Hugh's News & Commentary

It seems the older I get the less that I seem to know, or thought I knew. Has that happened to you?

When I came out of seminary after three years of intensive study in Biblical and Systematice Theology, I thought I had the answer to many theological questions. Now, I know, how little I really knew.

I remember that Dr. Paul F. Beacham used to have a section in The Advocate about Bible questions and answers. He was always so clear, comprehensive, and concise in his answers. He made the Scriptures come alive and He made difficult passages easy to understand.

Right now in my own personal life I am struggling with the concept of faith. I know that it is a gift from God. The Apostle Paul wrote, "God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith" (Romans 12:3, KJV).

When Paul was writing about the manifestation gifts of the Holy Spirit he included faith in the list of this spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:7-12,

"But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;

9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ."
KJV

God's Word says this about the faith of the believer, "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6, NIV).

What is often needed is discernment about a given project we may think is a win/win proposition. Later, we discover that there appears to be no hope for it to materialize. Just when I needed a good word about a certain project I had been working on since June 2008, I was listening to a radio broadcast this week called "Guidelines" on a Christian radio station which I had never heard before.

The radio speaker asked, "Is it presumption to pin your hopes on tomorrow? Not for a moment. Some 61 times the Bible speaks of tomorrow. While it warns about being presumptuous, about avoiding your duty or responsibility today, thinking that you will get around to something tomorrow–it nonetheless speaks of tomorrow as a new opportunity to see God do things which aren't going to take place today. Long ago Joshua told Israel to cleanse and purify themselves because, Joshua told the people, "tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you" (Joshua 3:5).

We have all learned that God doesn't always give us instant solutions to the problems of today. Some things can't be fixed with the speed of making instant coffee or just saying the words, or waving a magic wand in the air. But because you believe God is still in control–that the promises of His Word are true–you rest your hope on tomorrow and face the day as best you can.

"Today is the bridge that takes you to the sunrise of tomorrow! And with the rising of the sun, there is new hope that your life can be different–that your life can be beautiful!" said the radio preacher.

I have learned, and I am having to learn it anew these days in my own life that nothing ever happens in our lives that takes God by surprise. He is our Heavenly Father, and wills nothing but the best for all of us. I believe when tomorrow comes God will be there to welcome us and help us to understand something of the process of having to wait.

In closing, may I share with you a powerful statement about faith from the pen of the late Rev. Dr. G. Campbell Morgan, a great Bible scholar and an expository preacher, as well as a pastor. He is what Dr. Morgan, i. e., Dr. G. Campbell Morgan, wrote:

"Life is to be mastered by faith, and not by doubt; it is to be forevermore illuminated by hope, and not darkened by despair; and in the activity of love to be practiced in fellowship."

Our faith needs to be celebrated in the context of our relationship with fellow believers in the church. We need the church, and the church needs us--even with all of our faults and imperfections.

Never, ever give up hope that tomorrow’s sunrise will bring tomorrow’s blessings and that as today’s dusk turns to night, there is rest and sleep to give you new strength to face tomorrow!