Prayer at the Illinois House of Representatives

Thursday (5/7) I gave the Invocation at the General Assembly of the Illinois House of Representatives. I was honored and humbled to be asked by Rep. John Cavaletto (R-107th District).

Here is my prayer:

Father in heaven, may we listen to Your voice and obey.

We are humbled and grateful that on this day, across this great land, thousands are praying – interceding for those in government who lead us, for those in schools who teach us, for those in our military who place their lives on the line to protect us, and for those who serve us and others without fame or fanfare.

Lord, in the midst of political power, I pray that you would grant those in this House the wisdom to sense their human weaknesses, and the humility to acknowledge their dependence on You. May they be examples of Godliness to this Nation.

Forgive us, Lord, for the contradiction in our lives: With our lips we worship You, but our hearts are distant from You. May we understand that repentance of sin and turning to righteousness is the surest way out of our critical situation, for You bless the heart that is humble before You.

Bless these men and women today. As they watch over the affairs of our State, watch over their families.

Let Your Spirit fill these halls.

In His name who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and who is Your Son. Amen.

Stay-at-Home...No regrets.

My wife, Kim, is an intelligent woman. She has the capability of pursuing a doctorate degree and a very profitable career if she so desired. But she elected to stay home with our two boys when they were young. I know that Kim’s decision to stay home with our boys didn’t bother her at all – it was a decision she had made before we even married. It didn’t bother her except when other women would ask, “What do you do?” She would answer, “I’m a homemaker. I stay home and take care of my boys (including my husband).” Some career women would respond with “Oh” and then nearly ignore her, not knowing what to say next. They would act as if Kim’s life was somehow unfulfilled; that she wasn’t living up to her potential. They were far from the truth.

On occasion I would be asked “So, what does your wife do.” Instead of answering with “She’s a stay-at-home mom,” I would occasionally respond with “She’s socializing two Homo-sapiens in Judeo-Christian values so they’ll appropriate the theological values that will make them wealthy beyond what you can imagine. What does your wife do?” They would often look at me with a dazed look in their eyes.

Words cannot express my gratitude to my own mom and now to Kim who chose to be stay-at-home mothers. Our bank account and 401k may not be as large as we would like, we live in a modest home, and made other sacrifices, but we would make the same decision today. No regrets – absolutely none – only blessings – two to be exact.

Thanks Kim, I love you.

In His Grip,
Phil

Guardian Angels: Reality or Resistance?

Throughout the Old and New Testament we read of angels guarding the children of God. In Acts 5:19 several of the disciples were sprung from prison by an angel. Acts 12:1-15 is an account of the apostle Peter being set free from prison by an angel. He then goes to the house of Mary, John Mark's mother. Rhoda ran to tell the Christians praying for Peter that he was at the door. They had some debate and told her she was crazy. When she insisted that Peter was at the door, they responded that "it must be his angel." These Christians felt that this person at the door must be Peter's guardian angel. In other words, they felt Peter had an angel that sounded and perhaps even looked just like him.

In Matthew 18:10, Jesus speaks of little children having guardian angels in heaven that have access to God, ready to receive His orders. Psalm 91:11 suggest that even adults have angels watching over them guarding them in all their ways. Hebrews 1:14 speaks of "ministering spirits" whose purpose is to serve Christians.

On top of the biblical evidence are countless experiences so strong and widespread that it is difficult, if not impossible, to object to the idea of guardian angels. Great men and women of God from every century past spoke of miraculous escapes from threatening dangers which they could not explain in any other way but by the ministry of angels.

Yet, I find myself resistant to the idea of having a guardian angel. I'm not confident we have one particular angel assigned for our personal protection. Like John Calvin, I'm more inclined to believe angels in general are assigned to minister to humans, but not specific angels for specific men and women. Perhaps the assignments of guardian angels are temporary for a specific time and need, and not a permanent assignment for life.

I'm resistant to the idea of having a guardian angel because of their inconsistency. You can't really count on them for a special delivery when you need it the most. It seems that for every miraculous escape or deliverance there are dozens, if not hundreds, of stories when the child did fall and die, or drown, or the family did get hit by a drunk driver. Joni Erickson Tada wondered why God could not have spared one guardian angel to keep her from making that fateful dive that broke her neck.

I understand that in her case you could argue that her injury made her a far more powerful instrument for the glory of God. But that is not the case with most people who break their necks.

If you can't count on your guardian angel aren't you better off not even taking one into consideration? They fall into the same category as a plastic saint on the dash board, or a lucky rabbit's foot. It almost seems like a superstition to have any faith in the protection of guardian angels. Emerson expressed the question of thousands of parents who have lost children:

Was there no star that could be sent,
No watcher in the firmament,
No angel from the countless host
That loiter round the crystal coast,
Could stoop to heal that only child?

So what am I to do? I have the real evidence of the Bible plus the experiences from mature Christ followers on one hand, and my resistance fueled with inconsistencies and doubts on the other. How can I deal with the obligation to believe the biblical evidence and overcome an overwhelming basis of doubt?

First of all, I recognize the limitations of angels. Angels only act according to the will of God, and God has placed limitations on himself in relation to the gift of our free will. He cannot let us be free, and still make us do His will. If He could, His will would always be done. If God has limited Himself, then, of course, His servants (angels) have this same limitation.

Secondly, I can't expect a guardian angel to bail me out when I do stupid stuff. I can't expect protection if I choose to live beyond the boundaries. When I travel I do pray to Jesus to protect us, and ask for the protection of His angels, but I use all the wisdom I have learned over the years to make sure I am driving in a way that does not endanger myself or others.

Thirdly, no where am I told to rely or put my faith in angels; I can't claim to their protection. I need to trust in Jesus Christ, and live in obedience to the wisdom of His Word. I need to make the right decision and do my best to avoid harm. But my prayer should not be to have a life free of tragedy, instead that I would be faithful to God in the midst of tragedy.

To sum it all up, I believe in guardian angels. It is my hope that I may be spared from tragedy that is beyond my control, but I take my responsibility very seriously to protect myself and my family, and I do not expect angels to do what is my job to do.