Making Biscuits

Dr. Mike Murphy
October 13, 2024

Each Sunday morning, at his small southern church, the pastor would call on one of his deacons to lead the service in an opening prayer.  This Sunday was no different, he called on his oldest deacon, Bruce, as the service began.  Bruce slowly rose, bowed his head, and began to speak.  “Lord, you know how much I hate buttermilk.”

On hearing these words, the pastor opened one eye to glance at Bruce, wondering to himself just where all this was going.  And then, with a slow southern drawl, the pastor heard Bruce continue.  “And Lord, you know that I am no fan of lard.”  Now the pastor was completely perplexed, and began to openly sweat at the thought of how he would follow all this up.  Then, he heard Bruce begin to speak again.  “And Lord, you know I am not crazy about plain ol’ flour. But Lord, when you mix them all together, and you bake them just right, You know how much I love biscuits.  Lord, when I look around at this world, I see a lot of things I do not like, a lot of things I just do not understand.  But you know Lord, maybe I just need to take a look at what You are mixing, at what You have baking.  I am sure that when You get through, it will probably be something even better than biscuits!”

As he heard these words, the pastor slowly smiled.  He knew that the best sermon the congregation would hear that morning, had just been spoken.

A very dear relative of mine sent me this little story the other day.  As I read it, I could not help but smile.  And often that day, this little story stayed on my mind.  And each time I thought of it, it spoke to me a little louder, a little clearer. And with each thought of the little story, it became a little more transparent, it was me that the little story was speaking about, it was me that the deacon in this little story was speaking to.

So often today, we look at the world around us and we shake our head. We see the events playing out each day, and we just do not understand.  We find ourselves left questioning God, not understanding why He has not already done something about all these.  Many of us jokingly say we would love to just find a cabin in the woods, isolated from all we see going on in this world around us. Others of us point to the sky, saying everything we see means the Lord will soon return.  That the joyous day when Christ will return for His Church is at hand, and we just need to sit back and wait for His return.

But as I hear these words amidst the buttermilk, the lard, and the flour the world has spread around me, I realize that this oven is heating up for a reason, a reason that involves me. The Lord is reminding me, it is time for me to put my apron on.  To get out all the cooking tools He has given me.  It is past time I started making some biscuits.

Each word of the little story reminded me, the chaos we see in the world today is not calling for our silence, but demands our voice.  It does not lead us into the woods in isolation, but draws us right into the middle of the heat.  Only in the heat can the biscuits be made, and never in silence can the meal He has us preparing be announced.

I treasure and look forward to the moment I see His face, as He returns for all of us who call on His name.  But the promise of that soon approaching day does not leave me silent, it makes me want to shout until I am hoarse.  Of this Paul told us, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”(Philippians 1:6).  God is working on me, and looking to working through me each day I find myself on this earth.  Each minute, each second of every day, brings opportunity in His hands, the potential to reach someone else for Him. Just because the world might fall apart around me, does not mean His hands are not at work in and through me.  And not for one second does it mean His voice should ever be seen as quieted by me.  If anything, the chaos demands that I make His voice be heard louder.

Simply look at the Apostles, those who spent so many of their days with Christ, and see how their actions speak to us as we complain about the world around us today.  As Christ ascended into Heaven, and His return was promised, they believed like us that Christ could return any day.  In the midst of the chaos of their day, look what they did with all this in mind. They gave their all, literally. They refused to be silent when the world threatened to silence them.  And in almost every case, they gave their life so others might know the love, grace, and mercy that Christ brought to this world.  Take an even harder look at the ministry of Paul.  Most do not realize it, but of the thirty or so years that Paul spent in the ministry for Christ, he spent almost six of those years in prison.  A prisoner for doing nothing more than speaking the truth that only Christ had shown him.  But despite this, what did Paul do?  He worked to the very end. Despite all this world threw at him, despite all the hardships he would face, he made the most of every opportunity(2 Thessalonians 4:7-8, Ephesians 5:15-17).  Paul made biscuits!

And as I look around me today, I still see those like Paul.  Those that serve as a Christ-like example to all of us.  I have a friend who finds himself up each morning before most of us even realizes the day has begun.  Each day he goes on social media, and he prays for this Church and this nation.  Despite all the evil he sees in this world around us, despite all the hardship he sees this Church facing, he prays for hope.  He takes the opportunity each day the Lord gives him and makes the absolute most of it.  And daily through his written prayer, he reaches out to all around him, so each might share in his Godly hope for all of us. I have another friend who does street ministry in a foreign country.  Each day he reaches out to kids on the street, many of these kids are ones that our world has forgotten.  But kids he has not forgotten, and knows that Christ would never forget.  Most of us talk about the frontlines, but he lives for Christ on those frontlines every second of every day.  In conditions most of us could not even begin to imagine, he brings Christ to a needing world.  Both of these friends each day make biscuits!

With each day I have left, whether I am here until Christ returns, or I find myself already there, looking down joyously as many of you come to join me, it is past time I spent each day making biscuits.  Not being put off by all this world might throw at me, but making the most of each daily opportunity the Lord gives me.  That I leave this world the way the Lord will again come, with a shout.  And as He returns, I want to spend each of my days helping the Lord to make the “ride up” as full as possible!  It is time I took the buttermilk, the lard, the flour of this world, and made something remarkable from them.  Something that my hands are not capable of, but with the help of His hands, do not even test the capabilities. That each day finds me with apron in hand, baking away as I have never found myself baking before.  That I spend each day in His kitchen, doing the very thing He has called me to do.  It is time I started making biscuits!

Praying each of your days finds you in the Lord’s kitchen hard at work!

Handwritten

Dr. Mike Murphy

October 6, 2024

MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN

I can only imagine what it must of been like that night so many years ago for Daniel to see these words.  The thoughts that must have come to his mind as he read those words. And the reality of what speaking those words to the king must have told him.

Belshazzar had grown up in the palace, and probably thought he had seen it all.  But nothing could have prepared him for what he saw that night. Belshazzar was the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, the long ruling king of Babylon.  His father, Nabonidus, had married the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar, Nitorcris.  Nabonidus used this marriage to gain great power over the kingdom, but was not respected by the people.  As he sat in rule over Babylon, his arrogance showed.  Nabonidus built statues of another god, and ordered the people to worship that god.  He proclaimed the moon god, a god who had the name Sin, as the top deity of the land.  This did not set well with the people, and soon their anger began to boil over. Nabonidus was forced to flee the palace in fear of his life, and placed his son, Belshazzar on the throne as he left.  But Belshazzar’s reign would be short, by most historical accounts, it was less than two years.

Belshazzar was much like his father.  History records him as brash, impulsive, and arrogant.  Historians wrote of him acting much more like a spoiled child than leading as a king.  Cyrus, the future king of Persia, would refer to Belshazzar as a coward with evil intent. Belshazzar’s name meant, “may Bel protect the king”.  Bel was a term referring to the lordship of many gods, and was often used as a collective or pantheon title for all the gods. But Belshazzar would learn that night, none of his gods could save him from what the Lord God had proclaimed to him.

On that night, Belshazzar held a great feast for a thousand of Babylon’s top people. As they gathered for the feast in the palace, outside the walls of Babylon a different “feast” was brewing.  The Medes and the Persian had surrounded the city, and laid siege to it. They were looking for a way to take down the powerful defenses of the city.  But Belshazzar was not worried, the city of Babylon was considered impenetrable, and held supplies that could last the city for years.  Babylon was a city like no other, magnificent in every way. Conservative accounts describe the walls of the city as being over eighty feet thick and over two hundred and fifty feet tall.  The outer walls were filled with guard stations, each towering another one hundred feet above the walls.  Getting in the city was just as much of a problem as getting to its’ walls.  A system of inner and outer moats and walls secured the city, and the enormous bronze doors of the inner city could not be moved.  The Babylonians considered the city nothing short of a fortress, a fortress that relieved them of all fears from those who stood outside of its’ walls.

As the wine flowed that night, they looked to their own pleasure as an escape of the reality that laid just outside of their walls.  With each filling of their cups, their denial became more embolden.  And with each drink, the arrogance of Belshazzar became greater.  “Who could possibly think themselves greater than Babylon?”  The question must have been asked that night.  As the question was asked, the king looked to put his arrogance on display.  He ordered the gold, the silver, and the vessels they had taken years before while plundering the Temple in Jerusalem.  An invasion of the land that had also placed many of the Jews under the captivity of the Babylonian people.  They drank from the Temple vessels, mocking the God of Israel, proclaiming greater the gods whose names they did not even know.  They desecrated the Temple articles, in a blasphemous attempt to relive their glory days, replaying in their minds a day when Babylon was the world’s conqueror.  Trying to forget the current day in which they were waiting to be conquered.  Belshazzar had forgotten the power the Lord God had shown his grandfather, humbling him, and bringing him to his knees. Belshazzar’s arrogance drove him, and his foolishness blinded him.

As those in the palace relished in their past glory, the Lord God suddenly shook them back into reality.  As all watched, a human hand appeared, writing four words on the wall for all to see.  MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.  As mysteriously as the hand appeared, it would soon again disappear.  But the words it wrote remand for all to see.  The king sent for his wisest men, so they could tell him what these words meant.  But as each read it, each failed. Not one of his “wise men” of Babylon could interpret a single word.

Hearing the commotion, the queen came into the banquet hall.  Most believe this queen to be Belshazzar’s mother, Nitocris, and she remembered back to a man who her father had trusted, who had often brought wisdom to him. She had Belshazzar bring a man to the hall who had the vision of a prophet, and the wisdom of the Lord’s Word.  She had her son summon forth a man named Daniel.

As Daniel entered the hall, the king offered to him the same he had offered to all others.  Any man who could read the writing, would be placed in a great position of power. But Daniel refused the king’s offer.  He know the kingdom was not his to give, and the title was no greater than the man who was giving it.  But Daniel was led by God to interpret for the king the words he saw written before him.  As Daniel looked at each word he explained them.  MENE, MENE. God had numbered the days of Belshazzar and the Babylonian kingdom. TEKEL. Belshazzar was weighed in the balances, and his faith and actions were found to be light. UPHARSIN.  The Babylonian kingdom would be divided, handed over to the Medes and the Persians.  Daniel basically told Belshazzar, he did not do the things as king the Lord God had called his grandfather to do, and because he mocked God, and would not turn to Him, the Lord was about to take his kingdom from him.

That very night, Belshazzar would see the words that the Lord God wrote before him come true.  Little did Belshazzar know, but Cyrus, the king of Persia, had already devised a plan to conquer the city.  He had a trench dug to divert the Euphrates into a nearby swamp, drying up the river from flowing into the city. This lowered the water levels so his troops could march through the river gates.  And as we read the writings of Herodotus, Berosus, Xenophon, and other historians, we see that the great bronze door to the inner city was left open that night, allowing Cyrus and his army full access to the palace as they entered the city. That very night, Belshazzar would see his kingdom fall and his life come to an end.

We have often read the story, and the phrase “the handwriting on the wall” is one that is known the world over.  But as we look at this story, two important points are so often overlooked. Two points that carry a lot of weight, and each of us, and this country, should be paying close attention to today.

First, what happened that night did not come as a complete surprise, at least not to those who listened to the Lord, and who followed His Word.  Over two hundreds years earlier, the Lord told Isaiah of that night. He told Isaiah of a man named Cyrus whom He would bring to power, and whom He would work through so His will could be fulfilled(Isaiah 44:28-45:7). The Lord gave Isaiah specifics of that night.  He told Isaiah He would open the gates for Cyrus(Isaiah 45:1), and He would shatter the bronze doors that would restrict him(Isaiah 45:2).  Over a hundred years before that night, the Lord told Jeremiah that the leaders of the city would be drinking that night, and death would suddenly come on them(Jeremiah 51:57). And He told Jeremiah that the city walls would be broken and the city would be set ablaze(Jeremiah 51:58).  What happened that night should not surprise us, because the Lord, before hand, gave us all we would ever need to know about that night.

History is filled with many of these same examples.  The Lord does not leave us blind, but gives us all the sight we need to see what the days before us hold, and what is needed of us each day.  The problem has never been in the warning, the problem has come when we choose to ignore that warning.  When we choose to ignore what the Lord has shown us, so we can look on what this world would have us see.  The Lord has always given us the answer before we even knew the question.  The problem is, we choose to ignore the answer because this world does not like Who the answer is coming from. 

We need to look no farther than the Dark Ages to find the perfect example of this. The Dark Ages covered a period of roughly six hundred years between the sixth and thirteenth centuries.  This time in history received its’ name because of the lack of intellectual and cultural advancements that man experienced during this time.  Historians will tell you that whole centuries were lost that could have seen mankind far more advanced today.  But when we look at this period closely, we soon realize that man was not absent of the knowledge, we just ignored the wisdom that God had already given us.

If man had simply taken the time to listen closely to the Lord, centuries of advancement would have been know to us centuries ago.   Long before man knew and understood germs and the dangers they bring to our everyday lives, God gave Moses the bases of sanitation(Leviticus 11 and 15).  Long before man claimed to discover bacteria, God showed man how to treat it, by removing the oxygen from it(Leviticus 13:52).  Centuries before we knew how to treat disease, the first antiseptic was given.  Hyssop Oil is an antibacterial and is still used in creating it today(Numbers 19:18, Psalm 51:7).  Long before Columbus sailed the ocean blue, when men were afraid of falling off the edge of a flat earth, God had already explained to Isaiah that the earth was round(Isaiah 40:22).  He explained in Job the principles of direction, that all direction is centered around a northern pull, thus a compass will always point north(Job 26:7).  He taught man the first and second laws of thermodynamics in Hebrews 1.  The hydrologic cycle, of how rainfall is evaporated and then turned again into rain, was given by God centuries before man claimed to discover it(Job 36:27-28).

This is but a short list of the vast amount of examples that could be given. How many disease that we face each day could have already been cured if we simply took the time to listen to the wisdom that God has already given us?  How advanced would technology be if we had simply applied the knowledge that God has already shared with us? How would each of our lives be changed today if we had listened closely to what God had said to each of us yesterday?  My point is this, God does not leave us ignorant(Romans 11:25).  Just like that night with Belshazzar, our ignorance does not come from God not sharing His wisdom with us, but from our own foolishness in not accepting and following that wisdom. Belshazzar saw firsthand how the Lord had moved in the life of his grandfather. But Belshazzar chose to ignore all that God had shown him, all the wisdom that God had for him.  Just like Belshazzar, our lives and our world are the same today.  We ignore the proven wisdom the Lord has given us, so we can follow the foolishness this world has to offer us.  Out of one side of our mouth, we deny all God has shown and provided us.  Then out of the other side of the same mouth, we mockingly question out loud where God is.  We ignore God until the hand starts to write on the wall, failing to understand, that same hand has been writing words of wisdom to us for years.  The word of God is sure.  As sure handed in this world today as it was in that palace so many years ago.

Second, look closely at what Belshazzar does with the wisdom of God that Daniel shares with him.  What do we see him do?  One word, nothing!  His own interaction with Daniel shows that he believed what was said, but he chose to do nothing with the warning and the reality that the Lord gave him.  We watch as a king decided to party while the kingdom around him crumbled. And a king who fails to repent when the day of judgment is staring him directly in the face. Although the remaining minutes of his life were short, what Belshazzar did, or did not do, with those moments speaks volumes.  Facing the reality of what his eternal future would soon hold, Belshazzar chose to spend his last minutes in the pleasure he had sought in this world.  At no minute of his life does Belshazzar’s arrogance shine brighter than in those moments between Daniel speaking to him, and Cyrus and his soldiers entering the hall of the palace.  Belshazzar placed his faith in what the world had told him about his walls, instead of falling to his knees and placing his future in the hand of the One who had just written on his wall. Way too late Belshazzar would learn, there is not a wall thick enough or high enough that the Lord cannot instantly bring down.

Belshazzar placed his faith in this world, not in our Lord.  Even in his last moments, he rejected and resisted the grace that God had for him.  His actions reflect so many of those we see today, they are blinded by the sin that drives their lives. No warning can often be given that is loud enough or strong enough for them to see and hear the truth.  They choose to follow the lie, because they think the lie expects nothing from them, asks nothing of them.  But what they do not understand, is the wall that the lie has built around them.  Not allowing the truth to reach them and for His healing hand to touch them(John 12:40).  No matter how large the hand writes, they cannot see over the wall the lie has placed around them to read the words.

As we look at this country today, we see a nation that greatly resembles Babylon. We see leaders that reflect the arrogance of Belshazzar.  Leaders that find comfort in the walls of the lie, refusing to look beyond those walls at the truth. With each newscast we see, and each headline we read, we see the imaging forming of a hand.  A hand that is starting to write on the walls of the Capitol, the Supreme Court, and the White House today. With each movement of the hand the words are forming, the message is being given.  We see the words of the warning coming into clear focus before us.  But as we watch the faces of many of our leaders, and of the people of this nation, we soon see the blank stares. Stares that read the words, but ignore the warning.  Stares that drive them to arrogance, not to their knees.  Stares who are blinded by their own foolishness. Stares that lead them to worship a god called “Sin”. Stares that no longer seek the truth that is found in repentance, because they take pleasure in the lie that surrounds them. Stares that take comfort in the walls and doors of the palace, ignoring the enemy that is building outside.  Stares that ignore the destruction and death that awaits while reaching to fill their cups with a little more wine.

Wake up America.  Wake up from this lie that now has a hold on you.  Fall to your knees before the clock strikes, and the doors begin to burst open.  Look closely at the words He is proclaiming to you, the message He has always given you.  Take into heart each of the words. Look on the hand again of the only One who has ever truly loved you.  The only One who has ever found true purpose in you.  His hand is writing America.  The love, grace, truth, and mercy that is found in each word of His warning has always been handwritten.

Praying God’s Word will find their way off the wall and into your heart.  

Row!

Dr. Mike Murphy

September 29, 2024

The rain just keep coming. For days it had come.  Every minute of the day, it fell from the heavens in waves.  As each drop came down, they watched as the ground around them slowly inched away.  And, with each drop, their small town faced the sudden reality of being washed from their sight.  All they had known, all they had worked for, gone before their eyes with each drop of rain.

If the news could not get any worse, they soon received word of even greater danger.  The river that ran through their small town was also at risk.  The dam that overlooked their town, sitting just two miles upstream of their little town, was in threat of giving way.  Reports had come of a small crack that was beginning to form in the wall of the dam.  They were told that the dam could easily be patched, but the state was facing even greater threats from the flooding, in even larger towns.  The simple truth was, the small town was at the bottom of the state’s priorities.  It was easier to tell them to evacuate than to send the manpower necessary to save their town.

But in the eyes of those who lived in their town, the town was all they had. The years of the Depression had taken almost everything else.  And the building war in Europe and Asia, had called into service many who would make up the future of the town.  But despite the hardships, the people of the town had come together.  Looking out for each other at a time when many had no one left to look out for.  There was a closeness in their town that meant more than just words, that no one in the town could imagine life without. “Love thy neighbor” was more than just words they learned on Sunday, it was words that filled the heart of each in the small town come Monday.  They could not imagine their life without the small town, and each and every precious face that made up their small town. They quickly came to the conclusion, if the state would not help them, they would give their all to help themselves.  Even if giving their all was giving everything they had.

Three men in the town had small boats with outdoor motors on them, motors that would help them make it through the current and reach the dam. They filled their boats with the goods needed to repair the dam, or at least to keep the dam from giving way until the waters decreased.  As the three set out, the town gathered.  Openly praying for each of these three men, knowing the sacrifice they were willing to make to save their town.  As the rain continued to fall, the three men set out in hope of making it the two miles upstream. One by one, as they began their journey to the dam, the three could barely see each other. The rain was falling so fast, and the waves were crashing so hard, they could only see a few feet beyond their boat.  Soon the sight of three boats became the image of two.  And as if time was standing still, the image of two soon became the vision of one.

Only one boat now remained.  A single hope was left to save the town. But as the man who sat in that boat faced the river that day, he knew he did not face it alone.  From the moment he started his engine, it was not him who held the hope of saving the town, but the One who controlled the seas.  Each minute in the boat, he prayed.  And as he watched the other two boats fade from his sight, he prayed harder.  Not for God to save him, but for the Lord to save all he loved, all he knew, and all he had got in that boat for. With each word he cried out to the Lord, it was the faces of the town that he had moments before seen praying for him that filled his thoughts.  And it was his memory of each of  those faces that led him to call out to God even more.

Within minutes, he felt the engine give out.  The roaring waters was just too much strain for the small engine to take.  But as the engine began to smoke and came to a stop, his hope was not lost.  And his prayers only began to increase.  He reached into his boat and pulled out two old oars that he had keep in case they were needed.  This was now the case he found himself in like no other, needing each of those oars like never before. Even though most would have told him it was useless, he slid the oars into place on the small boat, and began to pull with all his might.  And with each pull, he prayed.  With all his might he rowed, and with a might beyond his, he called out to God.  Left in the confusion of the waves and the rain, he rowed with more energy and force than he knew he had.  And with each pull of the oar, he thanked the Lord above.

Soon, he found he had done what no one could have imagined.  He could feel the boat as it banged into something viciously, causing him to realize he had miraculously made it to the dam.  Looked up at the dam, he could see the crack that had began to form.  A crack that was barely in his reach, but a crack the Lord reached for him to repair.  It was as if the boat was being held steady as he stood on the sit to repair the dam.  For minutes, as he repaired the threatening breach in the dam, the boat remained still.  Within moments, the crack was no more, repaired enough to hold until the rains would cease.  But before the smile could find his face, the reality of the boat came into his vision.  In the midst of the storm, the boat had greatly taken on water.  Far more water than the small boat could hold. And within that moment, he became aware that he would row no more.  But it was also in that moment, as the river began to take him under, the largest of smiles found his face for one last time.  He realized that the Lord had heard and answered each word of his prayer. That although he would never see the faces of those in his beloved, small town again, he knew that the Lord would continue to stand in their presence.  And as the water began to fill his lungs, and his last breath faded away, he recognized that the Lord had given him a gift far greater than he could ever have deserved.

As we look around us today, we can see the rain falling.  We can feel the wind blowing.  We can hear the thunder roaring.  We watch the waters continue rising.  And we hear the reports of the dam that holds back the evil that desires to flood this nation, starting to form cracks.  With each new drop of rain that hits our face, it is time this Church remembered the love He has called us to have for all those around us, and the hope we see in each face He shows us.  And as the flood begins to surround us, it is time we got in our boats and began to row.

The evil we see filling this world today should not bring fear to us, but remind us of the opportunity that each day brings.  It was for this very day that God has prepared us, and for this very moment He has called us.  The flood of evil that looks to sink us, can never stop us from reaching and repairing that dam, because of the One we have riding in the boat with us.  Our call this day is to row. To not worry about waves that crash into the boat with us, or to even worry about what we will face as we reach the dam.  Our call is to fulfill His will, to bring to Him all glory, and to let Him take care of the rest.  Not worrying about what this might cost us, or the depths this might require from us.  Remembering the words Christ taught us, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done.  On earth as it is in heaven.”(Matthew 6:10).    Knowing there is no price too great we can pay to bring about that will.  No greater accomplishment our life can achieve than to bring to Him glory.

As the evil in this world today looks to  rise up and drown you, look into the eyes of all the faces that surround you.  Faces of love and hope that He has placed in front of you. And as you look into their eyes, do not think for one second of evacuating, instead climb willingly and joyfully in the boat He has prepared for you.  Do not worry about the waves as they crash against you.  Pick up the oars He has placed in the boat for you, and row!  

Praying this day, you will row with all your might!

Better Hands

Dr. Mike Murphy
September 22, 2024

She looked intently at the hand she held.  As she stroked his hand, she let her fingers caress every wrinkle.  She knew each of those wrinkles well.  For forty-eight years she had watched as each of those wrinkles had formed.  Each line reminded her of the life they had shared together, the love they had for each other. The family they had raised, the business they had started.  The home they had cherished for so many years.

As she looked again at that hand, she realized just how good of a man that hand belonged to.  Almost forty years ago, they had started a family grocery store in the small town they had both grown up in.  The store had never brought them wealth, but it had allowed them to raise three kids, and it had always provided a way for them to pay the bills. They might have had more, but the hand she held was a compassionate hand.  How often she had caught him as he slipped a few more items in the grocery bag of someone in need. Or an extra bag of groceries somehow got loaded in the car of the mother who was just not sure how she would feed her children that month.  And the annual food drive at the church they attended always seemed to meet its’ goal, even when it had been way short the day before the drive was scheduled to end.  But it was that compassion that first attracted her to that hand, a compassion that drew her to cling so tightly to that hand today.

As she held that hand, she could hear the beeps slowing.  He was a man with a heart of gold.  But as big as that heart was, it could no longer handle all the stress that this life had placed on it.  As she heard the beeps growing slower, she realized that the hand she clung to was grower colder.  Finally, she could hear the beeps no more.

As she looked up, she looked into the eyes of their pastor and lifetime friend.  He had been standing there beside the bed for hours, unwillingly to leave either of them for a single minute.  But as he watched the life leave his longtime friend, his eyes caught hers.  In that moment, he sought the words that might comfort her, words that might soothe her.  He found himself speaking before he could even give it a second thought.  “Do not worry Amelia, he is now in better hands.”

Better hands.  Most pastors will tell you they find themselves turning so often to these words in trying situations.  Words spoken to often comfort.  To remind all that the Lord is there with them, and His promises are not forgotten. As I find myself in the midst of a struggle with cancer, I find myself also being reminded of these words.  I find friends and fellow pastors now offering me these words to give me strength, to show me encouragement.  To also remind me, that with this body my life will not end, that my life will just begin.  And with the beginning of this life, I will find myself in better hands.

But as I hear these words, I find myself chuckling at the thought of what they are saying. Through the reality of my cancer, the Lord has shown me that these are words I could not disagree with more.  My passing from this earth will not place me in better hands, because my life is in Better Hands now!

Over thirty years ago, those Hands reached into the pits of Hell to pull out a young rebel of a man named me.  Those Hands lifted me up, they nurtured me, molded me, taught me, and those Hands surrounded me with a love unlike any this world can begin to imagine or know. On the day I first reached out for those Hands, those Hands gripped me tightly, and not a day since have those Hands even thought of letting me go!

Those Hands so often lead my hands to open His Word, and find the wisdom of a verse He gave to Isaiah.  “But now, Oh Lord, you are our Father, we are the clay, and You our potter; and all of us are the work of Your hand.”(Isaiah 64:8).  I am but clay.  I am useless, shapeless and without purpose.  It is only by those Hands that my life took on form, that my life became the purpose He made and intended it for.

As those Hands molded me, they shaped me and brought me into His work.  Many who work in ministry will often refer to themselves as “working for God”.  Those are words He has never taught me, and words He has never etched on this clay.  In my years in the ministry, I have never worked a single day “for” God.  But since being lead to the ministry, each day I have found myself working “with” the Lord.  I have been blessed to serve as an apprentice of those Hands, and each day I stand in amazement as I am given the absolute privilege of watching those Hands at work.

Each day those hands guide me, they instruct me, and yes, each day those Hands discipline me.  Each day those Hands lead me.  Each day those Hands open up His Word to me. Each day those Hands cover my hands, bringing my hands together in prayer.  Those Hands humble me, lightly nudging me with a downward motion on my shoulders, bringing me to my knees, and reminding me where I so desperately need to be.  As those Hands move through my life each day, they teach me an abiding trust.  A trust that comes without question.  And each day as I look at the beauty of those Hands, I am reminded of the brokenness and flaws in my own hands.  But each day, those Hands cover mine, so only those Hands are seen.

With each day, I become more familiar with those Hands. And with each familiar glimpse, I see the strength in those Hands.  I firmly believe that in knowing every bend and crevice of those Hands, Paul was led to write words that we all know, that we so often quote.  “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”(Philippians 4:13).  Paul knew that we could not achieve that strength by our own hands, but only those Hands could give that strength to us, could share that strength with us.  Hands that shine a light into our darkest shadows.  Hands that silence the world around us, so we can only hear His voice. Hands that so silent this world, that we can hear the calming of His breath as He stands next to us. Hands that paternally reach for us, when we do not even know we are in danger. Hands that lift us to the highest of mountains, when we bury ourselves in the deepest of valleys.  Hands that hold our promises of tomorrow.  Hands that now build for us each of those promises.

As my time draws closer, I cannot wait to see the promises that tomorrow holds. Promises He has given to me.  To be able to look at the beauty of the place He has prepared for me.  Tears come to my eyes at even the thought of being able to see Him on His Throne.  And I am sure I will fall to my knees as I am able to look on the face of the One who has loved me. But as I find myself in His Presence, and He reaches for me, I do not have a doubt that I will know those Hands.  The Hands that each day cover me, the Hands that each day direct me. The Hands that for over thirty years has shown me, my life today rest in Better Hands!

Praying each of you already recognize those Hands!

Under God

Dr. Mike Murphy
September 14, 2024

He had heard the words of numerous sermons in his life, but the words he was hearing preached, he could not escape.  As he sat listening to the Lincoln Day sermon, the Holy Spirit used the words to grip him, to open his eyes to a truth that the Lord was showing him.  

The pastor used the words of Galatians 3:28, to set up his sermon.  “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”  He used the words to describe this country, all we had overcome, and the One who brought us all together.  He talked of liberty, and he spoke of freedom, and he laid out where those rights came from.  He then said,  “These fundamental concepts of life had been given to the world from Sinai, where the moral law was graven upon tables of stone, symbolizing the universal application to all men; and they came from the New Testament, where they heard in the words of Jesus of Nazareth the living Word of God for the world.”

He then went on to speak of Lincoln, and the words he spoke at the Gettysburg Address.  “This is the American way of life.  Lincoln saw this clearly. History for him was the Divine Comedy, though he would not use that phrase. The providence of God was being fulfilled. Wherefore, he claims that it is under God that this nation shall know a new birth of freedom. And by implication, it is under God that “government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth.”  For Lincoln, since God was in His Heaven, all must ultimately be right for his country.”

The pastor then went on to speak of the world as it was in the day he was giving the sermon.  He talked of Communism, and the nations it controlled.  He told how those Communist nations proclaimed liberty and freedom.  How they declared justice, and they also claimed to be living under the law.  But as the congregation listened, he told of the two words that separated their laws, their justice, their freedom and their liberty.  Two words, “Under God”. Two words absent from all they believe, two words that no nation could survive without.

The pastor then went on to talk of the words that united us, and the pledge we told the world about us, and so desired for the world to see in us.  

“What, therefore is missing in the Pledge of Allegiance that Americans have been saying off and on since 1892, and officially since 1942?  The one fundamental concept that completely and ultimately separates Communist Russia from the democratic institutions of this country.  This was seen clearly by Lincoln. Under God this people shall know a new birth of freedom, and “under God” are the definitive words."

"Now, Lincoln was not being original in that phrase.  He was simply reminding the people of the basis upon which the Nation won its freedom in its Declaration of Independence.  He went back to Jefferson as he did in a famous speech delivered at Independence Hall in Philadelphia on February 22, 1861, two years before the Gettysburg Address.  “All the political sentiments I entertain have been drawn from the sentiments which originated and were given to the world from this hall.  I have never had a feeling politically that did not spring from sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence.” 

The pastor then recalled the words of that Declaration, the words of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness they proclaimed.  “In Jefferson’s phrase, if we deny the existence of the God who gave us life, how can we live by the liberty He gave us at the same time?  This is a God-fearing nation. On our coins, bearing the imprint of Lincoln and Jefferson are the words “In God we trust.” Congress is opened with prayer.  It is upon the Holy Bible the President takes his oath of office.  Naturalized citizens, when they take their oath of allegiance, conclude, solemnly, with the words “so help me God.”  

The pastor then went on to close his sermon by saying, “This is the issue we face today: A freedom that respects the rights of the minorities, but is defined by a fundamental belief in God.  A way of life that sees man, not as the ultimate outcome of a mysterious concatenation of evolutionary process, but a sentiment being created by God and seeking to know His will, and “Whose soul is restless till he rest in God.”

The words he heard that day so spoke to his heart that he vowed to never forget them, to lead this nation to forever proclaim them.  The words of the sermon that day would forever change the history of this nation.  And the direction those words would lead this nation would one day lead to a controversy that many still argue today.

The man who sat in a pew at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., and listened to the sermon preached that day by Reverend George M. Docherty, was none other than President Dwight D. Eisenhower.  For most of his adult life, Dwight Eisenhower had seen church as irreverent, and rarely at best attended.  But as he became President in 1952, he began to turn more to the Bible, and began to follow the words that Christ had told us. Soon, Eisenhower found himself more on his knees than he could have ever imagined in seeking the guidance and direction he needed in heading this country.  Now in need of a church, he turned to none other than Billy Graham for direction.  It was Reverend Graham who directed him toward Reverend Edward Elson at the National Presbyterian Church near the Capitol, as he knew the pastor as a man who taught the fullness of Christ, and the inerrancy of the Word of God.  

Eisenhower became more and more involved in the church, and soon had Reverend Elson coming to the White House on a regular bases instructing him on the ways of Presbyterianism, and on what it meant to walk in faith with Christ. Soon, Eisenhower would become the only President to be baptized while holding the office.

It was his faith that led Eisenhower to the Lincoln Day Service that faithful day,  And it was his faith that led Eisenhower to push for the words “Under God” to be added to the Pledge of Allegiance.  For a few years prior, many had pushed for the words to be added.  But it was the words of a pastor, who was led by the Holy Spirit, that inspired Eisenhower to make official the two words that America had always believed.

Under God.  What does it mean for our nation to be “under God”?  A simple look in the dictionary of the word “under”, gets us well on our way.  The definition is a complex one, with multiple meanings.  Under means, “in a position below; covered or concealed; subject to rule and guidance; with authorization and protection of; being the subject of and to”.  From this definition, it becomes clear that “one nation under God” is a nation that is subject to the authority, rule and protection of the covering hand of our Lord, and it is His Word that guides them.

From the minute our forefathers drew up the words of the Mayflower Compact, the origins of this nation were placed under the guidance of His hand. As the Pilgrims sailed to this land, it was His hand that directed them,  And as they arrived on its’ shores, it was His Word that governed them.  Over one hundred and forty years later, it was that same Hand that guided Jefferson to pen the rights all men are given, and Whom it was that gave us those usual rights. That same Hand covered Lincoln as he proclaimed to this nation at Gettysburg, “this nation under God, shall have a new birth of freedom”.   It was the same Hand that faithfully guided us and held us strong through the horrors of war, and the tragedy of the Depression. And it was that same Hand that raised us up as the “shiny city on the hill” for all the world to see, a beacon of hope for the world to follow.  The idea of “under God” may not have found its’ way onto paper until 1954, but it is obvious by every minute of America’s history that those words were always there.

Each time we recite those two added words, we recognize the love, the grace, and the mercy that can only be found in that governing Hand.  The Hand, in which all rights are given, and the Hand upon which true liberty and freedom can only be found.  It is in those two words that James Madison formed the branches of our government(Isaiah 33:22).  It was those two words that led our Founding Fathers to open their Bibles, establishing the morals of this land that would guide us, and the laws of this land that would govern us. Those two words directed our Founding Fathers to do something no land had ever done, they established a freedom of religion, not a freedom from religion.  Those two words showed them that man had been made in the image of God(Genesis 1:26), with the free will to choose or reject the Lord above. Those two words showed them that it was the work of the Holy Spirit alone that could change the heart of man, not the actions of government. Those two words showed them that Christ had come to establish a relationship with man, not a government that would control the thoughts of man. They knew that in those two words freedom could only be found.  They knew the power of those two words, that only under God could the people rule, and without God the people would soon perish. They knew our future could only be found in those two words.  Words that Eisenhower would one day echo when he said, “To raise our children in a moral atmosphere is to recognize the existence of a Supreme Overlord.”

As Eisenhower’s life would come to an end, it was those two words that continued to guide him.  One of the last visitors to speak with Eisenhower was an old friend who had help the Lord change his life.  Eisenhower summoned Billy Graham to his room at Walter Reed Medical Center, and asked Reverend Graham if he would once again tell him the plan of salvation that Billy Graham had given him over fourteen years ago.  As Reverend Graham finished, Eisenhower responded with two equally powerful words, “I’m Ready!”

My life has been blessed that I am able to say, I live each of my days “under God”!

Praying each of your lives are guided by those two words.

No Fence To Sit On

Dr. Mike Murphy

September 8, 2024

His response set me back.  His wife had recently passed after suffering for years with health problems. .I talked with him, trying to comfort him and offer him more than just my condolences.  He talked to me about how his wife had suffered and hurt, he told me that his family took comfort in the fact she would no longer suffer from the problems that had haunted her.  He then spoke words to me that shocked me, alarming me., Telling me, wherever she now was, she was better off.

Wherever.  Wherever is a closed door, a door we have not yet seen behind. A door that opens into more than one path.  Paths that take us into completely different directions. But paths we have already chosen before we open that door, and face that wherever. 

But that wherever does not come to us blindly.  We have been given a glimpse of that wherever our whole life.  A glimpse of where each path leads, and what awaits at the end of each path.  Each day, the Lord tells us all we need to know about what awaits us behind that door, and He gives us a road map of each of those paths.  We do not walk through that door blindly, we walk into that wherever knowing exactly what is at the end of each path.

Today, we watch as many try to ignore both paths.  Many try to deny all the Lord tells us awaits behind that door.  They emphasize and teach that you can enter that door and just sit comfortably on the fence, not having to worry about which path you have chosen.  Telling all to not concerned about what awaits for them in "wherever".  But in doing this, they purposely overlook each word that God has given us.  Each word telling us, that on the day we open that door, there will be no fence to sit on.

It was once said, “How well I have learned that there is no fence to sit on between heaven and hell. There is a deep, wide gulf, a chasm, and in that chasm is no place for any man.”  Who do you think spoke these words?  A famous minister, or a noted Christian speaker?  Neither!  These words were spoken by a man who spent much of his life ignoring what God has told us about Heaven and Hell.  A man who tried to sit on that fence.  But a man who God reached with the truth about where his life was leading, and the reality of what he faced in eternity. These words were spoken by Johnny Cash.  A “Romans 7” man, who spent much of his life in the chasm of which he spoke, knowing the realities that Heaven and Hell both offer.

Heaven and Hell are real.  Hell has become a controversial issue that few wish to discuss.  Many, even those in the Church, find it hard to accept the reality of Hell.  They cannot see how a loving God could ever punish a single person for rejecting Him and His Word.  They seek to redefine Hell, some claiming it is just a temporary state.  Others denying its’ very existence, claiming it was created only in the minds of men, nothing more than an abstract idea in order to try to control mankind.  But in doing so, all ignore the words and warning that Christ gave us(Revelation 22:19).

In recent polls, only thirty percent of Americans now believe in an actual and literal Hell.  And if that poll may surprise you, the same polls tell us that only half of all who call themselves pastors believe in a literal Hell.  Hell is becoming a concept that the world not only ignores, but is no longer being taught between the walls of our churches.

So exactly what does God tell us about Hell?  Hell is a subject that many today feel uncomfortable talking about.  They had much rather avoid the subject, than to have to face the reality of what Hell brings.  Stories and movies paint Hell as a cartoon place.  From the writings of Dante’s Inferno to movies like Constantine, Friday the 13th, and even Fantasia, fantasy images of Hell are presented to us.  But the Bible paints us a vivid picture of Hell without the fantasy. A picture of Hell that shows us the absence of God.

Hell is a real and actual place.  It is not a place of unconsciousness, or a place that is just temporary.  The Bible makes it clear that it is a permanent place of torment.  While Christ walked this earth, He spoke more about Hell than He did about Heaven, spending much of His time warning people of the realities that Hell would bring.  If Hell was not real, or just a temporary place, then why would Christ spend so much time warning us about it? It is only because Hell is real, an eternal and conscious choice, that Christ so vehemently warned us about the realities of Hell.

One hundred and sixty-seven times the Bible tells us and warns us about Hell.  Of all the stories the Bible tells us of Hell, no story of Hell is more popular than one we all know, the story of Lazarus and the wealthy man(Luke 16:19-31). Lazarus was a man who was poor, but used all he had to serve the Lord.  The wealthy man, lived his life only for himself. As both die, the wealthy man goes to Hell, while Lazarus goes to be with God in Paradise. While in Hell, the wealthy man looks up and sees Lazarus with Abraham.  He pleads with Abraham, begging him for mercy because for the torment he finds himself in.  Asking Abraham to send Lazarus to just dip his finger in the water and place it on his tongue, to cool him from the agony of the flames.  But Abraham refuses, reminding him that a chasm so vast that no one can cross separates them..  The wealthy man then ask Abraham if he would send Lazarus to his father’s house to warn his five brothers of the horrors of the place he finds himself in.  Abraham again refuses, telling the wealthy man that if they will not listen to God’s Word, and those who bring that Word, they would not listen to anyone who was sent.

Many hear this story and say it is nothing more than a parable, proclaiming it is just a fable trying to teach us a point.  But if it is just a parable, then why does it do something that Christ did not do in any other parable?  Christ gives us an actual name, the name of an actual person, something He never does in another parable.  This is more than a story Christ is giving us, it is history.  A real event, involving real people, that actually happened.

But let us play devil's advocate for a second, and say it is just a parable. Christ spoke parables to us so He could teach us something, in ways that made it easy for us to understand.  So what is this parable teaching us?  If Hell was just make believe, and there was nothing after death, then Christ was using this parable to teach us a lie.  If the fires of Hell were not real, and the consequences and decisions of our life do not lead to either Heaven or Hell, then the parable that Christ was speaking would lead to false doctrine. Christ gave us this story to show us just how real Heaven and Hell are.  To remind us, that although we have the free will to choose or to reject Christ, there is still consequences we will face for that choice.

Hell is real.  God’s Word makes it clear that Hell is a place prepared for Satan and his followers, but is also a place we will find ourselves in if we reject Christ(Matthew 25:41). The reality is, we all deserve Hell for our sin(Romans 6:23).  Each day, we condemn ourselves to Hell because of our rebellion against the Lord(Romans 3:10, Romans 5:12). But God’s love for us is stronger than His desire to punish us.  God is righteous, and just in all His actions.  But in that justice, we see His mercy, and the love He has for us.  So He sent Christ so that we could overcome what we deserved, so we could have a way out from what we have brought on ourselves(John 3:16).  So we could spend forever in the presence of that love, not an eternity in the torment of our deserved rebellion.

So many will ask, who is going to Heaven, and who is going to Hell?  Six verses of God’s Word answers that question better than I ever could.  The first verse, most of us know by heart.  John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”  But the next five verses, explain the power that is held in the words of this verse.  John 3:17-21, “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.  He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.   This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.  For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

Hell is a choice, our own choice.  Those who live for self, not for God. Those who reject Christ, refusing all that He offers.  The above verses make it clear and very simple, Hell is a destiny for those who do not believe in the name of Jesus, and who do not accept Christ as their Savior.  The minute we stop living for ourselves, and start living for Christ with all of our mind, our heart, and our soul, Hell becomes a destination that no longer exists on our personal GPS.

The Lord has no greater desire than for every one of us to spend eternity with Him(2 Peter 3:9).  Although He desires for all of us to be with Him, He knows better than anyone how He made us, the free will He gave each of us.  A free will that allows each of us to choose to follow Him, or to reject Him.  But a free will that does not come without consequences, the consequences of Hell.  We can choose to trust what Jesus’ did to pay for our sins, or we can freely choose to pay for our own sins.  “Thy will be done” is a statement we will all hear before the end. Either us saying it to God as we give our life to Him.  Or God speaking it to us as we live our eternity separate from Him.

Hell is a place without a fence.  A place we can enter freely.  A place we can freely choose to spend our eternity.  A place where the wealthy man in the story of Lazarus, knew he has placed himself.  A place as real as the breath you now breathe.  A place where each will confess the justness of the Lord(Psalm 76:10).  A place of torment and regret.  A place where our sorrows will haunt us forever.

Hell is a place no man can ignore, and no minister can preach around.  A place each page of the Bible screams at us to teach the truth of.  A place where ignoring takes us beyond ignorance, landing us right into the middle of foolishness. Each word of God’s Word proclaims and warns us, there is no fence to sit on between Heaven and Hell.

Praying your eternity will never see a single sorrow or regret.