The Christian walks by faith. That is a sound idea, taken directly from Scripture.

Of course, these days, our society is working hard as ever to convince us that we should not be taking any important principles from Scripture. American society is in love with science these days. Not as much as in the first half of the last century perhaps, when science dominated as the chief source of all truth and wisdom, but most people still look to science for clear thinking on the basics of life.

Today, science is having to share its exalted place with superstition and quite a few pagan ideas. I saw this trend emerging in the 1960’s. In those days a growing number of “mainstream” people were beginning to explore some of “the old ways” a little more. Not with any great seriousness, of course, but through the lens of fiction in both literature and film.

I think that the love too many Americans have with drugs helped to push them to look for more interesting explanations for the hows and whys of modern life. You will remember that the 1960’s and 70’s were a season of dropping out and experimenting with all kinds of drugs. The art and thought that grew out of such experiences reflected the loss of order and discipline in American thinking.

The fact the people began taking a second look at life and its meaning was not in itself bad. A great many people from all walks of life discovered God and the Bible and the Lord Jesus Christ in their searches. But the loss of a disciplined mind always has less than desirable consequences in the long run, I think.

Today, fiction is king among the young and many of the older as well. Movies and games, with their special effects, rule over the minds of developing children. Just as an entire generation of adults do very little thinking about anything, so do the children learn how to simply experience life without much concern about truth and reality.

You can see where we are as a result of this lifestyle. We do whatever feels good with little regard to the consequences.

Christians are also behaving in this way more than we should. We give our attention to what we want, and tend to avoid the truth that God gives us — truth that can keep us from much of the pain and unhappiness that always results from undisciplined thinking and living.

If we know Jesus Christ, we need to follow Him and His teaching, knowing by faith that we will have a better end when we trust the Lord. Our feelings and wants are not good guides to take us through the darkness and confusion of this world. We need the steady hand of God, and the direction of His Holy Spirit. We will do well to pay close attention to the messages, lessons and teachings of God recorded for us in Holy Scripture. God does not mislead His own, and His own, Jesus says, will follow Him.

Jim

Sometimes I get tired of listening to political candidates say whatever they figure we want them to say. And sometimes I think it would be great to simply send a message with our votes that tells political parties we are tired of politics as usual. So this year I am nominating someone I feel will do at least as good a job as those who are trying so hard to gain the whitehouse.

Jim

There are days on the desert of daily life when it can seem as though there is no real point to anything. Such a state of mind does not usually spring up for nothing. More often it follows a string of events and circumstances that begin to pull the mind down into the shadows of despair.

I am not one to feel a lot of fear or sadness. My personality reacts to repeated disappointments with anger. When my efforts at moving forward meet with repeated failure, I tend to grit my teeth and push harder. I will almost always become angry with my circumstances, and with whatever I see as an obstacle to what I want.

It is easy for me to be satisfied for a time with less, so far as money or things are concerned. But I am not so patient when it comes to accomplishment. If I put forth effort, I expect results. I don’t have to win every time or even make a lot of progress, but I do expect to move forward.

When I get into a situation where a pattern of sameness develops, I soon become frustrated and angry. I am not so bothered by problems in general as by the problem that refuses to go away. Mind games, like, “try to see problem as an opportunity,” tend not to work for me. But the truth is, of course, that many problems really are opportunities to learn. Solving a very difficult problem can result in much more than a personal solution. It can launch a new career, a new product, or at least a new method.

I guess I tend to see problems and difficult situations in life as sand dunes in a vast desert. There are small dunes and really large dunes. Each one must be climbed in order to get beyond it. Trying to walk around dunes (to avoid climbing) will not accomplish anything good. Such effort will only help to disorient and exhaust.

At the top of some of the dunes, one can see for a good distance. And off in the distance one may see happiness — or what appears to be happiness — shimmering in the desert heat. That happiness may take on the form of a tree, which would give shade, or a pool of cool water, which would give refreshment, or even a full blown oasis, with trees, dates and water. It matter very little what we see or think we see. Too often it will prove to be only a mirage. And even if we do actually see and reach a full blown oasis, we are still out there, in the desert, with many miles to go before we reach the end of it.

Life is filled with both difficulties and unexpected joys. Good things happen at least as often as bad things. But for people like me, the bad things begin to stand out more and more when they seem to be keeping us from the results we seek. Real results can seem, while still on the way, like a shimmering mirage on the horizon. But we often do finally reach them. And when we do, the next horizon — the next desired result — becomes the all important goal.

When Jesus travelled with His disciples, He often taught them along the way. The destination on any given day often seemed less important than the teaching along the way. I try very hard to keep that in mind when I am becoming frustrated with the path at hand.

Jesus used the time in the boat and on the road to ask questions and to explain important truths. The questions were aimed at making the disciples think about things they were not accustomed to thinking about, and thinking in ways that were new to them. The Lord wanted to teach them to see the world through His eyes. If they were like me, I’m sure that sometimes it must have seemed as though they would never get the lessons.

But one truth remains: God is a very great Teacher. He always gets the lesson across. In the process, He does not become frustrated or angry or sad or fearful. He knows how to do whatever needs to be done to teach any human heart the lessons it needs to learn — either in this life or in the next.

Happiness, like the desert mirage, eventually proves to be real after all. There really are places where the trees grow tall and fruitful by a cool spring of water. There really is an end to the long trek. There really is the last dune we must climb — an end to the desert sands and the first green place, the first lake, the first beaches bordering an endless sea of pale blue green.

Jim