It seems that in every community in our part of the world you can see large, expensive homes being constructed. Perhaps these are “dream homes” people have always wanted; others are built by surprisingly younger people who want the best thing going. Some are never completed because of high costs. Sometimes a big house never becomes a real home.

Just outside Lexington, Kentucky, you can see a huge castle-like structure on a hill. You have to look quick because the high-speed road below takes you by quickly. It was built by a real estate broker and his wife who admired the castles and architectural styles they had seen on a trip to Germany. For their house, they bought 50 acres of land and began construction in 1969. They wanted seven bedrooms, fifteen bathrooms, a tennis court, and a fountain in the courtyard. But their marriage fell apart and they divorced in 1974, leaving their dream home unfinished. Later in was sold and renovated but destroyed by an electrical fire. It has been rebuilt and expanded, operating as a tourist inn. The original owners had a great house, but they didn’t make it their home. It’s a tragic story.

It’s very easy to make this mistake today. In our materialistic society people want the best and will go to any length to get it, but fail to work just as hard to build their marriage and create a great home. A couple can actually live in a small house, condo or apartment and make it a wonderful place where love, consideration, forgiveness, and kindness flourish. We’re told in 1 Cor.13:4-5 that “Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered.” Concentrating on these important things, not just on the physical features of your house, can produce a great home.

How about yours? Do you have a home, or just a house?

– Tim Johnson

We are often disturbed with the turmoil that swirls around us in our world. Nations squabble and threaten each other over economic and security issues; National leaders seem preoccupied with satisfying the demands of various interest groups and often neglect more important matters; The military might of various countries stand ready to strike if imaginary lines are crossed. We worry that peace may merely be a fragile arrangement.

We must not forget that God is still in control and Jesus Christ still sits on the throne. “All things have been created by him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col.1:16b-17). Speaking of nations, God said He has “determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation” (Acts 17:26). World leaders may often seem erratic and foolish, but God has his steadying hand in all affairs.   

To that end, God has always promised His people that He is watching out for their welfare. God said to a crumbling nation, “At that time, declares the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:1). He would not forget them in them in the miseries they were bringing upon themselves. Pulling this scripture out of the Old Testament, the Lord said through Paul to the New Testament church, “For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God and they shall be my people…And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me’, says the Lord almighty” (2 Cor.6:16b-18).

God’s temple is no longer a physical building in the Middle East. He lives within Christians and we become a living temple in this world. God cares for us every day, no matter what is going on in the world. We have no real need to fear the manoeuvrings of men in power. We have every reason to be confident that God has our best interest in mind.

Never forget that God lives in his temple – and that means you!

– Tim Johnson

On Friday the world marked the 50^th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and man’s first stroll there. It was a marvelous feat of engineering at a time when computers were the size of refrigerators. It took 400,000 engineers, mechanics, doctors, and scientists to fly three men there on the tip of a Saturn V rocket – the largest ever built. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin actually walked on the moon while Michael Collins remained in the space capsule at the controls.

It is evident that without physical order in the universe these achievements would not be possible. Accomplishments of this kind require precise knowledge and conformity to God’s order. Tens of thousands of man-hours, the sophistication of technology and the investment of billions of dollars would all be a waste without the orderly universe to count on.

A wise student of the Bible said that the God who ordained physical order also ordained moral and spiritual order. Conformity guarantees fulfillment. Disobedience spells disaster. Break God’s law and it breaks us.

One can reject God’s moral laws but that does not get rid of them. The law of sin and death is as inviolable as the law of gravity. Morality isn’t arbitrary. It’s part of the natural law of the universe. God’s law stands whether we like it or not. It’s important that we not ignore these eternal principles for they have eternal consequences. 

The 1969 moon landing might have been one small step for man. Certainly it was one giant leap for mankind. But it didn’t happen without God’s wise and wonderful order which he built into our universe.

– Tim Johnson

(With help from a prior article by David Johnson)

Recently I witnessed a boss yelling at two employees in a lot where their heavy trucks were parked. His words were laced with profanity and you could hear him all over the busy street. I wondered how devasted and discouraged his two men must have felt. Words can build people up or tear them down. Here are some comments written by David Johnson a number of years ago on this subject. I’d like to reprint them:

No doubt you remember chanting the childhood phrase, “Sticks and stones will break my bones but names will never hurt me.” One minister said that the reason this saying lives on through the years is because it is not true. A word, he said, is like a bullet; it leaves an impact on everything and everyone it hits. Words, not just sticks and stones, can hurt deeply.

Consider the destructive power of the following words: I hate you; you disgust me; I wish you had never been born; I wish you were dead; you are good for nothing; I want a divorce; nobody cares about you; I’ll never speak to you again.

Now consider the constructive power of these: I love you; you are important to me; thank you so much; how can I repay you; you look really nice today; I like your new haircut; great job; this place wouldn’t be the same without you; I’m proud of you; you are irreplaceable; things go better when you are here.

A German folk story tells of a boy who was talking unkindly of others. His father had him take a bag of goose feathers and fling them out of the second story window of his house. The wind scattered them into the streets below. Then he said to his son, “That’s the way your words go out to the people. Now go out and pick them up.” The boy cried out, “That impossible!”  His father said, “So it is impossible to take back the words you have spoken.”

Words reveal who we are and what’s in our hearts. “What’s in the well will come out in the water.” “What’s in the tree will come out in the fruit.” Warning: Watch your words. The tongue is a wet place and it can easily slip.

Being Fathers’ Day again, we want to uphold and honour the fathers among us. Theirs is not an easy task; many things depend on them. We include grandfathers in this today, for their role is also vital.

Some of the most mixed-up and unhappy people I’ve known in life did not have a good father. On the other hand, most of the well-balanced people I’ve known had good parents. Fathers can make or break their children, and this passes on to grandchildren.

In the world around us we see good men trying their best to be good fathers. But we also see foolish fathers, cruel fathers, selfish fathers, and absent fathers. When Paul led a prayer to the heavenly Father, he pointed out that “every family in heaven and on earth derives its name” from the Father (Ephesians 3:14-16). The implication is that earthly fathers have an important role, just as the heavenly father does. So, lets ask the question, “What kind of father does God want you to be? Here are some thoughts:

1. A father who is engaged with his family. Nothing means more to him than his children. When kids develop a close bond with their father, they grow up emotionally stable and find themselves on the road to maturity. “Bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph.6:4).

2. A manly father. It’s important to model what a man is. Our current sexual confusion in society often comes from fathers who don’t live and act in a masculine way. A strong masculine presence in the home adds balance and direction.

3. He provides sensitive leadership. With the help of his wife, he identifies the needs and direction his home needs to take and works to provide it. In Genesis 49, Jacob called his 12 sons together to give the counsel before he died. In Acts 10:24, Cornelius “called together his relatives and close friends” to hear Peter. It’s safe to think his children were also present. Good men provide good leadership.

4. He challenges misbehavior and provides discipline. Home can be a zoo if a father doesn’t provide order. Children learn a better way to live and behave when corrected and guided by their fathers. Harried mothers appreciate his help, provided it is wise and skilful.

Many other things could be suggested: Fathers provide but don’t spoil, protect but don’t insulate, do fun things but know when to be serious. No room to develop these points in this article.

Fathers: your role is hugely important, and we honour you today!

– Tim Johnson