the Ku Klux Klan lifestyle is equal to our current pop culture lifestyle.

As Christians we’re called to love all people and to hold what is true. We are not to give equal value to every belief.

How do we do this? We can begin by heeding the advice of Paul: “… speaking the truth in love” (Eph 4:15) Not just speaking truth – and not just “love” that compromises our convictions. McDowell says, “strike the biblical balance of aggressively living in love while humbly standing for truth.”2 Aggressive in love… humble in truth!

1 - Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler, The New Tolerance (Carol Stream, Ill: Tyndale House Publishers) 63
2 - Ibid, 97