Imaginary Ideas from

Augusta National
Golf Club
Ina Manly Painter
Phil Mickelson, on national television, partially
attributed his winning the Augusta National Masters
to his deceased grandfather whom he believed gave
the ball a bit of a nudge, causingbim to win the 2004
Championship. It seems tome that we are hearing these
kinds of "sentimental" ideas more and more. Just a few
years ago we were unfamiliar with the idea of the dead
giving assistance to the living! Could it be that we are
tolerant of such notions, and at the same time intolerant
of anyone who would dare spoil these "sweet" moments
with references to Scriptural truths?
When my father died someone suggested, "Your dad
will be pulling for you, putting in a good word." I knew
my friend was showing compassion, but her concept
was totally inaccurate. In this postmodern world we are
without a standard, without truth--anything goes. The
Scriptures do not say any deceased man or woman has
the power to give assistance or bring us into harmony
with anyone. "For there is one God, and one mediator
also between God and men, the man ChristJesus" (I
Tim.2:5 NAS). God could have said He is God and
Christ is the mediator and left it at that; however, He
gave us specific numbers and a specific gender that we
can understand--the numbers one and the man Christ
Jesus.
God says that He is the one and only God. This' means
He shares His Godhead with no one. This one God,
(Eph.4:6) is present with us (ps. 46: I), therefore we have
no reason to think He is far away, up in the clouds
somewhere, having left us without a helper--a mediator
and advocate--to span the distance .. There is little belief
that God is sovereign over everything or anything, even
among Christians. Because many folks are repulsed by
a God who has foreordained power OVer everything
(Eph:4: I, II), they are left with a god who has no
foreordained power over anything. Apart from God,
what could they possibly rely upon except their own
imaginations (Rom. I :21)?
In every century Satan has contrived all manner of
s c h e ~ e s to rob the world of the truth of Christ's priestly
duty III representing sinful man Qefore a holy God.
Simple truths have been obscured,as if there was no
high priest in Heaven to bring God and man together.
Scripture clearly says that Christ Jesus is the one and
only mediator. This means He appeased the just wrath
of God against our sins by sacrificing His life on the cross
in our place and has forever secured our relationship of
reconciliation with God our Father. Because Christ is
the one mediator, it is impossiQI, for anyone else to offer
mediatorial functions before God for us. Only Christ
holds out Hjs hand to us like a brother, having joined
Himself to our nature, that we might not wander around
in uncertainty but approach God in Him for everything
we need.
To say that .Christ is 0llr mediator, our advocate, is not to
say that He is the. ,advocate of choice or that it is impolite
to depend upon someone other than Him. Every
individual t has ever lived, except Adam and Christ,
was born WIth a thoroughly rotten sin nature, in need of
Christ's advocacy, and unable to approach God on their
own. Christ is the only one person on whom we may
rely and the only one person through whom we have
access to God. Everyone, including those who arrogantly
set themselves above God as earth1yPriests, the VIrgin
Mary, the Pope himself, and the Papists dead Saints is
like us-frail, sinful and incapable of approaching God
except through ChristJesus.
Today, Christ's sacrifice continues to be under attack
as it has been for centuries. These attacks have largely
proliferated from the Roman Church who would have
the world believe the Virgin Mary--a woman, angels,
and departed saints have ability to plea before God. It
is as if common individuals are inaccessible to God and
need someone else's merits to work for them. Society at
large is embracing this error more and more. It is not
uncommon to hear those outside Catholicis';' making
statements about the dead interceding for the living
or that some medium, such as birds or spiders, etc.,
communicate certain "supernatural" messages. Only
Satan could misuse God's glorious creation by devising
such wicked "spiritualizations". At a funeral recently
a minister encouraged the grieving family to look for
manifestations of their departed loved one in mediums
such as the wind, the sunset or in d,e spirit of doves
feeding outside d,eir windows.
Because of God's love, He became like us, not as a
woman but as the man ChristJesus, paying for our
sins in His death on the cross. In His life and deadl
He satisfied the divine demands of the Law, on our
behalf, providing eternal life with all it's blessings, not
just for heaven someday but for life on earth, here and
now, everyday. Because He has already accomplished
our redemption, not just making redemption possible,
we have hope. This hope is real. It is not a hope-so,
or a someday-maybe concept. It is the reality of a
sure, confident guaranty that transports us from being
estranged from God, wid,oUt hope, to being able to rush
right into His presence, partaking in the glorious benefits
as His children (Eph.3:12; Heb.4:16). Instead of looking
to dead relatives to meet our needs, we are able to fasten
our hope on the living Christ, who will never leave us or
turn us away empty handed (Matt. 1 1 :28,29; Heb.13 :5).
The idea that the glory of priesdy office can
be transferred to a circumstance or person, to be used
like a superstitious good luck charm, is a blasphemous
usurpation of power belonging to God alone. Departed
persons are unable to show us great places to shop,
provide parking spaces, assist in winning championships
or bring us into God's favor. Trusting in anything or
anyone, apart from Christ, is a sad and eventual painful
delusion. There is neither life nor health in detouring
from the clarity and direction of Scripture (ps.42:11).
If d,e truths of God set us free (John 8:32), lies can only
enslave us (John 8:34).
Painter@espe"com
"Christ is a l110st preciolls commodity, he is betler
thanl'1lbies or the most pearls: and we I11Ust
part wilh 01lr old gold, with ollr shining gold, ollr
old sins, our 1110.1'1 shining sins, or we m1lst perish
fiJrevo: Christ is to be sought m1d bought with any
pains, at any price: we can not buy this gold too
dem: He is ajewell170re worth than athol/sand
world,', as all kl10w who have Him. Get Him, al1d
get all: miss Him and miss all." Thomas Brooks
UNANSWERED PRAYER
David Feddes
The Back to God Hour
www.backtogod.net
I cry to you for help, 0 Lord; in d,e morning my prayer
comes before you. Why, 0 Lord, do you reject me?
Psalm 88:13-14
A woman with a husband and two children recendy died
of cancer. I can't figure out why God allowed an awful
disease to cut down a precious person in the prime of
her life. I don't know why God allowed her husband and
children to lose someone so dear to them, or why her
parents, brothers, sisters, and friends had to go through
crushing grief I don't know why she got sick and died. I
do know that it wasn't due to a lack of prayer.
My friend's sister prayed many times for healing. Her
husband and children prayed. Her brothers and sisters
prayed. Her parents prayed. Her friends prayed. Entire
congregations prayed. Many, many of us prayed and
. prayed and prayed that she would be healed. At times
it even looked like the prayers were being answered in
a thrilling way. There were encouraging reports, and
our hopes rose. But those hopes were dashed by cruel
cancer, and she died. Why did so many prayers bring
such a crushing result? How could God not give healing
and long life in response to so many prayers for such a
beloved person?
A single woman longs to find a good man, get married,
and have children. She's lonely and would rad,er not
be single any more. She's the sort of wise, gende person
who would make an excellent wife and mother. She
prays earnestly for God to bring the right man. She
prays this way year after year, waiting and hoping. But
the only men who show an interest in her don't share her
faith and her moral standards. She's met some decent
guys too, but they always end up marrying someone else.
She's getting close to d,e age when she'll never be able to
have children, and still God has not granted her repeated
request for a husband and family. Why not? She remains
committed to God, but she can't help wondering why
God doesn't answer her prayer.
A man works hard and handles his finances honesdy but
loses his job and can't pay his bills. He prays for God
to meet his needs, but his financial hole keeps getting
deeper. Why doesn't God answer his prayers and ease his