Though I am loathe to admit it, my daughter rose from bed at 04:00 to witness the nuptials of Prince William and one Kathryn Middleton. I am given to understand that approximately 1 billion of her fellow humans did likewise. I appreciate the “romance” of the proceedings, and I understand – at some marginally intellectual level – the ‘draw’ to these events, but frankly, I can’t be bothered. This isn’t because I am not a romantic (I’m not), and it isn’t because I could care less about ‘royalty’ (I can’t). It isn’t even because I can’t stand what qualifies as “newsworthy” any longer (I can’t). So, why can’t I be bothered by this grand event? Simply put, because this isn’t the royal wedding I am waiting for!

What could possibly rise above the event witnessed this morning? What could have more pomp, richer surroundings, and more meaning?Well, first some “backstory”. There was a King who had power over all that was known, and He had a bride who He cherished deeply. He lavished active love and relationship on His bride, but eventually she grew more enamored with the creatures and surroundings in her garden than with her King. One day, she broke the only rule in the land, effectively divorcing her husband, the King. She was forced to leave the garden, and she had a difficult life with many ups and downs (mostly down).

The King watched and grieved from a distance, but nothing could be done; she had broken the only rule. Finally the King – in His infinite wisdom – sent His Son (in disguise) to live with His bride, walking with her, talking with her, and experiencing what she experienced. This Plan culminated with the Son taking on the consequences of the rule that had been broken – in full – and paying for that Fall with His own life. The King had won back His bride, but she still didn’t accept that great gift!

Over many years, the King reached out to His bride and for brief moments it ‘felt’ like she was beginning to admit that the debt was paid, the battle won; that she could return to Him, but it didn’t happen. The King – and all His host – strained at the bounds of the palace as they tried to reach the bride, but the King knew it wasn’t time. As the bride suffered and grew older, the entire palace wept for her. Finally, the land the bride lived in was in constant battle and natural disasters raged across the landscape. Her very existence was coming to an end. The King knew this was the time. He and His hosts left the palace to go to the lost bride to bring her home at last.

The King and his hosts appears in a moment, and all the land sees them and trembles. The masses had relegated Him to the ages as a myth, a story told by children to other children; certainly not real, and definitely not all-powerful. Yet, here He is – in power and glory – white, shining as a thousand suns! Undeniable, and present. The earth shakes under the force of His army, and He raises up His bride, and takes her home to His palace. He has been preparing her home for thousands of years, and now she will see it! They can be together forever.

THE Wedding

The renewal of their vows, THE wedding, will take place outside a city with golden streets. This city has 12 gates, each made from a different precious stone. The groom will sit on a throne so bright that one can barely look toward it. That throne will be surrounded by angels with several wings, raising their voices in praise to the King and His Plan for His bride. The bride herself will stand on a sea of glass that is fed by a river, over which is a tree whose fruit changes each month; the Tree of Life. The bride will sing in praises to her King, and the vows they renew will never again be broken. After this wedding, the King will sit down with His bride and eat, and drink. He has not done this for thousands of years, as the Son vowed would come to pass. Once again relationship rebuilt, the bride renewed, and the King’s Plan complete!

Men and women of the Lord, that bride is US! We are those for whom He died so that we could be reconciled to Him. This Plan, in place for eternity past, to save those that were lost; to bring us back to Him, into perfect relationship as He intended from the beginning. How awesome, and how humbling a thought that He would do this for us after we were unfaithful in so many ways. You and I will stand together on that sea of glass and sing praises to Him, we will partake in the cup with Him, and we will rejoice with Him in Heaven for eternity. THAT is the wedding I am waiting for, and nothing we can do here take even one step toward the royalty, the environment, and the meaning of our heavenly reuniting with God the Father through Christ the Son.

For those of you who are reading this that have not yet accepted Christ as your Savior, I urge you to pray right now. Ask the Lord to guide you as He draws you to Him. Be part of this glorious resurrection. He loves you, and wants you to live with Him for eternity. Don’t let this pass!

P.S. I am aware, that in the quick telling of this story that I have left out some critical theology and the judgment(s) entirely. Forgive my license and know that I know these things will come to pass as well, but I haven’t entire days to write these entries!

If you post a blog entry after being prompted to do so by a Youtube video that was posted on Facebook and Tweeted to you, does the very fabric of the universe tear? I hope not, because that’s what is happening in this post!

A Youtube video was posted that showed a compilation of soldiers ‘arriving home’. In each case, the child, spouse, or family member didn’t know the appointment was coming and was pleasantly surprised. I have posted links to videos of this ‘genre’ below. If you have a few minutes, I’d like you to watch them (the first one for sure), dry your tears, and read on.

Soldiers Coming Home – Compilation Part 1

Soldiers Coming Home – Part 2

Soldiers Coming Home – Part3

I’d like to draw out a few things that we all notice as we watch these videos of touching moments in people’s lives and then provide some thoughts about parallels we could also experience.

There are several common threads in these videos. First, each of these relationships had been forced to be “remote” or “long-distance” for some period of time. Second, each of these relationships had some level of “life” when the soldier returned from deployment. Finally, every person was overjoyed to see that individual “in person” in a real way.

I would guess that you also noticed several different responses to the returning soldier. I’d like to suggest that the different responses were not due – as much – to personality differences in each family member being surprised, but much more to do with the previously existing relationship, its length, and its health. Suffer me a moment…

You saw a couple of very young children greeted by soldiers in units that had been deployed on extended engagements, or by soldiers in the Special Forces (high operational tempo, gone a long time). These kids knew who Daddy was, and were happy to see him, but were bewildered by the surroundings, the entire emotional experience, and the overload due to “the moment”. These kids looked to Mom or siblings to understand how to experience the moment. They were awed by the presence of Dad, knew that this was a powerful moment, saw the impact on others, but didn’t have the relationship in place to fully process what was going on.

Most of the kids, wives, husbands, and family members that were greeted responded in a very different way. Even the older girl in Technology Class! For those that knew something was happening, there was anticipation and general eagerness. Then, a moment of sheer disbelief.. “is he really here.. can I trust my senses”? This was followed by an instant abandonment of self and a complete disregard for surroundings, environment, everything for the moment experienced between the soldier and the family member. This is pure JOY, and you can see it in their faces.

I’d like to suggest that these moments are what God meant when he wrote “Abba, Father” through His apostle Paul. For those new Christians that don’t quite know how to experience “God moments” in their lives, they need fellowship with Christians who have a longer and deeper relationship with Christ. They need to lean on others to see how to connect and how to have true joy. They must learn to rejoice in His presence. For those that know Christ, and keep a “long-distance” relationship going, they must continue to “remain in Him” by having an “Abba, Father” moment every morning, and each time trial comes in their lives.

When Christ stands at the door and knocks, He isn’t looking for you to shuffle to the door while you are texting to your friends, open the door, mutter, “Come on in.. make yourself at home”, and shuffle back to your sofa.. texting all the while. He wants us to throw the door open and run to Him, jumping into His arms, yelling “ABBA, FATHER”.. Daddy’s Home!

Viewing God as “Daddy” is heart change required, and gives the emotional and spiritual dimensions to our relationship with Christ, but it doesn’t speak to the power aspect. Here’s what I mean; in order to set ourselves aside, we must take our joy in Him. If we are focused on self, our desires in the flesh, our will, gratifying self.. we cannot have real joy. Real joy only comes from reaching up to Him and saying, “Daddy!”, and that joy is the only thing that can take our minds away from what others think of us, what others are saying about us, and it’s the only thing that can erase our temporal desires, replacing the thoughts of earth with thoughts of heaven and our Dad.

Christian, with these video moments in mind, reach up to our God and say, “Daddy!”, right now. Rejoice in Him, let this world fall away, and He will give you the desires of your heart. He loves you, and desires to do that actively, in relationship with you. An Almighty God.. and He wants to actively love us. “Daddy” indeed!

“I keep thinking of the Scripture where Jesus said, ‘Come, Follow me’ and the disciples just dropped everything, right then, right there.. and followed. No 12 step program, no ‘easing’ into it.. they just dropped everything, and followed.. they were wrapped in just as much flesh as me…..yet they dropped everything to follow Him”.

And so they did.. but their walk was not consistent thereafter, and they went through the same growing pains we do as Christ-followers today. My response to her follows..

None of us follow Him “like we should”.. not always.

This Western world has much to offer that will all be consumed as stubble in the Light of that Day. This – as Paul writes – “light and momentary trouble..” seems so persistent to us, but this world and its trappings will one day be consumed, and the only thing left will be the souls of those that accepted Christ and obeyed Him.

I hear several things in your note, and I could have written it! Since this resonated with me so deeply today, I’d like to offer some commentary, and as a result, form my own thoughts and focus my heart on Him too!

Who We Are In Christ
I don’t pretend to know what Robert Heinlein’s faith life was like, but he wrote a book that described a man called Valentine Michael Smith who was raised on Mars, by Martians, and after returning to Earth, he encounters many strange things that seem completely foreign to him. Ignoring for a moment the strong parallels in this book to the Corinthian church during Paul’s ministry, Smith’s influence on Earth changes the face of humanity in a fairly short time.

Shouldn’t this be us!? Shouldn’t the world be changed by our having been here? Go, and preach to all nations… right? When the Word is preached, people are cut to the heart. When their hearts change from stone to flesh, significant changes are seen in their lives. When this happens in a family, it is powerful; and when it happens in several families, the community is transformed!

Like Smith, we should – after being transformed – look upon this world as Smith looked upon Earth. Though he was human (‘of’ Earth’), he was raised by Martians and had a Martian outlook. He saw the world through Martian eyes. Shouldn’t we – more and more as the Day draws near – see this world through His eyes? This place must, more and more, become an enigma to us. Strange, scary, and sad. We should ever more feel less at home here, and more at home with Him. An interesting corollary here is that, if we are coming closer to Him, we will – necessarily – have an ever-heightened need to share the Gospel with this dark and declining planet!

We are strangers, have been declared such by God and have at our disposal the power that raised Christ from the dead! Still, we rush home to watch “Survivor”. Really?! We have the power of a Savior, a God who shed His ultimate universe-creating power, to take on human form as a helpless babe, lived a life of privation – even by earthly standards at the time – and was tortured and the killed in the worst way known to us; was raised from the dead on the third day and ascended into heaven where He sits at the right hand of our Father.. we have THAT POWER, and we rush home to see who might get voted off the island!? You can’t FIND a better ‘Survivor’ story than our Lord, unless you count the myriad stories of the saints He has saved by His mighty power.

This is why we must preach – and hear – the simple Gospel regularly and share our personal testimony with one another. Yes, growth is important, but a warm glass of milk every now and again is soothing and helps us remember that we are His children, secure in Him but with astonishing power at our disposal.

Growth in Him
I hear your frustration in the fact that our walk is a faltering one. We fail often, we stumble, we may even walk the wrong way for a time. An image that sometimes helps me is related by C.S. Lewis in “The Four Loves” where he talks about a man that begins down a steep canyon after a long trip. He has already walked many miles, and he can see the smoke rising from the chimney in his home just below, but because there is no (safe) quick way there, he must traverse the dangerous and rocky trail of switchbacks many miles to get down that canyon. He is so close, but has so far to go.

It seems like that for us, doesn’t it? At times we feel so close to God, and so close to really ‘being in Him’.. working out His will, etc, but at other times we see only the rocky trail and it feels like we are so far away, with so much toil and pain between us and the goal. How are we to ‘remember’ that we are yet ‘in Him’ at those times?

The most important thing to always remember is something you are already very good at, and that is the knowledge that our eternal security hinges on His faithfulness, and not on our own. This does not make a person who is truly saved ‘complacent’ with an easy faith that produces no fruits in the life, but it is that solid ground upon which we place our feet when the storms blow and all else is taken away. We stand with Job when he has lost all, and his ‘friends’ are ‘helping’ him.. he is personally ‘lost’ and is left with only one hope, one cry to the winds, one things he knows; and he cries, “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth”.

Take heart in the fact that your heart has been renewed, and hold the line when the wind blows. When you are ‘in the zone’, you feel His presence, share it with others openly! Then, try to find ways of getting your heart and mind in that ‘zone’!

Focus on Him
In ancient Hellenic legend, the Sirens were several creatures with bodies of women and birds who inhabited the flowery island of Anthemoessa. Their haunting songs would float over the water, mesmerizing sailors and drawing them into the rocks, and to their deaths. Jason and his Argonauts, on a quest, solved this issue by bringing Orpheus the poet along. Orpheus sat on the deck and played his lyre and sang, and instead of blocking their ears (as Odysseus’ men had done), they listened only to the sweet sounds of the lyre. Their focus was on Orpheus alone, and thus they did not fall prey to the Sirens.

That’s a pretty good picture of what we can do here in the West, isn’t it? We can ‘block out’ the noise, not by denying it, ignoring it, or removing it, but by focusing exclusively on Him and His calling in our lives. We start with the Word and prayer, and we follow God’s general will as revealed in Scripture. As we mature, we listen to His calling and direction.. hearing His instructions as we walk, “Turn to the left, or turn to the right”.

We must be willing to leave it all behind (physically), but it isn’t a prerequisite to following Him (leaving it emotionally is absolutely required for upward growth). Having things is not wrong. Having idols is wrong. Having much and knowing – every minute – that it all belongs to Him and has been stewarded to you is good!

Don’t you feel that God knew how this world would pull at us, confuse us with blaring horns, bright lights, and so on? This is why He gave us gifts of knowledge like, “Be still, and know that I am God”.

Take heart O woman of faith! Keep your feet on that solid rock, and focus on Him. He is your reward, your spring of joy, and your ever-present help.

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And blog reader, He is yours as well. Praise the Lord!

First let me say that I understand that their tagline does not imply an ‘across the board’ use of everything that comes into the home, but it does imply that we should deny ourselves nothing and pour everything into our homes that our hearts might desire. Think of all the knowledge you might have if you ‘let it all in’ and think of how much you’ll be entertained as well!I’d like to look at this from our perspective (self-health and God-focus), rather than from an external perspective (regulation and media industry). Let’s look in the mirror, not out the window. Should we trust “our hearts desire” when choosing what to consume? Should we filter anything that comes into our home, or view it all and then ‘choose what to remember’? Should we spend much of our time taking information into our minds, so that we can be informed?

Our Hearts

Our first step is to examine our hearts. This is an excellent approach each time we begin to look at a situation or decision as our internal motivations color – in a very real way – how we perceive a decision. The Bible says that, “..out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). Since we see and hear so many horrible things coming out of people’s mouths (and our own), it seems reasonable to conclude that our hearts are not 100% clean and trustworthy. In addition, Scripture says, “..the heart is deceitful above all things” (Jer 17:9) and this tendency toward self-deception certainly raises its ugly head when we start looking carefully at what we are thinking and doing, doesn’t it? Don’t you find yourself rationalizing a TV show, news story, or movie with thoughts like, “..it has some good things in it”, or, “..the information I’m getting from it is substantially weightier than the fact there is some skin in it”? Many Christians argue that – once saved – the Holy Spirit causes us to desire only the things of God, and therefore if we have a desire for a thing after salvation, that it must be from the Lord. The clear theological ‘miss’ aside, let’s look at the apostle Paul’s words when he says, “..fight the good fight of the faith”, “..put on the full armor of God”, and finally, “..I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand”. Paul goes on to say that he desires to do right “in his inner being”, but that sin is in his flesh and he sins even when he doesn’t “want to”. (1 Tim 6:12, Eph 6:11, and Rom 7:21)

It is clear that our hearts – even hearts regenerated by the Holy Spirit – are insufficient as a sole arbiter of what we should think, say, and do; but what does this have to do with what we “take into” ourselves?

Filter

Why can’t we just view and listen to what we want, and then ‘throw away’ the learnings we don’t want? Aside from Paul’s words on the idea that we will keep some things our “inner being” desires not to, what we watch and hear changes who we are; it changes our heart. Proverbs 23:7 says, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he”. Can you view and hear things without them changing you? If so, how is it that movies like Gladiator, Braveheart, and even Top Gun get our male aggression and leadership ‘blood’ moving? We are very emotionally moved by what we see and hear. Many studies have been done on the effects of sight and sound on the human brain and all of them conclusively show that what we take in via our senses deeply affects our minds. Job talked about his issues with beautiful women and the sight of them in Job 31:1 when he states that he had made a, “..pact with his eyes, not to look upon another woman”. Job knew that the right time to stop a thought from taking shape was before the stimulus reacher his brain. Keep out those things that darken your mind. Don’t even look at them at all!

Why shouldn’t we listen or see things that are not good for us? Because they will desensitize us to the things of God, those things that we need to reach closer to Him; those things that are of eternal value. In Acts 28:27 Paul is talking about the Jews to whom he’d preached and asserts that their hearts had been calloused.. and by whom? By years of listening to the Pharisees and their religion that replaced God and a relationship with him, these Jews had stopped listening to the inner voice of the Spirit and could no longer accept the teaching of Christ crucified. In that same way, our hearts will be calloused by years of listening to and watching things that are not Godly. God has not commanded us to “..listen to your iPod while exercising, the TV while eating, the radio while driving, all three while doing homework, and know that I am God”. What has His command been instead? To drive these things away from ourselves and keep nothing between us. “Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps 46:10). Note that our understanding of God’s place in the universe is preceded by our shutting out other influences.

Informed

Oh, we love to “know stuff” don’t we? It’s not wrong to seek knowledge, but it is how we do it and for what reasons we do it that are important. Knowing what the scores are, who died on your favorite soap, and who got ‘voted off the island’ are not incredibly meaningful in the eternal scheme of things! (There are many who would argue that they aren’t even important in the earthly scheme of things).

I’d like to suggest that while being informed is important, that God intends for us something far more meaningful, amazing, and useful than consuming media to be informed. He intends for us to take Him in so that we will be transformed. In Romans 12:2 Paul exhorts the brothers and sisters not to conform to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of their minds! Huge application here, and the immediate question, “How do we renew our minds”? Paul answers this in the preceding verse by saying, “offer yourselves as a living sacrifice”. How do we do this today? By having a focus on Christ before ourselves, taking every thought captive (2 Cor 10:5), and by replacing thoughts of the world with thoughts of Christ. Paul says to the Corinthian church in 2 Cor 3:18, “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit”. Looking at Christ, and walking toward Him is what keeps us on the path, with the continued ability to hear His voice.

Men, I challenge you today; each podcast you save, each radio broadcast you hear, every TV show and movie you watch, before you begin, read Phil 4:8 and only proceed if the media matches that description. Each time the media does not, substitute God’s word (in book or sound) and let me know if after a week you can feel a transformation taking place.

Do it, I dare you!

I posed a hypothetical question to my son the other day, to his ever-growing amusement. I asked him, “RJ, what would happen if I told you to go upstairs and clean your room, and you disappeared and returned in 90 minutes and sat on the couch to read a book, without having cleaned it? What would I do if I asked you what was going on and you said that you memorized what I said, and then went back to reading”? My son, laughing now, said that I would likely think he was being a wise guy. I asked, “What if I told you to go clean it again, and you disappeared again, return in 30 minutes, and the room still wasn’t clean? This time when I ask about the room, you tell me that you’ve invited three friends over to have a Bible study – in the dirty room – to discuss what it might look like if you cleaned it”? RJ laughed and said, “I wouldn’t dare do that Dad”!

Wouldn’t dare indeed. Isn’t this what we often do with what God has told us? …We pray, begging the Lord to show us His face, to reveal His specific will for our lives – and that’s good – but don’t you think that He sometimes looks down and says, “Your knowledge already far outpaces your obedience. I have given you my Word, and you cannot follow it; what more should I tell you now”? We are to be “doers” of the Word, and not hearers only. The “one anothers” of Scripture demand relationships and “action”. Each “one another” is preceded by a verb. Now I was never good at English, but I think verbs imply action on the part of the subject of the sentence. Each of the “one anothers” has YOU implied as the subject. YOU, love one another. YOU, bear one another’s burdens”. I challenge us today to be active in our faith. Exercise the “one another’s” in Scripture, and do what the Lord has instructed.

I am not advocating “works theology”. Some imply that the mere mention of “doing something” – even if for the Lord – hints at working for salvation. Men; everything that you can possibly do – all of it – cannot move you one fraction of an inch closer to deserving the gift of grace. It is free not because it is cheap, but because it is priceless; and praise the Lord that this is so! But works are important. How important? Read Matthew 25:41-46 below:

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Well, how important is that? At the end of it all, the One who gave us His life to redeem us will separate those who will live eternally from those who will not; and He will do this based on whether or not they did what He asked them to do. It is important. Praise the Lord that we have good works that have been prepared for us to do, and that we have the Spirit enabling us to do them. Let us therefore do what He commands.

I am a tireless proponent of strong, lion-hearted Christian men and my heart is roused in me when I hear, watch, or re-tell the stories from the pictures above. How then can I say that these representations of men are “not what it takes”?

While the men portrayed in the pictures above have characteristics that are precious today (because they are so rare), there is one aspect of our lives as Christians in which the approach that these men take to life will never work. Regardless their strength, their will, devotion to a cause, willingness to sacrifice all; there is one place where none of this will bring results…

In Mark 10:13-16 Christ tells his disciples that without accepting the Good News “like a little child”, that they will never enter into it. Regardless our strength, our “goodness”, our service, we cannot enter into His rest without accepting the free gift “like a child”. In Matthew 18:1-4, Christ says that we must have faith like little children. This leaves us with questions, “How does a child receive a gift?”, and, “How does a child’s faith manifest itself differently than an adult”?

Let’s skip all of the Christmas-time experiences where your child gets a gift that he or she didn’t want and is upset with. This experience (that we’ve all had once or twice) is borne of a combination of consumerism, selfishness, and false expectation. Think back to a time that you gave your child a gift that they didn’t expect, that was something they wanted desperately, and that filled them with awe. Do you remember the look on their face? What about the catch in their breath, or the heightened tenor of their voice? Perhaps the screaming and jumping? The free gift of the Kingdom is accepted by us often in the first way, grudgingly, as if it comes with strings and things that we don’t desire. If we are disgusted by our child’s behavior when they get socks instead of an XBox 360, how much more must God be pained when we grudgingly or resentfully accept the gift of His Son, stretched out on a cross, dying for our sins? Christ said that we must accept the Gift in that second way. A child cannot believe that this is for them, that it is happening now, and they wonder how you kept it a secret for so long! Have you felt that way about the Good News? When it finally ‘hit’ you… the gift was meant for YOU, that you are now truly SAVED forever, and why on earth did it take so LONG to find it?! What does your child do next? They explore the gift, in awe… and when they have a surface knowledge of what it is and does, they RUN to share their mystical good fortune with others. Folks, you can’t hold this sort of thing in! Once we are saved we cannot help ourselves.. we must share the Good News with others!

Faith is that thing which goes beyond reason and allows us to maintain an eternal and godly view of the temporary and temporal. How then does a child interact with this mental/emotional/spiritual thing? First of all, the child doesn’t deconstruct it as I just did! They just DO it! Second, the faith is complete. Kids – at a certain age – know that their Dad can do anything. When someone says anything that flies in the face of this, the child doesn’t – for one split-second – question their Father; they laugh at the person making the statement. Now, blind faith is not what I am advocating here… not carte’ blanche and across the board, but a humility that allows for the idea that there are things that we don’t know, and that God is that all-powerful Father that will never let us down, regardless what things ‘look like’ right now.

Christians are often accused of being robots to Scripture, in the face of evidence to the contrary. Faith does not demand that we do not question and it does not demand that we do not think. Indeed, the prophets of old often prayed for God to fill them with wisdom, and then they moved forward boldly, in faith. Do children ask questions? All parents of four year-olds are laughing out loud right now. Sure they ask questions, and that’s fine, it’s how they (we) learn! God never gets tired of answering our questions, ask Him! We need to be able to defend our belief, and that requires knowledge. Just don’t let man’s knowledge get out in front of your faith.

Here’s a short story about a child’s faith written as a first-person account by Dave Snyder. We can each learn a great deal about what our mindset should be when we ask God for something, or when He asks us to do something.

I will never forget his face. Looking up at me he appeared close to tears. I felt terrible for putting him through this but I had to finish the process even though it was breaking my heart.

I was sharing morning chapel with a group of fifth graders and had placed three cups of water on a table in front of the class. I proceeded to explain that I added a colorless, odorless substance to one of the cups that could kill them in four or five minutes. Then I asked the question: “Is there anyone who is willing to come forward, choose one of these three cups and drink it?”

I know. Sounds cruel, doesn’t it? But invariably, in the many times I have used this illustration in school groups, someone comes forward.

On this particular day a little red-headed boy raised his hand and soon stood before me and the three ominous cups. I reiterated the situation he faced regarding the deadly substance I had added to one of the cups. The boy’s countenance began to change from confidence to anticipation, and then to fear. I was beginning to wonder if I should ever do this illustration again and if I could be sued for mental cruelty.

With Shaky Hands

Little Ken felt he must go through with his commitment to save face with the class. With shaky hands he took the middle cup and raised it to his trembling lips. I was feeling worse about myself by the minute. Was I scarring this kid for life? Would his dad look me up and do me in?

We all watched as Ken slowly emptied the cup, placed it back on the table and looked up at me with questioning eyes. Placing my hand on his shoulder I quickly assured him, “Ken, you didn’t drink the wrong cup. The clear, odorless substance I added to one of the cups was nothing but more water. If you put your face in it long enough, yes it can kill you. Right?” Ken took a deep breath of relief and offered a weak smile.

I continued by asking Ken the question I always did at the conclusion of this experiment: “Ken, why did you drink that cup knowing you could die if you picked the wrong one?” The answer broke my heart and still does today. Looking up at me, his eyes misty, he softly said, “Because I knew you wouldn’t let me die.” What an incredible model of faith I will never forget! I now understand more clearly why Jesus said, “Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).

Here is the simple yet profound conclusion: little Ken knew me. By knowing me he trusted me with his very life. I am reluctantly confronted with this question: do I exhibit that same child-like trust in my Savior? I must confess–I too often hesitate to drink the cup

They quickly learned that whenever one of them climbed on the table, all of them were soaked with cold water. They realized climbing on top of the table was a bad idea. Unbeknownst to the monkeys, the high-pressure cold water hoses were disconnected and removed.

The next week, one of the five monkeys was removed from the room and replaced by a new monkey. The new monkey saw the table and the banana dangling from the ceiling… Realizing that the banana was there for the taking, the monkey headed for the table. But fearful of being drenched by the high-pressure cold water, the other four monkeys pounced on the newcomer and beat the tar out of him. Every time the new monkey got near the table, the others beat him up. Soon the new monkey no longer went near the table.

By the third week, another of the original five monkeys was replaced by a new monkey. And like the monkey the week before, the newest member of the group tried to get near the table to move it over to the banana. Once again, the others beat up the newest member of the group. Even the first new monkey joined in.

Each successive week, one more of the original monkeys was replaced. The same thing happened every time; when the newest monkey attempted to get near the table, the others joined in to discourage him.

By the sixth week, not a single monkey was left from the original group. Not one remained that had been squirted with cold water. But when the newest monkey headed toward the table and tried to reach the banana, the other four monkeys “trained” him by beating the tar out of him.

If you could ask each monkey why it was beating up the new monkey, each probably would say, “I don’t know, that is just the way we do things around here.”

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - –

This exercise in operant conditioning with simian primates might be amusing, but don’t you see a clear parallel in life? We tend to do things to a pattern, a routine, and we tend to resist change. Some of this is natural, helps us to maintain some emotional comfort, and allows us to keep and respect tradition. This focus on being comfortable and suppressing new thought brings some other consequences however, as some change is good, change always provides opportunity for personal growth, and progress is predicated on change.

I think that there might also be a parallel between this story and the way that Christians interact with other believers. There are positive and negative aspects here as well. We need to unite on the essentials (Admit you are a sinner, Believe in Christ crucified for your sin and raised again to heaven, and Confess your faith and conversion to others), rather than dividing on non-essentials (everything else). Resisting change in this area (The Gospel) is the duty of every Christian and God is glorified when we share an untainted and joyful Gospel of grace with others. However, resisting change in the non-essentials provides fractures in the body of Christ and He is not glorified when we find things to divide on. In fact, as Christ sweated blood, suffering in Gethsemane, He prayed to our Father that the world would look at believers and see that we were united; and as a result, believe that the Father sent Christ, and that God would be glorified.

Christ chastised believers and told them that even the heathens give good things to those they love. God is not glorified when people that think the same things, give priority to the same things, and do the same things all get along. He already said that’s not a big deal! God is most glorified when people that could not possibly have gotten along DO get along because they are all filled with His Spirit. Let us each be Spirit-filled, concentrating on our walk with God, extending His grace to all, unifying in Him on the Gospel. In this, our Lord is glorified.

And when you see one of the Lord’s servants trying something new… cut them a break would you? Remember that you’re both His servant, and at least the other person is doing something for Him.

Fast-forward through forty-two years of history, a couple of trials, countless encounters with consequence, many jobs, and several years here at Highland. That brings us to late March of this year. Late in the afternoon on a Sunday, I got a cryptic email from a man I didn’t know on Facebook. I brought up his profile, and with his picture on the screen, Justina walked by the computer and said, “That man is your brother; no question”. Soon after, I got a call from a pastor in California and he asked questions about my birthdate, where I was born, and so on. I asked him what he was getting at, and he said, “I think I am sitting next to your birth mother, and she’d like to talk to you. Can she call you right back”? Five minutes later – after 42 years – I was speaking with the woman who gave me life, and then – in what must have been a heart-wrenching, almost impossible decision – gave me up to someone better prepared to raise me. Long story short, my family and I will have the incredible privilege of meeting my half-brother, his wife, and birth mother face-to-face when they visit our home in late May for a few days!

So, what does my life story have to do with anything? Well, today I am writing about other people who have been adopted; and what that adoption looks like. I don’t mean Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, James Michner, Edgar Allan Poe, Malcolm X, Moses or even Jesus (all of whom were adopted), I mean each one of us that are ‘Christians’. Each of us have been adopted by God, as sons, into His family. Galatians 4:1-7 reads

“What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir”.

The word adoption (huiothesia) means “to make, a son”. It defines a legal transition of rights and responsibilities from one parent to another. Adoption was common to the Romans, though it was very expensive and formal. Romans of high standing often adopted sons to carry on the family line. In fact, in the first 200 years of Roman society, seven of the ten emperors inherited their positions through adoption. An important note in Roman law is that if a slave were adopted (only the free could adopt), the slave was made free through that adoption and inherited the rights of a son. In Roman law, sons that were adopted could not subsequently be “given back”. All of these intricacies were understood by Paul, as evidenced by his use of these specific words; and these words would have been well understood by his audience. We have been adopted by God, from our father Satan, given the rights and standing of a free person in His kingdom, as contrasted to our bondage and slavery to the law before that time; and it was expensive. It cost the life of God Himself on the cross, in the form of His Son, Our Saviour.

So, what does adoption require of the adopted? First, it requires that we build a relationship with our new Father. Clearly demonstrated in the cry “Abba, Father”, the joyous cry of a 1^st Century son, running into his father’s arms as Dad returns from a long trip. “Abba”, means “Daddy”! That open, joyous, warm and welcoming relationship that Christ came to demonstrate. “Father”, has the connotation of an elder that teaches, trains, and cares. Secondly, it requires that we develop faith in our new Father, trusting Him to guide, train, and to provide.. Romans 8:31-32 says,

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”.

Finally, adoption requires that we learn to trust in our standing, to truly believe that we are part of the family. John 1:12 says,

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God..”

As I close this note, what does this adoption mean? First, it means that we are no longer slaves to the law. The curtain that kept us from an Almighty God has been ripped in two, and we have a personal and direct relationship with Him (Gal 3: 24-25). Second, it means that we are His sons (Gal 4:6), with an attendant desire to act like one. Finally, now that we’re sons, and moved from the law into grace (and are living with our new Dad), we are heirs of God. We inherit what God has! First His Spirit dwells in us, and finally, we will inherit perfect bodies, with eternal life.

Men, the deposit of the Spirit shows us that we are sons of God, heirs of the eternal kingdom of our Father. I challenge us: do not be faithless and ignorant, learn to walk as brothers of Christ, in the family of God. Dare to walk as sons!

   gaps are widening..     

Coming out of the Fort Hood massacre, we’ve heard words like “heroism”, “terrorism”, “combat disorder”, “fear”, “Muslim”, “hate”, and “harassment”. The thing that is frightening to many however, isn’t that these words are used, but what each of them are describing and what they are being used to justify. I’d like to take a short look at what several aspects of this case seem to indicate about the state of our hearts and minds in America today.

Overview of Incident

At approximately 13:30 Sierra (local time) at Fort Hood, TX a lone gunman jumped onto a desk in the Soldier Readiness Processing Center and began firing shots into a mass of hundreds of soldiers who were involved in outprocessing for deployment. There are conflicting reports on what the suspect did before the shooting, whether or not he shouted anything, and what he may post on various radical web sites, but we do know that he is Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, age 39. The shooting ended when Kim Munley, a Ft. Hood police Sgt. (and others) responded and shot the suspect. Mrs. Munley was hit three times, twice through the left leg and once in her right wrist, Hasan was hit four times, both survived the shooting. 13 people died and 30 or more were wounded in this tragedy.

Honor and Courage

Kim Munley is being hailed as a “hero” and cited for bravery because she arrived quickly, faced the gunman, and shot him while taking fire. It is a practical assumption that she fired on the gunman after she had already been hit. I think that she would counter that claim with, “I was doing my job”, but deep down, most of us know that what she did was ‘right’, it was ‘good’, and that the heart that motivated that action should be held up as a goal for all. There is another place in this story where the word ‘hero’ was used however, and that was – allegedly – a posting by Major Hasan referring to contemporary suicide bombers as morally and ethically equal to a soldier who throws himself on a grenade to save his comrades. Many would assert that the only difference between a freedom fighter and a terrorist is the victor; the person who records the history of the event. Why then do we – deep down where no-one sees the other – know that she [Munley] was heroic and that Hasan’s alleged deeds were certainly not? While I would assert that the Lord has placed in us each a sense of who He is, and thus a clear sense of right and wrong, I think that when we act or speak – over time – in a way that is contrary to what we know is right, that this discontinuity breeds discontent and guilt. When we know a thing is right, and we pass it off or over in deference to ‘political correctness’ or to avoid conflict, we lose a piece of our collective integrity. Moments such as Kim’s action serve as a split-second to celebrate the right, but they also make us confront the fact that we cover the wrong all too often.

I have heard it stated that Maj. Hasan was suffering from a ‘pre-traumatic stress disorder’, and that is what prompted his action. First of all I find that to be highly unlikely, but in the event it is partially true, let me share with you what that politically correct phrase really means; Maj. Hasan was scared. Here’s my question; when did the fighting men and women of this nation begin to let fear rule their actions!? Don’t you think that every solider goes through some fear when getting called up, deployed, and each time they begin a mission? Courage isn’t the absence of fear, it is the ability to control it and move forward in the face of it. Praise the Lord that our fighting men and women are not all made of the same weak and rubbery stuff that Maj. Hasan seems to have at his core!

Church and State

Regardless additional information on the topic, there will continue to be speculation that Hasan’s Muslim faith had something to do with the shooting. It has been alleged that he shouted “Allahu Akhbar” before shooting, and whether or not that is true, he certainly was a practicing Muslim. While there are many peaceful Muslims, I find it intellectually annoying that we are not ‘allowed’ to talk about the fact that most present-day terrorists are Muslims, certainly not without prefacing the word “Muslim” with “radical”. If course it is radical, it involves murder! I know I’ll get blasted by some for saying that his faith had something to do with his actions, but if your faith doesn’t change who you are, is it useful at all? Shouldn’t your religion, your “faith”, affect who you are and what you choose to do? For all those that defend the fact that we have radical Muslim mullahs in this country, practicing their hatred and training a new breed of terrorist, would you defend a Christian who stood outside an abortion center and detonated an explosive vest preceded by a shout of “Jesus is Lord”!?

Military and Operations

I am personally embarrassed by the process whereby our politicians choose to engage the enemy and – indeed – the method whereby we define “enemy”. It is certainly the case that some of the conflicts in which we’ve been involved recently, that there is no reasonable way to say that we were “protecting our national security”. If we are to be the world’s policemen, let us do that, policing everyone and everywhere, following Ann Coulter’s tongue-in-cheek maxim, “Let us invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity”. We must do this then with the Russians, the Chinese, and the North Koreans… everyone, no matter how powerful they are. On the other hand, we could pursue a policy of isolationism, policing no one and defending our shores with rock-solid defense. Regardless our choice, we must have an honorable course charted, and follow it with integrity, rather than going to fight in little places where we think we have a chance of success.

On that note, how can our world-class military lose in places like Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan!? It’s been said that this is a new kind of warfare, with people who don’t care if they live or die, guerilla fighting techniques, etc just cannot be matched by our large fighting force. Really!? Americans have been defined, for 234 years, by their ability to recognize, adapt, and overcome, and even though the military machine is a huge bureaucracy that can slow almost anything down, isn’t it far more likely that the reason we cannot win is the same as it has been since the Vietnam War? When American fighting men and women cannot emerge victorious, it is because politicians refuse to turn the war over to those with experience fighting it. If we followed Sun Tzu’s advice, and avoided war at almost all costs, but when war became necessary we gave it over to the military for prosecution, I am convinced that we would emerge victorious in every conflict we entered.

Almost all of what we feel and discuss where this tragedy is concerned brings to light the bare and glaring fact that Americans say and do things that are no longer backed by a moral underpinning. We do not endeavor to find what is right, do what is right, or tell others why we act the way we do. If there is any good news, it is that – on the rare occasion that we see someone do the right thing – we recognize it when we see it, and we celebrate it. I pray that we will recognize this trend away from what is right, that we will reverse it, and that actions of integrity will become the ‘norm’ once again.

I volunteered to work in security during the event and worked (4) 4.5 hour shifts in exchange for a full event pass. Monetarily this is the lowest hourly wage I’ve worked for in over 25 years, but these shifts were the most rewarding I had worked in that amount of time as well. I saw people already full in the joy of the Lord as they approached the gates of the event and people greeting me warmly, even with my gruff exterior and “Security” shirt. I don’t know if you’ve attended secular concerts, but we (security personnel) are rather universally hated at these events.. tolerated, but not embraced. At Lifest however, we were all there for the same reason, to fellowship with other Christians and to worship an Almighty God! As I said, it was awesome.

I camped just outside the “Edge” stage where all the “edgy” bands played. I went to sleep every night to the hardest music I’ve listened to in many years, and loved it. “Red”, “Superchick”, and, “Disciple”… great slumber music, right!? I took the bike with a week’s worth of camping equipment, and loved every minute of it. I got more sun in one week than I may have ever gotten, and got rained on one night… a lot. Normally I’m not one that’s much for people, but – in general – the people here were a great group, of the same mind and all focused on God. We weren’t all the same, in fact we were all very different, but God isn’t glorified the most when we are the same and get along; God is the most glorified when people that are totally different one from the other are friendly and loving members of His family together. That happened here at Lifest 2009.

My family came down and had a hotel for two nights in town. I was able to stand in a crowd of thousands and worship with each one of my three children individually, and with my wife. Standing and singing with a crowd for ten or twenty thousand to David Crowder was great, holding Kassie and singing to Phillips, Craig, and Dean in worship to our Lord was special, bouncing to Toby Mac with Liesel was fun (I think?),sitting with my wife during a Campolo talk was relaxing, and making shapes with the Rubik snake with R.J. filled some off time. I recommend this event to families for “together time”… make it one of your camping trips for the year; that’s what we’ll be doing next year. One note: If you are going to volunteer, do it together and on the same shifts (if possible).

So, you know it’s coming… what are we to learn from an event like this? I suggest that there are three things that an event like this can demonstrate and that we can learn from.

Christians are Individuals

It is an obvious statement that we are all different. Here’s the piece that we often miss as Christians; that’s a good thing! God made us different, has gifted us in various ways, and has called us to a wide array of places in His body, the church. Let me be painfully clear, because I can hear an Elder Board somewhere saying, “Well yes, but our walk will be parallel and much alike because we’re on a narrow path together, and… mutter mutter”.. our Christian walk can also vary widely and still be valid, effective, and sanctifying. Yes, you read me correctly… our walk can look different from another Christian’s and still be “valid”. Who are we to judge another’s walk!? (which is what Matthew 7:1 really means).. we are to bear one another’s burdens, to support one another, and yet not to judge. Yes, the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5:22) must be present in each Christian’s life, but too often we use that verse to overcome and subjugate the verse on judging so that we can feel justified in judging! People of God, STOP IT! We are each in enough difficulty with our own walk in faith to take the time and energy to judge another. Take what little spiritual strength you have remaining and look in the mirror, and then connect to God… stop looking out the window at others.

Worship Varies in Style

Ah yes, the Worship Wars.. the “Vietnam” of the church. The conflict we never should have been in that takes our focus off so many other critical things, that destroys Christian relationships, tears down local churches, and erodes our sense of history as a church. Folks far smarter than I have attempted to quantify – and then solve – this issue and have failed. It won’t be solved here, but I’ll still write about it!

Just as we each are different – radically so in some cases – in our walk, so are we different in our form of worship to the Lord. Now, many of us can believe that some distance away from our own personal style is “still valid” service to the Lord, but we all have that threshold, don’t we? That place where we say something like, “P.C.D. and Aaron Shust are where we all need to be, and I can believe that the Barlow Girls can be worshipped to, but Disciple and Kutless are just noise… no one can really worship to THAT”. Can’t they? Let me give you a piece of trivia from Lifest… I heard Disciple, and I heard their gospel message. I couldn’t help it because it permeated their performance. That “hard rock band” gave the most effective and heartfelt altar call of any of the 150 bands at Lifest. Worship happened, and it happened whether our frail human minds can wrap around it or not. God was glorified, and many youth came to Christ that night. Stop bleeding off energy that could be spent sanctifying yourself, serving the Lord, and serving His people by judging how other parts of the body of Christ worship. Ask the Lord if YOUR worship is effective and glorifying, and spend your energy worshipping the way He has called you to.

I have a poster in my office at work… it’s very simple, I printed it myself. It has the Greek character “Delta” with a picture of a heart next to it. “Delta” is the Greek character that in physics is used to denote “change”… and God desires us not to worship externally, in form only; He desires heart change. All true worship demands a response from the Christian. Sometimes this begins with closed eyes, with hands raised to God, with jumping, and even with tongues, but this emotional 20-30 minutes isn’t where it ends, or even begins. We are recharged by worshipping in community, but we must understand that this short time should be an outpouring and sharing of a life of worship, of a life born of a changed heart. True worship demands a response in the life of the believer, indeed, that change… living for Christ IS worship.

Concentrate on the Core

Several times immediately prior to the event, and even at the event, I heard statements made about the theology of the people “in charge” of the event (as if it wasn’t the Lord that was in charge). Christians, remember a few paragraphs ago when I exhorted you to “stop it”? I’m saying it again. Do me a favor and grab a Bible… turn to 1 Cor 12, yes, the one right before the Love Chapter. Paul is speaking about gifts, and he’s talking about how each part of the body does something different, isn’t he? Well sure Ron, but you see, this chapter is focused on individuals and not on “denominations”… these verses cannot be applied to denominations in today’s Christianity. No? Hang out on verse 13 for a minute… yes, the whole “same spirit” spot, “..whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free..”, wow… large divisions of population, not individuals. It doesn’t get much different than “Jew” and “Greek”… and in case they missed that division, Paul went on to state that two totally opposed populations (slave and free) also were of the same Spirit. If the organizers of an event have the Gospel, are they not part of the body? Is it not better that people connect to them than no one?

As far as “essentials” go, I won’t take the space to write on those here, but suffice it to say that they are not as numerous in God’s eyes as they are in ours. The body of Christ, His church, is made up of all people that are saved, those that have accepted His gift of salvation, claimed the name, and have been indwelled by the Holy Spirit; full stop. Stop dividing the body with internecine battles; we are called to unity and we shall find it on the Gospel alone.

As you can see, I can get carried up in this pretty quickly, and this event really renewed my Spirit and vigor. I recommend it (and like events) to all Christians, especially families.

Technorati Tags: festival, gospel, lifest, music, worship

In today’s note, Ron has some time to ride and think, about bikes, luggage, men, and ministry.. and, obviously, produce some Vitamin D in his skin!

Click through to read more.

When my wife and I first married, I had just sold my last motorcycle. We agreed that once the kids were ‘out of the house’ that we would spend our time riding on a new motorcycle ‘across Canada’. Last year – though the kids are not yet gone – she suggested that it might be time, and I jumped at the chance. We bought a 2003 100th Anniversary Harley Fat Boy, and I started riding. Note: “We” did not start riding… that’s just happened this year.

There are people that will tell you that you pick Harley for the brand, for the idea that it’s “Made in the USA”, or for the raw, gritty rumble. I’m here to tell you that we picked it for all those reasons, and more. There is a storied history there, a rich background and nostalgia. It’s clear that other manufacturers build good bikes, and many enjoy them; they just weren’t options for us. Some say that “H.D.” stands for “hundred dollars”, and that you have a money pit once you get one. Well, I wish the limit on a trip to a dealer was $100, and the pit description falls well short as a pit just sits there and doesn’t pull your money toward it. A Harley is much more like a money “black hole”… but again, we’d have it no other way.

On to the story… we had discussed getting saddlebags for the bike, and we started looking around at Harley bags. What we saw were small bags – likely made to fit above the stock shotgun exhaust – in the 550 cu in range. We knew these would not hold what we needed on longer rides, even though we have a T-Bag for the upright. We then started looking at other options for bolt-on bags. Most bags required that you have metal standoffs installed on the bike, or they were ‘throw-overs’ like Pony Express mailbags… neither of these options appealed to us. Then – cue sound of angels singing here – we found Ironbags (www.ironbags.com). Max builds a bag, from the ground up, on a piece of fiberglass formed to the contours of a Harley, using Hermann oak tanned leather, vegetable dyed, with metal hardware and many options. These bags are a work of art, are larger than stock Harley bags, come in various shapes and sizes, and are generally cheaper “per cubic inch” than Harley bags. We are overjoyed with the result and recommend anyone in search of saddlebags to Max.

So, the ride. It made sense to me to have the bags put on in the shop, if possible, and Max agreed to let me help (even though he must have known this would take longer). I began my ride at 08:30, 48 degrees. I was ready: I had an Under Armor Cold Gear layer, a t-shirt, jeans, and a leather motorcycle jacket. I took County Road O down to Highway 29… so far so good. A few twistys, sun’s out, I’m pretty warm… yeah, at 45 mph. On 29 things changed… a friendly warm 48 degrees in the sun at 65 mph becomes a bone-chilling sub 25 degrees. After two hours of that cold, I stopped in Chippewa Falls to warm up (I mean, have a snack) and then made the final run down 53 and 93 to Eleva.

I arrived at Max’s shop and immediately noticed the clean, simple lines and surroundings. Max has been doing this a long time, and it shows. The brackets, the install, the design approach all belie many years of learning and refinement. It was my honor to see Max at work. This is where nostalgia is built! Max and I put on the bags in around an hour, greased them one more time, chatted for a bit, and then I prepared for the ride home.

I decided to take Hwy 10 back through Marshfield to 13 and finally 97 through Athens. The slower speed caused less wind chill, and the day had gotten warmer. It also gave me a chance to stop at the High Ground Veteran’s Memorial for a few minutes (www.thehighground.org). I got home and showed the bags to the family at around 15:30. Overall a GREAT ride, successful and enjoyable.

So what? Nice ride.. no learning. Well, not so. Riding that bike gives me time to do little but be left alone with my thoughts, as scary a proposition as that seems. Aside from obvious thoughts about life, how God created us and the world I was driving through, I thought about bags, that is, luggage. By putting these bags on the bike, I would be ensuring that my rides would be longer, and that I would ‘have’ to take more stuff. Isn’t this much like what Christ did for us by setting His example? By giving us His Spirit? What I mean is, Christ multiplied our burdens… when we become saved a spiritual part of us awakens that was lost before. We become sensitive to things we almost didn’t know existed prior to our conversion. While some things pale, in general, our mental burden is greater; but, Christ gives us the luggage to carry these burdens in. He gives us His word, through which we can view a confusing world. He gives us His example which we can follow, and He gives us His Spirit by whom we are led in our daily walk (if we listen). It’s true that our burdens multiply, but with the new luggage, the carrying is made easier, almost natural. Much as the saddlebags are now part of our bike, Christ’s example and word can be worked into our being, allowing us to carry more and take joy in the journey!

View the Ride Map

Technorati Tags: burdens, cycle, fat boy, harley, ironbags, max, saddlebags, sunburn

WDYSTIA?

In Matthew 16:15, after asking the rather oblique question, “Who do others say that I am?”, Christ asked the disciples, “Who do you say that I am”?

A recent Barna Group research study revealed that less than 9% of all adult Americans have a “biblical worldview”*. In addition, only 19% of “Born again Christians”** have a biblical worldview. Interestingly, these percentages have remained unchanged for almost 15 years.

Among young adults (the “Mosaic” generation, ages 18 to 23), the percentage of people with a biblical worldview is less than one-half of one percent, as compared to near 1 out of every nine older adults***.

What do numbers like these mean to Christians, to our nation, and to parents and youth? Click through to read more…

To get a picture of what this number means, let’s imagine you – the dedicated reader – as a community college instructor at a large college and that you teach five classes a day of a common elective. At 08:00, two hundred students file in to your room and ‘learn’ for 50 minutes. A front row of young eyes fifteen people across, and thirteen or 14 rows deep. At 09:00 this repeats, then 10:00, 11:00 and 13:00. One thousand young adults throughout each weekday, watching you and listening; taking what you say and processing it.

How many of those students entered that room and listened to what you taught through the filter of a biblical worldview? Five or less. One in every class. In that sea of faces, only ONE young person looked at their instructor and filtered every word and concept through a filter of ancient God-given wisdom that was intended for our betterment. And we wonder! We wonder why youth seems ‘lost’ and afraid, always compensating for something unseen. We wonder why suicide rates are up, why school shootings happen, and why there is so much personal pain in the world as a result of poor choices.

Every time I speak about numbers like these, well-meaning (and perhaps defensive) parents say, “Oh yes, but it’s common while youth are ‘finding themselves’ to question their faith. They will ‘come back’ and believe”. They then quote Proverbs 22:6, secure in the knowledge that the child “will return when he or she is older”. Two points there, first, we already know – from this same study – that only one of nine adults ‘come back’, and my second is related, and that is, “Come back to what”? Other Barna studies have also pointed out that a persons worldview is primarily shaped and is firmly in place by the time someone reaches the age of 13; it is refined through experience during the teen and early adult years; and then it is passed on to others during their adult life. Such studies underscore the necessity of parents and other influencers being intentional in how they help develop the worldview of children.

Worldview has a dramatic influence on a persons choices in any given situation. Research indicates that there are unusually large differences in behavior related to matters such as media use, profanity, gambling, alcohol use, honesty, civility, and sexual choices where one worldview vs. another is concerned.

Barna put it best when he said, “There are several troubling patterns to take notice of. First, although most Americans consider themselves to be Christian and say they know the content of the Bible, less than one out of ten Americans demonstrate such knowledge through their actions. Second, the generational pattern suggests that parents are not focused on guiding their children to have a biblical worldview. One of the challenges for parents, though, is that you cannot give what you do not have, and most parents do not possess such a perspective on life. That raises a third challenge, which relates to the job that Christian churches, schools and parachurch ministries are doing in Christian education. Finally, even though a central element of being a Christian is to embrace basic biblical principles and incorporate them into one’s worldview, there has been no change in the percentage of adults or even born again adults in the past 13 years regarding the possession of a biblical worldview”.

Are you learning every day? Do you pass on what you learn? Do you LIVE what you learn so those around you can be affected by it? Are you part of a church that helps you mature in correct biblical learning (orthodoxy) and then mentors you and holds you accountable while you live it (orthopraxy)? You cannot give what you do not have, and there are a majority of people in our country who THIRST for more, and can be given nothing, because most of us have nothing to give.

I challenge you today; hit your knees, ask the Lord to fill your cup, and then pour it out on others. Rinse and Repeat.

- – - -

DEFINITIONS

*For the purposes of this survey, a “biblical worldview” was defined as believing that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today. In the research, anyone who held all of those beliefs was said to have a biblical worldview.

**For the purposes of this survey, these are people who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is important in their life today and that they are certain that they will go to Heaven after they die only because they confessed their sins and accepted Christ as their savior.

***The other group that possessed a below average likelihood of holding a biblical worldview were those people that describe themselves as liberal on social and political matters (also less than one-half of one percent).

Technorati Tags: christ, christian worldview, disciple, Faith, young adult, youth

I have never linked to a video on this blog, and with good reason; there are precious few things that I will subject myself to, and fewer yet that I will push upon others. This video, however, captures – in some small human way – a universal truth that we all were reminded of today, Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Click twice on the video (embedding is disabled), watch it, and then click through – below – to read more, if you’re interested…

As fascinating as this clip was, what could it possibly have to do with Christ? Here we had a woman, initially targeted as a subject likely because she was plain, frumpy, unemployed, with few prospects, and “oldish”; that is, she was completely out of place. As they talked to this woman, I would assume that they thought she was a nice woman, but that she would be a spectacular failure in front of the judges. When she walked out on the stage, you could hear the people in the crowd twittering, wondering if this was a put-on, and many feeling like, “Why must we endure these jokes of talent”? When she showed some humor and did her little jig, that drew looks of horror and disdain from the judges, because this woman wasn’t a cute, sexy blonde. Finally, she was let free to do what she came to do; sing to an audience.

When she opened her mouth and let out that first note, every face in the audience changed. Every person that was so ready to watch a spectacular failure saw – instead – the beginning of a victory in the making. By the end of the first bar, the audience was cheering. In two bars, an audience that was mocking Susan and her attempt at fame was on it’s feet cheering her. She, rather than giving them entertainment via failure, had given each of them hope through her spectacular voice and success. The judes were taken aback; humility gripped them – all except Simon – as they gave their reviews. Each of them knew they had prejudged her, given her no chance, and they were humbled as they gave her kudos.

Envision the scene in heaven as God Himself prepared to come to earth. Do you think there were angels that second-guessed the idea? Perhaps silently, perhaps in reverence to their Maker yet, but some must have thought poorly of the idea. Try – for a moment – to imagine what heaven must be like, and then contrast this with the cave that Joseph and Mary were in, and the dangerous (and rather dirty and disgusting) process childbirth was at that time. Countless thousands watched as our Savior was born into this earth, and don’t tell me for one second that some didn’t wonder what success this endeavor could possibly see. An inauspicious beginning, a normal carpenters upbringing, and an adulthood marked by wandering and speaking. The prophet Isaiah tells us that the Lord had nothing about Him so that men would be drawn to Him by His appearance. He was also unremarkable, and “set up for failure”.

While Susan’s video was only 5 minutes long, 33 and one-half years isn’t long for a heavenly host to wait, and they all watched Christ’s life and ministry as He grew. I have to believe that the reaction of the watching thousands when Christ was scourged was much as the judges saw with Susan as she stood there… disgust, sorrow for the spectacle they were making of Him, and a certainty that nothing good could come of this. As He breathed His last, the entire earth shook in horror, and as He was laid to rest, there must have been deep sorrow in heaven. How quiet must it have been in a place that had, until that day, been filled with praises sung to the Lamb.

And then… after two night passed here on earth, on that glorious morning, how the heavenly hosts must have sung. The feeling you get watching the reaction to Susan’s first note is such a small and insignificant pale compared to what the heavens must have done that day; but it gives us an insight into the joy of that Morning. Glorious victory as heavenly light pierced the tomb and Jesus emerged! Praise the Lord, the plan was complete! Can you imagine how the heavenly host sang then!?. Do you think that the angels that wondered about The Plan are now His strongest witness? Imagine their hearts as they watched this play out, exactly as God planned it.

Folks, if our hearts can take this much joy in one woman’s triumph on this sinful earth, how much more did a sinless heavenly host rejoice at His victory over sin and death? How much must they rejoice when even a single sinner accepts the gift He gave to each of us? Feel the joy this audience had at Susan’s short success, multiply that by millions, and assume that this is the way the heavenly host feels when we are broken and fall at His feet.

HE IS RISEN… and praise God for that.

Technorati Tags: boyle, britain, christ, cross, easter, resurrection, susan, talent

This message isn’t about whether or not you hide and search for eggs, or enjoy sweet treats on this holiday. Frankly, hiding things, searching for things, finding things, and tasting something sweet are all enjoyable things to do. My question is, “What are we focused on as we perform our activities on a daily basis, not only at Easter, but year round”?

Are you hiding something? From others, from God? What in our lives should we be bringing into the Light of Day, to be given to God and forsaken and forgiven? What should we be freed from that has a hold on us?

Are you searching for something that you haven’t yet found? Perhaps you attend a church, but you don’t yet feel like a member of the body of Christ? Perhaps you have walked with the Lord for many years, but you are struggling right now under the weight of this world and its attacks? Perhaps you are looking for a friend or companion to help and encourage you.

Have you found what you are looking for? Do you know that you have it, and that it will never leave? Are you assured that you have it, secure in that knowledge, and growing every day into His image?

If you are secure, walking in the Lord, growing with Him every day… are you taking JOY in the journey? Is there a song in your heart and on your lips? Can others not help but see the joy of the Lord shining through your eyes and in your life?

Too many times we are overtaken by the “here and now”, the temporal; but the power that raised Christ from the grave is ours, and it guarantees those that are saved that they will be with the Lord forever. Think about that for a moment: the power that raised Christ from the dead.. is yours. I don’t just mean the power to resist eating that extra Cadbury egg (trademarked), the power to avoid saying that short word to your spouse, or the power to deal with a child that is emotional at the moment, or even the power to overcome every sin on this earth; I mean, the awesome, heavenly power that brought our Lord back from the dead. (Romans 8:11, 1 Peter 1:3-7, Ephesians 1:17-21)

Technorati Tags: bunny, easter, he is risen, open tomb

Praying Hands

I helped a pastor and his family move this weekend, and though I was personally very sad to see them go, I was happy to help them take the next step in the Lord’s plan for their lives. This post is a personal prayer for blessings on them as the serve the Lord and the people around them. I wasn’t able to say this prayer with them before leaving, but I leave it here in the hopes that it will strengthen the family and friends that read it.

Father, we praise You for the safe journey and for the fact that we have arrived safe and sound here in Michigan. We thank You for Your grace and Your guidance, and we thank You for pouring out Your Spirit on this family. We know that we are men and women of unclean lips and hearts that are not always focused on You, and we give ourselves over to You again today to abide in us and to cleanse us, enabling us to live in Your image. Lord, today we hold up the Troutman family to You for blessing. Here is a family that has dedicated themselves to You and your work, and we ask blessings on that work in Your church.

In Pastor Rob, Lord, we have a man who has dedicated his life on this planet to protecting and helping others. This Christian lion-hearted man has approached life here – in Your Spirit – with gusto and integrity. As Rob transitions from being a sheepdog for the sheep into being a shepherd of Your sheep, Lord, please pour out yet another special helping of Your Spirit, enabling him to walk among your church as an effective pastor. Give Rob the wisdom to bridle his strength as he boldly proclaims your word and approaches issues in Your church. Continue to pour Your Spirit into Rob’s heart, fueling his passion for helping others and for serving Your flock. Father, please bless Pastor Rob in a special way for Your service.

In Kenna, Lord, we have a princess and a lady. A Princess because she is the daughter of a King, and a lady of the land because she is married to a Knight in Your order. Help her to always carry herself as such, giving gentle strength and structure to Pastor Rob and to Your flock here in Saginaw. Continue to bless her with the ability to pass on a knowledge of You and Your Word to her children, help her to raise them up directly in the path of Your Light, and enable her to live as a Proverbs 31 woman, a shining and honorable example to Your church. Father, please bless Kenna as she walks with and helps Rob in Your service.

For Ryker, Lord, we ask that You accompany Him on his march into manhood. We know that he could have no better example than his earthly father here, save His heavenly father. Give him the wisdom to take direction from his lion-hearted father, and in those times when he cannot, help him to look to the lion of Judah for his help and sustenance. Father, please bless Ryker as he becomes a man in a difficult world.

For Kenton, Lord, we ask that you accompany her in a special and gentle way as she takes her first steps into womanhood. She has a shining example in her mother Lord, but we know that this is not always enough. Help Kenton to turn to you when this world seems too harsh and unforgiving, help her to level her mood and cheer herself with Your Spirit. Father, please bless Kenton as she grows into a strong Christian woman.

For the two little ones Lord (Kylee and Keris) (sp?), they are the luckiest little kids on this earth. They are cute (4 and 5 you know), they live in a Christian home with parents of integrity, and they have two loving and responsible older siblings. Even with this amazing start Lord, we know that we all need You, and we pray that these two precious children remember their lessons of You, Your mighty works, Your power, and Your personal interest in each of our hearts. Father, we ask blessings on these two little girls as they grow.

Lord, please bless the congregations that Pastor Rob and his family left, and the one they are coming into. Strengthen these local limbs of Your body, and bless them in proportion to their willingness to walk in Your way. We pray all these things in the name of Your Son, Amen.

State of WI

The state in which I live has put forth a new motto for tourism, which you see written in the title of this post. Rather than debate the indefensible basis for this motto – which has little to do with the outdoors, vacationing, lakes, or any other actual tourist activity in the state of Wisconsin – I thought we could look at this motto as it applies to the Christian life.

On the face of it, the motto is catchy, if a bit misplaced. In a state renowned for the drinking problems of its inhabitants, perhaps it is a dangerous thing to ask us to “mean it”, rather than continue just “doing it”.

What would our lives look like if we followed this motto? Is there a base in Scripture for the idea that Christians should live this way? Let’s investigate.

First, excellence in every one of our endeavors. We know – as Christians – that we should be dedicated to quality and improvement in every area of our lives. In Colossians 3:23 we read, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men”. This makes it clear that we do things “heartily” because we are doing it ‘for the Lord’, or, written another way, we do everything for His glory.

The word translated “heartily” here is ‘psyche’, meaning your inner self, with your whole being, mind, heart and soul. This obviates the possibility that we can do anything “half-hearted” as Christians; we do all things to His glory, with all of who we are. Note that this leaves a massive expanse of glorious difference in our approach, as each thing is done with our inner being, and we are all very different… and God intended this.

Stop for a moment and think about the import of the previous paragraph. Each thing that you do, is done to the glory of God. Just like every action you take in the presence of your children ‘trains them’, every action you take in front of God (hint: all actions) is to His glory. Either you are doing a good job of glorifying Him, or you are not. Do you think that we have this in the back of our mind all day, every day? What might our lives look like if we did? If we lived this intentionally, do you think that we might have to talk about God less because others might see Him in us a little more?

“In all things, preach Christ; and if necessary, use words” – St. Francis of Assisi

Second, the abundant life. Christ said, in John 10:10, “..I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly”. Many pastors – TV evangelists especially – are espousing the idea that Christ is referring to temporal wealth or physical happiness here on this earth. Since the tale of the rich young ruler, most of the book of James (or John 15), and the life of King David make it clear that A) riches can be a hindrance to people in a walk of faith, B) that we will certainly see trials in this life, and C) that ‘men of God’ get discouraged and can become profoundly unhappy. So, what then did Christ mean by the word, “abundant”?

The word translated as “abundant” here is the Greek word ‘perissos’ which translates elsewhere as “excellent”, “in abundance”, “excess”. It is the word used to mean, “We took until we could take no more, and we have yet more”. In surrounding verses we see that Christ is speaking about sheep, and their shepherd. Some historical context is also helpful here. At night, shepherds would herd several flocks into a rock-walled enclosure, and they – the shepherds – would lay and sleep in the opening through which the sheep came. They were – quite literally – the “gate” where the sheep came in and out. In the morning, a shepherd would stand at the gate and call for his sheep, and because they knew his voice, they would come out and go with the shepherd to the pasture of choice that day. This knowledge of history gives a tangible and real face to the story Christ is relating to his disciples.

So, what then does Christ mean by His words? He is not speaking of the life that the sheep have, a temporal existence, heartbeat, and so on because each of the people to whom He was speaking was already alive. Christ was speaking about a life “in Him”, a life beyond what we know here, eternally but also spiritually here and now. Essentially Christ was saying, “I will take the life you have now and increase its meaning and depth boundlessly, giving you purpose here (glorify God) and the knowledge that you are living for me. The abundant life is a spiritual life lived to the glory of God.

So, we live the abundant life with all our heart, mind, and soul as Christians. That sure sounds like, “Live Like You Mean It”, right? The one thing that we’re missing is the concept that we can all do this and look very different doing it, and we can still be squarely within the intent of God. We dislike this concept as a church, we want a homogenous environment where everyone looks similar and is serving in a similar way. Christ’s disciples didn’t look like that and God hasn’t created us like that. We all look radically different, living different lives, and yet we live for Him. Get over it.

Recently my wife and I attended a meeting of Christian bikers, and someone in the group was cautioning against “appearing” a certain way to ‘bikers’. My dear wife – unable to keep silent any longer – made the perfect point, and that was, “Look; don’t appear to be anything! Be who you are. If you don’t know who that is, figure it out and then be that. Anyone living life “like they mean it” – hardcore biker or otherwise – will sniff out a phony faster than anything else, and your witness to that person will be immediately ineffective. Figure out who you are, what the unique personality is that God gave you; figure out where that intersects with His general will for us to live a life ‘set apart’ and to bring the gospel to all nations, and then live that, “like you mean it”. If even a small percentage of Christians were to live this way, we would see a world changed for the Lord in a single generation. Change the world for Christ, but do this through a life lived with intent, to the fullest, in His joy.

Live it folks, and be joyful when others live it, even if they don’t do it your way. Let me know if your “joy” in the Lord increases?

P.S. Read verse 16 in John 10 and let me know how many churches there are in God’s view? How should we act as a body in light of this?

Technorati Tags: body, christ, church, genuine, honest, individual, rebel

Technorati Tags: apologetics, christian, discussion, forum, link

Fireproof

Not often does a movie come along that I enjoy. Rarer still, a movie that I respect. Still harder to find, a movie that I enjoy, respect, and that I am emotionally caught up in and learn something from. Fireproof is one of these rare movies. In fact, it may stand alone in its own category.

This movie tells a story about a man – Caleb Holt – whose marriage is now coming on hard times. It’s coming onto hard times because neither he nor his wife have learned how to love unselfishly. Their reaction is to end the marriage, rather than fight for it. The main character’s father steps in and asks his son to go on a 40-day “love dare” journey, treating his wife the way a wife should be treated, regardless her ‘worthiness’ to accept that love and care. The journey takes some tough twists and turns, and the results are – to him – unexpected and will change his life forever.

This film is unapologetically Christian. It states that to give love, you must first understand love, and you must have it. This true love can only come from Christ and it is only this love that lasts forever, is wholly unselfish, and the only love strong enough to hold even when the other person is ‘undeserving’. There are so many layers to this film it is difficult to discuss them all, but male pornography issues, older male and female mentoring, Christian friends, influence of parents in the life, Christian witness, and counseling are all touched on and dealt with in reasonable and approachable terms.

Why did I enjoy this movie so much? Well, because I am Caleb Holt. I don’t mean that I am a firefighter and that the movie was modeled after my life, I mean that I acted as Caleb acted, and my life came to the same crossroads as his did. In fact, I acted far worse than Caleb did, for a longer period of time, was far more addicted to pornography, and this with three children in the house. My crossroad was an offramp on a freeway, not a fork in the road.

After a 2-hour struggle on my knees with the Lord (which I lost and He won), I came out of that dark place and began to treat my wife with the love that I am called to show, even though she had nothing to return. I did this after she left the house with the children, and in God’s grace, He loved her back into our marriage. I didn’t have a 40-day plan, but I knew that my approach to life had been – to this point – completely unsuccessful. I had things, and money, but nothing that mattered, and I wasn’t walking with my Lord. I decided that, even if He did not return my family to me, that I would walk with Him because I was inqdequate on my own. I would – finally – become part of the solution, and not the problem. I would help build God’s kingdom here on earth.

I don’t know where each of you are in your marriages, but I can guarantee that there are pieces of Caleb and Catherine in each of us. For the married, I urge you to watch this movie with your spouse. For single men, I urge you to watch this movie and see the positive effect that Christian friends can have on a man, and the devastating effects of pornography on a woman’s heart. Single women, watch this movie and learn not to gossip, or to exacerbate your friends marriage difficulties with a sharp tongue.

If your marriage has had struggles and you watch this movie with your spouse, watch the matinee and set aside the entire evening for healing and talking. This movie is one of the very few that can change your life if you let it. If you are willing to go ‘all the way’ and let the Lord into your heart as well, this movie won’t just change your life, it will be responsible for leading you to the One that saved it.

Technorati Tags: christ, love, marriage, movie, romance, Wife

Country Church

Yep, sure do. At least that’s the answer I give when a Christian asks me the question. I will sidestep the arguments around what “a church” means, if “home churches” are ‘okay’ or not, and if “mega-churches” have the Spirit at all, and focus on the idea that Christians need to meet with, lean on, and support other believers.

Another question I get is, “If I don’t go to church can I be saved”? This question is usually asked because people don’t want to associate with Christians, or just don’t like other people very much at all. Of course, we can do exactly nothing to move us even one iota closer to salvation, church or no church. We are asked to associate with other believers though, and we’re told to like it! Don’t believe me? Check out John 13:35 and let me know what you think?

So, we will love one another when we follow Christ. If He loves us, and we love Him, then we will love His family. What is the earthly church if it isn’t the family of believers? It stands to reason that if you love people, that you will want to be with them some of the time. It seems impossible – to me – that a person could say “yes” to Christ, but “no” to His church.

Let’s examine some of the analogies that describe the church in Scripture:

• The church is a building and Christ is the foundation. Who could say “yes” to the foundation and “no” to the building that sits on it?
• The church is His bride. Who can say “yes” to the groom and “no” to the bride?
• The church is His body. Who can say “yes” to the head, then “no” to the body?

To love the Lord is to love His church. One final point on ‘church attendance’ is this; when Saul was persecuting the church (arresting Christians), the Lord appeared to him in a blinding light and asked, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Rejecting the church is rejecting Christ just as logically as persecuting the church is persecuting Christ.

So, what does this all mean practically? It means to stop projecting the weaknesses of believers onto Christ as an excuse for non-attendance. It means to stop rationalizing your reasons for staying home on Sunday (or Saturday). It means to cast off the earthly reasons why you might not want to go, and realize that – as believers – we come together with the local body on a regular basis, and we love them. (Again, I won’t go into the rare occurrences like, “I live on an island and there are four other people here”. Meet with the four then and if they aren’t Christians, witness to them.) I am talking to the other 99% of believers who – with varying frequency – use the weaknesses of other believers to rationalize church non-attendance. Stop it, just stop it.

If your excuses sound pale and hollow here on earth, what do you think they will sound like in an infinitely large space in front of the throne at the end of time?

Technorati Tags: christ, church, church attendance

Stone Altar

Under the ‘old law’, sacrifices were made to the Lord for many different reasons. Some were offerings of joy or thanks, some were sin offerings, and others commemorated feasts. The animal was slaughtered and placed on the altar and didn’t much have a choice. Israel made these sacrifices regularly, but there are numerous (scores) of accounts in the Old Testament where the Bible states that the people fell away from the Lord and no longer knew Him or what he had done for Israel (Judges 2:10, 2 Kings 17:6-20). It is clear that the sacrifice was not the only effective part of the transaction then, there was also a heart/mind component; the memory of the Lord and the willingness to follow His ways.

Today, we are told to give our bodies as ‘living sacrifices’ to our God (Romans 12:1). This brings several new dimensions to an ancient ritual. First, a live sacrifice can leave the altar. Second, a live sacrifice is personally involved in the transaction, living it and feeling it. Finally, a living sacrifice lasts longer than the old, dead sacrifice.

Let’s examine these dimensions as we look at what is happening in our post, post-modern culture.

When we examine the pattern of sin (Adam’s, the Israelites, or in our lives) we see that there is a period of time where we attempt to walk with God, a time when we consider the pull of sin (temptation), then a time of ‘waffling’ where we begin to question God and His Word, and then we turn from Him and lean on our own wisdom, sinning in the process. Eve – in the garden – was first tempted, then she listened to the serpent’s words while doubting God, then she ‘saw’ that the food was good for ‘wisdom’ and then she ate. The Israelites repeated a cycle where they lived as a people ‘set apart’ for a time, following the will of the Lord, then they would watch their neighbors, marry their women, then would begin to worship their gods, turning from the one true God. Can you see this pattern in your life? I can certainly see it in mine.

Paul’s words in Romans 12:1 are written in such a way that I conclude from this that he is exhorting his listeners to continually offer themselves up to the Lord (First aorist ‘paristemi ‘). Each morning, give yourself to the Lord and each minute during they day, offer up praise and stay connected to the One giving you strength and bringing you closer into His image (as the smoke would rise from ancient sacrifices to heaven). This understanding certainly indicates that there are almost infinite opportunities for us to choose to worship our Lord (or not).

Offering ourselves to the Lord seems like such an obvious thing, filled with joy. Why then would we want to choose not to worship? James writes, “On the very rare occasion that you might be temporarily inconvenienced in a minor way…”, no, he writes, “..when you meet trials of various kinds” [emphasis mine]. This passage indicates that we will see trials as a result of being believers and worshiping our Lord. More than this, it sounds like we’ll be presented with a few different types to deal with!

“Trial” sounds uncomfortable, doesn’t it? It seems as though this is something we’d like to avoid, but being on an altar sounds uncomfortable as well, and we’re told to be there. The apostles rejoiced when they were punished because of The Name and considered it a blessing, even high praise, to be persecuted for being a Christ-follower (Acts 5:41, 1 Pet 4:13, Col 1:24, Phil 3:8). So, though uncomfortable, it sounds as though going through trials is part of being a Christian. There is also evidence to support that trials refine us and increase our faith (1 Pet 3:18, 1 Pet 4:1). Does this mean that we should be beatific and gloriously happy all the time? I don’t think so. People that act that way are put into small, padded rooms. It means that we know our ultimate destination and that we keep the faith through trials. It does not mean that we do not get “down” or despondent from time to time.

So, we’ve examined the reasons that we might want to leave the altar and the reasons why we ‘feel’ it so deeply, what about the idea of living it through our life as an example to others? St. Francis of Assisi said, “Wherever you go, preach Christ; and if necessary, use words”. How powerful an exhortation to live out our faith! Brennan Manning has said – quoted in a dc Talk song – “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today… is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle.” While I remain unconvinced that this statement is theologically sound, it does speak to the idea that our lives can either lead others to the Lord, or lead them away into death.1 Pet 4:13 tells us that, in our suffering, God’s glory can be revealed. 1 Cor 12:26 reveals the idea that sharing suffering as a body of believers will strengthen everyone. 1 Tim 4:12 is a direct call to Timothy to set an example for the believers. It is clear that Scripture calls us to continue our living out of Christ’s Lordship in our lives (living sacrifice) both to edify the congregation of believers and to set an example that will draw those yet to be saved.

Finally, I’d like to circle back to the beginning of this post, to the idea that we question the validity of God’s Word, then believe our own understanding above the Word of the Lord, and then actively sin. Paul gave praise to the Bereans for testing his words, and we should study and verify the things we are being taught. This study and honest examination is not what I am calling out here. I am speaking about the tendency of human beings to doubt the word of the Lord because they view it to be incongruent with what they see here on earth. Proverbs 3:5 tells us to trust in the Lord and not to lean on our own understanding. The combination of these two concepts leads me to the idea that – while we must study – we must also hold firm to the things that the Lord clearly says, and that we should not rationalize, and hem and haw on these clear tenets of the faith. We must come to conclusions about the things the Lord has said, and then live then out actively.

In the ‘neo-modern’ world of today we have moved past the post-modern approach that says not to judge other people’s beliefs. That is already bad enough, and anti-Scriptural, but we have moved into a neo-modern world that not only accepts everyone’s ideas but demands that we agree that all views are equally true! Beyond being ridiculous in a logical sense, this approach is exactly what the children of Israel believed as they slid into active sin, and they were judged for it. How much more harshly will it be with us when we have His Word to guide us?

Let us each remain on the altar, choosing it joyfully each morning and minute during the day, living out our lives as a living sacrifice to the Lord who saved us. No crawling off the altar!

Technorati Tags: altar, christian, example, god, heart, lifestyle, modern sacrifice, post-modern, sacrifice, sin

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul.

-William Ernest Henley (British Poet, 1875)

Ah yes, the poem that Timothy McVeigh uttered as the execution drugs began flowing into his veins. Americans love this poem. Men love this poem. We grunt like Tim the Toolman Taylor at the dark overtones and the protagonists unquenchable spirit. We are gripped with emotion at the last two lines, I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul. “Invictus”, unconquered! Deep emotion, passion, and strength; good stuff.

Small problem though, it isn’t true.

We are no more than bit players in our fate, and – indeed – sometimes in our lives. Almost anyone can tell you a story that demonstrates, regardless the energy they’ve poured into a thing, that the endeavor failed or didn’t turn out they way they desired. It is a great thing to remain unbowed by circumstance, but understand, you are not the captain of your soul.

Firstly, you ‘are’ your soul and you don’t ‘own’ it. It was given to you at conception by God. In Genesis we read the account of Adam and his body being brought to life by the in-breathing of God. That soul creates human life and when you die, it goes back ‘somewhere’. (We can discuss the ‘somewheres’ in another post).

Secondly, the Bible explains that we can serve only one of two masters. We will love the one and hate the other, or vice versa. Those two masters are Satan and God. One of the two of them is the master of your soul if by master you mean something like, “That entity that determines influences on my thinking and being”.

Now, ‘fate’. I take this to mean the final disposition of my soul, not the meandering walk that we each take here on earth. Folks, we aren’t even in full control of the smallest things here on earth. Tend a garden, farm for a living, repair cars or computers, raise a teenager.. you find that we cannot control anything here. It’s like grasping water and gripping it harder and harder; the harder you grasp, the less you are holding on to. If we have this little control over corporeal things, what makes us think that we have any effect on our place in the afterlife!? The final disposition of our soul, our fate, is simple.. it is directly tied to the master of our soul while we are here.

So, what does God desire of us then? It is clear that the dark and foreboding terms of the poem draw us because we see this darkness on earth, but I think that God would like us to focus ever upward and bring some Light to the earth while we are here. As far as mindset goes, I think He wants us to be lion-hearted and full of courage, but He wants that courage to be placed in our knowledge that He is the Captain of our soul. I think that He wants us to remain humble (humilis) in the knowledge that we can do nothing of eternal significance without Him, and that we are part of a much greater Plan that He has for this planet. Micah 6:8 does a great job of outlining what God desires of us in terms of mindset and approach.

Don’t falter, be of courage, place your faith in Him, and walk among others with humility. Be conquered, by Christ. Humilis, not Invictus.

Technorati Tags: fate, god, humble, invictus, unconquered

Before we begin I’d like to state that ANYONE who aspires to be something that they are not already, invites the label of “hypocrite”. If you state that you want to be one way, and set the bar there… ahead of where you are now, you are going to be a hypocrite somewhere along the line, religion or no. So, realize that the very accusation of “hypocrite” implies that you desire to be something more than you are, and desire for growth is good.

What is “Hypocrisy”?

Before we delve into what hypocrisy looks like from a Christian perspective, let’s examine the modern meaning of the word and the historical (root word) meaning.

Hypocrisy (or the state of being a hypocrite) is the act of preaching a certain belief or way of life, but not, in fact, holding these same virtues oneself.

The word hypocrisy derives from the Greek (hypokrisis), which means “play-acting”, “acting out”, “feigning, dissembling” or “an answer”. The word hypocrite is from the Greek word (hypokrites), the agentive noun associated with (hypokrinomai), i.e. “I play a part.” Both derive from the verb, “judge” ( “judgment” (kritiki), “critics”) presumably because the performance of a dramatic text by an actor was to involve a degree of interpretation, or assessment, of that text. (Wikipedia, and verified in Merriam Webster and Greek/English Lexicon of the New Testament)

Sunday Christians

Dressing up the kids and marching into church, avoiding the use of ‘bad’ words and using words that are in the current religious vernacular, as if you are that “wrapped up” and “proper” every other day of the week is a horrible approach to faith. This “Sunday Christian” approach makes you believe that your “weekly duty” is done, and you begin to believe that’s all that is required. Your spouse can see right through you, but they are trying to convince themselves that you’re both doing the right thing, so you don’t call each other on it. Your kids learn that “acting the part” is what’s important and that real heart change isn’t needed. This approach certainly has echoes of the “playacting” meaning of the word “hypocrite”.

Skeleton in the Closet Christians

Worse than the “Sunday Christian” is the Christian that possesses hidden sin (or sin they think is hidden) and live as people of faith more than each Sunday. In small ways, each of us fall into this category, but here I mean people who have something they know about, is consistent, and they have not turned from. Examples are spousal abuse, use of pornography, substance abuse, and temper issues. These Christians live the life verbally, and out in front of others, but they have a dark streak of sin that they are susceptible to. These Christians can seriously mar another’s ability to commit to Christ and the faith when their sin is found out. Many fall away when one of these are found out. This lifestyle implies not onlt playacting, but method acting. The person almost fools themselves into thinking that the play is the person, and the impact is deep – for everyone – when the mask finally comes off.

Selfish Humanist Christians

These are the Christians, of every stripe, that succumb to the modern belief that God’s main goal is that we are happy. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard believers tell me that they have done something completely out of line with God’s will because they, “have a right to be happy”. The simplest – and often most destructive – example is that of divorce and remarriage. These Christians instill a great amount of doubt in others, though they cannot see that their actions are inconsistent with their stated belief, everyone around can see this, and they are affected. When I was a child and saw couples in the church divorcing I could not understand it, no matter how hard I tried. I even asked people why they did it! Imagine that scene. A man has divorced his wife and has brought another women to church, and a ten year-old boy comes up and asks why he is bringing someone who isn’t his former wife to church! I don’t do this in public now, but if we know each other, and you leave your wife, be prepared for a visit, because I’ll be asking you some  penetrating questions as your brother in Christ.

I know that I am diverging here for just a moment, but let me explain something to you, I hope incredibly clearly. You don’t have a “right” to ANYTHING anymore (happiness included)! Your rights have been surrendered to The One you gave your heart, life, and soul to. What you want, what you desire must be molded over time into His image, into His will, and will then become your joy. This is so counter-cultural, especially now, that people don’t want to say it, God forbid we PREACH it! The Person we have given our rights to is perfect, loving, and wants us to be in eternity with Him. What we “want” is SO FAR from important in that heavenly scheme that words fail me in my attempt to communicate it. Back on track now…

Pharisees

Finally I would call out the category of hypocrites that I believe Christ assigned to the Pharisees. These are church leaders that could fall into one of the categories above and thus have sway over many believers. Instead of one spouse and children, or a circle of personal friends, these men and women can cause faith to be shaken in entire church bodies when their hypocrisy is found out. Here, leaders can be guilty of the “critical” part well in advance of being found out. Some are never found out! Many church leaders interpret  and “add to” the Good News. Some do this because they “believe”, some yet because it serves them, some further yet because they believe it strengthens the body to place additional requirements of “ascetism” on the believers. I would not be surprised if, in some Bible-teaching churches, the greatest part of their counseling efforts are to help members “unlearn” the legalism and weight added by leaders in the members former church.

What Then Shall We Do?

STOP IT! Don’t be a hypocrite. Here’s how we’ll start. For those of you who are lost and just want to “find yourself”, go to the mall. Yes, the pagan temple with all the stores. Go to a main entrance. Just inside those doors you will likely find an Information Center. View it. There is a red arrow on it stating “You Are Here”. Now that you’ve found yourself, let’s focus. Next, go to a mirror. Peer into it intently. The person in the mirror is who we’ll be working on for the next twenty, forty, sixty, or eighty years. Find those areas where your heart isn’t in line with an Almighty God, and pray that He guides you into a fuller understanding of His will. When you awaken each morning, give yourself FULLY over to Him. All your “rights”, your passions, your desires; ask Him to use these in His will and actively suppress your desire to exert your flesh in the face of pressure and opposition that day. Though there may be hypocrites in the church, pray that you aren’t one of them. When you see hypocrisy in others, realize that in – perhaps different – ways, it’s in you too and extend some grace to them. Don’t let it affect your walk with a perfect Lord.

The only way to stop being a hypocrite is to ACT the way you SAY that you should. Walk the walk and talk the talk. If you can only do one of these, I beg you as a brother in Christ to do the former. Don’t try to change the outside and make that “believable”. This is the root of hypocrisy. Allow your heart to be changed, and your life will change to match. Also, I would beg of you to live in a transparent manner. Let others see your struggles, failures, and victories. In this way the Christian life is shown for what it is, rather than a pasty, unreal caricature of itself that is displayed in so many Christian churches today. Paul didn’t describe the Christian life as a battle, with armor and sword for nothing!

Should we “call out” hypocrisy in others? While I believe that we should exhort and spur each other on to higher Christian growth, we should be very careful to call out sin in other people. Why? Because our relationship is with the Lord, and it is likely that He has given us enough work in ourselves to consume our time; but also because if we focus on others, this becomes much more “fun” than focusing on ourselves. Yes, we are to grow together as a church, and this requires accountability and exhortation, but our personal  relationship with Christ comes first.

If you are not a Christian and have – somehow – made is this far through the post, first let me thank you from the bottom of my heart. You have my deepest respect, you are incredibly curious or dedicated! One thing I would ask; PLEASE do not judge a perfect and Almighty God by His followers. We are faint and frail as compared to him and while we endeavor to grow in His grace, we often fall short of the mark. Approach Him, and build a personal relationship with Him, and realize that we are all aspiring to a goal we’ve not yet reached.

Technorati Tags: christian, hypocrisy, hypocrite

First, let me say that I don’t believe this man was sinning, because he honestly doesn’t believe that it is an issue. We’re asked to examine ourselves and the Scriptures to decide what is right and what is wrong, that is, to undergo a process of examination to decide what is right and I’d like to make sure, so I go to Scripture since it is infinitely wise and right.

This is the point that we’ll examine in this post. Is it “a sin” to go a few miles an hour over the set speed limit?

I’d like to suggest that we step back from traffic laws and look at the larger picture. Does God actually expect us to obey the yokels that run our town, our state, our country!? I mean, does He expect us to obey the really key stuff, or does He intend that we should follow it all? What if our country asks us to do something that is in conflict with Scripture? What then? Let’s turn to Scripture for guidance and wisdom..

Romans 13:1-7 is the most commonly used passage in the New Testament when we discuss civil leaders. Here, Paul explains that we must each submit ourselves to “higher authorities”. The reason for this is that these authorities have been established by God, and rebelling against them or their laws is taking a stand against the ordinance of God. In verses six and seven Paul seems to indicate that beyond mere obedience, we are to support our government willingly by paying taxes and giving respect.

In 2 Peter 2:13, Peter takes the teaching of Paul and hammers it home, while maintaining the idea of Christian freedom. We are to obey the law of the land as it aligns with the law of the Lord (Acts 4:19), that is, we are to obey the law of the land unless it directly conflicts with the law of the Lord. Peter ends this section (verse 17) with the responsibilities of Christians one to the other, to fear God, and to obey the king.

Proverbs 24:21 makes it simple and explains that we have two authorities that we must obey, God and the king (our governing authorities).

The final passage we will look at is in Jeremiah 29, starting with verse seven; here, God sends word to the exiles in Babylon that they not only are to obey the rules of their captors, but they are to pray for the health and prosperity of the country! They were to submit to their captors and to pray for the success of those in power over them. This they were instructed to do for seventy years until they would turn their hearts to the Lord and He would bring them home.

These verses indicate – to me – that we are to follow all of the laws that civil authorities place for us and that we should, furthermore, do it joyfully and support those same leaders with prayer, respect, and our taxes. If you are convicted of this as I am, then I welcome you to the brotherhood of drivers that follow the speed limit and every traffic law. Prepare to be honked at.

Ron

P.S. Before I cam to this understanding of Scripture, I drove aggressively in my Jeep. I got around 14.5 mpg. Now that I drive within the bounds of all traffic law, calmly and reasonably, my gas mileage has increased to around 19 mpg. So, even if you don’t think as I do, a 24% decrease in gas cost for each forward mile might convince you?

Technorati Tags: government, obedience, sin, speed limit

Here are the four major reasons I believe that we have school shootings:

1. No consequences
We have created a society in the United States that allows a ridiculous amount of irresponsible action before any consequences are felt, and even then they are reduced to a mere fraction of what ‘life’ would do to someone naturally. When you are raised in an environment where no correction is given regularly – in little ways – you don’t learn what you “should” and “should not” do. Our capability for deviance from reasonable action becomes larger as we get older and without this regular course correction, a child can end up with sloppy impulse control and a failure to mature.

2. No respect for life
We tell our kids that they evolved from a puddle of goo and that they are animals like any other. We tell them that nothing makes humans special save their ability to reason and that simple evolutionary processes over millions of years resulted in our intelligence and ability to seem like we have this thing some silly religious types call a “soul”. We call it “sentience” so that we can devalue it’s real import. We kill our children in the womb with regularity and tell each other this is somehow “more caring” than raising it. Our personal wants and desires are more important than a life. With this we prove that life is accidental, a mere happenstance of chance and that it is not precious; it is not something to revere or protect.

3. No right and wrong
Since religious people are a bunch of whackjobs that need something outside themselves (when there really IS nothing), we tell our kids that every belief in any “god” is the same crutch as every other and that anything you “choose to believe” is right. Morals change as society changes and the majority of people’s actions select what is “right”. “Right” is only a definition and it changes with the ebb and flow of human choice. Since there is no truth, and no “right”, the corollary is quickly figured by the child and nothing is viewed as “wrong”.

4. No Love
Many children today are raised by parents that have bought into points 1-3 above and that add a great deal of selfishness to the mix. These children have no “time” with mom or dad and therefore do not feel “loved” in any real way. There is no-one that cares for them, and this feeling is hyper-injected with hormone fuel at puberty, pushing many teens into a black depression. This results in young adults that know the world is cold and does not care what happens to them.

- – - – -

So, we have a child that feels that no one cares, that places no value on life, that thinks everything is “fine” to do, and that has never practiced denying themselves anything. Add to this mixture a pile of racing thoughts and hormones, and I cannot believe that there are not MORE shootings!

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So, faced with this dire situation, we ask, “What shall we do”? In short, we must reverse each point above. My personal opinion on how to do this appears below. Please understand that I know that both the problem and the solution are not four simple steps, but I do believe that these four things are fundamental to our success.

A. Parents should give their children consequences for incorrect action on a consistent and age-appropriate basis from a very young age. As a child matures, so do the consequences and as the child’s capacity to understand increases, so do the explanations of what these actions might bring in the world outside the home and why, “we don’t do that”. Society should then change to allow all citizens to feel the consequences of their own actions. If you don’t want to work, you don’t eat. If you want to live off of others and thieve to do that, you’ll end up working anyway; on a chain gang.

B. We should teach respect for life from a young age as well, by putting each other above ourselves and teaching that life is a gift from God, given to both the animals and man by God Himself. We should teach children that we are above the animals and are to care for them, but that God made us in His image and therefore we each have infinite significance as children of the King. Christ would have died for any ONE of us, and that makes our lives significant! We must then change society to reflect the view that life is important by protecting each other from those that would take life. This would come in the form of protecting life and limb and extending that basic right to children yet in the womb. We cannot tell children to put another before themselves and then put our convenience ahead of the lives of the unborn.

C. There is truth, and we should teach that to our children. Our God lives today and is active in our lives and on this earth. Children should be taught about faith, God, and how best to glorify Him; and then watch as their parents model that behavior. As Americans, we need to get over this misplaced and hyper-extended notion of a separation between church and state and begin to teach the truths that our forefathers recognized, that all rights come from God Himself and that He has given us the definition between “right” and “wrong”. Truth exists, and we should recognize it, teach it, and live it.

D. Does it not go without saying that if there is love that there will be less violence? We should love our children. I don’t mean that we should have “warm feelings” inside toward them, but we should LOVE, as a choice and as a verb. Place yourself aside as a parent and spend time with your children. Work alongside them, talk to them, listen to them, and give them a home in which they can emote and still be safe and protected. Teach them then to love as they have been loved. Explain to them what love is and means, don’t assume they “just know”. Explain what it takes to make interpersonal relationships work. Ensure that they understand that they can control only themselves and that they should love without expecting emotion in return. Tell them how they can do this because God does this with each of us, and as children of the King, we can do this for each other.

Will these things stop school shootings? Perhaps not entirely, but children that have been raised as I describe in an America as I describe will very likely be innoculated against that type of behavior from a young age.

Technorati Tags: children, ethics, gun, morals, parenting, school shootings, teaching

In 1962, SCOTUS heard Engel v. Vitale and ruled that a simple voluntary prayer could not be a part of a student’s day. So, should I yet believe the Supreme Court of the United States in 1962 when they tell me that the Fathers didn’t want prayer in governmental institutions? Or should I believe the words of the Founding Fathers themselves?

Let’s get back to the phrase, “separation of church and state”. It appears nowhere in either founding document and also does not appear in four months of notes from the floor of the Constitutional Convention. Now, I’ve heard people say, “But I KNOW that’s around the time the phrase came about”, and they are generally correct. The phrase was coined – as far as we know – in a letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association that was very specific and involved a query on whether or not the United States would ever mandate a state religion such as the Church of England in Britain. This letter was written fourteen (14) years after the Constitution was signed and responded to a very specific condition, not the general state of affairs. Also, since I am being “picky” about listening first to the men that were there and created our founding documents, I must reveal to you that Thomas Jefferson – from his own letters – can be shown to be in France during the formation of the Constitution and readily admitted that it was complete and penned before his return. He wasn’t even there!

In NewDow v. U.S. Congress, 2002 it was argued that reciting the pledge would establish a religion and that the state was “backing” a God-based form of religion. This case was dismissed, but only because SCOTUS determined that the parent who brought the suit was a non-custodial parent of the student required to recite the pledge and therefore had no standing before the court on her behalf. Jefferson himself would disagree, “Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God”? Jefferson used the word “conviction” because he knew that this was something that had to be taught to children and bred in them from a young age. The concept of “melting pot” used to be that if you came to America, at age 18 when you left school that you would know what our American values were and you were willing to participate in that system and defend it. Jefferson knew, even then, that we were straying and said, “That they (liberties/values) are not to be violated but with His wrath. Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever”.

What is the effect on a nation when morals are blown by the wind and ethics are based on what is right each in our own mind? What happens when we remove God from schools, from science, and from all teaching? Univ. of Texas at Austin, Kent State, Fullerton Library, Stockton, Lindhurst, Richland, Bethel, Pearl, Jonesboro, Parker, Thurston, Columbine, Heritage, Buell, Red Lake, Amish school in Lancaster County, and a Louisiana Technical college three days ago. This is not an exhaustive list of school shootings, and I don’t pretend to say that removing God from school is the sole cause of events like these, but I think it is no coincidence that the earliest recorded shooting is 1966, and God was “officially removed” in 1962.

Good people, we tell our children that they came from a primordial pile of ooze, that this “evolved” into monkeys, and then into people. We further reinforce this idea of “existence irrelevance” by treating the unborn as cosmic accidents and as problems to be solved. This is a recipe for creating people that do not respect life; their own or anyone else’s. Add a teenager that is insecure with their body, their mind, feels unloved, and has been raised to have no base for a “soul”, and it all adds up to social violence. We’ve created the environment that molds people into beings with no self-respect and no respect for others.

So, what then shall we do?

John Francis Mercer said, “It is a great mistake to suppose that the paper we are to propose will govern the United States. It is the men whom it will bring into the government, and the interest they have in maintaining it, that is to govern them. The paper will only mark out the mode and the form; men are the substance and must do the business”.

Reverend Mathias Burnett: “Finally, ye.. whose power it is to save or destroy your country, consider well the important trust.. which God .. [has] put into your hands. To God and posterity you are accountable for them. Let not your children have reason to curse you for giving up those rights and prostrating those institutions which your fathers delivered to you”.

John Hancock: “I urge you, by all that is dear, by all that is honorable, by all that is sacred, not only to pray but to act”.

All of these quotes sum up the concept that we must act. Evil triumphs by default if we sit by and do nothing. Make no mistake folks, we are already on a slippery slope. The slope is human nature, and it is base and ever-downward. The slippery stuff, it’s called sin, and there is only one thing that can cleanse it and right our down-turned lives. John Adams knew what that force was and when he was asked if we would triumph in the war over Great Britain, he answered not with a military strategy, numbers, or any other measure of human strength, but with the phrase, “Yes, if we fear God and repent of our sins“.

Folks, I pray that we will follow Adams’ advice, fear God by honoring Him as the King of our lives; repent of our sins to an Almighty God and turn away from those sins; and finally, I pray that we will act.

Technorati Tags: church and state, danbury, ethics, government, morals, religion, vitale