Tribute to Dr. James Dobson on his Passing

 I was a confused and terrified parent.

 

Having raised me on a mix of Dr. Spock and “Pavlov’s dog” philosophies, my own mother’s form of discipline had been to ineffectively chase me around with a yardstick when I misbehaved, and father’s was to demand, “When I say jump, you say ‘how high!’” 

 

My first child was a toddler when I heard Dr. James Dobson’s “Focus on the Family” program on the radio.  I couldn’t get enough.  A beacon of hope!  A voice of reason and guidance.  I was a committed Christian and needed biblical parenting counsel.  It is not overstating to say that "Focus on the Family" and its resources were a fountain of life to me in all the years when I was raising four children.  The balance of love and discipline.  The effective, non-abusive application of corporal punishment. The principle of taming the will without wounding the spirit of the child.  And so many other lessons and encouragements guided me through the parenting years as I read books and listened to radio broadcasts.

 

Several years ago I wrote a letter to Dr. Dobson, telling him how much his ministry had changed my life and set a course for my family.  I will be forever grateful. (And my grown children would thank him too, if they had any idea what their lives would have been like without him!)

Miracle Sight

Have you ever thought: “If I saw a real miracle I would believe in God!”  Really?? 

I beg to differ. 

On the contrary, you and I see things of miracle or near-miracle status every day, and go about our business as if nothing is out of the ordinary.  It’s shocking, but true.  For instance, have you ever seen a healthy baby? The overall chances of a healthy couple conceiving and birthing a full-term baby are about ll.2%.¹  Maybe that’s not quite a miracle of the supernatural kind, but at least it should cause us to say “Wow!” 

Or have you seen a sunset or sunrise?  These events depend on the stable revolution of Earth around the Sun as they both hurtle through space.  How likely is it that they will move out of this stable relationship (i.e. no sunrise and sunset)?  “Current estimates suggest only a 0.2% chance of Earth being flung out of its orbit or colliding with another planet over the next five billion years.”²   I think we’re OK.

My point is that if we have lost our sense of awe over God’s creation of these “natural” things, how will we respond when someone tells us: “I had cancer and God healed me”?  The ones who believe this are usually the ones who already believed in God. Many people may be too polite to say so, but they doubt it.

Jesus did fabulous, never-been-done -before miracles, and yet some people questioned his authority, some accused him of conspiring with the devil, and some wanted to kill him.

Why was that? Why didn’t they believe, with awestruck wonder, that God had done something?  Jesus diagnosed the condition by saying:

‘When they see what I do,

   they will learn nothing.

When they hear what I say,

   they will not understand.

Otherwise, they will turn to me

   and be forgiven.’ (Mark 4:12) 

In other words, their problem was deeper than physical seeing and hearing, but was a heart issue.  They were spiritually blind and deaf, and couldn’t see what was “as plain as the nose on your face.”  As odd as it sounds, they needed to believe before they saw.  If they repented of their unbelief in God first, then their hearts would be clear to actually understand what they saw and heard.

So next time you see or hear about a miracle, don’t just think “I doubt it.”  Instead ask for the heart change that will enable you to understand.

 

¹https://mommyhood101.com/pregnancy-odds-ovulation-to-birth

² https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth's_orbit

 

 

A WORD OF HOPE

Psalm 132: 13-18

For the Lord has chosen Jerusalem;
   he has desired it for his home.
“This is my resting place forever,” he said.
   “I will live here, for this is the home I desired.
I will bless this city and make it prosperous;
   I will satisfy its poor with food.
I will clothe its priests with godliness;
   its faithful servants will sing for joy.
Here I will increase the power of David;
   my anointed one will be a light for my people.
I will clothe his enemies with shame,
   but he will be a glorious king.”


I’m a literature teacher. In literature we learn that a symbol is one thing that represents another thing. But it also includes the original thing in its meaning. For example, a rainbow is a symbol for God’s promise never again to destroy the earth with a great flood – but the bow in the clouds is itself included in the meaning.


In Psalm 132 there are several symbols. The first is "Jerusalem," which is a symbol and precursor of the church, and both were in God’s mind from the beginning as his chosen possession. The second is "David," who is a type and symbol of Christ, but also included in Christ because he was Christ’s physical ancestor. Next is “David’s enemies,” which would represent the devil, because the same spirit that was opposing David in establishing Israel’s kingdom was opposing Jesus in establishing God’s kingdom.


So God is speaking over us at Hope Chapel that

• he lives here and this is the home he desires
• he will bless us and make this place prosper
• he will satisfy our needs with his provision
• he will clothe us with godliness so that we sing for joy
• he will increase the power of the Lord in this place so that people are drawn to his light
• he will expose the works of the enemy that he has conquered for us

And Psalm 132 is one of the songs of ascent that the people were singing as they walked up to the city of Jerusalem, looking up in hope to what God was going to do there.


Today we’ve been singing “open the eyes of my heart, Lord,” and Steve has described how Isaiah looked up and saw with his inner eye what was not visible in the natural. 

So look up!  With the eyes of your heart, with the eyes of hope. to what God is about to do for you.