Christ is Not Just a Benevolent Bystander

When the Lord Jesus Christ taught His disciples to pray, He gave them a model to follow. We often refer to it as the Lord's prayer. Many Christians can recite this beautiful prayer from memory. There is much that it can teach us about God and what our communication should be with Him.

As I studied this powerful prayer, I came to a phrase near the end that taught me a powerful lesson about Christ.

"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil," the Lord said (Matthew 6:13).

The Greek word used for "deliver" is ῥύομαι (rhoumai), which means "to rescue." 

But it means more than that. 

Strong's concordance, a well-known biblical resource, defines rhoumai further as meaning:

"to draw to oneself"

"to snatch up"

"to rescue a person to and for the deliverer"

"to deliver someone to and for the rescuer"

As I read these definitions, I imagined a family outing by a fast-flowing river. I imagined a struggling, drowning child, and an anxious group of onlooking adults unsure of how to save her from the fast-moving water. 
I then imagined a benevolent bystander who happened to be an excellent swimmer diving in and rescuing the child.
He did not know the child. He did not love the child. But he was a good person who wanted to do what was right.

This is a beautiful and noble act, but it is not what the word connotes.

Christ rescues us to Himself.
He is the one who is most concerned for our safety and salvation.
He plunges into the water out of pure love for us. He ignores any danger. He gives His life in order to rescue us.
He is not just a benevolent bystander.
He is our Savior, who saves us to Himself because He loves us more than anyone else.

Mount Sinai Renewed

Last weekend, I had a marvelous experience. In the midst of my busy semester and busy life, I was able to slow down and have an experience analogous to that of the children of Israel at Mount Sinai.

Just as their prophet, Moses, brought down the word of God and shared it with them, our prophet, Thomas Monson, delivered to us the words that God would have us know.

But not just him.
















The Twelve Apostles also addressed the worldwide church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

These men, just like the 12 Apostles of Christ's ancient Church, are called to preach the Gospel to all the world. They hold the same authority given to Peter, James, John, and all of the ancient Apostles by Christ Himself.

How do Thomas Monson and these Twelve Apostles claim to have that same authority?
How could it be on the earth again?

The writer of Hebrews reminds us that "no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron" (Hebrews 5:4).

Aaron received his authority from Moses, the Prophet.

Who did these men receive their authority from?

In 1829, Joseph Smith was visited by the leading authorities of Christ's ancient Church - Peter, James, and John - and given the authority which they held, in order to renew Christ's Church today.

That authority has been passed down in an unbroken chain of prophets, from Joseph Smith to Thomas Monson.

Mount Sinai is a thing of the past. But Prophets are not! God loves us today. He continues to send His prophets.
The words of God's prophet today, Thomas Monson, and the Twelve Apostles, are available.
Study them.
Ask God if they are truly prophets, for "by their fruits ye shall know them" (Matthew 7:15-16).

Here are their words

And here are a few of my favorite excerpts

"...are you the same person wherever you are and whatever you are doing—the person our Heavenly Father wants you to be and the person you know you should be?"
-Thomas Monson

"As you pray and serve others, your knowledge that you are a child of God and your feelings about Him will grow. You will become more aware that He is saddened if you are dishonest in any way. You will be more determined to keep your word to God and to others."
-Henry Eyring, Apostle

"There are countless ways technology can distract you from what is most important. Follow the adage “Be where you are when you are there.” When you are driving, drive. When you are in class, focus on the lesson. When you are with your friends, give them the gift of your attention. Your brain cannot concentrate on two things at once. Multitasking amounts to quickly shifting your focus from one thing to another. An old proverb says, “If you chase two rabbits, you won’t catch either one.” "
-Randall Ridd, leader of Young Men in the Church
"At times we may be tempted to practice what I call “natural man’s obedience,” in which we disobediently reject God’s law in favor of our wisdom or our desires or even popularity."
Robert Hales, Apostle

"Christlike love is the greatest need we have on this planet"
Jeffery Holland, Apostle

The 5 AM Snooze

My Freshman year at college, I went to a beginning guitar class with a friend a few times. The instructor was a HUGE Beatles fan. His curriculum for the class was to play Beatles songs, and only Beatles songs, the entire semester. This brought me to a realization - the Beatles wrote a LOT of songs!

During a pause between "Love Me Do" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand," the instructor made a comment that really impacted me.
"You know," he said, "The Beatles weren't popular right away. They wrote over 100 songs before ONE of them made it to the radio."

What?
I had seen "That Thing You Do." I thought the Beatles were just like The Wonders - their first song was an instant hit.




I once heard a story about a world-class violinist who performed countless masterpieces at a performance in one of the great halls of Europe. At the end of his performance, a well-to-do man who was in the audience approached him.
"You are a prodigy," he told the violinist. "A genius! I would give anything to be able to play like you."

"Me, a prodigy? A genius," the violinist responded, confusion and a bit of disgust in his voice. "You would give anything to play like me, would you? I practice 16 hours every day! I have done so for over a decade."

The other man's face showed his amazement. Perhaps he wouldn't give anything to play like this man.




I wish to share one more story to illustrate the point I hope to make.

I come from a large family, and love every member very much. All have gone on to successful careers, or are still being educated in order to pursue them. One brother graduated as an accountant and secured a job at a major accounting firm soon after graduating. He and his wife and new baby moved out to San Jose, California and began their adventure there. However, the job was not what he had anticipated.

The hours were long, the work was tedious, and he was not happy. He left for work before his daughter was awake and got home after she had gone to bed. He was missing out on the most important parts of life.

So he started waking up at 5 AM.
He had a friend at LinkedIn, and had the dream of applying for a job as a web developer.
He woke up early and studied programming. He had taught himself to program at a low-paying, undergraduate job, but knew he would need more than that.
He got the job.

What is he doing now?

He is, once again, waking up at 5 AM, this time to write a book on programming.
I recently asked him, "must victory always come at such a price?"
His response:
"There is no shortcut to a dream."

Another friend at his accounting firm said, "man, I wish I had the skills you do so I didn't have to work here anymore."
It is more than skills, I think my brother would agree. In fact, his book is based on the concept that anyone can learn how to program.
The violinist might say that anyone can learn to play the violin.
Paul McCartney might tell you that anyone can be a successful musician.

But...
They need to work.
They need to be willing to avoid hitting the snooze button at 5 AM.

As President Thomas S. Monson said, leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,
"Work will win when wishy-washy wishing won't."

"Come, And See"

For me, there is perhaps nothing more frustrating than finding myself unable to communicate clearly something that is of importance to me.

As a 19-year-old boy, I left for El Salvador to be a missionary. Upon arriving, I was assigned to work alongside a man from El Salvador who spoke little English. We were together every minute of every day. No one else in my new "life" spoke English. I struggled, not being able to express what was in my heart because of my faltering Spanish.

My Spanish improved, but I found myself faced with the same problem as I tried to explain the Gospel to those I taught.

Just as the Gospel and the Church existed in the days of Christ, they exist today.
Prophets.
Apostles.
Baptism.
Salvation.

Many of them did not understand.

It is hard to describe in words that which is spiritual.

Paul spoke of the peace of God, which passeth all understanding (Philippians 4:7). Words fall short of describing such an intense and incredible feeling of peace.

Christ, the Master teacher, gave what I feel is a perfect solution to this problem. He did not try to explain every minute point of His Gospel with words. Instead He invited, "Come, and see."

And that is my invitation to you.

Come and see.

I believe that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is, in every literal sense, the same Church that Jesus Christ organized in the meridian of time.
I believe that He is the head of this Church, which now has over 15 million members around the globe.
He is the head, not Joseph Smith or Brigham Young or Thomas S. Monson.
Jesus Christ leads His Church today by means of these inspired prophets, just as He did in ancient times by means of Moses and Isaiah and Peter.

I cannot adequately express the peace and joy that come to me because of my membership in this Church, so instead of trying to explain it to you, I invite you to -

Come and see.

A Source of Unfailing Strength

In my Sunday church meetings today, the Bishop (the local leader of our congregation) addressed us and announced our ward's (or congregation's) theme for the year of 2014. He spoke of Paul's conversation with the Lord in 2 Corinthians 12 and the "thorn in the flesh" that he asked the Lord to remove, and how the Lord told Paul that His grace was sufficient and His power is made perfect in weakness.

The Bishop shared a Book of Mormon verse in which another servant of God, Moroni, is worried about his weaknesses and fears that his best will not be enough for the task at hand.

The Lord delivers these comforting words to Moroni:

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

In the words of the Lord to both servants, I was struck by the phrase "my grace is sufficient." I decided to study it in more detail. I visited a website that allows side-by-side comparison of the Greek and English New Testament texts, along with detailed definitions and etymology of the Greek words. I would like to share what I learned.

.............................................................................................................................................

Arkei soi e charis mou

..............................................................................................................................................

'Arkei' generally means to suffice, or to be sufficient or enough. However, it can also mean "to possess unfailing strength."

What possesses this unfailing strength?

'Charis' means grace. Whose grace? 'Charis mou'. "My grace," the Savior tells us.

'Soi e' means "for you" (roughly).

.............................................................................................................................................

"My grace possesses unfailing strength for you."

.............................................................................................................................................

There is nothing that God cannot help us to overcome. If we put our whole trust in Him, we can overcome any Goliath.
Through the unfailing grace of God, our weaknesses - physical, mental, social, spiritual - can be turned into strengths.

Jesus Christ died so that we might live. He suffered all things so that He may lift us above all things.

His grace is sufficient.

I know it.

The Nature of Deity

This morning, I sought to better understand the nature of God. I made it the focus of my personal study in the word of God. Among other things, I read the words of Joseph Fielding Smith, a modern-day prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, found here.

As I read, I developed a statement of what the nature of Deity is to me. I would like to share this now, and invite the reader to carefully consider each point. The basis for this understanding of Deity is the First Vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1820, in which he saw the Father and the Son as two separate and distinct beings (see video below).



Here is my statement of personal belief:


God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three distinct beings. God is our literal and personal Father, who knows us by name. We were literally created in His image. Jesus Christ, His Son, paid the price for our sins so that we can live with God again if we choose to obey God and repent. But, because God has given us agency to choose, He will not force us to follow Him, and if we do not, we will not be saved. God wants all of His children to return to Him and has provided a way for us to be like Him. He sends His servants, prophets, to show us the way and to help us be successful and happy in this life.

When Do Miracles Come?

Miracle: an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven... ?"

Moroni 7:27

The Bible is a book of miracles. So is the Book of Mormon.

Think of the wondrous stories that they contain.

Remember Hezekiah, king of Israel, who was surrounded by a formidable Assyrian army. He trusted in God and refused to make an alliance with them. Hezekiah and his men had done all in their power, and now God stepped in. An angel of God appeared and slew 185,000 Assyrians that night.

Remember Nephi and Sam, who were trying unsuccessfully to convince their brothers to try once more to obtain the scriptural record from Laban. As they were being beaten by their older brothers, it seems evident that they could do nothing else on their own. That is when an angel appeared and saved them from the cruel hands of their brothers.

As Christ knelt in a sacred garden outside the walls of Jerusalem and took upon Himself the weight of our sins and pain and sorrow, "there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him" (Luke 22:43).

What about our day?

Has God ceased to be a God of miracles? Is He not the same yesterday, today, and forever? Doesn't He love us today as much as He loved those in the days of Hezekiah or Nephi or Christ?
I know that God does not change. He is immutable. He is Eternal. And He is still a God of miracles.

So why do we sometimes not see miracles?

Sometimes, I regret to admit, I give up before the moment when the angel would appear. In fact, I may not even start because I feel that the task which God has placed before me is overwhelming. 

So, how can I ever expect to see miracles in my life if I do not attempt the things that require miracles? Why would I expect miracles if I only try to do things that I already know I can do?
God does not need to perform a miracle in order for me to read my scriptures everyday. I know that I can do that. But accepting a calling in Church to do something that I know is beyond my own abilities may very well require such a miracle.
And God will provide it, if we try to act and rely on Him to help us.

I will do more to fulfill what God expects of me, even if I feel that it is beyond me. 
I will trust that God can help me to do anything, and then I will go and do it with His help. 
I will not doubt, for doubt is the opposite of faith. 
I will not fear. Fear comes from the adversary.

Related Hymn