Author: Chris Luzio

I had to admit I had not. I knew the story, and knew it contained some Biblical teaching, but had no idea how wonderful it is. Having been written 300 years ago it’s not an easy read, but let me share just a little of what Robinson discovered after being marooned on a desert island.

“I finished my fourth year in this place, and kept my anniversary with the same devotion and with as much comfort as ever before; for, by a constant study and serious application to the Word of God, and by the assistance of His grace, I gained a different knowledge from what I had before. I entertained different notions of things. I looked now upon the world as a thing remote which I had nothing to do with, no expectations from, and, indeed, no desires about.

I was removed from all the wickedness of the world here; I had neither the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eye, nor the pride of life. I had nothing to covet, for I had all that I was now capable of enjoying. I had enough to eat and supply my wants, and what was all the rest to me? The most covetous, griping miser in the world would have been cured of the vice of covetousness if he had been in my case; for I possessed infinitely more than I knew what to do with.

I had now brought my state of life to be much easier in itself than it was a first, and much easier to my mind, as well as to my body. I frequently sat down to meat with thankfulness, and admired the hand of God’s providence, which had thus spread my table in the wilderness. I learned to look more upon the bright side of my condition, and less upon the dark side, and to consider what I enjoyed rather than I wanted; and this gave me sometimes such secret comforts, that I cannot express them; and which I take notice of here, to put those discontented people in mind of it, who cannot enjoy comfortably what God has given them, because they see and covet something that He had unto given them. All our discontents about what we want appeared to me to spring from the want of thankfulness for what we have.”

God Bless, Rick

Grandma and I were asking Levi about his week at CIY, and he agreed to take us through each day’s teaching and activities. When asked about the most significant thing he learned, he took us to the armor of God. And the point that really caught his attention was that the belt of truth was the most important piece of armor, because if it’s missing, the rest of the armor just falls off.

That was a new thought to him, and to me, but it’s true. If we’re not grounded in the truth, we don’t have a chance when facing the enemy. Our saving faith, our righteousness, our defensive weapons, and our message are all useless unless they’re securely wrapped in the truth. The absolute truth, revealed in the one who is the way, the truth and the life.

Like Pilate, who asked “What is truth?”, our society doesn’t recognize the truth when it’s standing in front of it, and is all around it. In the spiritual world, and in the physical world.

We must admit that it is difficult to see truth in the unseen world. Reason and serious thought about life can lead us in the right direction, but absolute spiritual truth must be revealed. And fortunately, it has been.

Not only did God inspire the Scriptures, the Living Word took on flesh and dwelt among us. And as Jesus told Thomas after being told to put his hand into His side, “Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

We may not be able to actually see spiritual truth with physical eyes, but we can see physical truth. If preconceived prejudices against the supernatural are removed, intelligent design can be seen everywhere. And we know the Intelligent Designer, because He revealed Himself.

The sad thing is that we live in a world that has dismissed God. And according to Chesterton, “When men choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing, they then become capable of believing anything.”

When spiritual truth is denigrated even obvious physical truth can be blatantly denied, as is evidenced by the current gender confusion.

God Bless, Rick

“I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;” The psalmist said it, but how often do we think about it? When was the last time you thought about how wonderfully your knee was designed? I have to admit I didn’t really think about it until it started talking back at me, and in February it told me to limp into the Ortho Walk-in Clinic.

I was diagnosed with a tight IT band, the ligament that runs along the side of the thigh, and told that I needed physical therapy. After five weeks of stretching and contorting, my knee was screaming at me.

My chiropractor, who we all know and love, kept the rest of me in good shape, but my primary doctor sent me to a knee doctor. He said he’d never seen a knee problem present itself the way mine did. He took more X-rays and said he could try some knee injections. The cortisone helped for a couple of days, but the chicken fat didn’t help at all.

It was then decided we should look into the possibility of a blood clot and get an MRI of my lumbar region. No clot was found, but the ultrasound did spot a cyst of some type, and all the MRI discovered was expected age-related osteoarthritis.

Last week I had an MRI of my knee, and it revealed both of the meniscuses were torn, a couple of the connecting ligaments had degenerated, and a piece of something was lodged in the bend of my knee. A total knee replacement has been suggested as a possible fix, but I’m going to get a second opinion.

Now back to how wonderfully our knees have been made. Those who believe our bodies were designed through a process of unguided evolution often think we can do better. But an award winning bioengineer said his Intelligent Design perspective led him to believe the human knee featured an advanced linkage design that led him to spend twenty-five years researching and developing bio-inspired knees for robotics.

Looks like the Intelligent Designer knew what He was doing.

God Bless, Rick

When I read this in Salvo I knew I had to share it. With the abortion pill being readily available in Illinois, this aspect of using it needs to be widely known. I also share it because I am very thankful we support two local pro-life ministries, First Step Women’s Center and Beerlahai Roi.

God Bless, Rick

“Abortion-pill usage has risen dramatically in the wake of Dobbs, and this has resulted in a new trend in post-abortion regret. In the past, decades might pass before a post-abortive mother would seek healing. With the abortion pill, it’s different. ‘When the baby is expelled, it’s just hitting women in a different way,’ said 40 Days for Life leader Mark Cavaliere. ’With surgical abortions, they could point their fingers at that bad place and the abortionist that did this to them…But the abortion pill essentially makes a woman her own abortionist and her own home the abortion facility.’ Aborting mothers are unprepared for the trauma of seeing their baby. ‘Do I flush the toilet? Do I keep the baby? How do I keep the baby? Where do I take it? Can I bury my baby? They don’t know. They’re just in complete shock.’

The sanitized, clinical, ‘between a woman and her doctor; rhetoric is utterly stripped away, and abortion can be seen more clearly for what it is. Certainly it’s unspeakably painful, but pro-life ministries are seeing beneficial consequences. Rather than spiral into a year’s-long descent into psychological scarring and emotional trauma (trajectories that often include years of promiscuity and repeat abortions), many women are seeking help right away. And pro-life ministries are doing what they have always done—meeting them with tangible resources and gospel-centered love and support. ‘The most immediate result,’ writes Steve Karlen of 40 Days for Life, ‘is that the women who come forward sooner can encounter God’s mercy without spending years or decades in the desert suffering needlessly.’”

In case you haven’t noticed, the gym is open! After a couple of misstarts, we got it done. We dedicated it on April 12th, and started using it that night.

There are still a few little things to do inside, and a lot to do outside. The dirt along the edges of the gym needs to be
evened out and covered with rock. Water that occasionally creates duck ponds in the back is going to be directed to the ditch in front of our property. The field north of the gym will be leveled and seeded. And a new fence will be installed around the nursery playground.

Even while that is taking place, the gym will be available for church programs, church sponsored events, recreational
use by church members, and games and activities hosted by members of our church. While the gym will not be available for the community at large to reserve, it is our desire that people in the area will become acquainted with our church, and our Savior, by being invited to participate in planned activities.

Any member of our congregation who wants to schedule a time to use the gym can see if it’s available by going to our web page, chathamchristian.org, and clicking on the three little lines on the top right corner, something I just found out is called a hamburger, and then click the word gym to find the calendar. To book a time, go to ccchur.ch/gym or use the QR code posted in the gym.

If you have any questions about using the gym or need assistance booking a time to use it, give Mark, Casey, or Chris a call. It won’t do much good to call me.

God Bless, Rick