You see, I cautioned the young man to be careful about where he rode that four-wheeler, how fast to ride it, and how fast to turn it, because those wheels don’t always spin out. Sometimes they hold! When they do, you can roll or high-side the vehicle, and either one will result in you getting dumped; hard. In addition, I told him always to wear gloves and a helmet, along with long pants. When he hit the top of the drive, going WAY too fast, he tried to slide a corner, the wheel grabbed, and it flipped him; hard. No protective gear resulted in some bumps and bruises, and I may now have his attention (I certainly have his 4-wheeler and he’ll not have access to that for some time).

So, what does it take for you to see things God’s way? We will all see things His way in the end (Isa 45:23, Eze 7:17, Rom 14:11, Phil 2:10), but I think that rather than begging the rocks to fall on us, I think it is a far better thing that we find God’s will and live in it now, rather than become after-the-fact converts. The joyful thing – for me – is that God draws those to Himself that will be with Him in the end. Remember however the ways in which the Lord humbles us. Much like my son, He is willing to cause us whatever discomfort is needed in order to bring us to a clear and complete realization of who He is, and what He has done for us. Read this next line, pause, then read it again and commit it to memory. God does not – necessarily – want you to be happy; He wants you to be saved. Got that? We can have a discussion about taking our ‘joy in the Lord’ and living life ‘to the full’ as outlined in the Gospels, juxtaposed against this statement of mine; but suffice it to say that Christ’s main purpose through His death was not to make us happy, but to provide us a path to the Father that prior to His sacrifice did not exist.

I told my son where not to ride that 4-wheeler. The Scripture makes it clear that we should not go places where temptation exists. If you are prone to over-drinking, don’t go into a bar. If you are addicted to porn, don’t have internet access that is unmonitored with no accountability partner. Do you purposefully go places where you know you have a personal weakness?

I told my son not to speed or to turn quickly because the vehicle would not perform the same way under those conditions. Do you have a consistent walk with God that grows every day, or are you erratic, leaving the door open for Satan to tempt you? Do always have more “month than money”, leaving one of the most powerful temptations a free pass to get in? Do you ‘stalk’ the person you are personally convinced should ‘be with you’, even though they aren’t interested? Do you fail to wait upon the Lord and forever insist on forcing things in “your time”, rather than accepting that the Lord has an eternal view? When we design an erratic life, or try to push things faster than God intends, we do not behave the same way and we leave doors open for the evil one.

Scripture outlines the precautions we should take (Ephesians 6:11-18), while putting on the armor for the fight. My son thought he was just going out to have fun and didn’t armor up. Why? Because he only intended to have a little fun and didn’t think he was going to do anything to warrant an accident. I have news for you; they call it an accident because you don’t see it coming! Do you bathe your family in prayer every day? Do you “armor up” in the Word and prayer before going off to slay dragons at work?

If we humble ourselves, breaking ourselves on The Rock every day, God won’t have to use this existence and circumstances to do it. God loves us, and He will do what it takes to save us, even if that means we become wholly broken and miserable (for a time) here on earth. My intent for my son is that he live long, and well, and to be a powerful force for his Lord, and the Father’s goal for you and for me is the same. He desires that we glorify Him and live with Him forever.

I challenge you to break yourself today, and to seek His will, living in it; rather than being dragged there in a broken heap. You’re going there anyhow, do it in style, serving your Lord!

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.

Carrying My Wife for 30 Days

When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, “I’ve got something to tell you”. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.

Suddenly I didn’t know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. “I want a divorce”, I raised the topic calmly.

She didn’t seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, “why”?

I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, “you are not a man”! That night, we didn’t talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Jane. I didn’t love her anymore. I just pitied her!

With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company. She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said, for I loved Jane so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her crying was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce, which had obsessed me for several weeks, seemed to be firmer and clearer now.

The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn’t have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Jane.

When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.

In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn’t want anything from me, but needed a month’s notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our eldest son had his middle school exams in a month’s time and she didn’t want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.

This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day. She requested that every day for the month’s duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door every morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.

I told Jane about my wife’s divorce conditions. She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. “No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce”, she said scornfully.

My wife and I hadn’t had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our younger son clapped behind us, “..daddy is holding mommy in his arms”! His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; “don’t tell our sons about the divorce”. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.

On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn’t looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her.

On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given twenty years of her life to me.

On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn’t tell Jane about this. It became easier to carry my wife as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger?

She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily.

Suddenly it hit me… she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.

Our younger son came in at the moment and said, “Dad, it’s time to carry mom out”. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day.

But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, “I hadn’t noticed that our life lacked intimacy”.

I drove to the office…. jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind…I walked upstairs. Jane opened the door and I said to her, “Sorry, Jane, I do not want the divorce anymore”.

She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. “Sorry, Jane”, I said, “I won’t divorce”. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn’t value the details of our lives, not because we didn’t love each other anymore. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us part. Jane seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away.

At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, “I’ll carry you out every morning until death do us part”.

That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I ran up the stairs, only to find my wife had been driven home from work early, and she was confined to bed as she was too weak to walk. She died that night, at home in the bed I carried her from every day, for 30 days.
My wife had been fighting cancer for months and I was too busy with Jane to even notice. She knew that she would die soon and she wanted to save my reputation with our sons, in case we pushed thru with the divorce. At least, in the eyes of our son— I’m a loving husband….

Men, perhaps you’ve never gotten a divorce, considered a divorce, or even taken enough time and energy away from your family to consider yourself a failure. For the two or three of you that covers, congratulations! We could all do so much more to build intimacy with our wives, and if you’ve never failed in a big way, consider if you’ve ‘been all that you can be’ to your beloved. We don’t know how long we have, and we are so rarely aware of who is watching. Let us live as though our marriages are the first and brightest reflection of Christ, because they are!

There are several points in this story worth calling out. First, both spouses were angry… and that’s fine. The key is to handle our anger in such a way that it is not sinful. Focusing on ourselves, our desires, to the detriment of our spouse is sin. Second, while we all need to be motivated by a clean spirit and real heart change, we need to be aware that sometimes, behavior can change the heart! Sometimes, orthopraxy (doing what is right) can bring us to a fuller understanding and active living of orthodoxy (right theology). Third, see the realization and change in perception that took place when this husband spent one-on-one time with his wife. Understand that the same thing holds true in our relationship with God. Time spent with one another builds understanding and intimacy.  Fourth, this combination of right living and right teaching, when practiced over time, will change our focus from ourselves to others, and will enable us to live a life that glorifies God more and more each day. This man finally ‘saw’ his wife, after so many years of emotional neglect, because he was “living right”, and only for 30 days. What a difference in that amount of time! Finally, remember that our days are numbered. Take the time with your wife whom the Lord has given you, all the days you have been given on this earth. Delight in her as the wife of your youth, regardless your age and regardless how you stand with one another today. Take the time.

Thanks for reading!

Ron

P.S. For practical tips on what to do to rebuild your relationship and really focus on your wife in an intentional way, take “The Love Dare” as a start. This works, regardless where you are, and it gives a great deal of information to you about the places where your beloved can use time and attention.

I started several devotions for this morning’s breakfast; a Father’s Day chat, and Memorial Day recognition, a direct and forceful talk about a Christian man and his calling, but I have been led to the book of Ephesians for today’s conversation with you. First.. a personal story. I went in recently for a consult on ADHD. I wanted to try some new treatment options, and needed to undergo an assessment with a new doctor. I sat in the waiting room for 10 or 15 minutes, tapping my foot, reading magazines, pacing… until the assistant came and took me to a room with nothing on the floor, walls, or ceiling. The only thing in the room was a rather sturdy looking desk with a monitor and a keyboard. The assistant explained that letters would flash on the screen and I was to press a key each time this happened, except when the letter “X” flashed up on the screen. I began, and the letters came, fast and furious, then slower… then fast again. Here and there I skipped the “X” when I should, but as I got into a rhythm, I found that the “X” would flash, and I’d press the key… just because I had become used to pressing the key. Then, I became incensed at myself for hitting the “X”… so upset that I would mess up the next couple of keypresses. “A” – press, “I” – press, “N” – press, “K” – press, “X” – press… D’OH!!! It seems that this is much like our life as Christians… we naturally do what we repeat. 14 minutes of that seemed like an eternity, and I am glad I didn’t take a blood pressure test soon thereafter. Take a guy with ADHD and put him in a small room, make him do one boring thing, boy I tell you… I’ll bet they had a hidden camera somewhere! Let’s see how this idea of conditioned stimulus and response applies to Paul’s writings.

So, Ephesians… are we going to talk about the fact Paul seemingly wrote Ephesians expressly to demonstrate Pastor Jeff’s [our senior pastor] continued focus on the difference between (and necessity of) orthodoxy and orthopraxy? After all, the book is split neatly in two between “how to believe” in Chapters 1 through 3 and “how to live” in Chapters 4 through 6! Perhaps we will talk about relationships and focus on the gender-specific verses from 22 through 26? It’s always nice to talk about submissive wives, right?

I have a confession to make; we are going to speak about only two verses in Ephesians today… that’s all you’re getting. If you feel ‘jipped’, please show up on Sunday for some preaching that’s far better than what you’re getting now! I further confess that you’re going to get a strong message about what God expects from us as Christians, with the added note that we are to lead in this regard in our homes… by example.

So, here we are in the middle of Paul’s preaching on how we ought to live, and, taking up in verse three of Chapter 5 we read, “..sexual immorality and all impurity of covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints”.  We are saints! Isn’t that cool!? Now, I know what you’re saying… “I know Ron pretty well and I can’t speak for the rest of these jokers, but he’s no saint”. Here, Christ has declared us saints and then sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us, giving us the strength to live as saints. Paul extends a bit of grace to the Ephesians (and to each of us) by calling them “saints”. Paul states that sexual immorality should not exist among the saints. Sounds pretty obvious, doesn’t it? I can already hear some of you thinking, “I don’t sleep with other women, I’m good”, or, “I am a ‘normal guy’ in this regard, not extra kinky or anything”. I don’t suppose that our view changes if we bring in Christ’s view that thinking about sex with a woman is a sin, just as performing the act would be? Not convinced? Okay, let’s “rise above” the laiety and focus only on clergy for a moment. Leadership Journal did an anonymous survey on sex and the American clergy. Of the pastors responding to the survey, 20 percent said they looked at sexually oriented media at least once a month! 38% said they actively fantasized about sex with someone other than their spouse more than once monthly. When asked if in their church ministry if they had even done anything they felt was sexually inappropriate, 23 percent answered yes! When asked about physical infidelity, 12 percent of pastors answered, “yes”, after entering the ministry. When the laity were asked the same questions, the rates almost doubled, across the board. This indicates – to me – that leaders have an issue looking clearly into the mirror and confronting themselves and their sin. Let me give you a bit of a secret about that study. It was done more than twenty years ago, before the advent of the Internet. What do you think the rates are now?

Paul then goes on to talk about greed, and it may seem as though this is out of place, but greed has a great deal to do with sexual immorality. Greed is an appetite for something more, always. Sexual immorality is us ‘acting out’ on this desire for more. Covetousness is greed applied to something another person already has. There was a time that advertising companies would give an honest overview of a product they were proud of and compete for market share. I worked in advertising before coming to Wausau, and we didn’t care if our product was a great one, only that our advertisement was present once we successfully made people dissatisfied with what they had. All we had to do was awaken greed in a person, and have our ad in front of them when it happened.

God’s standard for behavior and sin are absolute, and Paul states that even a hint of these things must not exist among the believers. With the statistics we’ve heard and the knowledge of the truth, it’s clear that strong medicine is needed. In order to raise children that are moral and behave in a saintly manner, we must each act in that manner. Children’s behavior is more ‘caught’ than ‘taught’. We must remove from our homes every form of immorality and every hint of sex and greed. I challenge you each to do the following this evening. Sit down – as a family – around the dining room table with your DVD, music, or media file collection in the middle. Then, read Philippians 4:8 aloud and separate the movies into two piles, one to keep and one to toss. Each time you find yourself rationalizing a movie with a phrase like, “there are a couple ‘things’ in it, but it has a good story or moral”, place that movie in the “toss” pile. The way we explain this to our kids is as follows. We all like brownies, right? I’ve made some brownies, chocolately and thick… still warm, and I have some ice cream to go with them; want some? Inevitably they yell, “yes”! And we say, “ah, just one more thing… in all of this chocolatey goodness, we’ve mixed in just a teeny bit of cat poop… but don’t worry, there not much bad stuff and overall, the brownies taste really good”! Their faces fall, and they walk away… every time. Cat poop isn’t the loss of our reward after arriving in heaven, and yet we have a stronger reaction to it… wow.

Why do I think that this verse speaks so strongly about a zero tolerance for these things? Well, beyond the simple and clear language used, the next verse brings it home in a big way… let’s cover verse four; “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving”. The word for ‘filth’ here is the same root as “disgraceful” and means anything about which we ought to feel shame. The word “moron” comes from the word that is translated “foolish talk” and in this context does not mean someone who is mentally deficient, but a person who is morally deficient. Crude joking means “to turn easily”, or, to have a quick comeback. Again, in context, this means a quick comeback of a sexual nature. The ability to turn anything into something sexual should not be a skill of ours. We don’t joke about sex for the same reason we don’t joke about God… it’s a sacred subject.  God’s standard is absolute and it includes moral purity in thought, speech, and behavior.

So, how do we do it? At the end of verse four we see that the opposite of greed and lust is to give thanks. What does giving thanks have to do with purity? Remember when I said that to trigger greed we had to become dissatisfied with what we have? A person that is giving thanks doesn’t have the time or inclination to be dissatisfied. A thankful person is inoculated against greed. Eve was tempted because she was made to be dissatisfied with “everything but the forbidden fruit”. If we complain about the job we have, the wife we have, and so on; we are not merely dissatisfied, but we are questioning God’s wisdom and sovereignty in our lives! Do you trust God, or don’t you? Let us focus on giving thanks for what we have, the fact that we are in the Light, and live as though we are.

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

The two younger kids are in California with their grandparents, and on Saturday, Justina had an all-day scrapbooking event in Minocqua. Kassie and I decided to go on a little ride together and went out Evergreen, past Chico’s to Eau Clarie Dells. We had some soft-serve, walked a bit, looked at some of God’s awesome nature, pushed Kassie on the park swings, came back through town, picked up cat food, and had a late lunch at Taco Bell. We followed this with some yardwork (mowing) and when Justina got home we grilled steaks. 60 miles of riding and some quality time with my eldest. It was a good day!

Sunday came and we went to church, me on the bike, Kassie and Justina in the Cherokee. I stopped by a friend’s house and fed his chickens, hit a small patch of rain, and made it to church on time. After church, Justina and I hopped on the bike and waved goodbye to Kassie who was headed for an empty house.. just Kassie and the dog for a day of alone time. Justina and I rode with a couple of friends to the local Harley dealership in time for the start of their first annual ‘dealer ride’. I’ve included our route below.

Justina and I ride well together, and we learn something new every time we ride. This time out we learned that she still gets antsy near the paint, and that popping her gum in my ear when we’re riding is distracting. I learned that stopping distances are greater with a passenger (I knew that but had it proven to me) and that this distance increases appreciably with water on the roadway. On that note; we traveled through a few impressive rain squalls. Hard rain at 60mph on a sunburned head feels like hail!

We had a successful ride, maybe 165 miles, had a great time, good fellowship (thanks Mike and Mitch!), and even got some coffee in! In fact, it was such a great time that I think I’ll ride home early this evening and take Justina on another ride.
View Larger Map

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.

D-Day

My father was born in 1933 just after the giddy height of the 1920′s had worn off and the Great Depression had gripped the United States. By the time of my Dad’s birth, the world economy was in turmoil and 1300 banks in the U.S. had closed. An additional four and one half million people lost their jobs, in a population of 125 million and now more than 30 million Americans had no income. Herbert Hoover had seemed unable to act, and Congress passed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, exacerbating an already established global recession. In 1932 F.D.R. arrived with massive bailout plans designed to shore up the economy, and the effect of some of these plans are felt yet today. Overseas, three men were planning to change the face of the political landscape, Hitler in Germany, Stalin in Russia, and Mao Zedong in China.

In the later 1930′s, Chamberlain returned from a summit with Hitler and proclaimed, “..we have peace in our time, peace with honor”; it was neither. As country after country fell in front of the Nazi war machine, America watched and readied herself, sending aid to a Britain struggling against the German aggressor. When my father was eight years of age, the Japanese hit us at Pearl Harbor, dragging a now awakened bear from its den. America was at war.

By 1944, 12 million Americans were in uniform and 19 million more people were back at work, 35 percent of them were women. This nation was immersed in the war, from the front to the back, and they won. This generation knew the intense humility and privation that the Great Depression brought, they lived through the hard work of rebuilding this nation, they saw so many of their friends, so many aspiring scientists, musicians, mathematicians, farmers, that didn’t make it past their very early twenties, who gave their all to this country. Millions of men and women were involved in this fight through poverty and riches, adversity and achievement, and from defeat to triumph. This generation of men and women kept our way of life alive for their children through personal sacrifice. Thank you Mom and Dad, thank you Grandma and Grandpa, and I would like to apologize to you for not learning what I should have so that I could be this strong in my generation. (As an aside, I’d like to apologize to my kids as well, because we are doing the opposite of what our parents did; we are tearing this country down to feed our gluttony and leaving you scraps to rebuild with).

Here’s my question: Where are these men and women today? We are faced with what could be the beginnings of a depression, there are many questions where international violence is concerned, and many domestic programs are in jeopardy. I fear that our parents fought for this country and we inherited it, said, “thank you very much”, and went and sat on the couch.. and stayed there. We took their long-suffering and turned it into a need for immediate gratification, accepted their endurance and twisted it into expectation, and received the benefit of their toil and eroded it until we became apathetic.

I’d like to suggest that there is a Biblical parallel – several actually – to this tale of American success and failure. Let me first state that I will spend little time on the first – and most obvious – parallel which is the story of the Israelites in Judges. Their cycle of faith, backsliding, apostasy, supplication, deliverance, faith.. and so on was due to the fact that they took their eyes off the Lord. While I think this parallel is definitely appropriate here, I don’t want to make it the central issue because if I do, Christian men and women will blame others, and men and women of other faiths will set my suggestions aside as “Christian” and therefore irrelevant. I want all of us to go take a long look in the mirror.

⁵ Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. ⁶ You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” - Haggai 1:5,6

Those who know the backstory for the book of Haggai understand that this warning is much like the first point I promised to spend little time on, but these verses alone are prophetic for us today. Don’t the people Haggai is referring to here sound a lot like modern-day Americans? I’d like to suggest that a major part of our failure to be ‘as great’ as our parents generation is because we are focused so much on ourselves that we have no time to believe that we are part of something greater than ourselves. We want things and time, and we want them for ‘us and ours’ and not for others. This selfishness is one reason there has been a huge backlash in this country against people who desire wealth, and in an unhealthy way. We aren’t holding up people who give to others and keep country traditions alive, instead we reward those who decide not to work with the money we’ve stolen from those who do labor. We reward selfishness and punish labor, and we wonder why we have a country chock full of people unmotivated to work!?

Third, in Judges we see that the beginning of the cycle of backsliding begins with an association with evil, with the people around the Israelites, with intermarriage and taking on their customs. It is difficult to live next to a thing and remain insulated from it; it is impossible to remain unaffected if you marry into it. We are called to be, “..in the world, but not of the world”, and we are called to witness to all nations, and we are to remain set apart. Christians often take these commands too far; on one end of the spectrum we have Christians that pray that ‘unbelievers’ won’t move into the vacant house next door and try to keep their family from associating with the ‘unsaved’; on the other end, we have people prone to certain weaknesses going right back into their old lives to ‘witness’ to others they once knew. It is clear that we must come into contact with ‘the world’ to witness, Christ did this and did it regularly, but if He needed rest and regeneration with like-minded people, who are we to think we don’t? This is where a local church becomes so critical. We are to bear one another’s burdens and to build each other up in the faith.. so that we can do the Lord’s work.

So, why is this generation ill-prepared to take on the challenges that faced our parents and grandparents? Because God is no longer the center of our lives, because we are almost wholly selfish, and because we are so caught up with what others are doing that we have failed to chart a course for ourselves (let alone follow it).

What can we do? I suggest that we turn back to the Word. If you are not a Christian today, first, I thank you for reading this far, and second, I urge you to crack open a Bible and read the book of John. It is about 3/4 of the way through the Bible, in the New Testament. Just read the book over the next few days or weeks and see what you think. Email me at windowormirror@gmail.com to chat. For those who believe, I suggest taking inventory. Find out where your focus is. Is it on the eternal? Do you have a heart for Kingdom building here on earth? Let us all become less selfish and carry out the work of the Lord here on earth. With a renewed focus, God can use us in great ways.. we have at our disposal – for His purposes – the power that raised Christ from the dead!

Technorati Tags: father, greatest generation, history, honor, man, men, respect, strength, war

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

Concentric Circles of Importance

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – John 13:34-35

“..if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” – Romans 10:9

I am convinced that we – as Christians – make the central nucleus of theology far too complicated. The fact that we have many churches, and that they – most often purposefully – do not “get along”, is proof enough of this.

The verse in Romans above sums up the critical things needed for salvation, and the body of Christ is all those who are “in Him”. Would we not be better served to unite around these simple, joyful, things rather than concentrating on the beliefs where we are different? Keep the necessary core (salvation), and embrace each other in Christian love (as Christ commanded) and see what happens in the body of Christ.

At our Thursday evening Men’s Bible Study this week, I drew the circles you see in the graphic above, and printed out 50 or 60 Christian beliefs and doctrines on pieces of paper. We each took 5 or 6 of these and took turns around the table placing them in the circle where we felt they belonged, having discussions on several (most). This was an invigorating exercise and promoted a lot of discussion and thought around central tenets of the faith.. very heady and healthy stuff. We should know why we believe what we believe.

Here is the way I described the circles:

Essential for Salvation: These are the things that are – without question – required to become saved, according to Scripture. Hint: The verse from Romans  above sums it up fairly well.

Essential for Orthodoxy: These are the well-accepted beliefs of the Christian church. Think of these as the beliefs that one might hold in order to hold office in their local church. I am aware that churches have differing views of “orthodoxy”, but 80% – 90% of beliefs that end up in this circle are commonly accepted by Christian churches.

Important but not Essential: These are beliefs that a Christian really should hold (because they have a good base in Scripture) but they are not required for orthodoxy.

Not Important: These are beliefs that may or may not be common and have little bearing on Christian life and walk.

Pure Speculation: These are things that we think up and are not generally refuted by Scripture but certainly have no Scriptural base.

I would urge each reader of this post to think about each of the beliefs I’ve listed below, and think about where you would place them on the continuum of importance, and why. Don’t complicate the center circle with your current understanding of theology, with personal bias, or with the way you were raised; look at Scripture, study, and then – perhaps – move your beliefs in accordance with what you find.

• God is perfect
• God is omnipotent
• God is omnipresent
• There is only one God
• Trinity (three in one)
• God is sovereign
• God has always existed
• Christ was 100% man
• Christ is 100% God
• Christ came to earth
• Christ was born of a virgin
• Christ died
• Christ descended into Hades
• Christ was raised from the dead
• Christ ascended
• Christ will judge the living and the dead
• We cannot earn salvation
• We will be resurrected in the body
• Existence of free will
• Sin separates us from God
• Sin came into the world through Adam (and Eve)
• Christ will return to take us home
• We are all sinners, in birth and action
• We should attend church regularly
• We should express love one to the other
• Baptism
• Communion
• Existence of Paradise (where saints go when they die)
• Hades (where non-saints go when they die)
• Hell (the ultimate end of unsaved sinners)
• Heaven (where God and Christ are and where we will someday be)
• Living a good life
• Bible is inerrant in the original language
• Bible is inspired by God
• Avoid divorce
• Be a virgin when you marry
• Temperance in the body
• Demons exist and are numerous
• Spiritual warfare happens
• Role of women in the church
• Necessity of prayer
• Necessity of Bible study

Technorati Tags: love, salvation, unity

Laughlin NV Incident

A few years ago, a long-standing feud between the Hells Angels and the Mongols, two of the most notorious motorcycle clubs in the country, erupted in a bloody riot at a crowded Nevada casino. Dozens of shots were fired, several people were brutally beaten and stabbed, and when the dust cleared, three bikers were dead. Detectives recovered 14 guns, 107 knives, two hammers, two wrenches and nine flashlights from trashcans, slot machines and other places.

What can this incident teach us about outlaw motorcycle clubs, ourselves, and being a Christian man?

*This post in no way intends to portray any club as “outlaw” that does not intend to be and does not seek to be a complete and definitive source of information on any motorcycle club. For information on clubs directly from the club themselves, please see the end of this post for links.

WARNING: This is a LONG post.

First, let’s take a look at what outlaw motorcycle clubs are, and how one becomes a member.

While many people have tried to access the inner world of the “biker gang”, few are fully successful because getting in to one of the rougher gangs requires you to be incredibly ‘rough’, willing to break the law, and perhaps, willing to kill to defend the club. In addition, those that can get in don’t get out (they don’t get out untouched). Being in one of these gangs is a life commitment, and if you try to leave, they enforce the deal. This means that the knowledge we have of the gang is the perspective – largely – of an outsider looking in. We see what they do and how they act, and we have to infer from that what they are like. We do have statements from a few people who have been inside and told about their experiences before they died, and their words help us understand what this inner world is like.

There are many motorcycle clubs that follow the law. In fact, there are now many Christian motorcycle clubs that witness to other riders. There are four or five large outlaw clubs that now have chapters in many states and a few that have spread internationally.

The Pagans ride out of Delaware City, PA and have chapters in Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. There are – at  last count – around 350-400 members.

The Bandidos ride out of Texas with chapters in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Washington State, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and several other states. This club has a growing national and international presence.

The Mongols (referenced in the headline picture to this post) has its main presence in southern California. It also claims it has chapters in US states of Nevada, Oklahoma, Colorado, Arizona, Montana, Oregon, New York, Indiana, Florida and Virginia. They have 500 to 600 fully patched members.

The Outlaws ride out of McCook, Illinois and boast over 200 chapters nationally and internationally. They have an acronym “ADIOS”, which stands for, “[Hell's] Angels Die in Outlaw States”. Another acronym is “GFOD”, “God forgives, Outlaws Don’t” (and they don’t). The Outlaws claim chapters in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin as well as many international chapters.

Finally, the Hell’s Angels. The Hells Angels were founded in the late 1940s or early 1950s in California, and probably came about due to an amalgamation or joining of different motorcycle clubs, such as the Boozefighters and the The POB of Bloomington. It is most commonly believed that the Hells Angels were originally formed in 1948 in Fontana, California. The Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club [HAMC] claims clubs in 29 countries and many states such as Alaska, Maryland, Massachusetts, Illinois, North Carolina, Arizona, Maine, Ohio, California, Colorado, South Carolina, Connecticut, Nevada, New Jersey, Arkansas, New Hampshire, Minnesota, New York, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Nebraska.

NOTE: The chapter or charter list after each club listing is not definitive. For a club-sponsored list of chapters, visit each club’s web site as listed at the end of this article. That will also give you a look at their logo, as I will not link to logos or copy them here.

My intent in listing an approximate territory for each club is to demonstrate that there are several geographical areas where these clubs ‘overlap’, that is, there are states claimed by more than one club. Wearing ‘colors’ from one club can bring heat from another club that claims the same area (as we saw in the Laughlin example at the beginning of this post).

Colors

H-D patch

..are the logo patches that are worn on a vest. These patches are sacred, are not to be left alone and are to be defended, with violence if necessary. A motorcycle club has a three-part patch consisting of a top rocker, a logo, and a bottom rocker. The logo shows the club affiliation and is generally an evocative image that is designed to be immedately recognizeable and to leave an image in the viewers mind. The bottom rocker causes most of the trouble, as this panel shows the territory claimed by the club represented. The top rocker, given upon full membership (getting “patched”) holds the name of the club.

The “M.C.” patch designates the color-wearer as being a member of a ‘motorcycle club’. This – generally – means that this club claims territory, rather than just gathers to ride (which would be a “R.C.” or riders club).

Other patches include a “13″,  “81″, Ace of Spades, and “1%”. The 13 patch has some secrecy about it but most assume that it is related to drug use. The 81 is a reference to “H” & “A” (8th and 1st letters of the english alphabet), Hells Angels. You’ll hear “support your local 81″, and so on. The Ace of Spades generally means that the wearer is willing to defend himself and his colors with violence, to the death. A “666″ or “Filthy Few” patch indicates that the wearer has defended himself or the club with violence. The most notorious of the smaller patches, the “1%” patch is a reference back to the AMA statement – after an outlaw club incident – that 99% of all motorcycle clubs were law-abiding and caused no trouble. The 1% nomenclature was quickly adopted by outlaw clubs and is worn as a badge of honor.

There are also many phrases and customs that hold deep meaning for the outlaw motorcycle club member. Above all, respect – actively demonstrated – is of utmost concern to members, and a perceived lack of respect – to them or their club – is something that will most often result in direct and immediate physical consequences.

Phrases

• Get Wet – Bleed or get bled on
• TCB – Taking care of business (usually means violence done to uphold the honor of the club)
• Brother – A specific phrase that means a member of the club. You stand with them, fight for them, and ensure that other always respect them. This isn’t a simple term to be thrown around lightly.

Customs (Protocol)

Think of the ancient knight, and his code of conduct, and you will begin to get a picture of the modern M.C. member. I don’t mean to ascribe any more grandeur to the lifestyle than is warranted, but some things that we have lost over the years – as men – are embodied by the M.C. member. Yes, knights lived a time that was rougher, and they acted rougher. Their sense of honor was razor sharp and while seemingly arbitrary in places, you knew the rules, and you knew what would happen if you broke those rules.. and it wasn’t good. This section isn’t an attempt to give all the ‘rules’, and they vary by club, but overall, the #1 is “respect the club member”. Some interesting points of protocol:

• Don’t use the word outlaw when you are referring to bikers in a M.C. This is offensive.
• Don’t use the word ‘bro’ or ‘brother’. This is a specific term, reserved by a member for another member
• Don’t shake a member’s hand or touch them in any way, until they offer their hand, no physical contact. Under no circumstance are you to touch a member’s colors.
• If you know someone in the club, don’t ‘name drop’ and act like you are buddies, even if you are. This can be considered an affront to the entire club.
• Don’t wear anything that looks like ‘colors’ into areas that are marked ‘no colors’.

It is often said that joining an outlaw motorcycle club will ‘replace’ your life; that you will lose your wife, your previous identify, your friends, and perhaps other material things (car, house, etc). It is true that the club becomes the most important thing to you – or you won’t ever be a full member – but the reason that you lose other things is primarily because of the things that you do, the actions that you perform, in order to be a member in good standing with the club (activities that are either illegal or viewed by many to be past the line of temperance). In order to become a member, you must first prove that you are a bad bad man, and willing to continue to be bad.

Membership

Different clubs have different methods, but – in general – clubs have a tiered process for membership in which a new recruit moves through varying levels of trust and standing with the club. When loyalty and dedication to the club have been proven to stand the test of time – and sometimes other more direct tests – membership may be granted.

Hang-Around
This is the first level of association where a recruit is not actively ‘run off’ but becomes a regular fixture around the clubhouse, buys goods from the clubhouse, and becomes recognizable to all members, and sometimes even to outsiders. This phase can last months and even multiple years.

Prospect
Most clubs require that a hang-around be sponsored by a member. This is the last step before membership. Prospects do a lot of the “grunt work” on rides and events, and prove to the membership that they are loyal and dedicated. Some clubs may require more direct evidence of loyalty. This phase lasts at least one year in most clubs. Not all prospects wear patches, but all members know who the prospects are. Most clubs require prospects to attend church (chapter meetings) and all events.

Member
The process of getting your top rocker – and sometimes club logo – is known as “getting patched”. This is the initiation into full club membership. A member in full standing has the top rocker with the club name, a middle patch that has the logo of the club, and a bottom rocker that designates territory. Always remember that – in motorcycle clubs – colors are earned, not bought. Remember this because it is something to be respected, or remember it because it will save your hide; but remember it. All members must attend church (chapter meetings) and events, unless they are quite sick.

So, how does this all apply to us, as Christian men?

As I noted in the narrative above, many of the things that these clubs hold to are things that we have lost as Christian men. We have been told for a hundred years that fighting back, voicing a strong opinion, being confrontative, and making statements about morality that are absolute are all ‘bad’ and should be avoided. We have been turned into a milk-toast version of what men used to be. The men we have become could not have tamed the West, gotten gold out of the California mountains, and certainly could not have carved this nation out of a wild continent, with or without English opposition. Before I get off on a rant here.. let’s have a look at the parallels between membership in a “biker club” and being a Christian.

“Clubs”

Rather than get along, most Christians concentrate on what divides them and what differences they have in orthodoxy and orthopraxy (teaching and behavior). This is how we get so many divisions and denominations in the body of Christ, and how churches split and recombine, with hurt on both sides. Motorcycle clubs concentrate – in large part – on what territory they control, and our modern church often boasts of “membership numbers”, where we have satellite churches, how many are in our “conference” vs. other denominations, and so on. Why do we fracture into so many denominations, sects, and churches when Christ calls us to unity? (1 Cor. 3:2-7, John 17:20-21, 1 Cor 10:17, Eph 2:20, Eph 4:3-6). Just as we shudder at the thought of what might happen if all outlaw motorcycle clubs banded together as one, so must Satan shudder at the power that would be unleashed in the world if Christians followed God’s Word in Ephesians 4, “..with all lowliness and meekness, with long suffering, forbearing one another in love; giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one Faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all”.

Colors

Here’s where we – as Christians – get to appear all high and mighty, right? We don’t wear colors, we are ‘normal’ people. Really? Walk into an evangelical or traditional church in road wear, perhaps with an earring or two and some ink, and let me know how it works out for you. The sensitivity to this varies based on the local church family, but I dressed “to the nines” once, suit, tie, the whole deal, and the woman from the couple in front of me turned around and said, “thank you for dressing like you’re entering the presence of the King”. The direct implication here is that anything less – such as what I wear regularly – would be unworthy of the King. This – of course – makes me ask, “Wait, doesn’t my King want me to dress in the uniform of my position in His kingdom? I am a warrior for Christ, and hard-edged knight, not a noble in the court. I AM dressed as He would have me dress”. Again.. in danger of getting off on a rant. How about crosses, crucifixes, the “fish”, and the like? Aren’t these all “patches” that indicate our affiliation with The Way? My Bible cover is digital camouflage, with the statement “Soldier of the Lord” woven in; isn’t that much like a back patch? Some would say that their suit is their “church uniform”. As Christians, our “colors” should be obvious to all, without anything being worn or displayed. We should be “obvious” by our actions, the way we treat others, and the way we love one another. As St. Francis of Assisi exhorted, “Wherever you go, preach Christ; and if necessary, use words”.

Phrases

We don’t have any special “code words” or phrases, right? Things that we say that have meanings only to Christians? Let me give you a short list of things that we commonly say (outside of the ‘Lord’ or ‘Father’ every third word in a prayer said by an Evangelical or the fact that Lutherans have to have any phrase said, and then they repeat it), and you tell me whether or not we have our own little language.

• Let me pray about it – “NO”, but I am passive-aggressive and not brave enough to tell you “No” to your face; besides, saying “no” just isn’t Christian.
• We have a prayer request – I need a legal way to tell you about this incredibly juicy piece of gossip!
• God gave me a word for you – I am about to tell you how to live your life, but I want it couched in such a way that I don’t appear in the equation anywhere.
• God is good – My life sucks and I am going to tell you all about it, right now. Get a pot of coffee.
• I possess the gift of discernment - I can judge you without even meeting you or spending any time with you.
• I am saved by grace – I can do whatever I want.
• I have Christian freedom – and there’s nothing you can say about it.
• I don’t mean to judge – but I am going to, right now, and you’re gonna listen.
• I am dating Jesus right now – I couldn’t even get a blind date.
• God wants me to focus on Him for a while – I am too much a wuss to break up with you properly, or, I have found someone else.
• God wants me to marry you – Perhaps I can manipulate you into saying “yes” if you think it’s God’s idea.
• God has called me to minister to her – Boy is she hot!
• I think you should pray about it – and you’ll come ’round to see that I’m right.
• Have I offended you? - I know I offended you, but it’s your weakness that allows this, not my incredible rudeness or unChristian attitude.
• God has blessed us with so much - we’re rich, and want to throw it in your face (well, pretty much anyone’s face), but we know that just isn’t Christian.

Customs (Protocols)

I guess I’d look at things like the process of the church service, intercessory prayer on your knees, rosary, congregational prayer, Communion, baptism, hymns, sermon last thing before “out the door”, and such things as “protocol” in the Christian church. Not associating with “unbelievers” is the mark of many churches and sects. In my Adventist upbringing, we could wade in the water on Sabbath, but not past our knees (no swimming). Many Christians are obese and eat cheese, eggs, mayo and sugar with abandon, but then judge others for smoking and drinking. Most churches have a set of unwritten rules about appearance, behavior, and so on. All of these are “unwritten rules” about church behavior. Mind you, none of these are necessarily “Christian” behavior as far as Christ is concerned. We learn these things quickly when we begin attending and then do them, and they become second nature. We become unaware that we are doing them and scoff when others ask about the “culture” of the church.

Membership

The parallels here are amazing. Here are two clubs (“saved” Christians and outlaw motorcycle clubs) where you have to admit/prove you are a bad person to get in. Not only that, but you have to have a Sponsor! In my Reformed view, I believe that our paths are already charted as Christians, and becoming “saved” is only the first step on a journey of sanctification. The journey from Hang-Around through Prospect to Member parallels – very eerily – the way that we initiate men into Men’s Ministry at our local church.

There are many things – as Christian men – that we can learn from motorcycle clubs; in fact, I would find it personally very satisfying if we could raise our church – or even just men’s – attendance to HALF the rate of an average motorcycle club. We can also learn what loyalty is, and how to give other members of “the club” our support and help. We can learn to overcome Adam’s original sin of passivity, and deal with things assertively and directly, rather than allowing laziness and apathy erode our manliness to the point where we are willing to let life pass by, as long as it demands nothing from us.

Look in the mirror Christian men of America; do you have what it takes to be an Outlaw for the Lord?

—— Links ——

http://www.hells-angels.com/

http://www.outlawsmc.com/

http://www.bandidosmc.dk/

http://www.mongolsmc.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagans_MC (could not find main web site)

Technorati Tags: biker, motorcycle club, outlaw

———

Let me say that I am more comfortable writing than speaking, but that the puppet show we just saw gives me an idea.. I can hide behind something and speak… solving the stagefright issue; I think they have it right!

Before I get into my little ‘talk’ here, I’d like to introduce my wife, Justina. There are two ways you can get to know Justina; just ‘be there’ after any event she’s in to chat with her, or read Proverbs 31. Either one will give the same picture and result.

So, how did a big, anti-social, biker-looking guy get involved with bioethics and the Sanctity of Human Life? My parents did not have children the old-fashioned way, and decided instead to adopt. I don’t know much about my birth mother, except that she gave me the gift of life, and that she also prepared me for eternal life by requesting that I be given to a Christian family. She gave me up at birth, and – after I had a two-week bout with jaundice – my parents picked me up from Children’s Hospital in San Francisco, CA in <mumble mumble>. They had the next baby boy put into the adoption system; two others were added the day I was born. We were one redhead, one blond, and one brunette. My parents, being blessed with the gift of discernment and having deep wisdom, picked the cutest; the redhead, yours truly. The joke was on them, when I was 8 months old, all my red hair fell out and I was bald. It grew back in blond, and as you can see, history does – indeed – repeat itself. I don’t expect it will come back this time; red, blond, brown or otherwise. Being adopted was the first step on my way to being an advocate for the unborn. Fast-forward a few decades and I attended a banquet for Hope here in town, and God’s time was ripe.. I signed on with Hope as a Board Member. I know that you’ve just heard an overview of Hope and its services, but suffice it to say that I believe that the staff and volunteers at Hope are devoted and faithful servants on a difficult battlefield. My hat is off to each of them.

[prayer], Father, help my words to be true and if in my human weakness I stumble and they are not, help them to fall on wise ears. Send each of the people in this room who submit to your will out into the world to hold up a banner that says, “every life matters, because each life is yours Lord”. In the name of Your Son, amen.[/prayer]

I’d like to talk about a hundred different things today, but because I respect you all more than that, I’d like to – instead – give an overview of the term “pro-life”, a construct for us to use as we think about this ideal we support and how to interact with others about our belief.

What does it mean to be “pro-life”? Do you have to be a Christian to be pro-life? There are some secular humanists that claim to be pro-life, so our ranks are broader than “Christians”. Sadly, there are also Christians that are not pro-life, so being a Christian is not a litmus test for a pro-life ideal. If we look at the pro-life movement through human eyes, we see a landscape that is confusing and complex. The issues don’t seem to have clear edges and much confusion exists around the fuzzy lines between ‘good’ and ‘bad’. We hear questions like:

·      Isn’t it better not to come into the world at all than come into it as an unwanted child? There are children that are born into drug addiction in the womb, and they go through terrible pain through withdrawal. Other children are born into terrible circumstances with parents that are unprepared. It is clear however that humans desire to live on, even if their circumstances are poor or lowly. We fight to survive. It is clear that living is preferable to almost all people than dying.

·      When does “life” begin? Can you prove that? Many theories abound about when ‘life’ begins. Some assert that it begins even before conception. Others say conception, more every day assert that implantation is the time ‘life’ begins. Some say that the date of viability or the time of birth is ‘obviously’ the time ‘life’ begins. Most with an answer agree that this is the place a slippery slope exists, but they still have an opinion.

·      On the topic of viability: What does ‘viable’ mean? Able to take in nourishment and process oxygen into carbon dioxide? Able to survive on their own? If this is the measure, there are 29 year-old men in Momma’s basement, playing an Xbox, that are not yet ‘alive’.

·      We admit that human life is more valuable than other forms of life, but human life cannot be there until the neocortex is fully formed (at 13 weeks). It is true that the neocortex is not fully formed until this date, that this structure only exists in mammals, and that the human neocortex is the most complex of all animals… this is a difficult argument to counter.. even if the timing seems a bit arbitrary. We’ll come back to that.

·      Even if we say that ‘life’ begins early on, it only matters when ‘personhood’ happens. Even if a thing is ‘alive’, it isn’t ‘important’ until it is a person. This cannot be early in the process. Again, this is an incredibly difficult timing to figure out, isn’t it? When does a fetus become a ‘person’? Is that timing the same with babies that all develop at slightly different rates?

·      We agree that both the baby and the mother are humans, but the mother’s right over her body is the overruling right. Her right ‘wins’. This idea is – frighteningly – widely held, even though a Founding Document of our country states that we are “created equal”, implying that our rights are equal.

·      When should life end? This is another – currently popular – topic in bioethics. There is a group – called Extropians – that believe that death should be conquered and that we should live a very long time, perhaps forever. They seek to do this through advances in science and medical technology.

In these short few questions, can you see how difficult the waters are through which we chart our course? If only there were a map, a beacon that would cut through the night and show us our way. A book perhaps, that holds the answer to how we are to view our world and how we should act. Folks, I suggest that this is that book [raise the Bible].

Folks, our society today is in trouble. Economic decay is beginning to hit home for us, even here in Wausau, WI with layoffs and company shutdowns. More important to solve than our economic blight, however, is our moral decay. More and more stories hit our front page every day that indicate we have lost our moral compass. Ex-husbands knifing ex-wives to death, a man gunning down an ex-girlfriend in a parking lot at work. How did we slide from the overt and purposeful protection of women through apathy into an active attack on women in so short a time?

The answer of course is sin and turning our face from God. God created us ‘tselem ‘elohiym, in the image of God. Satan hates God and wants to kill him. Since he cannot, he kills those made in His image, His children, and when he can, he targets the innocent, the helpless, the unborn.

If we replace our complex and rationalized worldviews with the word of the Lord, the points above become incredibly clear.

·      The first issue we covered… Isn’t it better not to come into the world at all than come into it as an unwanted child? Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. (Matt 10:29) Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you (Jer 1:5)  God wants each of His children and nothing happens here on this earth that He does not see. 

·      When does “life” begin? Ephraim’s glory • shall fly away like a bird— no birth, • no pregnancy, • no conception! (Hos 9:11) Behold, • you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. (Judges 13:3) By faith Sarah • herself received power to conceive, (Hebrews 11:11). In these verses we see conception, pregnancy, and conception all tied together, equal in the eyes of the Lord, as the creation of ‘life’.

 ·      On the topic of viability: Back to Jeremiah 1:5. It seems that God knew us – and therefore valued us – well before conception. In His eyes, we already exist (did exist). We are ‘viable’ from the perspective of the One that does not change.

·      We admit that human life is more valuable than other forms of life, but .. In Scripture we see – clearly called out – that human life is set apart from other life. Adam was created differently and he was given dominion over the rest of life.  As far as the neocortical argument goes, the neocortex of any given baby already exists in God’s mind, and therefore that life is sacred to us.

·      Even if we say that ‘life’ begins early on, it only matters when ‘personhood’ happens. Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you (Jer 1:5). For someone else to ‘know’ you, you must be knowable, you must be a person.

·      We agree that both the baby and the mother are humans, but the mother’s right over her body is the overruling right. Her right ‘wins’. 

In Romans 9:21 Paul explains that we are the clay and that God is the potter. Does not the potter have rights over the clay? The Creator over the created? With a Christian worldview our ‘rights’ mean nothing. We act to bring glory to God and to Him forever. God’s will overrides whatever ‘right’ we think we have.

·      When should life end? Well, I stand with the Extropians on this one, and you may be shocked to know that God does too. We all believe that life should be eternal; we just believe that this comes through a confession of faith in the God become Man who died for us.

So, to truly understand the depth of value that life has, we must understand life from God’s perspective. He knew us before we were conceived, He has a plan for each of us, and He desires that we be with Him forever.

 So, do we then ignore our short and difficult time on this earth and focus only on the eternal? Retreat into the mountains as an ascetic? In John 10:10 we hear Christ’s words as He says, “I have come so that they may have life, and have it abundantly”.  Christ intends for us to have an abundant life as a believer. This doesn’t mean worldly riches; in fact, John goes on to describe the life of a shepherd, giving up his life for his sheep and explaining that His sacrifice would mean eternal life for His disciples. An abundant life is an eternal life.

I consider it a victory to be involved in the process of helping a mother decide to keep a baby’s heart beating for nine months of pregnancy until it is born, but I consider it an honor of the highest regard to share the gospel with the mother and father of that baby in the hopes that they will share with me in the ‘abundant life’, the life that is eternal.

Finally, as I close, I want to talk about what it means to be a Christian; a winsome Christian with a heart of service. People with other perspectives on this issue accuse us of having hatred for the mother, of wishing to ‘punish’ her. They say that we are very interested in a baby until it is born, and then could care less about its circumstances. Are they right? How then do we prove them wrong? Public prayer is one way, the chain for life is a wonderful visible reminder to people, apologetics and debate are another way, but Christ told us that others would know who we were – and by corollary what we stood for – “by our love”. St. Francis of Assisi said, “Wherever you go, preach Christ; and if necessary, use words”. By our gentle, deep, and accepting love for those involved in a situation where the sanctity of human life is concerned, we will affect people for eternal life.

Thank you for giving me your attention this afternoon, and may God go with each of you as you carry His message of life to others.

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

You see, everything that happens here, either happens because God wants it to, or God allows it to happen and then uses it for His good. Just because we can’t seem to figure out how it could be “good for us” doesn’t mean it isn’t. God is frightfully wise compared to us.

Instead of looking at the death to which we are bound here, and then trying to draw some conclusions about what God might be like and what He might want, we must shed our view of this ‘reality’, realize that we are only strangers here, and read Scripture to get a view of what God desires and what God wants; regardless our condition here. Looking at what’s around us and drawing conclusions about God is much like a deep-sea dwelling creature believing that the entire world is covered with water, because his local area is. That creature’s view is understandably narrow, and so is ours. God has a frame of reference that is eternal and complete, and He’s given us a view into it through His word. Let’s investigate what God says about how to live and how to govern…

How Should we Live?
First, let’s look at how God asks us to live, individually, before looking at what God has to say about governance. Since we will be standing in front of the throne alone, answering for ourselves, and Christ saves us individually, it makes sense to look at our lives from an individual perspective.

Leviticus 19:18 and Mark 12: 29-31 both give us the “greatest commandment”, stating that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves. In our Western society, which has been recently built on ‘having things’ and ‘doing what I want’, it is almost unthinkable to set ourselves aside for anyone, let alone all of our fellow men.  For instance, 2 Cor 8:1 begins a section on how sacrificial giving is one way that we can tell we love someone. There are many examples and statements in the Bible about how to carry out this love for our neighbors, but – in summary – they all involve not doing anything to their detriment, being there when you are needed, and setting yourself aside for them. That last one really is the ‘gotcha’, isn’t it?

I feel a statement on the word “love” is needed here, as modern society didn’t stop when they redefined “freedom” as “doing what I want” and “independence” as “wanton selfishness is ok”, we’ve also redefined the word “love” to mean “a fluffy good feeling about anything anybody does and considering all actions and lifestyles equal”. Deut 7:7 talks about love being a ‘choosing’ of the people of Israel, and we know that the Lord tested them, punished them, challenged them, and changed them. Prov 8:17 talks about reciprocal love, that the Lord loves those who seek Him. Prov 13:24 is the infamous ‘rod and child’ verse that seems to indicate that love involves training and that this call for training is certainly higher than the call to allow children to live as they like. Hosea 9:15 talks about the Lord’s love ending as a result of His children hating His ways. Much of Proverbs and Isa 61:8 talk about recompense and punishment for wrong, even though the people in question are “loved”. We can love each other and still have ethical standards that we hold each other to. We can love each other and still recognize that there is a distinction between right and wrong. We can hold love for people in our hearts at all times, regardless their actions, because they have been made in the image of our Almighty God. We can actively love people in our effort to reach their hearts for the Lord, but do not blaspheme the Lord by saying that all actions are equal and that love is carte blanche’ acceptance of all activity on this earth. God states the opposite in His word, (see Romans 1:32) and we would do well to listen.

So, sounds to me like we’re saying that we should give of ourselves to others when they are in need and that we should consider others before we consider ourselves… sure sounds like socialism! Well, it doesn’t actually, but let’s continue with a look at what God says about government.

Government
First, God cautioned the children of Israel against having a form of government that set men above other men. In 1 Samuel 8:1-18 the Lord explains to Samuel, and then Samuel to the people, what will happen if they reject God as their leader and take a man instead. This seems to indicate to me that God wants us to seek Him as our leader, and that He knows that other men will ever be inferior to Him as a governing body. Kind of a, “I’ve given you the best plan, be careful what you ask for, I might give it to you”, from God Himself. ?Matt. 22:17–21? ?Luke 20:25?. ?Rom. 13:1–7?; ?Tit. 3:1?; and ?1 Pet. 2:13–17 all define our responsibilities to our earthly governments. Even though we do not – now – look directly to God for our government guidance, He is still in control of all and expects us to follow our government, until it conflicts with His law.

So, it seems as though God knows that the “best way” for us is to acknowledge Him as our ruler but that He knows we won’t always. He knows that we need earthly figures to rule over us, and He allows this, while keeping His hand over us. He holds us to their rule, until they ask us to do something that would go against His law. God has set up and torn down many forms of government. Ours isn’t the first, and it won’t be the last.

Legislation versus The Heart
This still leaves a major question, specifically, where socialism is concerned; should we legislate ‘giving’? What I mean is, it is clear from Scripture that we are to set ourselves aside for our brother (sister), and we are to help one another, but should our government force the issue?

In Luke 18:12 we see the tax collector that ‘willingly gives’ his tithe and crows about it. While it looks like he does it willingly, the Lord still does not hold this acceptable; why not? 2 Cor 9:7 seems to answer the question; we must give cheerfully what we have decided in our heart, NOT what we have been forced to do or what is compulsory… wow, wonder how that matches up with current federal tax ‘law’? As soon as we legislate ‘giving’, it is no longer pleasing to the Lord. (read it again, repeat)

Charity
The reason charity doesn’t work in this country – or on this planet at all – is because God has a way He wants it done, and we aren’t doing it that way. There are many things that we can surmise about why He wants it done that way, some theological and some practical. For instance, if I – personally – give something to you and enjoy doing it, you will see the love of the Lord in me as I give it. That’s a witness, and a powerful one. From a humanist perspective, if I – personally – give you something, you might be thankful and have some desire to repay me or to work your way out of your tough situation so that you can someday help another. As soon as a faceless giant that everyone hates anyhow – the government – performs these functions, there is no witness and there is no desire to grow. Again, it doesn’t matter if we can find ways to justify God’s plan, it is His plan and we are to act on it.

So, my conclusion is that socialism as a form of government is certainly not God-mandated and – in fact – it stands directly against the Biblical precept of us as “cheerful givers”. Not only was Christ not a socialist, He was God become man with the power to save you and me. He loved us all enough to die for us; will you listen to Him today?

Technorati Tags: charity, giving, god, obama, socialism, socialist