It has been six months, and my mental clutter tells me it is time for another edition of Random Access Musings, ranging from the serious to the silly.
One, I received some pushback from a quote from my newest book. The quote was, “For the second time, God laid out exactly what he intended to do. For the second time, Amos, a human being, prayed and asked him not to do it. And for the second time, the sovereign God repented, changed his mind on his intended course of action and chose not to do it. All of this makes the argument that the sovereignty of God micromanages and predetermines every detail of every activity of everything and everyone in the entire universe bewilderingly un-biblical and illogical.”
I was quickly accused of “butchering Scripture,” and the accuser challenged me to a public debate on the subject. But do you see the bewildering irony? If his view is correct, and God does micromanage and predetermine every detail of every activity of everything and everyone in the entire universe, then my very thoughts on the subject were predetermined by God, and I cannot change them. Furthermore, his thoughts, which are the opposite of the ones God is making me think, are also predetermined by God, even though they cannot both be correct. Further still, the thoughts of anyone in the audience for such a debate would therefore also be predetermined by God, meaning that the debate itself is a complete waste of time.
Two, Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old young lady, a refugee from Ukraine who fled her war-torn country to come here to the United States so she could live in safety, was brutally murdered on the light rail line in Charlotte, North Carolina, just up the road from me. The man who is seen stabbing her on the security video has a lengthy rap sheet, including felony larceny, robbery with a dangerous weapon and communicating threats, and yet, for some reason, he was out on the streets to do even more damage. Such things will continue to happen until all of society gets much, much harsher on crime and criminals. Ecclesiastes 8:11 says, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.”
Three, concerning number two, whoever just brushed off the words of Ecclesiastes 8:11 and is already planning on dashing off an angry email telling me that more compassion is the answer rather than quicker and harsher punishment, look up Revelation 2:27, 12:5 and 19:15 before you do. It will hopefully save us both some time.
Four, our youth choir is packed these days, and mostly with younger kids. While I was leading them during the Sunday night service, one of the smallest boys noticed the buttons under the bottom of the smart TV hanging on the wall behind him. For the rest of the song, our audiovisual crew used the remote to battle him for control — and losing in hilarious fashion. Please tell me I am not the only pastor who has kids this entertaining.
Five, my wife holds a ladies conference at our church on the first Saturday after Labor Day each September. There is a huge crowd of ladies who attend from several states. But it is not a good idea for me to call it a “big ladies meeting.” I know that now.
Six, one should never come between a mama bear and her cubs, a dog and his food, or a glory-seeking preacher and his red carpet, and for the same reason in each case.
Seven, Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs, the book of practical wisdom and spiritual practice. He wrote it for and to his son, Rehoboam, who would be the next king. And yet, Rehoboam failed as a king. So was the book of Proverbs flawed? No, that was not the problem at all. Among other things, the problem was that the author, his father, wrote to Rehoboam not to drink (Proverbs 20:1, 23:31-35), then gave himself to wine (Ecclesiastes 2:3), wrote to Rehoboam to avoid the strange woman (Proverbs 7:5-27) and then went after many strange women (1 Kings 11:1), and wrote to Rehoboam to fear the Lord and hate evil (Proverbs 8:13) while later himself doing evil in the sight of the Lord (1 Kings 11:6). Nothing will turn a child away from the truth faster than a parent who says the right things and does the opposite.
Eight, I have reached the age where I now appreciate a really good pair of bifocals, and just typing those words makes me die a little inside.
Nine, when we built our church building, my son often wanted to help. He was young, did not know much about building and was often in the way. And yet, I always welcomed his help, and for the same reason God lets us help when he could simply do everything himself: It is more important to build the boy than to build the building.
Ten, Dr. James Dobson passed away recently. He meant a great deal to me. I have often, even in this column, called him the dad voice of my youth. He made it all the way through with integrity, honor and not a hint of scandal. I imagine the Lord smiled even a bit wider than usual when looking him in the eyes and saying, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
Eleven, fall seems to have arrived in North Carolina, and I intend to fully enjoy all 34 seconds of it.
Bo Wagner is pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church of Mooresboro, North Carolina, a widely traveled evangelist and the author of several books available on Amazon and at wordofhismouth.com. Email him at 2knowhim@cbc-web.org.