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.

Jesus Take the Wheel

“Worry weighs a person down.” – Proverbs 12:25 NLT

In his book, Parables (Creation House, 1991), Jamie Buckingham tells about a pilot in Ecuador who was involved in a plane crash because of a passenger's fear. The wheels of the heavily loaded Cessna 206 had barely left the wet jungle airstrip when the passenger, sitting in the co-pilot's seat, panicked. The pilot had the throttle pushed all the way forward to the firewall. He had done this many times before and was confident they would clear the huge trees towering at the end of the little airstrip.

The passenger, an American who had been visiting the Indians, had never taken off from a jungle airstrip. Looking up, all he could see were the on-rushing trees filling the windshield. “Why doesn't the pilot pull back on the controls?” he thought in terror. Fearful they were going to crash, he tried to help. He grabbed the wheel and pulled back. That was the worst thing he could have done. A plane needs to build up airspeed before you point the nose skyward. Otherwise, the plane will stall.

The plane did stall. It pitched up, lost critical airspeed and began to settle toward the jungle below. The pilot wrenched the controls back and tried desperately to get the nose down. But it was too late. As the airplane reached stalling speed, the heavy engine pulled the nose over sharply, and the craft spun to earth. By God's grace, no one was killed, but all were injured because of a passenger's lack of trust in his pilot.

How often are we like that frightened passenger? We panic and worry, grabbing the controls from God, denying him access to our lives, because we fear risk and failure. We would rather trust our own ability than that of the Master. Give the controls back to God. Turn your life over to God and trust His promises!

What's Good about Good Friday?

This week we will have a Good Friday service. I wonder, and perhaps you do too – How is it that we call the day Jesus was crucified, good? I mean I find it hard in my own life to imagine a day marked with sadness as a good day.

Since the early centuries of the church, the day was marked with sadness, mourning, fasting, and prayer. Christians were instructed that it was to be a “day of mourning, not a day of festive joy.” Ambrose said it should be a “day of bitterness on which we fast.” Historically, many church buildings were kept dark even by draping black cloth over the windows, and processions of Christians dressed in black would walk the stations of the cross along the Via Dolorosa.

What’s good about Good Friday?

Truly it is a sad day, yet that sadness is truly good. The sorrow of the day is godly sorrow. It is like the sorrow the Corinthians felt after they were disciplined by their beloved teacher, Paul, in the sharp letter we call First Corinthians. Hearing of their conviction of sin and repentance, Paul wrote back, “My joy was greater than ever.” Why? Because such godly sorrow “brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret” (2 Cor. 7:10).

The commemoration of Christ's death on Good Friday reminds us of the human sin that caused this death. It enables us to see that salvation comes only through godly sorrow. The path to true happiness runs through the experiences of sorrow – shed tears turn to joy.
Good Friday also reminds us of God's love—“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son” (John 3:16). The goodness and grace of God revealed on a cross is certainly worth commemorating – it is good news – check that, it is great news! Perhaps we should start calling the day Great Friday!

In His Grip,
Phil