by Tim Hall

Can you feel pity for Jack Whittaker? You really should try, though for some it won't be easy.

On Christmas 2002, Jack Whittaker of Winfield, WV won the Powerball Lottery. His prize of $314.9 million was the largest single prize ever won in U.S. lottery history.

Pity this man? Please, hear the rest of Jack's story.

According to an article carried by the Associated Press on March 11, 2004, Jack's office was broken into on Tuesday of this past week and $2,000 was taken. Two days later, thieves broke into his vehicle as it sat outside his home and made off with undisclosed property.

Earlier in the week, an employee of a local casino filed charges that Jack Whittaker had assaulted her in March 2003. Jack has made no formal response and no criminal charges have been filed.

There's more. In January of this year, Jack Whittaker was charged with threatening to kill the manager of a local bar and with drunken driving. In that same month, $100,000 was taken from his vehicle. Four months before, $500,000 he was carrying in a briefcase was taken from him after he was drugged at a strip club.

We suspect this is not the end of Jack Whittaker's woes.

As we consider the saga of this "lucky" man, let's also be sure to consider the words of Ecclesiastes 5:11,12: "When goods increase, they increase who eat them; so what profit have the owners except to see them with their eyes? The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep." Do you have trouble understanding what this passage means? Consider the experience of Jack Whittaker.

Whittaker's experience also helps us to see the truthfulness of 1 Timothy 6:10: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." (Do I hear an "Amen" from Winfield, West Virginia?)

What could be better than winning the biggest jackpot of all time? Here's God's answer: "Now godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Tim. 6:6). "Great gain" isn't measured in dollars and cents; it's measured in peace of mind and contentment.

Now can you feel pity for poor Jack Whittaker?

by Tim Hall

Mel Gibson's "The Passion Of The Christ" has provoked reactions from many quarters. One theme that has been pressed by some is the Jewishness of Jesus and Christianity's supposed disregard of that fact. This comment from the March 8, 2004 issue of "U.S. News & World Report" is an example: "Christians have always had to deal with the fact that Jesus of Nazareth - the founder of their religion, their Messiah, and the second part of the trinitarian God - was himself not a Christian but, indisputably, a Jew." The argument then suggests that Jesus' followers developed Christian doctrines in reaction to the persecution they endured at the hands of Jewish leaders. The result, Christianity, was the child of the early disciples, but not anything Jesus had envisioned.

To say that Christianity was not in the mind of the One claimed to be the head of the movement is a serious charge. It brands the early Christian leaders as renegades, usurpers - hijackers of an ideal. If they had more faithfully followed the teachings of Jesus, Christianity as we know it would never have been born.

Such a view of the illegitimacy of Christianity shows a failure to accept Jesus' own testimony about His mission. Consider His statement in John 7:16,17: "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority" (NKJV). In saying this, Jesus was challenging observers (of all times) to investigate. Those who honestly consider the evidence "shall know" the veracity of His way.

Of particular interest is the testimony of Scripture that a change would occur in the covenant God had made with the Jews. Significantly, the prediction of this change came from God through a Jew: "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah - not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt . . ." (Jer. 31:31,32). Could honest observers fail to see that this was a prediction that God would somehow alter the covenant made with the Jews through Moses?

This prophecy was later affirmed to have been fulfilled by - again, significantly - a Hebrew. In speaking of Jesus and the "new and living way which He consecrated for us" (Heb. 10:20), he wrote: "But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises" (Heb. 8:6). After making that claim, the writer then quoted from Jeremiah 31, the prophecy of the change God would make to His covenant (vv. 8-12).

Here's the point: Jesus was a Jew. Of that there can be no doubt. But of even greater importance is the realization that Jesus was One who accepted and followed the will of God, whatever that happened to be. If His ministry had been conducted during the Christian age, He would have obediently submitted to the requirements of that covenant.

The fact that Jesus observed the Law of Moses does not make illegitimate the later activities of His apostles and disciples. They were merely imitating their Lord, of whom it was prophesied, "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God" (Heb. 10:7,9). We now have the possibility of pure and simple Christianity because these early followers of Jesus did the will of God. They were acting entirely according to Jesus' plan.

by Tim Hall

You would think that the Apostle Paul would be in complete control. After all of the trials and difficulties he had suffered, he surely would have a handle on fear and doubts by now. But this great servant of God still needed strength at times. Where could he get it?

By the last chapter of Acts, Paul had been through so much. He had often been beaten, imprisoned, rejected by his own kinsmen, and had just survived a shipwreck from a fearful storm. Ahead of him, however, was a date with the Emperor, Caesar Augustus. A visit with the Roman ruler was not a pleasant appointment. The Caesars guarded their power with cold and ruthless means, and theirs were not normally sympathetic ears.

The skyline of Rome was in sight when Luke provided us with these details: "And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Three Inns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage" (Acts 28:15, NKJV).

Brethren coming together - is that such a big deal? It is when you are involved in a struggle, as Paul on this occasion was. And, in case you hadn't checked lately, struggles are still a part of life. Like the storm that wrecked Paul's ship, trials blow into our lives without warning. We may feel as if we are cast overboard, straining just to keep our heads above water. How we need courage in such situations! But where can it be found?

Our text shows that courage can come from people. We find courage, just as Paul did, by being with others who believe as we do, who have weathered crises in their lives, who compassionately reach out to help us. It's important that brethren keep up their habit of coming together.

The writer of Hebrews understood this principle and urged Christians to regularly practice it. In pressing his readers to endure, he wrote, "And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching" (Heb. 10:24,25). He didn't order church attendance for the sake of big numbers; he exhorted brethren to practice active fellowship as a matter of survival!

Often when I attend worship and Bible study assemblies, my life is going well. I am joyful and confident, able to offer courage to others who are there. Occasionally, though, I stand on the other side of the transaction. Instead of being in a position to give encouragement, I am the one who needs it. What better place to find the strength needed than with people who draw their strength from the Lord?

Philo, a Jewish philosopher who was a contemporary of the apostles, once wrote: "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." That is a good reason to make assembling with the saints a high priority. Often we can help others just by being present; sometimes we're the ones who will be helped.

by Tim Hall

I recently received an e-mail with a very tough report: A preaching colleague had just learned he may have cancer. He's a fairly young man with a wife and children, but his future is suddenly not so clear. To make matters worse, the family has no health insurance; they just can't afford the premiums. What now?

Dr. Jerome Groopman is the author of the book, "The Anatomy of Hope". As one who deals with cancer patients, he knows the important role hope plays in people overwhelmed with trials. When asked to define "hope", he responded: "Basically, I think hope is the ability to see a path to the future" (U.S. News & World Report, January 26, 2004).

That's a metaphor that makes sense. Sometimes we find ourselves at a dead end with nowhere to turn. We see no options before us. Such a situation can lead to despair. It's a crushing feeling when we have no hope.

You know very well that Christians are not immune to life's problems. The fellow I mentioned above demonstrates that. But Christians have one thing that others don't: Faith in a God who promises to open for us a path.

He did it for Israel as they were fleeing Egypt. They had come to a dead end, the shores of the Red Sea. As they surveyed their situation, they heard hoofbeats behind them. Their hearts sank as they searched in vain for a pathway of escape. But God had not forgotten His people. He opened a path through the sea where there had been none before. Just a few hours later they were singing songs of victory. (Read Exodus 14 and 15 for the stirring account.)

Israel's almighty God is our God. He still has the power to open pathways. Paul wrote of that promise: "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (Rom. 8:28, NASV). "All things" in this verse may include bad events, as well as good. But these do not represent dead ends, for God is always present to open up a path. We can't see that path to the future, but we know without any doubt that God is there.

When a person is convinced there is no hope, life becomes dark and miserable. Thanks be to God that we never have to reach such a conclusion!

"For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning" (Ps. 30:5, NKJV).

by Tim Hall

Watch out for the black cat that tries to cross your path. Never walk underneath a ladder. When you tip over a salt shaker, be sure to pitch a little over your left shoulder (or is it your right shoulder?). And by no means should you ever, ever attempt anything important on Friday the 13th.

Don't assume that everyone is chuckling along with you over these examples of superstition. According to an article on About.com on the subject, "Paraskevidekatriaphobia" (fear of Friday the 13th) is a condition that afflicts 21 million Americans - about eight percent of the population. According to the same article, a study appeared in 1993 in the British Medical Journal confirming that a greater number of auto accidents occur on Friday the 13th than on Friday the 6th.

What's a Christian to do? Do we play it safe and carefully avoid stepping on the sidewalk's cracks so as to avoid breaking our mother's back?

"Superstition" comes from a root that mean "standing over". It's the idea that certain dark forces hover above us over which we have no control. These forces (according to some) are not to be taken lightly. Laugh at the fear of Friday the 13th at your own peril.

The Bible, however, makes it clear that God is the ultimate Force to be heeded. Allowing our lives to be guided by fears of other "powers" is wrong.

In Jeremiah's day, many in Judah had turned from God to idolatry and other superstitions. He warned: "Thus says the Lord: 'Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the Gentiles are dismayed at them. For the customs of the peoples are futile. . .'" (Jer. 10:2,3, NKJV). How much have we progressed in 21st-century America? Have we learned the futility of observing the positions of planets and stars for the purpose of guiding our decisions? Or do we continue to follow the way of the Gentiles?

Years earlier, Isaiah had put the problem in perspective: "And when they say to you, 'Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,' should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isa. 8:19,20). The choice, according to Isaiah, is simple: Do we turn to the God of light for guidance, or to pseudo-forces that can give no light at all?

Sure, I avoid walking under ladders. But I do so because of concerns about falling objects, not because I fear some hex that may be placed upon me. As a Christian, I do not bow to irrational fears. I follow the revealed will of God and refuse to be shackled by superstitious ideas handed down through time.

Here's the Good News: "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (Jn. 8:32). Now get out and enjoy the day!