Pet Peeves

If you’ve followed my blogs, you know that usually, I react to various things in our culture that trigger thoughts about our Christian faith, and about what the Scriptures have to say about such topics. Well, today, it’s not so much religious reactions I offer, but comments about personal pet peeves that occur in advertisements and other media. These are not important in the great scheme of things; they won’t determine anyone’s salvation; but they will let me sleep better to get them off my chest. So here goes, in no particular order: (You’ve been warned!)

Pet Peeve #1.  Media personalities who go to a commercial recommending their “friends” at the sponsoring company. “See my friends at XYZ Roofing Company for all your roofing needs!” Whenever I hear such ads, I ask, “Were they your friends before they paid you money to be your sponsor? Do you guys hang out together at the game? Do you go to each others’ homes for backyard barbecues? Were they your baptismal sponsors? In other words, how good a friend are they?” I know why they introduce sponsors this way – by calling them friends, it encourages the audience to look favorably upon the sponsor. It also implies the media personality has personal knowledge of the sponsors and approves them. However, I am on to their little trick, and won’t be fooled for a second! True friends can’t be bought!

Pet Peeve #2. Commercials that proclaim, “You deserve this” or, “You’ve earned it!” By saying this, the ads paint a picture of the product or service as being suitable only for special people. Therefore, if you deserve it, you are to be considered among the elite. You are a one per-center. You are worthy of such rewards that only the few deserve! I recognize that such appeals use basic flattery. (I’m reminded of a certain snake in the Garden who “sold” a piece of fruit as deserved by people who could become like gods.) My main objection to this appeal is the statement, “You deserve this!” Do they really think every person who hears/sees their pitch really deserve it? If the person really deserves it, why don’t you give it to them for free? My faith enters into my thinking about this pet peeve too; if none of us is worthy of salvation or heaven, why would we puff ourselves up as deserving anything? As Romans 3:10 says, “None is righteous, no, not one.”

Pet Peeve #3. Ads that say, “They don’t want you to know,” or, “What they won’t tell you.” They claim that Big pharma, Big manufacturing, Big government, or some other Big corporation with money, is threatened by some information this new source has discovered. Usually it’s some simple fact this source knows that “they” don’t want you to find out, because if it gets out, the big company would lose billions of dollars. Therefore, see this video, buy this product, etc. before the billionaire company takes it down. Which could happen any day! They especially promise simple cures for diabetes, liver problems, hair loss, vision problems, e.d., etc. They also hawk inexpensive energy and electronic devices that “will put the big companies out of business. There’s almost no limit to all the problems solved by simple discoveries that the money-hungry corporations “don’t want you to know.” Interestingly, while typing this paragraph, I heard a commercial say, “walk-in tub companies, don’t want you to know. . . ”

Pet Peeve #4. “Act now before it’s too late!” Ads create a sense of urgency, that you buy what they’re selling while you still have the chance. Phrases like, “First ten callers. . .”, “While supplies last. . .”, “Before they remove this ad. . .” “For a limited time. . . “, and “Last chance. . .” Of course, in a way, every offer is limited. But this tactic is for you to jump on the offer without engaging any critical thinking or research. Do I really need or want this item? Is it cheaper elsewhere? Is there a better product elsewhere? If I miss this chance to buy, what’s the worse that can happen? Is the special sale true, or is the “original” price inflated to make the sale look better? Usually, if I wait, I’ll find what I want later at a better price – and the big money corporations didn’t force this ad off the media!

Pet Peeve #5. Last (and probably least) is the proliferation of initials for all kinds of medical terms, especially those used in advertising. Do you have Age-related macular degeneration or AMD, or has it progressed to RAind, or retinal atrophy. Or you may have a different RA – rheumatoid arthritis.  Be thankful you don’t have RSV, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, though that is better than coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, or Covid-19. Don’t let fears of these diseases cause your BP to spike. Watch out for Mpox, and don’t you dare tell people that the M stands for monkey. If you are diagnosed with AD, is that attachment disorder or Alzheimer disease? Or is it ADHD, attention-deficit disorder? You don’t want a pulmonary embolism, or PE, but you do want an AED to help someone having a heart attack. People used to have VD, but it was cured; now they have STDs instead. Well, I could go on with this peeve, but it is ironic that it irritates me, given I used to work for the YMCA!

So, there you go – 5 pet peeves shut down by my razor sharp reasoning and debate prowess. Spread the word, and maybe we will see these phrases disappear from our culture!

Now, may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Proverbs 18:17 – “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.“

Yet Two More Deadly Mistakes

My last two blogs have been about deadly mistakes that people make about Christ and the Christian faith. Your response has been encouraging and gratifying – including catching a couple mistakes in grammar (which I have since corrected!). One reader even offered suggestions for additional deadly mistakes! So, today’s blog is about those suggestions. Here we go: yet two more deadly mistakes about Christ and the Christian faith.

E. “I just have to be a good person and I’ll go to heaven.” This is a very common sentiment, partly because most people consider themselves to be good people, and therefore think they will go to heaven. It also allows them to accept people of other religions (or none) who are nice or do good works. After all, if you like your neighbors, you don’t want to believe (let alone tell them) they are lost!

Unfortunately, this sentiment about “being good” as the criterion for heaven, is sadly mistaken. The first problem with this idea is that the Bible teaches that no one is righteous apart from Christ. Jesus himself said, “No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18). And in Romans 3:20,23 we read, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. . . For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”  Our attempts at justifying ourselves all fail: “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away” (Isaiah 64:6).

When God commands us to do something or forbids something, we call that the Law. The Law cannot save us; it can only condemn us by showing where we sin, by our doing wrong or by our failing to do what is required. We cannot follow the Law perfectly, as Jesus commanded. So, “being good” is impossible. Recognizing our inability to save ourselves, we throw ourselves on God’s mercy in the Gospel, the good news, that Christ has provided full forgiveness through faith in him. By faith, his righteousness is given to us: “For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10).

Now, doing good works, or acting in ways that bless others is a good thing. As Jesus himself taught, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Good works are what a Christian does to obey God’s commandments and love others.  They are a fruit of faith (and a proof of faith – James 2:18 – “I will show you my faith by my works.“). It’s even good for a non-believer to do good works to alleviate suffering, help the needy, and bring harmony to society, but those actions do not bring salvation. They are acts of moral righteousness, which affect this world, but not eternity.

For the final statement on the relationship between faith and works, how we are saved, we read Ephesians 2:8-10, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Therefore, we see that good works are desirable, but they do not save us.

F. “There are many paths to heaven/salvation and Jesus is just one of those ways.” Like the previous mistake, this one is an attempt to broaden the criteria for the people to be saved. It’s hard to imagine that most of the people in the world will be condemned for eternity. Opening heaven to everybody sounds so accepting and inclusive. Why punish everybody born to families or cultures that don’t believe in Jesus? It sounds so welcoming and tolerant to say there are many paths, and so narrow-minded and biased to insist on one path.

There are at least two major problems with this statement. First, the many so-called paths are inherently contradictory; to follow one path is to be at odds with many others. Although many paths include some truths, (such as the Golden Rule taught by both Jesus and Buddha), such agreement does not mean agreement in core doctrines, nor in the destiny of the different believers.  Hinduism believes in many hundreds of gods and multiple ways of salvation. Jews and Christians have much in common, but belief in the deity of Christ is required of Christians but forbidden in Judaism. The Koran teaches that the Christian Trinity consists of Father, Jesus, and Mary, contrary to what the Bible teaches. Mormonism teaches that the Father was once a man, and good Mormons will also become gods. Nature worshipers replace the worship of the Creator with the creation: “Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things” (Romans 1:22-23).

Even the various visions of heaven vary greatly: In Christianity, the focus is on God’s glory, and the blessedness of the saints before his throne, with the saints possessing glorified bodies, but them neither marrying nor giving in marriage; Islam teaches sensual rewards for the faithful, with each man being attended to by 72 virgins; while Buddhists look forward to ceasing to exist individually and being absorbed like a drop of water flows into the ocean. Then there are the Hindus, being reincarnated until they finally escape the physical “wheel of life.” While most “paths” prescribe works in agreement with their founder’s teachings, Christianity is based on faith in Jesus Christ and what he accomplished. For Christians, Jesus is True God; this one belief separates our faith from every other one.  

The other major problems with the “many paths” idea, is that the authoritative Scripture of the Christian faith, the Bible, excludes any other path than its own. There is therefore no compromise with any other path than Jesus Christ. The fact that there is only one God is the beginning of Christian beliefs: Deuteronomy 6:4 proclaims, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” This is also affirmed in Isaiah 4:55, “I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God.”

The exclusivity of Christ as the way to salvation is proclaimed by who he is (the Son of God) and what he did for us (lived a sinless life, and died a death to pay for our sins, then rose again as the first fruits of those will rise and live forever). In John 11:25-26, we read Jesus’ promise, “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.'”

Passages like these proclaim Jesus as the way to salvation; and other passages show that the claim is exclusive to Christ. In John 14:6, Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  Jesus also said he is the door to life, and warned, “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:14). Then in Acts 4:12, the Apostle Peter insists: “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Finally, there is the warning to those who attempt to combine other religions with the true faith in Christ. Paul warns us in 2 Corinthians 6:14-16, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial [the devil]? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols?” The answer to these questions is, “None.”

From a comparison of the different religions, and a full knowledge of Christ’s claim to be the only way to the Father, we can see that the idea of “many ways to heaven or God” is fatally flawed. It has no basis in reality, and only serves to lead people astray. Believing it is just another deadly mistake.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Matthew 28:16-20. (Meditate on its meaning for this blog.)

Two More Deadly Mistakes

In my last blog, I told how there are a number of false ideas popular in our culture, regarding the Bible and the Christian faith. These ideas are not only incorrect, but are also quite deadly, as they teach falsehoods that can lead people into soul-condemning beliefs. For example, if a false belief causes a person to deny Jesus Christ is God, that denial will lead that person to miss the salvation Christ purchased for them. As John 3:18 warns, “whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

The first two deadly mistakes people make were covered in the last blog:     A. “Jesus never said he was God,” and B. “A loving God would never send anyone to hell.”

Now, we’re going to look at two more deadly mistakes:

C. “Love is love.” Especially, advocates for same-sex activity push the idea that all love is the same. Therefore, just so you love someone, it doesn’t matter if the Bible condemns sexual actions with the person whom you love (i.e., want to have sex with). Since the core message of the Bible is “love each other,” we modern people know the full meaning of that term. We expand love to everybody we are fond of.

So, are they right? Well, no. There are three things wrong with such thinking.

1.  Love has many meanings. The Bible uses the appropriate words in the original languages to convey the writers’ intent. The New Testament Greek words for “love” include phileo (brotherly love, friendship), storge (comfort, familial love), eros (romantic love, sexual love), and agape, (selfless love, sacrificial acts for the benefit of other people).

The word used most in the New Testament for love is agape. John 3:16 says, “God so agaped* the world”; Jesus said the first commandment was “You shall agape the Lord your God with all your heart . . . And a second is like it: You shall agape your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39).  And another use: “God shows his agape for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). The love which God in Christ has for us, is the same type of love he commands for us to have toward him and each other. While a husband and wife must also have apape for each other, the other form of spousal love, eros, is not proper with anyone else.

2. The second reason they are wrong is because God has expressly forbidden, in both Testaments, sexual activity with anyone of the same sex (or with animals). “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” (Leviticus 18:22). “If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable” (Leviticus 20:13). In Romans 1:26-27, we read, “For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.” In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” Finally, we read, “Understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine.” 

And as for animals, “And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is perversion” (Leviticus 18:23).

3. The third reason people are wrong to promote same-sex relations, is they are interfering with God’s creative intent to fill the earth with people created in his image. His creative design of men and women is to have them come together and create babies. In same-sex unions, this is impossible, and God’s will is stymied. The divine purpose is stated at the creation: Genesis 1:27-28, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it'”

D. “The Bible we have today has been corrupted over the centuries.” You commonly hear from people who want to diminish the impact or authority of Scripture by saying it can’t be trusted. They point to ancient books never included in the Bible, to variations in translations, or to supposed censorship by councils and churches. Some say the Bible has been corrupted by copying errors, sort of like a game of “whisper down the lane.”

The answers to these charges are so plentiful I don’t have enough room to cover them all here; there are entire books dedicated to refuting them. I will just cover the outlines of why such statements are false with the major arguments against them:

1. Which books are in the Bible: No church or council ever had control over the list of accepted Bible books. Churches around the entire Mediterranean Sea had copies of books they gathered and recognized as scripture. There existed early lists of the biblical canon as far back as the 2nd Century. Some other books were read but never included in the accepted scriptures.

2. Hand copied books always have some copyest errors. But Old Testament books had such stringent copying rules, that when a copy of Isaiah was found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, dating to 1000 years before the previously known Isaiah, they were almost exactly the same; the only differences made no significance. And the New Testament books have over 5,000 copies that can be studied with the rules of manuscript criticism to have confidence in the original text.

3. Certain books have been suggested by modern scholars as genuine, such as The Gospel of Judas, but they are late fictions full of heretical teachings and imaginary conversations between biblical figures and Jesus. Many were found in Nag Hammadi, Egypt, site of a heretical community, but were never used in the churches. Bible scholars term them as pseudepigrapha, meaning false writings. The Christian churches were very careful regarding which books they accepted; even books they liked, such as The Didache (The Teachings), they didn’t consider as part of the canon.

4. A couple of Mormon elders once told me the Bible had been corrupted over the centuries as it was passed down from church to church and from one language to another. Unlike, they said, the Book of Mormon, which was copied by Joseph Smith without error (Not mentioning the 70,000 changes since its first edition in 1830). Okay: quick recap of Bible history: The Old Testament Hebrew text was accepted by the Jews as the Masoretic Text in 900 AD.  The Greek text, known as the Septuagint around the third Century BC. Both have been preserved ever since (when the New Testament quotes the Old Testament, it uses the Septuagint wording. As it happened, our modern English version don’t go back over the centuries to copy from one language to another. Modern translations make uses of the best copies of the texts of original Hebrew, and Greek.

5. Often, people blame the Roman Catholic Church for censoring the ancient Bible to support their beliefs. But the Bible has never been the sole property of any church. While they had an official version of the Bible, The Latin Vulgate, other churches had their own, too. Therefore, any Catholic influences were held in check by Orthodox and Protestant scholars.

The result of the careful protection of the biblical text, is our confidence that we can trust the Bible as the Word of God, and our only authority for faith and life.

When I sent out the first blog of “Deadly Mistakes,” one of my readers replied with two more deadly mistakes he thought I should address. So, I have decided to take on two more mistakes in the next blog: You’ll have to tune in again to find out what they are!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up he countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Deuteronomy 4:8; Isaiah 40:8; Psalm 119; 2 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 4:12

*Grammatically, the forms of the word agapeo used in these passages follow the rules of Greek. I am using simplified forms for ease of reading.

Two Deadly Mistakes

There are a number of statements about Christianity that are popular in our culture today, that are unfortunately not only mistaken, but also dangerous to people’s spiritual well-being. Some of these ideas may sound true, but though they may use religious words and concepts, they are actually contrary to the true faith, and lead people astray to their eternal destruction.

So, what are some of these erroneous ideas and statements? Consider the following:

A. “Jesus was a moral teacher or prophet, but he never said he was God.” Many people hear this claim and repeat it without seeking the truth themselves. But, if they actually studied the Scriptures, they would find the following words of Jesus (besides the many passages where biblical writers called him God):

    1.  Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). The next verse said the Jews picked up stones to stone him, because they said he was claiming to be God.
    2.  Jesus said to Philip, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
    3. When Jesus told the religious leaders that Abraham looked forward to his day, they argued that Jesus was too young to have known Abraham. Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am“ (John 8:58). By saying, “I am” Jesus was using the name for God from the Book of Exodus. As soon as he said that, the Jews recognized what he was saying,”So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple” (John 8:59).
    4. Jesus prayed to the Father, “That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,” (John 17:21-22)
    5. Jesus claimed to be “the Lord of the Sabbath,” a title that would be proper only for God himself to say (Matthew 12:8).
    6. Jesus forgave a paralytic his sins: “And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:5-7).
    7.  After Jesus calmed the stormy sea by command, the disciples marveled and asked, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” (Matthew 8:27).

These are in addition to the many miraculous things that Jesus did which were signs of his divinity. One of my favorite defense of Jesus’ godhood is this:

C.S. Lewis in his book, Mere Christianity, wrote, “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

B. “A loving God could never send people to hell.” This false statement is due to wishful thinking based on the apparent contradiction between a God who loves the “whole world” (John 3:16) and yet sends any one (or many people) to eternal punishment. There are really two responses to that. First, How could a loving God NOT send some people to hell? Should a mass murderer, a rapist, a thief, people who disobey and disbelieve in God, who reject his offer of forgiveness in Christ, be welcomed into heaven along with faithful and obedient people who repent of their sins? What about Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, or others be treated the same as believers who were martyred for their faith? How could a loving God allow injustice to rule without punishment as its consequences? Such a God is unable to save or mete out true justice.

The second answer to this question is based on Scripture. The Bible teaches there is a place of punishment called, variously; Sheol, Tartarus, Hades, Hell, Gehenna, the Lake of Fire, and the “outer darkness.” These are used as warnings  and as places of divine punishment. Of these, the final eternal punishment punishment is called the lake of fire for both fallen angels (including the devil) and everyone not found in the Book of Life (Revelation 20:10-15). Specific warnings are given to unrepentant sinners: “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). Another example of judgment is told by Jesus who tells of a rich man who is judged for ignoring the suffering of a poor man named Lazarus. When Lazarus dies, he goes to the bosom of Abraham (heaven) but the rich man goes to Hades, where he suffers burning heat (Luke 16:19-25).

Jesus warned of judgment for many people, saying “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:13-14). Even the love promised in John 3:16, is followed immediately by the warning of John 3:18 – “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” Then, there is the warning in Revelation 21:8, which says: “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Those who deny the judgment are, literally, “playing with fire.” They are betting their eternal future that if there’s a God, they will be fine, because God loves them too much to condemn them. But the Apostle warns us in Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” The day will come when the reality of hell will be undeniable, and all self-deception will vanish in the lake of fire.

Unfortunately, there are other things commonly believed that are also false – and dangerous – that we need to address. Stay tuned to the next blog when we refute “Two More Deadly Mistakes.”

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Luke 16; Revelation 20.

Pardon Me!

There is a lot of talk these days about pardons. Particularly about Presidential pardons. First, because the outgoing President Biden pardoned his son for recent criminal convictions, and for any crime he may have committed over the past eleven years. Then, he pardoned a number of death-row convicts. Finally, at the last moment, he proactively pardoned several legislators, controversial officials, and some of his own family members even though none had not yet been charged with any crimes.

The talk about pardons continued when newly inaugurated President Trump immediately issued pardons for all the prisoners held for actions on January 6, 2021, at the Capitol building. These prisoners were charged with trespassing, assault, and/or interfering with a government function.

While the question of the particular persons pardoned, and the time periods covered, have raised both legal and political questions, the one thing not debated is the power of the U.S. President to issue such pardons for people accused or convicted of federal crimes. It is a constitutionally-endowed power which cannot be overridden by Congress nor the Supreme Court. It gives the President almost god-like power over people’s fates.

You know who else has god-like power over people’s fates? God.

God holds the unimpeachable power to set the law and to convict people of breaking that law. He has the power to sentence people to the fate they deserve, and to issue pardons to whomever he will. God is judge, jury, and executioner. And no one can override his judgment. As the Scripture says, “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” (Psalm 130:3).

According to God’s Word, we are all “guilty as sin.” Psalm 143:2 pleads for God’s mercy, saying “for no one living is righteous before you.” Which also our Lord Jesus proclaimed in Mark 10:18, saying, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” Paul tells us in Romans 2:12 “all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.” Then, in Romans 3:23 he taught that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And in Romans 3:10, “as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one;'”

Sin has consequences that are not insignificant. The punishment for sin is death and hell. Romans 6:23 tells us “For the wages of sin is death.” Jesus warned us in Matthew 10:28, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” The One who can destroy body and soul in hell is Almighty God.

But, fortunately, God loves us, even when we sin and disobey him. “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). On the basis of Christ’s death on the cross: “by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14). Our forgiveness – our pardon – for all our sins, is complete and absolute, but is not based on our goodness nor our own striving. We confess our guilt before God and ask for forgiveness on the basis of what his Son has done for us. By our faith in Christ, our filthy garments are removed and we are clothed in robes of righteousness. What theologians call “the great exchange” takes place: our sins are laid on Christ, and his righteousness is bestowed on us.

Because our sins are washed away, God removes our sins as far from us as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12), and he will remember our sins no more. (Hebrews 8:12).

Our response to God’s mercy should be two-fold. First, we thank God and extol him for his mercy. We join Micah in praising God, saying, “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love” (Micah 7:18). Or like Jonah, who recognized, “for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.” (Jonah 4:2).

Second, we seek to live our lives in obedience to God’s will and his commandments. We return God’s love to him, “with all our heart and soul and mind and strength,” and “pay it forward” to our neighbors by loving them as ourselves. We must not treat our pardon as a small thing; it is the greatest and most undeserved gift we can ever receive. Let us be grateful and live our life in a way that shows it!

You know, sometimes we say, “Pardon me!” when we do the smallest offenses, like stepping on someone’s toes, or bumping into them in a crowd. How much more should we plead, “Pardon me!” for our offenses against a Holy God, who created us for his glory and in his image. That is the pardon that really matters, and it is available to all who call on the Lord, “for they will be saved!” (Romans 10:13).

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Psalm 51; Romans 5:12-21.

 

California Is Burning

As I write this blog, California is burning.

As of yesterday, California has or had so far this year, 105 wildfires which have burned 40,300 acres. Much of the northern Los Angeles area has burned, with the most damage done by the Palisades and Eaton fires. So far, the fires have killed 16 people, forced nearly 180,000 more to evacuate, and destroyed or damaged more than 12,400 structures. These fires are not yet under control, and the area is bracing for a new round of Santa Ana winds, which threaten to fan the fires even further.

These are big picture statistics and situations, but besides video images of burning trees, mushroom clouds of dark smoke, and swirling “firenadoes,”we have seen images of the individual tragedies being repeated so many times in areas hit by the fires. We have watched as men and women stood in front of the smouldering embers of what used to be their homes, wiping away tears as they report the loss of everything they owned. One child pointed to his home, now ashes, and the remaining chimney – which he said Santa couldn’t come down any more.

I called one of my cousins who used to live in Pacific Palisades, and he said the house where I visited him in the mid 1960s was now burned up.

As I considered the many tragic stories of these fires, I remembered the passage from 1 Corinthians where the Apostle Paul used the powerful image of fire to address an important spiritual matter.

Paul was chastising the Corinthians for their petty squabbles and divisiveness, for their spiritual immaturity, and for their jealousies. He wanted them to understand that their conflicts were contrary to the faith he had proclaimed to them, and that they would be ineffective in accomplishing anything for the kingdom of Christ. He derided their failure to build on the foundation which Christ had laid for them through Paul’s teaching, saying:

“According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:10-15 – emphasis mine)

Elsewhere, Scripture uses fire to describe judgment and condemnation. Wicked Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire and brimstone (sulfur) from heaven (Genesis 19). Exodus 19:23-24 tells us the the Lord sent hail and fire down upon Egypt as one of the plagues. When the Israelites grumbled in the desert, God sent poisonous, fiery serpents to kill many of them (Numbers 21). John the Baptist spoke of the Messiah baptizing people with the Spirit and with fire, explaining that fire was the fate of those who were chaff (Luke 3:15). And of course, the Book of Revelation describes the final judgment against the devil, his demons, and those whose names are not written in the book of life: they will be thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10,15).

Paul’s use of fire is along those lines, but directed not at the believers – who will be saved by their faith in Christ – but rather at their worthless works. Because of their squabbles, they are accomplishing nothing of permanence that will build the kingdom. Paul reminds them that the permanent foundation was built by Christ, the works which his people build upon that foundation, as a house is built on a foundation, will last. But all our works which we do apart from Christ, no matter how impressive they are to us, will perish, as our goods do in a fire. He doesn’t spell out what specific works will perish, and what specific ones will endure, but we are left with the understanding that some of what we do in this life will bear eternal fruit, while much will end when we die. The difference is what is done through Christ.

So how does this idea of fire, judgment, and works which burn up relate to what is happening in Southern California right now?

  1. First, I want to be clear that the loss which people have sustained of houses, possessions, animals, and even loved ones, is not God’s judgment against those individuals for some sin they have done. Those who lost homes were not more sinful than the people whose homes were spared. This principle is laid out in Scripture in several places. In Matthew 5:45, Jesus says of the Father, “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Jesus also answered people’s questions about suffering when he referred to two contemporary incidents in which individuals were killed: “There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:1-5). We also know that Job suffered the loss of just about everything in his life, including possessions and family, though God considered him the most righteous man on earth in his day (Job 1:8). So we should never look upon anyone’s suffering and think they must have done something to deserve it; we all deserve God’s judgment, so we should look with compassion and remind ourselves that but for the grace of God, we could be in the same situation.
  2. The possessions which people lost were valuable to them. Many of the destroyed items had sentimental value, such as photo albums and heirlooms. Other items had monetary value, including expensive furniture and equipment. The houses themselves represented significant financial investments made from lifetimes of work and sacrifice. And yet, all were gone within minutes. This should make us think carefully about what we invest in: what is important to us? Stuff? Things that are considered valuable to the world? Showy things that impress others or build our egos?  Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19-20); he could have added fire to his examples of earthly dangers. We should remember that it is not the value we put on something that makes it truly valuable, but what God says of it.
  3. Which brings us to the final point: the phrase, “You can’t take it with you” is true. No matter how important our stuff is to us here in this lifetime, when we die, it all stays behind. It will all be consumed in the final fire if not before.

The story is told about a very wealthy man who on his deathbed made his wife promise to bury his money with him when he died, so he would have it in the afterlife. She protested, but he insisted, so finally she promised to do what he asked. On the day of his funeral, the grieving widow sat watching them lower the casket into the ground. Her best friend sat beside her to console her, but knowing about the strange demand of the deceased, she asked the widow, “You didn’t do what he asked, did you?” The widow turned to her friend with a smile and said, “Yes I did. I put it right in the casket with him. I wrote him a check.”

So are all our efforts and work and striving in this life wasted? King Solomon seemed to think so, even as he considered all his vast wealth. It was probably he who wrote in Ecclesiastes 2:18, “I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me.” But while most of what we have and do here will perish, the Bible also speaks of works which will endure. What are those works? Paul says they are the works we build on Christ’s foundation. But what do such works look like?

What will last through the fire and into eternity are spiritual works, those things which glorify God and bring the Gospel to people. These include preaching and teaching people about Jesus Christ, baptizing in his name, showing compassion to hurting people, sacrificing one’s time and resources to help others, caring for the sick and dying (including family members), helping people reconcile and resolve conflicts (being a peacemaker), and suffering persecution and even martyrdom for Christ’s sake (“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 5:10).

Jesus told us not to worry about what we have to put on, because our lives are more important that our clothing. All who lost clothing (and so much else) in the California fires are more valuable to God than what they owned. Their lives matter, so let us pray for them and for their safety and recovery, as well as for the safety of those who fight to control these raging infernos and protect others from such devastating losses.

Let us also thank God for the gift of his Son, Jesus Christ’, whose death and resurrection has won for us eternal life. Knowing that our lives will endure through all eternity, let us seek to do those works which will also endure the fire, that will glorify God, and be the instruments which God uses to save others.

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Job 1, 1 Corinthians 3, Luke 13:1-5

What Year Is This?

So, you just celebrated the New Year? Good for you, and may I wish you a Happy New Year full of God’s blessings, including health, prosperity, and happiness! However, now that the ball has dropped, and the sparkling cider has been drunk (sparkling cider, so the word “drunk” is the participle form of “drink” and not a personal adjective nor a noun), I ask you: do you know what year this actually is?

You might answer, “Yes, Rich, certainly I know what year this is. It’s 2025! Duh!” https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/happy-new-year-fireworks-background-celebration-203010648.jpg

To which I reply, “But what does that number mean? 2025 years since when or what? Does that number mean anything, or is it just a random number generated by chance just so we can have an agreed upon number to record our history?”

  • To which an atheist historian might reply, “Yes. It’s just a commonly agreed upon number, which is why we call it 2025 CE, the ‘Common Era’. It’s the number most of the world uses. That’s all.”
  • But then, a Hebrew scholar retorts, “Actually, we’re in the year 5785, counting since the world began. This year began on Rosh Hashanah (literally, “Head of the Year”) on October 2, 2024.
  • “You want to count since the world began?” asks James Ussher (1581 – 1656), Archbishop of Ireland. “I calculated that the world was created on Sunday evening, October 23, 4004 B.C. Therefore, the current year is 6028.”
  • Then the ancient historians speak up, saying most of those years mean nothing. What matters was the founding of Rome in 753 BC (we’ll get to BC in a moment!). Everything should be dated from then, what we call AUC (not AOC). AUC stands for Ab Urbe Condita, “From the Founding of the City.”
  • “Why is Rome so important?” asks the Muslim world. “We date years from when Mohammad  made his departure from Mecca to Medina in 622 (the Hijra). Thus we are in the year 1446 – 1447 AH (Anno Hegirae).*
  • “That’s ancient history,” say the Taiwanese. “On January 29 (Chinese New Year), we will begin the year 114, signifying the 114th year since the founding of the Republic of China in Nanjing, China.”
  • The rest of China doesn’t agree with Taiwan. They either use the 2025 date or use traditional dates based on ancient dynasties.  The earliest date is based on the reign of the earliest emperor, making this the year 4722.
Those various numbering schemes are interesting, and for different groups of people they bear some significance. But again, I return to the question, “Why 2025? It has to have some significance other than just being an agreed-upon number to keep track of the years.”
And indeed, it has great significance.
Twenty twenty-five, or 2025 A.D. (Anno Domini), designates The Year of our Lord 2025, or the number of years since Jesus Christ was born. It is the most important staring point in history as well as in our faith. It is the event which marks incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity, and the beginning of our redemption. The events before his birth are labeled B.C., or Before Christ. Even the secular attempts to ignore Christ by calling the eras CE (Common Era) and BCE (Before the Common Era) are still based on Jesus’s birth.
Of course, the actual date of Jesus’ birth was not written down at the time. But, we have certain clues from the Bible and relevant, known historical events.
  • For example, we know the years of Caesar Augustus, who ordered the census which forced Joseph and the expectant Mary to travel to Bethlehem (Luke 2:1).
  • We also know the dates of Quirinius, who was governor of Syria at the time of the census (Luke 2:2).
  • Then there was King Herod, who murdered the baby boys in Bethlehem in an attempt to prevent the one born “king of the Jews” from becoming his rival, was alive when Jesus was born (Matthew 2:1-12).
  • We know Herod died at least two years later (in 4 BC according to Josephus), which allowed Jesus, Mary, and Joseph to return from Egypt to Galilee (Matthew 2:19-23).
  • We are told in Luke 3:23 that Jesus began his ministry at about the age of 30, and from various clues in the Gospels (and the secular records of Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea), we believe that Jesus had a three year ministry.
  • So, putting the evidence together, we believe Jesus’ earthly life was from approximately 5 BC to 30 AD. (Give or take a few years).

We owe the determination of the AD/BC demarcation to a sixth-century monk named Dionysius Exiguus, who first calculated the year of Jesus’ birth. Unfortunately, he miscounted, leaving us forever with our current numbering system.

For many centuries, the Christian Church and the Christian countries all used what is known as the Julian Calendar. This calendar was instituted by Julius Caesar (Who named the month “July” after himself). But the mis-calculation of the actual length of the year, caused the calendar to fall behind, and important church and seasonal dates to change over the years. Therefore a new calendar system was instituted in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII, known, not surprisingly, as the Gregorian Calendar. When this was initiated, 10 days were added to the calendar to make up the days lost by the Julian Calendar. The Gregorian is the current calendar for most of the world, except for the Eastern Orthodox churches, which still use the Julian.

Interestingly, for years both dating systems were used, the Julian called Old Style (OS), and the Gregorian, New Style (NS). The New Style was adopted in the American colonies in 1752. So, George Washington was born in 1731 OS, and 1732 NS, since in OS the new year began in March.
Now that that’s all clear, and because we are not on the Julian calendar, let me say again, Happy New Year, as we begin the year of Anno Domini 2025. For what is most important, is not how we count the days or the years, but what is the center point and reference of our lives: Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. For in him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). In him we have forgiveness and eternal life. Who, or what, else, should be the foundation of our lives?
I recently saw a comedian who said, “I hate to offend people, so this whole last holiday season, I didn’t let out one, ‘Merry Christmas.’ What I said was, ‘May the birth of the one and only true God, Jesus Christ, bestow a blessing of grace and peace upon your household, to the belittlement of every other false religion. . . ‘”** That’s a great statement, because Christmas, and indeed our whole numeration of the years, are based on the fact that the one and only true God came into our world for the purpose of redeeming us from sin and death and provide for our eternal life. To him be the honor and praise and glory forever and ever. Amen.
So, what year is this? It is the Lord’s year.
Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.
Read: Psalm 90:4,12; 2 Peter 3:8.
*When I searched for this date, I entered “Muslim dates” in the search engine. What I got were several dating sites for Muslims, promising good matches.
**Comedian, Peter Holmes.

Christmas Hopes

Christmas is the one time of the year when we have the highest hopes. We plan a big family gathering and hope everyone can make it (except that one crazy uncle). We look forward to a fabulous feast, great presents, and a good time with friends and family. Unfortunately, Christmas is also the time of great disappointments: some of the relatives can’t make the trip (except the crazy uncle), the dinner flops, and the presents are duds. For the young woman, an expected engagement ring never shows up, and for her clueless boyfriend, his favorite football team loses a critical game.

Our expectations may fizzle, leaving us with a less than happy holiday season. I recently had a disappointment: a local radio station offered a contest where a listener would win a 1 ounce gold eagle (worth $2,600). I thought that would be a nice Christmas present, so I entered the contest. Did I win? Nope. Santa let me down.

I was reminded of my last Christmas as a child. Each year I asked Santa for one thing for Christmas, and probably because my wants were modest, I always got that one thing. So that last year, I asked for a walkie-talkie set (this was in the days before cell phones). But on Christmas morning, when I opened Santa’s gift, I found a junky, non-functioning toy set of radios. Even with plenty of other gifts, good food, and family fun, I found that I was disappointed with Christmas that year.

Obviously, when we set our sights too high with our expectations for Christmas, we are preparing to be disappointed. We form a mental picture of how we want things to go, and when they don’t match that picture, we feel let down. We may even feel disappointment when things go well, because our met expectations don’t give us the happy feelings we wanted.

What are your expectations for Christmas?

Your expectations for Christmas may be wonderful: your family gathered around the dinner table, everybody all dressed up like a scene out of a Norman Rockwell painting? A fully harmonious gathering? The gifts you were hoping to receive? Happiness for those to whom you give gifts? A good sermon at church for the Christmas service? Enough in the bank to end the season in the black?

If your hopes are based on any such subjective wishes for Christmas, you may well be disappointed, because what Christmas truly promises is much greater and more sure than anything society has added to our expectations for the holiday.

The first Christmas is a prime example of people misunderstanding the event and thus having unreal expectations which led to disappointments. The Jewish nation did expect a Messiah, but envisioned him as a military conqueror who would drive out the Romans and liberate Judah. Therefore, when Jesus instead fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecies of being a suffering servant (Isaiah 53), who came “not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45), and even proclaimed, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36), the people’s hopes were dashed.

Many potential followers of Jesus turned away from him when they realized he was not the type of Messiah they expected. In John 6, we read that because Jesus did the miraculous feeding, the people came to make him king by force. When he refused to allow them, and explained that he was the bread of life come down from heaven, “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.” (John 6:66). Then, when he was crucified, even his closest disciples most fervent hopes were crushed. Talk about being disappointed with the first Christmas!

What changed the disciples’ attitude and restored their hopes was Christ’s resurrection and their understanding of the promises of what Christ’s birth meant to the world. Christmas’s meaning is defined by Easter.

Easter fulfills Christmas.

Christmas is the beginning of God with us (Isaiah 7:14), of God taking on flesh to become one of us (John 1:14). Therefore, he experienced life as a man, able to suffer and be tempted as we are, “but without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Then, as our high priest, he offered himself in his crucifixion as a perfect sacrifice “by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:12). The debt of our sins was cancelled, being nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14), and our own resurrection is promised by Christ’s victory over death and the grave. 1 Corinthians 51-54 tells us, “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.“

All of this is the promise of Christmas. This was all included in the message of the Christmas angels who proclaimed “Peace on earth, goodwill toward men!” This was all included in Isaiah’s prophecy, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” All this was foretold in the angelic prophecy that “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21).

Our hopes are not based on wishes or fantasies, but on the facts of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. Our faith is based on the promises which God’s word gives us of forgiveness and resurrection to eternal life. In those promises we will never be disappointed. Christmas is God acting in human history to bring his promises to fulfillment. For that reasons, Christmas, its true meaning, will never disappoint us, even if we never get a walkie-talkie!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Luke 2; Matthew 2.

 

The Not-So Little Town

It is now the season of Advent, the time when we anticipate the coming of Christ into the world, the first time as a baby, and the second time as a conquering king. As part of looking at his first coming, we read the many Old Testament prophecies about his nativity, which show the divine nature of his birth. In them we see the impossibility that all those 300 prophecies could have been fulfilled by any one person – unless God was behind the prophecies and their fulfillment.

One of those prophecies was one in Micah 5:2 which foretold the birthplace of the Messiah 700 years before the event: “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”

Two New Testament Gospels, Matthew and Luke, report the fulfillment of Micah’s prophecy when they record that Jesus Christ was indeed born in that little town of Bethlehem. It was a highly unlikely fulfillment, given that Jesus’ mother and Joseph both lived in a different town and province – Nazareth of Galilee, rather than Bethlehem of Judea. It took a Roman emperor’s decree for a census to make Joseph and the expectant Mary travel from their village to Joseph’s ancestral family home of Bethlehem, the city of David, because he was of the lineage of that famous king. And, to be in Bethlehem at just the right time for Mary’s child to be born there.

The town was about 5-6 miles from Jerusalem, and much of its economy was based on raising and supplying animals to be sacrificed in the nearby Temple. How appropriate that Christ, the Lamb of God, the final sacrifice for our sins, should be born alongside the other sacrificial lambs! How appropriate too, that the Savior who called himself the Bread of Life should be born in a town whose name means, “House of Bread!”

When I think about Bethlehem, I can’t help but hum to myself that familiar Christmas carol, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” The song’s title and descriptions of a still, quiet village with dark streets reflect the small size of Bethlehem at the time of Christ’s. Estimates are that no more than 200-300 people usually lived there, though several thousand more came there for the census.

But though Bethlehem’s population was small, it wasn’t really such a small town after all. Bethlehem represents you and me, and with us, the whole world. Christ came through Bethlehem to all of us.

I. Bethlehem as part of the world. When Christ was born at Bethlehem, he was born as a real, flesh and blood human baby in a town of real, flesh and blood people. Bethlehem itself was a bricks-and-mortar type of place you could find on a map (you still can!). It was not some never-never-land, or some mythical Shangri-La. It was not some imaginary perfect place like Plato’s Republic or Thomas More’s Utopia (utopia means literally, “no place”), or to use a more modern reference, “A galaxy far, far away.” Bethlehem did not exist in some other dimension. It was a real earthly place.

Bethlehem was part of this physical world in which we live, and therefore it was an appropriate place for Christ to make his earthly debut. By coming to Bethlehem, Christ came into this world of human beings. In John’s Gospel, Christ tells Pilate that his kingdom is not of this world, but that he has come into the world. Paul likewise tells us that Christ came into the world to save sinners, and the book of Hebrews tells us that Christ came into the world to be the sacrifice needed for our sins. They don’t say, “Christ came into Bethlehem,” even though that is where he was born; what matters is that by being born in Bethlehem, Jesus was born in the world.

And how did the world receive him? Well, we can look at how Bethlehem received him.

The people of that little town were not prepared for the coming of the Messiah. Even though the prophets had foretold both the timing and location of the Messiah’s birth, nobody in Bethlehem or its region expected the Savior’s arrival when he came. Like the rest of the world, the people were going about their daily tasks, trying to make a living, unaware that the Savior was coming to them right then. So first off, they tried to shut him out. “No room!” was the message; “All filled up!” was the verdict. Jesus had to be born away from those he came to save, out back with the animals in a stable and laid in a borrowed manger, just as years later he would be laid in a borrowed tomb.

No one except Mary and Joseph celebrated his birth, at least at first. It took a special text-message delivered by an angel to alert nearby shepherds about what was going on, and it took a supernatural star to get the attention of distant wise men and start them on their journey. It took God’s word confirmed by his signs to let the people know what was happening, and it took the believing shepherds to spread the good news of what they had seen. So it would be for the rest of the world, too: believers would someday spread God’s Word and their testimony to others, and the news of Christ’s birth – and death and resurrection – would go into all the world.

Unfortunately, though many would receive him, many more would shout “No room!” to the Savior when he stands at the heart’s door and knocks to be let in. John 1:10-11 tells us, “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”

The harshest rejection of the infant Jesus was by King Herod. At his command Bethlehem saw the shedding of its children’s blood when the evil king sent his soldiers to make sure the infant Jesus didn’t live long enough to challenge his kingship. Whether by fire or sword, by persecution or ridicule, much of the world still tries to stamp out Jesus and the faith which has endured 20 centuries of such opposition. Bethlehem is the world; Christ has come to both, and the reaction to his coming seen in that not-so-little-town has been duplicated throughout the world: ignorance or rejection by most, but by many, joyful acceptance.

II. Bethlehem as us. As Bethlehem represents the whole world, so also it represents each one of us – you and me. You are Bethlehem. Christ comes to you, sometimes quietly in the night like a baby asleep in a manger, sometimes dramatically like the angels with heaven’s glories streaming around you. How will you receive him? Are you so wrapped up in your daily concerns that you shout “No room!” to him, and either shut him out entirely or relegate him to some minor part of your life? Or do you open up and welcome him in, making room for him and watching him grow in you even as you grow in him?

Are you the inn or the stable, closed or open to Jesus? Are you like most of Bethlehem’s townspeople, spiritually asleep and unaware that Christ has come to save you, or are you like the shepherds who set aside their normal lives to look into this Savior whose birth was told them? Or are you like King Herod, angry to have anyone – even Christ – claim kingship over your life? You are Bethlehem; how will you respond to Jesus? Your answer is the most important thing in your life!

Robert Ingersoll was a well-known atheist of the 1800s. Ironically, he was also a friend of Phillips Brooks, the man who wrote “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” When Brooks became seriously ill, he requested that none of his friends come to visit him. But, when his atheist friend, Robert Ingersoll, came to see him, Brooks let him come in right away. Ingersoll told him, “I appreciate this very much. Especially when you aren’t letting any of your close friends see you.” Brooks said, “Oh, I’m confident of seeing them in the next world, but this may be my last chance to see you.”

Let us all welcome Jesus and receive with him the forgiveness of our sins and eternal life. The last verse of the carol, “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” says it well:

O holy Child of Bethlehem, Descend to us, we pray. Cast out our sin and enter in, Be born to us today. We hear the Christmas angels, The great glad tidings tell. O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Emmanuel.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Micah 5:2; Malachi 4:5-6; Matthew 2:1-23.

A Thanksgiving Story

David watched as the ride-share driver took off, then turned and faced his brother’s home. He took a deep breath, trying to steel himself to approach the front door. It wasn’t his idea to visit his brother’s family for dinner this Thanksgiving; if it were up to him, he would have stayed home and warmed some frozen turkey slices in the microwave.  But his brother, Marty, had insisted he join them, and David had to admit that the promised traditional dinner would be far superior to his own frozen meal.

His only hesitance was that Marty and his family were just so, well, perfect. Perfect wife, Katy; perfect kids – one perfect daughter and one perfect son. Both A+ students, both gifted musicians and star athletes. Marty had a good income from his executive position, and Katy almost rivaled his with her online consulting business. Even their dog and cat were perfect – they never even shed!

David shook his head as he thought about his brother’s family. How lucky their lives have been! But David’s life, well he wasn’t doing so well. Just this past year, he had lost his job – “down-sizing,” they had called it, “Sorry to see you go,” they had said. Then an emergency room visit due to gangrene that had led to a toe amputation. Then a diagnosis of kidney failure and the beginning of dialysis treatments. It could not have been a worse year for him. Never having married, there was no one even to share those struggles with. So now, alone, he was going to his perfect brother’s house in a ride-share car, since last week he had totaled his own car. And now, it was time to “celebrate” Thanksgiving! Give thanks? To whom and for what?

Deciding it was too late to back out, Dave walked to the door and rang the door bell. A voice spoke from the door-bell camera (of course), saying, “Come on in!” Dave opened the door and was warmly greet by Marty, and ushered into the dining room. “So glad you could come!” said Marty; then from the kitchen into the dining room came Katy, looking perfect as always. She smiled a smile as bright as sunlight as she greet David: “We’re so happy you’re here! It’s been too long!” It would have been longer, but Marty insisted, thought David.

Next, the two perfect kids appeared, greeting, “Hi, Uncle Dave!” Right from Central Casting, David thought. In just a few minutes, the pleasantries ended, and the whole family took their seats at the large table. Festooned with fall and Thanksgiving decorations, and serving platters piled high with food as pleasing to the eye as to the palate, that table would make a fitting cover for Better Homes and Gardens’ holiday issue.

Now, David knew, it was time for the Thanksgiving prayer before the eating could begin. David hoped Marty would offer a short grace; the two brothers had grown up with simple prayers like: “God is great, God is good, so we thank him for our food,” or, “Good food, good meat, Good God, let’s eat!”* That would be fine, not to have to listen to a prayer lifting all the good things his brother’s family were grateful for. But David knew that Katy would be offering the prayer, and he was afraid the turkey would be cold by the time she finished. Oh, well . . . so be it, thought David.

Sure enough, Katy began:

Dear heavenly Father, we come to you this national day of Thanksgiving, to thank you for your blessing on our country, both throughout its history, and in the present day. Too often have we turned from you and endorsed sinful practices, yet you have abounded in mercy, ready to forgive and strengthen us to return to your fold. May our motto, “In God We Trust,” be lived out as well as proclaimed.

So far so good. . . now say, “Amen” .  . .

And now, Lord, we thank you especially for your goodness this year for to our family . . .

Oh, no, here it comes – a perfect blessing for a perfect family . . .

We thank you for your strength for Marty to endure the lawsuit against his company, and for the medical intervention to improve his blood pressure and guide his actions in a biblical way in this situation . . .

What? A lawsuit? He never told me about that . . .

And for our daughter, Grace, that you led us to the right doctor to treat her skin cancer. We thank you that the treatments are working to stop the cancer spreading, and we pray for her healing and encouragement.

Grace has cancer? Since when?

For our son, Greg, we are disappointment that his sports scholarship was rejected for college. Please encourage him and give him a clear path forward according to your will.

No way he was turned down! Did you aver see him play?

And for my business, Lord, may you move the client that refuses to pay me to pay what they owe, or else I may have to go bankrupt and lose the business that I have worked so hard to build up.

Oh wow. And here I thought everything was perfect for them. I guess one never knows . . .

Now we pray for Dave, who has had such a difficult year. Please give him courage and yet unseen blessings in this coming year, that you may bless him financially and health-wise. We thank you for being with him and protecting him in all adversities.

What protection? Thanks for what?

For his foot surgery, we thank you that the gangrene was caught in time and was treated effectively, saving his leg and even his life from the severe sepsis it caused. We also thank you that David’s kidneys can be treated with dialysis to prolong his life from what used to be a death sentence. And for his accident, we thank you for protecting his life, that only his car was lost. Thank you that you sent your angels to watch over him that day. We pray also for him to find new, productive and satisfying employment, that his finances may flourish and his self-esteem may improve. May he find and receive an even better job than he ever had before, and may he see your hand in freeing him up to be available for what is to come. For all these thing, and for this food before us, even the cold turkey, we give you all our thanks and praise, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

David just sat there as the rest of the family stared grabbing for their favorite dishes. How could I have been so self-centered, thought David, to not see the struggles Marty’s family was facing, nor to see their love for me in all I am suffering, nor to see the ways God had watched over me in every situation? Even Marty’s invitation to dinner had been God’s plan for me to climb out of my own hole and see my brother’s family’s struggles, and realize how much God loved them and me.

As David reached for the turkey, he was grateful it still had some warmth to it, he offered his own silent prayer for his family and for a God who loved him so much he not only blessed him in this life, no matter the struggles, but also provided the promise of eternal life to come, by the gift of his own Son, Jesus Christ.

As he finished his prayer, he remember the words of Philippians 4:7, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: 2 Corinthians 9:11-13; Philippians 4:2-9; 1 Timothy 4:4-5.

*Actual prayer from a camper in summer camp in the 1970’s.

Note: the names of Marty and Katy were not chosen randomly; can you think of some other famous couple with those names?

 

Can’t We All Just Get Along?

The expression, “Can’t we all just get along?” was first spoken by Rodney King, a black motorist who was dragged from his car in 1992 by Los Angeles police officers, and beaten by the officers severely. When those officers were acquitted of charges in their trial, South Central LA erupted in riots, resulting in numerous deaths and massive property damage. Apparently, the answer to Rodney’s question was, “No.”

Still, it was a good question, and has been quoted many times since then. even becoming a humorous internet and movie meme.

This week, the intent of the question, if not the actual words, has come to the fore, following the presidential election results. The campaign had been brutal, with all kinds of charges and insults flying both ways. The heat became so intense that a gunman even fired on Donald Trump, wounding him in the ear. Because of the intense division in the country, many people have anticipated actual violence erupting, whatever the election results might be.

In an attempt to reduce the “temperature” of the electoral passions,  leaders of both parties have called for “getting along” now that the election is over. President Biden promised a peaceful transition of power. President-elect Trump promised to help our country heal, and to be a President for all the people. In their pronouncements, they have followed in the footsteps of a previous president, Abraham Lincoln, who during a failed Senate campaign in 1858, spoke about the growing division between North and South, saying,”A house divided between itself cannot stand.”

Of course, Lincoln didn’t invent that phrase. He was quoting Jesus’ words from Matthew 12:25, Mark 3:25, and Luke 11:17. The context was a question about how Jesus was casting out demons: was it by the power of Satan? Jesus said if Satan was casting out demons, then Satan’s kingdom was divided and would fall. Lincoln took that teaching of Jesus and expanded it to be true of our country that was half-slave and half-free. He said the issue had to be resolved or the house, the United States, would fall.

I think Jesus’ words, though spoken in the context of spiritual warfare, do have more universal applications. A marriage won’t last if husband and wife are divided in essentials. An army will be defeated if it wars against itself instead of united against the enemy. A company will fail if employees don’t work together or sabotage the owner.

As I thought about this question of division versus unity in our country, I wondered what other things the Bible says about us “getting along.” I found that Scripture actually teaches both – unity and division – depending on what we are talking about.

When are we to get along?

    1. First, we recognize that all people are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27) and are due respect for that reason.
    2. The commandments require us to love our neighbor in several ways: not to steal from them, not to mistreat them sexually, not to lie about them or defame them, not to covet their possessions nor their relationships with others. In fact, Jesus summed up all God’s law into two commands: to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
    3. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). Restoring peace through reconciliation is good.
    4. Jesus said, “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Loving those who we agree with is easy; loving our opponents is hard.
    5. Jesus taught us what we call the Golden Rule: “And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. (Luke 6:31). I don’t think any of us wants to be mistreated, so we should treat others well.
    6. As we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we ask our Father in heaven to forgive us, as we forgive those who sin against us. Then right after teaching us that prayer, Jesus goes on to say: “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14-15). We may not want to forgive others who hurt us, but Jesus himself requires it of us.
    7.  In Matthew 5:22-24, Jesus gives further commands to us to seek reconciliation with others: “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,  leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”.
    8. Paul said,”Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32), and, similarly, “bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you forgive” (Colossians 3:13).
    9. Finally, remember that like our enemies, we are sinners too, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Ultimately, God’s will is that all who are in the Church, be one in Christ and be known as his disciples by the love we show each other (John 13:35 and 1 John 3:1). This was one of Christ’s final prayers at the Last Supper, when he asked the Father that we may be one, even as he and the Father are one (John 17:21). So in summary, God desires for all people to be united in love, respect, and service to each other (even our political adversaries), especially in the Church with our fellow believers.

So, if unity is so desirable, are there occasions when scripture commands us to be separate from others?

When we are to be divided?

  1. When the other person teaches heresy or blasphemy against God. We should separate ourselves from them and not affirm their opinion just to maintain a relationship. Psalm 1 says, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;”
  2. When the other person is sinning, we are not to participate or excuse it. Ephesians 5:11 teaches us, “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.“
  3. Separation from ungodly people and their works is commanded by 2 Corinthians 6:15, which asks, “What agreement does God have with Belial?” (Belial is another name for the devil.)
  4. We are not to compromise our faith, even if causes discord with other people, even those we are closest to. Jesus said  “For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law” (Matthew 10:35). Jesus, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) said he came not bring peace, but a sword, meaning division between his followers and the world.
  5. 2 John 1:10 warns against tolerating or allowing false teachers to teach their falsehoods: “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting.” The term “house” may mean either, or both, your home or the church.
  6. James 4:4 warns, “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
  7. Finally, we are warned not to be conform to the world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind, in order to do the will of God (Romans 12:2). This will put us out of step with what the world approves and does.

Therefore, the answer to the question, “Can’t we all just get along?” depends on how we respond to God’s commands to love both him and our neighbor. The command to love our neighbor requires us to show love to all people, whether we agree with them,dislike them, or consider them to be our enemies, personal or political. At the same time, if unity with them means disobeying God and his commandments, then separation is required. In fact, the act of separation alone may be a testimony to our faith and cause the other person to reconsider their beliefs and actions. And if our witness, whether spoken or acted, causes them to come to Christ, then we have shown them the greatest act of love.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Isaiah 5:20; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; James 5:20.

 

Happy All Hallows’ Eve

This coming Thursday will be October 31, the day we celebrate Halloween. As I did last year, when I go to dialysis that day, I will wear my Martin Luther costume, giving me a chance to testify to the workers about my faith. (A number of years ago, I had a dental appointment on Halloween, so I donned a set of plastic “vampire teeth” for when I opened my mouth for the dentist . . . but that’s another story . . .)

Surprisingly, my wearing my Martin Luther costume for Halloween is appropriate for more than just a chance to “dress up,” because Martin Luther himself had a significant connection to Halloween. Quite a bit, actually!

Although some people had tried to do so earlier, the Reformation was kicked off in earnest by the actions of one particular monk, Martin Luther, who posted a paper to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Saxony (Germany) on October 31, 1517. On that paper were 95 questions, or theses, asking for debate on questions which affected the Church and its doctrines.  Chief among those questions were ones questioning the practice of selling indulgences for the forgiveness of people’s sins. (Luther wrote, for example: “If the Pope can truly forgive people’s sins, in response to the payment of indulgences, then why doesn’t he just forgive those sins out of Christian love?” The Roman Church’s response to that and subsequent disputes, was to condemn and expel Luther and his followers. Thus, the Protestant Church was born, and continues to this day.

Therefore, this Sunday (today), Protestant churches – particularly Lutheran Churches – will celebrate Reformation Day, the beginning of the movement to restore to the Church the biblical doctrine of justification by faith alone.

So, how does this connect to Halloween? Luther chose October 31 to post his theses because the next day, November 1, was All Saints Day, and the church would be full of people commemorating all the saints, believers, known and unknown, who had gone before and were now in heaven. That day was a solemn church festival, and was known as All Hallows Day and Hallowmas. The day before was therefore called All Hallows Eve and Hallows-eve, or Halloween.

These days, our celebration of Halloween has little to do with All Saints or the Reformation. Like Christmas and Easter, what began as religious holidays (holy-days), Halloween has accumulated to itself numerous pagan and secular traditions and symbols. Christmas has added Santa and snowmen, reindeer and yule logs. Easter has bunnies and Peeps, baskets and jelly beans. Halloween has taken on ghosts, goblins, witches, skeletons, and diabetes-inducing levels of candy consumption. Christmas is about the birth of Christ, Easter about his resurrection, and All Saints about our new status by faith in Christ. So why has Halloween become something so different from its original meaning?

The commemoration of All Saint Day began, like the other holidays, in cultures that already had various pagan celebrations. In some cases, the Christian holiday replaced the pagan one, in other cases, aspects of the old festival were incorporated in the new Christian one. In the case of Halloween, there was an ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, “On the day corresponding to November 1 on contemporary calendars, the new year was believed to begin. That date was considered the beginning of the winter period, the date on which the herds were returned from pasture and land tenures were renewed. During the Samhain festival the souls of those who had died were believed to return to visit their homes, and those who had died during the year were believed to journey to the other world. People set bonfires on hilltops for relighting their hearth fires for the winter and to frighten away evil spirits, and they sometimes wore masks and other disguises to avoid being recognized by the ghosts thought to be present. It was in those ways that beings such as witches, hobgoblins, fairies, and demons came to be associated with the day.”*

All Saints Day was originally in May, but in the 8th Century, the pope moved it to November 1, in an apparent effort to supplant the pagan holiday.

There are some aspects of today’s celebration of Halloween that I don’t appreciate: the over-sexualized witch costumes, the candy-consumption, and the emphasis on death and demons. But there is a religious aspect to all these things that is worth noting.

In Luther’s magnum opus, A Mighty Fortress, he emphasizes Jesus Christ’s victory over the devil. He says:

“And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us; The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure, One little word shall fell him.”

In light of Christ’s victory, we need not tremble at Satan nor his devils nor anything evil. We are the victors; we have the victory in Christ and know that he is our salvation. Therefore, we can make fun of the the goblins, laugh at them, and reduce them to nothing more than kids’ costumes with plastic masks held on by elastic strings.

Afraid of skeletons? Ezekiel 37:4-6 “Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.'” At the resurrection, all of our skeletons will be raised with flesh and blood and breath, never to die.

Afraid of the Devil? “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Colossians 2:15). “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you” (Luke 10:19).  “And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10). And finally, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you” (Romans 16:10).

Afraid of witches? First, Scripture forbids us from having anything to do with them or any spell-caster nor one who claims to speak to the dead (mediums). The one case where king Saul consulted a medium, the Witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28), Saul received God’s curse and word of judgment. But for Christians, we need not fear a witch’s curse or spell, because Scripture tells us: “Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight” (Proverbs 26:2).

Afraid of ghosts? In the words of the theme song to Ghostbusters, “I ain’t afraid of no ghosts!” In the Bible, the word for ghost can mean spirit, wind, and breath. When people talk of ghosts, they usually mean disembodied spirits of those whose bodies died. Scripture forbids us from seeking such spirits. Leviticus 19:13 says, “Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.” Then, in Isaiah 8:19-20, we are warned, “And when they say to you, ‘Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,’ should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?” Again, in the New Testament, 1 John 4:1 tells us, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

Like many Christian teachers, I don’t believe ghosts are the spirits of dead people, but evil spirits seeking to distract us from God and leading us to disobey him. Therefore, I look to Christ for his victory and protection from whatever evil comes my way – natural or supernatural. For Christ has dominion over all things, visible and invisible.

In closing, I had what I believe was an encounter with a supernatural evil when I was just 7 or 8 years old. I woke up in the middle of the night. and was aware of a black cloud welling up from my bedroom closet. I was suddenly wide awake, and somehow I knew that the cloud was something evil, coming toward me. Then I said out loud, “Jesus, help me!” and suddenly, the cloud vanished, as if a light switch had been switched on. The room was peaceful again, and I went back to sleep.

As I knew even back then, when faced with any danger or fear, our Savior is Jesus Christ. Let us turn and call to him, because as we celebrate this week, we are saints in Christ who have been redeemed by him. Therefore, let us celebrate our day together!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: 1 Samuel 28.

*“Halloween” article by Encyclopedia Britannica, by the editors and updated by Meg Matthias.

I Almost Died

Sometimes, while “web surfing,” I would occasionally watch some video blogs from someone named Paul Harrell. Then, one day recently, I was surprised to see a post from him that was labeled, “I’m Dead.” So I clicked on the video to see what he meant. It turned out his title for the video was literally true. He explained that if you were watching this video, he had indeed died. He knew he was dying from cancer, and wanted to record this farewell video to thank people for their support and to explain the situation. It felt weird watching him explain his coming death; it was like a ghost had returned for one last message.

I mention that video because this blog almost had the same title: except in my case, fortunately, my blog is titled, “I almost died.”

So what happened? About three weeks ago, I had checked my blood sugar level before going to bed. I was shocked to see that it was very high, so I took a big dose of insulin. Then I waited to see if it dropped to a normal level. When it didn’t, I took some more insulin. Then I kept checking throughout the night. Finally it dropped. Come morning, I told Karen that I hadn’t slept at all, so now I would try to do so. Finally, I fell asleep.

When I woke up two hours later, there were five paramedics standing around the bed, and I had an IV in my hand. They kept asking me questions and told me to stand up if I could. What in the world had happened? I learned that when Karen checked on me that morning, she couldn’t wake me. I had one eye opened but not focused. I mumbled some incoherent sounds. Fearing I had suffered a stroke, she called 911 and in just a few minutes EMS and a fire truck had arrived. They checked me out and discovered it wasn’t a stroke, but a critically low blood sugar level (30 compared to 100 for normal readings; below 54 is considered severely low sugar).  They had given me a shot to kick up my sugar, then insisted I eat something before they left.

Karen saved my life by making that call. I am grateful, and sorry for all the bad things I ever said about her.

Seriously, I almost didn’t even have a chance to write a blog called, “I’m Dead.” In fact, I wasn’t as prepared to meet my end as I thought I was. As with most people, I figured my death was far in the future, and have put off preparations for the event. Before Karen’s father died, he had prepared a notebook with all the details Karen’s mother would need to know. He and his wife had an up-to-date will. And most importantly, he was a devout Christian and knew he could look forward to heaven when the time came.

I need to put together such a notebook, (and maybe a farewell blog), and Karen and I need to update our wills. Fortunately, we both know we have salvation through Jesus Christ, which I recently made clear to my doctor when he asked whether I was worried about my health concerns. I said no, because I knew what waits for me in Christ. Being a Christian, he understood what I meant.

The lesson in all this is we all know our own death is coming, but we usually don’t know “the day nor the hour” when our final breath will be. We won’t necessarily be given an advanced notice with time to get things in order. It therefor behooves us to pay attention to what the Scriptures say about death.

First, our death is inevitable. When God warned Adam that he would die if he ate the forbidden fruit, Adam’s disobedience brought death to all of us who were “in him.” After that curse, the Bible attests to this by speaking of death over 1000 times. Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” Likewise, Hebrews 9:27 tells us, “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” Our life has a certain length span to it, also: “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty . . . So teach us to number our days” (Psalm 90:10,12). Even with modern medicine. our life spans are not much longer than that. The fact that the second Person of the Trinity had to come to earth to die that we might live, speaks of the universality of death for us as human creatures.

Second, the only exceptions to this were Enoch, who “walked with God, and he was not, for God took him” (Genesis 5:24); and Elijah, who was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11). Every one else has died or will die, with one more major exception still to come: those who are alive when Christ returns will not die, “but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:21-22).

Third, after we die, we will face judgment. The above passage from Hebrews not only affirms the reality of death for us all, but also the inevitability of the judgment after we die. The phrase, “and after that comes judgement,” spells that out clearly. Also, our Lord Jesus spoke of this when he said, “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37). Revelation 20 describes the Great White Throne judgment: “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.” In Matthew 25:31-33 Jesus says, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.” And 2 Corinthians 5:10 says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” Finally, Acts 17:31 teaches, “Because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Fourth,  this judgment will be different for those who are in Christ. Our names are written in the “book of life” (Revelation 20:12 and others) and we will enter the heavenly Jerusalem with no fear that our names will be removed from the book. God will “remember our sins no more”(Hebrews 8:12), so when we are judged, it will be for the rewards from our works, not for our sins (Revelation 11:18).

Fifth, there will be a general resurrection of all who died, those in Christ to eternal life, and those who are not, to the second death and hell. Revelation 20:18 says, “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Because of what Christ did on the cross, and by his victory over death in the open tomb, we Christians need neither fear death nor the judgment to come. This is our great hope, as we look forward to the unending joy of the life to come. Revelation 21:4 promises of that new life: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Until that day comes, we have work to do here. While we should prepare for that day in practical ways (notebooks, up-dated wills, “I am Dead” blogs, etc.), it is more important to hold fast to our faith in Christ through our prayers, Bible-reading, worship, Holy  Communion, and works of love and mercy. Whenever Christ does return, or we go to join him first, let our death not be an end, but just a milestone in our eternal walk with our Lord!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: 1 Corinthians 15, Revelation 20.

 

 

Lighten Up!

Lighten up!

My last six posts were quite serious, dealing with theological “debates” throughout Church history, and with the spiritual warfare affecting births in our country. After reading those posts, my wife said I needed to lighten up in my next post. She said people needed cheering up with posts that are not so heavy. So, to honor her wise request, this blog will present you with the following stories.

1. I grew up with puns, the word plays that are known as the “lowest form” of humor. (Which is why I find them amusing). For example, my mom used to say: “Use the word ‘incongruous’ in a sentence. ‘In congruous they pass many laws.'” In restaurants, she would order Sanka coffee, a decaffeinated drink, and when the server brought it to her, she would say, “Sanka very much.” I didn’t have a chance when my best friend at the time gave me a birthday present, “Bennett Cerf’s Book of Outrageous Puns.” This is to say I appreciate a good pun. Which happened when Karen and I were traveling one time, and were passed by a truck hauling a horse trailer. As I looked over at it, I was surprised to see the trailer was half the size of other trailers I had seen before. I pointed it out to Karen and asked, “I wonder what kind of horse could fit in such a trailer?” To which she replied, without a pause, “A quarter horse!”

Job 39:18, “When she rouses herself to flee, she laughs at the horse and his rider.”

2. As many of you have noticed, who have sat near me in church, singing is not one of my strong suits. The knowledge of this shortcoming has followed me throughout my life. I first took note of this when I was a camp counselor back in my early teen years. During one of our nightly campfires, it was my turn to lead the singing. I got up, and circling the fire, I led the kids in singing, Sweet Low, Sweet Chariot. I noticed one little girl watching me each time I passed her. Finally, the second or third time she tugged on my pants leg. “Mister!” she said, “Mister!” I stopped and asked her, “What?” To which she replied, “Mister – you’re singing off key!”

Psalm 71:23, “My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed.”

3. A more recent example of my singing skills came at St. Peter’s, on a day when the Men’s Choir was singing A Mighty Fortress. Because they only sang once or twice a year, they held a rehearsal on the Wednesday before they performed. Because I was making the announcements that day, I made a little joke about the men singing, saying, “Sorry guys, I missed the rehearsal so I won’t be able to sing with you today.” To which there were some chuckles among the congregation (who knew my vocal challenges). When the second service began, I made the same announcement. But, as soon as I said, “Sorry, I can’t sing with you today,” the pianist hit a note on the piano, and the whole men’s choir belted out, “Hallelujah!” To which the entire congregation burst out laughing. Karen said it was the only time she ever saw me speechless!

Psalm 100:1-2, “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!”

4. Not all my embarrassments have had to do with singing (After all, a fellow pastor assured me I was singing on key – just my own key!) . Another occasion occurred on a flight. I had bought the cheapest seat, which had put my back up against a bulkhead, that prevented me from leaning my seat back. After I took my seat another passenger came and took the seat next to mine. As we chatted amicably, I noticed he was missing his left leg; instead he wore a prosthesis. This became evident when the person sitting in front of him reclined his seat, which when leaning back, jammed into the poor guy’s artificial leg. As he struggled to free his prosthesis from the offending seat, he and I agreed how nice it would to fly first class. He asked, “I wonder what it would cost for a first class ticket?” To which I replied, without thinking, “Probably an arm and a leg.” Which killed our conversation, especially when the guy got up and moved forward to a different seat!

Psalm 126:2, “Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy;”

5. One of the worst flights Karen and I took was when we were the last two to board, and sat in seats far removed from each other. My seat was in the first row, a middle seat sandwiched between two guys who were each larger than me. I apologized, then squeezed into my seat. Once the flight took off, we each took out books and started reading. After a few minutes of us all crammed together, all trying to read, I suggested, “Why don’t I just hold one book and we can all read it together?” No response. No chuckle. Not one word spoken the entire flight. Oops. When I checked in with Karen, she had her own situation: she had to help the woman beside her change her baby’s diaper on the tray table; Karen helpfully turned on the air to save the nearby passengers.

Proverbs 15:13a, “A glad heart makes a cheerful face.“

6. Sometimes, language differences can be a cause for humor. In the summer of 1972, I worked for several weeks in a youth camp in France. I was assigned to a cabin of both German and French junior high age boys. While I could speak to each group in its own language, to solve some basic communication problems, I taught them such useful English phrases as “Shut up!” and “Good night!” However, my main problem was not with the campers; it was with one French counselor. The first time I met her at one mealtime, and she learned I was an American, she greeted me with, in English, “You are an American pig!” Great I thought. At following meals, she changed to French, calling me a couchon, French for pig. After a few times of that, I called her a couchonette, which I assumed was the French word for female pig. She smiled and said, “No, that is not the French word for female pig. The correct word in “ange.” Having been corrected, now, whenever she called me couchon, I called her ange. She acted suitably upset, and so we continued until another French counselor sat with us. As soon as I said my insult, he spit out his drink, and asked, what I was doing. I said whenever she calls me a pig, I call her the same. He said, “No you’re not! Whenever she calls you a pig, you are calling her an angel!” At which I looked over to see a gleeful smirk on her face!

Job 8:21, “He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting.”

There are many other humorous stories I could tell, including another singing embarrassment, another language faux pas (See, I did learn some French beside the words for pig and angel!). And a blunder at the doctor’s office that would leave you in stitches! (Or in “sutures,” suit yourself!). In all such situations in life, it pays to have a sense of humor. While there are many things life requires us to take seriously, ourselves should not be one of those things. So let us lighten up when we can, and not worry about tomorrow, for as Jesus said, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself” (Matthew 6:34).

Isaiah 55:12, “For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be graceful to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Isaiah 49:13.

 

 

 

Suffer the Children, Part 2

In my last blog, I stated that there are forces working against God’s plan to bless the world with children, and gave current examples of what they are doing. I then asked: What are those forces? Where do they come from, and what do we do about them?

The forces opposing children are the three named in our confessions: the world, the flesh, and the devil.*  These three are also named in the Scriptures, specifically in Ephesians 2:1-3, which reads, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

We could say a lot about the influence of the world and its culture that promotes abortion as a “reproductive right,” or of the flesh, which puts personal material comfort, career, and goals ahead of having children. But, what I want to write about is what inspired me to write this blog: the realization that behind all this hatred of children is the devil himself.

Why does the devil hate children?

  1. Because they are people, created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27).
  2. Because as God’s people they are the “apple of [God’s] eye.” (Psalm 17:8).
  3. Because unlike the devil and his angels, the Son of God became one to redeem them from sin and death (2 Peter 2:4).
  4. And, because the devil “was a murderer from the beginning,” (John 8:44). He hates them because, as Jesus said, “for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14).

The devil’s influence has been seen throughout history. Whenever he has been worshiped, either directly or through the pagan worship of idols, children have been considered disposable.

  1. We see the example of the Egyptian pharaoh who ordered the killing of all the Hebrew baby boys (Exodus 1:15-16).
  2. God’s condemnation of Israel for killing their children according to pagan customs. He said, “They have built the high places of Baal to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind” (2 Kings 17:31).
  3. God condemned Israel’s King Ahaz: “He burned sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and sacrificed his children in the fire, engaging in the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites” (2 Chronicles 28:3).
  4. The Canaanites and others offered their children as burnt offerings to a god named Molech. God’s word calls such practices abominations and forbids doing so. Leviticus 18:13 commands, “You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.” Likewise, Leviticus 20:2, “Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones.” God even prophesied that the Babylonians would conquer Judah because his people had sinned by worshiping idols. His complaint against them included the following: “They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.”
  5. One more biblical example was when King Herod heard that a “King of the Jews” had been born in Bethlehem, he sent his soldiers to kill all the infant boys of the age of two or younger.  (Matthew 2:16). Known as The Massacre of the Innocents, these boys have been considered the first Christian martyrs.
  6. In the First Century, Romans who didn’t want their newborns, would abandon them on the city dumps. But Christians would find them there, and raise them instead – of course teaching them the faith as they grew.

These are all examples from times past, but today the war against children goes on with new organizations and new slogans to justify the murder of babies. So what do we, who are concerned Christians, do to defend the lives of children, both born and as yet unborn?

  1. Support those organizations and churches already in the fight for children. As in the days of Rome, it is Christians who are at the forefront of speaking out and defending the rights of children. Charities such as Alternatives Pregnancy Center** and Preborn*** offer counseling and other free services to pregnant mothers in crisis.
  2. Refuse to participate in any activity or organization that promotes anti-child actions such as abuse, pornography, or abortion. Speak out against such practices in your public discourse, social media, public hearings, and by the way you vote.
  3. When possible, adopt a child or foster one as an alternative to abortion. Provide a loving home where the child will be raised as a Christian.
  4. Support new laws, and the enforcement of laws already on the books, which protect children from neglect, abuse and trafficking.
  5. Follow biblical guidelines for how you raise your children. Be sure they are baptized and raised in the faith. Model church-going by taking them to church and Sunday school. Be Christian in your speech and practice.
    • “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).
    • “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).
    • Teach the Scriptures to your children: “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children” (Deuteronomy 6:6–7).
    • Do not withhold discipline, but use it to correct, not punish. “For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?” (Hebrews 12:7).
  6. Pray. Pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Pray for the children who are suffering abuse and neglect of any kind. Pray for the mothers considering abortion, that they find new love for their unborn children and will save them. Pray for parents, foster parents, and adoptive parents for the challenges they will face. Pray for the church and organizations that work to protect children, both born and not yet born. Pray against the forces which promote child sacrifice, while also praying that the people involve to come to repentance and faith. As the Apostle Peter said, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8); let us pray that he has no one to devour!
  7. Finally, remember: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Our enemy is the devil, not the people caught up in his deceptions. After all, those people were once children, too, created in God’s image. And by the grace of God, Christ died for them too, that they might be saved. Pray for their salvation. And take heart, for we know the devil’s fate: to be thrown into the lake of fire to be “tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10).

May our ultimate hope be in Christ Jesus, our Savior. For in him, all who believe are children of God. John 1:12 (my confirmation verse!) tells us: “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Matthew 19:13-14; John 8:44; Revelation 20:7-10.

*Martin Luther, Large Catechism, “The Lord’s Prayer.”

**Alternative Pregnancy Center: 8689 Folsom Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95826. https://alternativespc.org (not a link; type into your browser)

***Preborn offers ultrasound pictures to a mother of her child, reducing the number of abortions: https://preborn.com (not a link; type into your browser)

 

 

 

Suffer the Children

I once heard someone lead a devotion by reading from Luke 18:16, using the King James Bible. He read these familiar words: “But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.” The person then talked about what that verse meant to him. He said, “Jesus knew that children suffer in lots of ways, from hunger, disease, and mistreatment. He wants us to take care of them so they do not suffer.”

While I admired the man’s love for children, I was just fresh from seminary, and had to stifle the desire to interrupt him to explain that the word “suffer” in the 1611 King James Bible did not mean what it does now: “To feel pain or distress; sustain injury or harm.”* What Jesus was saying to his disciples was to “allow” the children to come to him, reinforced by his very next words, “and forbid them not.” That’s why our modern translation render Jesus’ words as: “Let the children come to me” (Luke 18:16, ESV).

In recent days, however, I have come to believe that the leader of that devotion wasn’t too far from the truth, for it seems that something has gone very wrong in our culture in the ways we value and treat our children. And this is not good. It seems that our society is doing all it can to either harm children, or to prevent their even being born. Consider the following:

1. Fewer marriages. Marriage is the basic unit of the family. It is within the context of marriage that children are produced, nurtured,  and raised to adulthood. This was God’s design from the beginning when “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24, quoted by Jesus in Matthew 19:5). Although people do conceive children out of marriage (hence the terms “baby momma” and “baby daddy”), such children are more likely to suffer (current meaning of the word) poverty, abuse, unemployment and prison. The stability of a two-parent household is undeniable, but the rate of such marriages is declining in the US. Genesis 2:18 quotes God as saying, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” And Proverbs 18:22 says, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.”
2. Pornography. When people find sexual release and satisfaction through images, video, and other means, they are not fulfilling their duty to their spouse, nor producing the children that God gave them those desires to produce. Instead, children are often suffering as the victims of sexual trafficking, often for the production of pornography. . When God made people male and female, he commanded them to “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth ” (Genesis 1:28). He designed them to find pleasure and fulfillment in each other, to bond them together even as they produce children in love.
3. Neutered human beings. When our culture celebrates what it calls “gender affirming care,” what it means is, “gender destroying care.” The removal of a person’s sexual organs makes them infertile (obviously), as does the injection of hormones that block the natural development of puberty. When we had our cat neutered we didn’t change him from a male cat to a female cat. He became an “it.” He is still a male, but unable to make new kitties. When we push children to have the same thing done to them, we are not affirming, but neutering them. They are becoming “its.”
4. Same sex attractions and “marriages.” Obviously, the joining of two men or two women will not produce children. Even when such couples want to raise children, they have to turn to the opposite sex to create such babies, either by adoption or artificial insemination. The surge in such “marriages” means fewer children are conceived, and for children raised in such a family, they are more predisposed to look upon their own future partner as being of the same sex as themselves. But this is contrary to God’s design and intent: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).
5. Birth Control. I used to think that birth control was fine, as long as the means of such control didn’t destroy a fertilized egg. However, I now see the effect such readily available contraceptives has resulted in significantly lowered birth rates in the countries most able to provide for their children. It also has made “recreational” sex more prevalent by removing one of the consequences of  sex. Also, women who use birth control to advance in their careers may end up not having children when they decide to do so.
6. Abortion. This is the big reason our birth rate is down, because children are being killed before they can be born. In 2021, the numbers were 625,978 abortions, which was up 5% from the year before.
7. Attitudes against children. For many young people, children are seen as an inconvenience or an impediment to other goals they have. They think children take too much time, cost too much, or interfere with work, travel, or entertainment goals. Then there are the people who say “I don’t want to bring children into the world when we all are going to die from (name your poison).” And then there are those who see humans as a plague on the earth, and therefore they want to reduce the population either totally, or to a more “sustainable” level.
The result of all these factors is that the birth rate in the US is 1.64 children births per woman, below  the rate of 2.1  to maintain our population. Other countries are facing even worse declines. In South Korea,  the rate is only 0.76, causing their President to form a  Ministry of Low Birth Rate Counter Planning tasked with the handling the “national emergency.” The moves are part of Seoul’s intensified efforts to reverse the trend: including cash subsidies, infertility treatment, and childcare services.

Today, the assault against having children is happening in many ways. All in defiance of God’s command to multiply. According to God’s word, children are a blessing. When the patriarchs and matriarchs of the Old Testament were childless, they conceived and birthed children, often miraculously, as blessing from God. The list is long: Abraham, Sarah, Manoah, Hannah, and a  Shunammite woman. In the New Testament, we read of Elizabeth and Zechariah who gave birth to  John the Baptist, and of course to Mary, the mother of our Lord. That’s one birth we are all blessed with!

In Psalm 127:3-5 it says, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!” (** Please see the important footnote below.)

Children are a blessing. But there are forces working against God’s plan to bless us with children made in his image. What are those forces? Where do they come from, and what do we do about them? I will address these questions in the next blog. See you there!

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Genesis 1:26-28, Psalm 127:3-5.

*The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition, 2011

**Important Note for Childless Couples: I want to express clearly that it is neither my belief nor my intent to criticize those husbands and wives that have been unable to have children, in spite of their desire to do so. They do not despise God’s commandment to “be fruitful and multiply,” they endorse it. But for some reason, they have been unable to reproduce. Often this has caused disappointment and deep hurts. Being one of those couples ourselves, my wife and I share those couples’ pain and pray, both for their comfort by the Holy Spirit, and for God to fulfill their lives in other ways: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

Seek Ye First

This week I took a break from listening to news and talk shows and turned my radio to a Christian program that includes in its mix old time hymns, gospel songs, and now classic praise music – you know, songs from 50 years ago that were popular back when I was becoming an adult!

I was enjoying many of the songs, when one particular tune came up that made me smile. It came out in 1971, before Karen and I were married, but was still going strong several years later in worship services and on my cassette tape player! The song was titled, “Seek Ye First.” The first verse was written by Karen Lafferty and published by Maranatha Music. Then, other anonymous writers added the other verses to it, which made the song more complete. I enjoyed the tune, but also the simple declaration of three teachings of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Very simple, very direct, (no bridges), and no endless repetitions – just the first verse repeated once as the final  verse.

Today I’d like to share the song with you (the lyrics, that is, I won’t try to actually sing it) and talk about the importance of what Jesus said.

1. Verse One:  Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you, Hallelu, Hallelujah. (Matthew 6:31-33)

The setting: Jesus spoke these words during the Sermon on the Mount. First he told the people not to worry about about their physical needs, such as food and drink and clothing. Using examples of birds, which are fed by God even though they do not sow crops, and lilies which are beautifully “clothed” by our heavenly Father though they do not toil nor spin. Because we are more valuable to God than many birds or lilies, how much more will he provide for us in our need? Jesus then concludes with the command to seek first God and his kingdom, and all these needs will be added to us.

Why I like what Jesus said: Jesus promised that our heavenly Father knows our needs, and is ready to provide all we need, if we but look to him and seek him. The rest of the world chases after pleasure and material wants and needs, but God wants us to trust in him and seek his righteousness, which is not found in obeying the law, but through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ. I may not have everything I want, but in Christ I have everything I need. I especially like what Jesus said about my earthly father giving me good things (which he did), and how much more will my heavenly Father give me the good things I need (and keeping from me the harmful things I don’t need!).

2. Verse Two: Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word, that proceeds from the mouth of God. Halleju, Hallelujah. (Deuteronomy 8:3 and Matthew 4:4)

The setting: Jesus quoted this verse from Deuteronomy during the temptation in the wilderness, in response to the Tempter (Satan) telling a very hungry Jesus to turn the stones into bread so that he might eat. Considering Jesus had just fasted for forty days and nights without food, and “he was hungry” (Matthew 4:2), this seems like a reasonable suggestion. After all, God’s plan was not to have Jesus perish in the wilderness from hunger. Later, Jesus would eat plenty of bread. So why not now?

Why I like what Jesus said: When I was a kid, my focus in this passage was on the other good things I wanted to eat – ice cream, hamburgers, etc. – definitely “not bread alone.” But when I became an adult I (mostly) put aside childish things (1 Corinthians 13:11), and realized the focus here is on God’s Word. There are two things I get from this passage. First, no matter the temptation, God provides a way out through his words. Jesus rebuffed Satan’s attempt to get Jesus to use his powers for his own pleasure and benefit by quoting Scripture at him (1 Corinthians 10:13 – “No temptation. . . but God provides a way out.”). The other lesson I get is that I get to live by God’s word, that every word of God provides for me in this life by ordering how I live and by sanctifying me; and provides for my life to come by creating in me the faith through which I am saved. Truly we live by God’s Word!

3. Verse Three: Ask and it shall be given unto you, Seek and ye shall find, Knock and the door will be opened unto you. Halleju, Hallelujah. (Luke 11:9-10)

The setting: Jesus’ words here follow right after he teaches the disciples the Lord’s Prayer. This teaching therefore, is an expansion of the prayer he taught them. He wanted them to know that the Father is eager to hear from them and to ask him for what they need. He gives the example of a friend who has gone to bed, but will get up when a friend knocks to wake him and ask for something. He also said that a father will give his son a loaf of bread instead of a stone, and a fish instead of a serpent. If an earthly father knows how to give good things, how much more will our heavenly Father give what is good to us!

Why I like what Jesus said: Christ promises that our prayers will be heard – and answered! Unfortunately this verse is often misused. Some people treat the “ask” part as if God were a genie, granting us “three wishes” of whatever we want. But James 4:3 warns us, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” Those same people may try to seek God in all the wrong places – through false religions, self actualization, or occult practices. But the true God is found through faith in his only Son, Jesus Christ, as revealed in the Holy Bible. That Bible tells us that “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12). And when it comes to knocking on the door, the gates of heaven will be opened to you by Christ himself, through faith in him. What these three promises have in common is that we are not really the actors; we are responding to God who invites and empowers us according to his will. We are the beneficiaries. And don’t forget, that it is Christ himself who promised to come to us: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20).

There you have it: a great song filled with Christ’s own words of promise to all who believe. How can you do better than that!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Luke 11:1-13; Matthew 4:1-11; Matthew 6:5-14.

The song:

The Debates Go On: #4, the Final Chapter!

As we move through the history of the Christian Church, we now come to the present day. Fortunately, since all the controversies over the doctrines of the Church have been resolved over the preceding centuries, we no longer have any debates to consider. No, wait. . . there may be one or two debates still unresolved, just a few issues that are new to modern times that divide Christians today. In this, the last of my series about debates in the Church, I will present just a few current issues. Because any one of these could take entire books to discuss fully, they will just be summarized here.

  1. The Return of Christ. Beginning in the early 1800s, people began to try to calculate when Christ will return. Using biblical prophecies about Christ’s return, a popular preacher named William Miller predicted 1844 as the time of the return. There was widespread anticipation of that date, but when it came and went with no return, it was called the Great Disappointment. Some sects interpreted Miller’s theory in news ways, leading to groups like the Seventh-Day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Since that time there have been many date-setters, but none have been right (“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” Matthew 24:36) The various views today agree on the biblical texts, but interpret them differently in the following ways:
    • Pre-millennials: After a period of Great Tribulation, Christ will return in the future, then rule on earth a 1000 years. After 1000 years Satan will be released to deceive the nations, leading to a final battle before Christ wins and issues in the eternal reign.
    • Post-millennials: The Gospel will spread, the Church will rule over the earth in peace for 1000 years, then when Christ returns, the Church will present the world to him as his kingdom.
    • Amillennials: The 1000 years refer to the Church Age, when Christ rules over his people. Christ will return at any time to end history and rule eternally. This is the general Lutheran view.
    • Preterists: Christ already returned in judgment in 70 AD, destroying Jerusalem (by way of the Romans) and ending Israel, which had rejected him. Jesus warned the Christians to flee when they saw the battle coming; they did, and survived the destruction. There may be a second coming when the unrealized prophecies will be fulfilled.
    • Pre-tribulation: Christians will be raptured out of the world, followed by seven years of the Great Tribulation, then return with him to rule during the Millennium. During the Millennium, the Jews will accept Christ in mass. This is the popular view espoused by the Left Behind books and movies, but was only introduced in the 1830s through purported visions.
    • Mid-tribulation: Christians will be raptured out of the world half-way during the Great Tribulation, sparing them from the worst of that period. Jews will convert, and Christians will return during the Millennium.
    • Post-tribulation: Christians will go through the Great Tribulation, then be raptured to be with Christ to rule during the Millennium.
    • Pan-millennials: A made-up term meaning, “I don’t care which view is right; it will all pan out in the end.” Trust God for his timing!
  2. Liberal vs Conservative. These terms refer to views of the Bible and doctrines, not to political terms (though in practice, there is much correspondence). Conservative theologians and pastors believe  the Bible is God’s word, inspired, infallible and inerrant, and therefore the only rule for faith and life. Liberal pastors teach that the Bible records what people wrote about God, but must be interpreted by modern understanding and science to find what truth it may contain. Thus, for example, a conservative pastor teaches that God restricts sexuality between one man and one woman in marriage. A liberal will interpret that because God is love, he accepts all kinds of sexuality as long as people “love” each other. This debate has caused splits in every major denomination over “gay” marriage and ordination. To a liberal, truth is relative and may be found in all religions.
  3. Charismatic Gifts. The historical understanding of the spiritual gifts (charismata) is that the sign gifts (tongues, prophecy, and healing) ended with the death of the apostles and their immediate disciples in the first century. On the other hand, gifts like hospitality, love, and faith have always been active in Christians. This view is called cessationism. But a different view called continuationism became popular around 1900 with the start of Pentecostalism, which taught a second baptism of the Holy Spirit. In that second baptism, gifts such as tongues, prophecy, and healing miracles were said to be bestowed on all Christians; implied by this teaching was that the lack of speaking in tongues meant a person was not really saved. Since the early days of Pentecostalism, there have been several waves of charismatic revivals. Today we are in the “Third Wave” which teaches miraculous signs and wonders to reach unbelievers with powerful acts. Some in this group claim to be like the original apostles, speaking words of God with the same authority and power. Churches opposed to this, claim the power of God is in his Word, which the Holy Spirit uses to convict the heart without flashy signs and wonders. A middle view is that while the Spirit may endow a person with a supernatural gift, the Spirit gives as he wills, and no gift is required as a sign of salvation. (Hebrews 2:4 – “gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.” and 1 Corinthians 12:11 – “All these [gifts] are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.”)
  4. Egalitarian vs Complementarian. One controversy which has ties to the liberal/conservative dispute is the question of the roles of women in the church. While everyone agrees that men and women are both created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27 – “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”), that Jesus died to save both, and both are called to minister in various ways, the disagreement is whether women are called to be pastors in the Church.
    • Egalitarians point to Galatians 3:8 (“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”) and to the example of women in the Bible who had some leadership role (Deborah, Priscilla, and Anna). They want the Church to be in line with modern feminism.
    • Complementarians teach that while both men and women have roles in the church, their natures and roles are complimentary, and not identical. Specifically, only men are allowed to be pastors. They point to Paul’s instructions in 1 Timothy 2:12- “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man.” They also point to the instructions for elders and overseers as being male-specific (“Husband of one wife” -1 Timothy 3:2) and that the 12 Disciples were all men. They also point to once a church adopts women pastors, they soon will be open to gay ordination and marriage. The AALC holds to the complimentary view.*
  5. Creation vs. Evolution. For millennia, Jews and Christians accepted the first words of the Bible: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1 and the chapters that followed). There were occasional skeptics, but the Church taught creation ex nihilo, that God created everything in six literal days out of nothing by the power of his word (Christ) and therefore all creation belonged to him and was sustained by his will. But beginning with the publishing of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species (1859), the theory of evolution grew to dominate the scientific world and many churches as well. Churches’ “old time religion” was rocked to its core, because it was evident that a recent, six-day creation by God could not be reconciled with the theory of millions of years of evolution of man and the animals. As Christians wrestled with the contradictions, several ideas were adopted:
    • Theistic evolution: God created everything, but did so using evolution over vast periods of times. (This was my view in junior high, when I “thought like a child” – 1 Corinthians 13:11).
    • Day-age creationism: the days of Genesis 1 are not literal 24 hour days, but are much longer periods. (But how could green plants created on Day 3 survive for ages before the sun was created on Day 4?)
    • Gap theory: there is a gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, which gave the earth a long time to evolve before God intervened to create man. In Genesis 1:2 the earth was made chaotic (“without form and void”). From verse 3 everything was put in order.  God chose one hominid to be given special intelligence and spirit.
    • Apparent Age: God created everything with apparent age. If he intended for us to see the stars, for example, their light had to be created en route even if they were set at astronomically great distances.
    • Scientific Creationism: Uses information collected by creation-believing scientists to disprove evolution and confirm the biblical account. Some are new-earth creationists (the earth is really only 10,000s of years old), while some are old-age creationists (accepting millions of years as per secular scientists). I believe the new age creationism is correct, having read much of their literature and data.**
    • Finally, some churches accept the secular theories of evolution as being true, while saying “the Bible is not a scientific text” but just tells of man’s spiritual development by encounters with God. By this choice, these churches lift the current theories as the authority above the Bible; where a conflict exists, they choose evolution as the real answer.

There you have it! No more debates. Just one church, united in every way. (Not!) But Paul tells us what we have is “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all,”   (Ephesians 4:4-6). Therefore, let us proclaim the one true Gospel that saves us all – “that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Let us have unity where possible, and charity where we disagree. But in all things, let Christ be proclaimed!

Now may the Lord bless you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Your choice of passages listed above!

* The complementarian view is supported by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood at CBMW.org for more information.

**The scientific creationist position is presented by several organizations, including: The Institute for Creation Research which has an awesome museum in Dallas, TX (ICR.org); and Answers in Genesis, which as a museum and a life-size replica of Noah’s Ark in Kentucky (answersingenesis.org).

 

The Debates Go On, Part 3!

The Protestant Reformation was one of the most significant events in both Church and World history. During its early years, many debates arose between the established Roman Catholic Church, and those who tried to correct what they saw as incorrect beliefs and practices in the established Church. At first, the reformers hoped to convince Church leaders, such as the pope, to make improvements, but soon it became apparent that the Church would resist their demands, even to the point of violence and excommunication. Because most political leaders were on the side of the Church, they used force to enforce the Church’s condemnations.

It wasn’t until some princes began to side with the reformers (such as Frederick the Wise in Luther’s state of Saxony), that the protestors were free from persecution and able to continue their reform movement. Eventually, the disagreements turned to full scale war between Protestants and Catholics in what was called the Thirty Years War, which lasted from 1618 to 1648, resulting in the deaths of up to 8 million people. In the end,  a treaty would allow each ruler to determine whether his realm would be Catholic or Protestant.

Pre-Reformation movements. Beginning over two hundred years prior to the Reformation, there were similar attempts to  reform the Church. One was in the 1300’s led by John Wycliffe, called the “Morning Star” of the Reformation, who translated the Bible into English. He said the Scriptures held authority over the Pope and the Church, and that the elements in Holy Communion remained bread and wine.  He was condemned as a heretic, and after he died, his bones were dug up and burned.

A second attempt in the 1400’s was by a Bohemian (Czech) named Jan Hus. Hus agreed with John Wycliffe about the authority of Scripture, argued against the sale of indulgences, the appointment of Church officials based on payment of money (called simony), and the Church’s political ambitions rather than the preaching of the Gospel. He denied that the Pope was head of the Church, claiming that only Christ was the head. He established worship services in Czech instead of Latin. Finally, he was commanded to appear at the Council of Constance (Germany) in 1415 to answer charges of heresy. Though given a safe conduct pass, when he got there he was arrested and burned at the stake. His followers, called Hussites, continued to resist the authorities, until they were defeated by Catholic armies in 1434. But the spirit of Reformation continued.

The Protestant Reformation. October 31, 1517 is the date given as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, as this was the date when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Saxony (Germany). His questions (which he offered up for debate – maybe he read my blogs?) were critiques of the Church’s sale of indulgences. Almost immediately, copies of his theses were printed and distributed across Europe. While a lot could be said about Martin Luther and the other Protestant reformers, we’re only going to look at the issues which came up for debate between the Catholic Church and the reformers, and between the reformers themselves.

  1.  Justification: by faith or works or papal decree? The Catholic Church taught that when God gave grace to people, it enabled them to do good works which in turn saved them. The Pope also claimed the power to forgive sins here and in the hereafter, thus allowing people to go to heaven. As holder of the keys to the kingdom, the Pope claimed authority over forgiveness and condemnation. Against this doctrine, the reformers claimed that we are justified by God’s grace through faith alone. The Lutheran confessions call this “the chief article of the Church,” and they appeal to Paul’s words in Romans 3:28 – “For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law,” and Romans 1:17 – “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.””
  2.  Baptism. The meaning and practice of Baptism was hotly debated. Both Catholics and Lutherans agreed that baptism was a sacrament, by which God bestowed saving grace on his people. But to the Catholics, baptism only forgave a person’s original sin (what they were born with); subsequent sins required communion or a priest’s absolution for their forgiveness. On the other hand, Lutherans said all of a person’s sins were  forgiven in baptism. Contrary to both of these were the other Protestants (called Reformed) who denied the sacraments and just said baptism was just an “ordinance,” done to show one’s faith by obedience to Christ’s command. Many of the Reformed churches refused to baptize infants, calling their practices “believers’ baptisms”, even re-baptizing their members who had been baptized as children. During the Reformation, such churches were called “anabaptists,” where the prefix “ana” meant “again.” These distinctions continue to this day.
  3. Holy Communion.   This period saw major debates over the meaning and practice of the Lord’s Supper. To the Catholic Church, during Communion, the priest would call down Christ into the elements and sacrifice him all over again. Only the priest drank the wine to prevent the lay from spilling Christ’s blood (although the first time Luther served communion as a priest, he shook so hard he spilled the wine himself!). They also taught transubstantiation, the turning of the bread and wine into flesh and blood. They also “reserved” the leftover elements as the transformed body of Christ. The Lutherans rejected the re-sacrifice of Christ, distributed both elements to everyone, and though treating the unused bread and wine with respect, denied that Christ was in them apart from when they were given out in Communion. Lutherans and other Protestants also rejected the doctrine of transubstantiation; Lutherans teaching that we receive the true body and blood supernaturally “in, with, and under” the bread and wine, while Reformed saying it is just symbolic, an ordinance and not a means of grace.
  4. Other Sacraments. How many sacraments (means of grace) are there? The Catholic Church claims there are 7: baptism, communion, confirmation, absolution, marriage, ordination, and last rites. Lutherans and some protestants say there are only two: baptism and communion. Other protestants call those two sacraments, ordinances, that is done by obedience to Christ but not conferring any grace.
  5. Purgatory. The Catholic Church taught the existence of Purgatory, a place after death between heaven and hell, where a person would pay the consequences of their sins by having them burned out of them (purged) so they could then go to heaven. Only the pope could shorten a person’s time of “purging.” This unbiblical doctrine was rejected by all the protestant reformers, since Christ declared on the cross that his work was “finished.”
  6. Indulgences. A real argument was whether the Pope could forgive sins (and let people who died out of purgatory) in return for a person’s payment of money or doing some worthy work. This was a great fundraiser for the Church, which at the times was building St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican and funding a war against the Turks in eastern Europe. Protestants rejected such a practice.
  7. Authority. The question was, who had the final authority for Christians: the Bible, the Pope, or Church Councils (controlled by the pope). The Catholic Church said that the Pope stood in the place of Christ, and could decree what was true based on “oral traditions” passed down from Christ but not written in the Scriptures. Luther and the other reformers claimed that only the Scriptures had that authority (Sola Scriptura).
  8. Celibacy of Priests. The Catholic Church demanded that priests could not marry, in that they were “married” to the Church (the Bride of Christ). Luther disagreed and married a former nun to prove his point.
  9. Ordination of Clergy. According to the Catholic, Anglican, and Episcopal churches today, communion cannot be real unless a duly ordained priest “confects” the mass by his words calling down Christ into the elements.  (The magicians’ phrase, “hocus pocus” is a corruption of the priest’s words when he blesses the communion bread: “Hoc est corpus meaum.” Say it aloud!) These churches believed in Apostolic Succession, the idea that only men who were ordained in an unbroken line from Peter to the popes to bishops, could be priests. The reformers said that the local congregations had the power to ordain, based on the “succession” of the apostles’ teachings (the Bible).
  10. Election. No time to go into it here, but the major protestant churches divided over the question of God’s election of who will be saved. On one side were the Calvinists, who held to double predestination (that Jesus died only for the Elect, whom God chose to be saved, while God also predetermined that everyone else will be damned); and the Arminians, who taught that Jesus died for everyone’s sins, so all people could be saved through faith. (1 John 2:2 – “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.“).  Lutherans believe a middle position, saying that man cannot save himself, apart from the work of the Holy Spirit through the Gospel. Luther put it this way in the Small Catechism: “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel.”

We need to stop here. As you can see, many of these debates that began during the Reformation continue until today. In addition, there are a number of new debates that have arisen in the “modern Church.” We will look at those new debates in the final blog of this series: “The Debates Go On: The Final Chapter!”

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Ephesians1:11-14; Ephesians 2:1-11; 1 John 2:1-2.

The Debates Go On, Part 2!

The recent Presidential debate so inspired me, that I decided to look into famous debates that have happened over the centuries in the Christian Church. My previous blog began that study, looking at issues the Church faced in its first few centuries, deciding a number of doctrines in the light of various heresies which cropped up and threatened to destroy the Gospel. For example, the debate whether Jesus was just a divine being that only had the appearance of man (the Docetists) or a mere human who had been endowed with some divine attributes (Arianism). The Church rejected both ideas, affirming that Jesus was both true God and true man, as stated in the Nicene Creed.

Coincidentally, the Christian satire site, The Babylon Bee, just posted an article with the headline, “Scholars Now Believe Apostle Paul Spent Five Hours Per Day Arguing Online With Other Christians.” Considering all the problems his letters to the churches address, if the internet existed back then, he could well have spent that much time trying to correct them!

Before we consider the Church in the Middle Ages, there is one more ancient debate to consider: the Donatist Controversy. The question here was what happens when a priest is forced by the Roman Emperor to make a “donation” to a pagan god under punishment of law: does that render the acts of that priest (baptism and communion) invalid? The Church decided that no, the Christian sacraments are still valid, regardless of the priest’s sins or even lack of faith. This means that even today, the means of grace are still valid, even if the pastor is a fraud and an unbeliever. It is God who makes the sacraments valid, not the man.

But, now we leave the ancient church and move into medieval times, to see what debates the Church had to resolve. Unfortunately, some debates were not resolved in universally accepted manners, leading to church splits and the rise of new denominations that are still with us today.

1. First, there was the debate over the preeminence of the Roman Pope.  When the Bishop of Rome tried to assert his authority over the entire Christian Church, his claim was rejected by many bishops in other regions of Christendom, such as in the areas which came to be known as the Eastern Orthodox Church, and in the Northern African Churches, all of which had their own bishops. The split was formalized in the Great Schism of 1054, when East (Greek) and West (Latin) churches condemned each other and broke communion. This condemnation was not removed until the Catholic-Orthodox Joint Declaration of 1965. The split, however, continues to this day.

2. The debate over predestination.  Most theologians of the medieval Church  believed in predestination, the doctrine that God determines ahead of time who will be saved (Ephesians 1:11, “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will. . .”). The debate arose over what came to be called double predestination, whether God had also predestined certain people to damnation. According to this, a person’s faith was irrelevant, other than God determining whether that person would have faith. This debate arose as early as the 800’s, but continued through the Reformation (which we will consider in the next blog).

3. The debate over Holy Communion. What do we receive during Holy Communion? Do we eat bread and wine, or the actual flesh and blood of Jesus? Do the elements miraculously transform on the altar by the priests’ words? Or is what we eat merely symbolic of Christ’s body? This became an important debate in the Church. One view was called the “realistic” view, which said the bread and wine turned miraculously into actual flesh and blood (transubstantiation); the other, the “symbolic view,” said that the elements remained bread and wine and gave spiritual benefits when eaten.  This debate arose in the 850’s, and continues to this day, even though the Roman Church decided on transubstantiation.

4. The debate between Faith versus Reason. As a result of the Crusades beginning in the 1o00’s, the works of ancient Greek philosophers became known through the Arabs who had preserved them. One that had an enormous impact was Aristotle and his call to reason. The impact this had was on the question reason played in our faith. Eventually this would give rise to the Enlightenment (1700’s), and to humanism, which made man the source of knowledge and truth, but for centuries before that, there was a huge conflict between truths learned through reason (including science and philosophy), and God’s revealed knowledge through the Scriptures. That’s why Galileo could be imprisoned for his scientific discoveries as being “opposed to faith.”

In the Catholic Church, St. Thomas Aquinas formed what became known as “Scholasticism” that employed a critical method of philosophical analysis predicated upon Aristotle’s teachings. By doing so, scholars sought to learn all attainable truth, whether revealed or not. Many of the universities of this time were founded on such teachings and philosophical methods. One of the products of this school of thought was the theory of transubstantiation, which used the Aristotelian categories of “essence” and “accidents” to describe the mass. In that view, the elements, when blessed, retained their accidents -(their physical form) but changed their essence (their actual nature). Luther argued against this view, saying that the Church should not base its doctrine on a pagan philosopher, but on the words of Christ in Scripture. Luther recited Jesus’s words at the Last Supper, when Jesus said, “This is my body, this is my blood,” as proof we receive Christ’s true body and blood.

5. The debate between Church and State. The Christian Church went from being persecuted, to tolerated (Constantine’s Edict of Milan in 313 AD), to become the official religion of the Roman Empire in 380 AD with the decree of the Edict of Thessalonica. But when the Roman empire was sacked by the barbarians, the Christian Church became the default unifying force in Europe. For one thing, it was a Pope (Leo I) who saved Rome from Attila the Hun in 451 AD, not by force of arms, but by prayer and persuasion. Also, when Europe was united under the Emperor Charlemagne, it was another pope, Pope Leo III, who crowned him Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas Day in 800 AD. That set the pattern for the church as supreme over state.

However, throughout this period, tensions and struggles for power between kings and Popes continued. Part of this was philosophical/theological, but much had to do with money and political control. For example, German bishops of the period had castles and lands, and could enforce taxes and river tolls on boats.

Problems occurred when the Church tried to enforce allegiance to the faith or to religious authority by the power of the State, such as through various Inquisitions,  and when the State claimed power over the Church, such as when Henry VIII of England formed the Church of England and declared himself as the head of that Church (and disbanded Catholic convents and monasteries in England, Wales, and Ireland, and seized their wealth and assets).

One doctrine which arose was the idea of God’s two hands: his right hand the church, and his left hand the state. Each had its own God-ordained roles to play in the affairs of men. One to proclaim the Gospel, the other to use the Law to refrain evil. Luther called this division the “proper” work of God (by the Church’s proclaiming salvation through the Gospel), and the “alien” work of God, restraining evil by the power of governments. This is also called the “Two kingdoms” theory. Both are instituted by God to do his works and must be respected. (Romans 13:1  “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.“)

These and other debates continued through the medieval period, and affect us even today. Our First Amendment addresses the Church/State debate by establishing freedom of religion, saying: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” However, most recently, the State ordered churches to be shut down for the COVID pandemic, citing public health reasons. Some churches refused to do so, claiming freedom of religion, which is in keeping with the “Two kingdoms” doctrine.

We have now come to the end of medieval times. Before us now are the debates of the Reformation, which we will consider in the next blog, known, to no surprise, as Part 3 of The Debates Go On!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Romans 13:1-7; 1 Corinthians 11:22-24; Ephesians 1:11-14.

 

 

 

 

 

The Debates Go On!

Well, the first (and only?) Presidential debate is over. Now it’s up to the pundits, and the voters, to decide what it all means. Depending what side the commentators are on, they will “debate” with each other how the two candidates did. In that sense, the debates go on.

But that’s not what I mean when I say “the debates go on!” What I mean is that in the Christian Church, ever since Christ came to reveal God and his plan to us, and the prophets and apostles have inscribed God’s word to us in the Scriptures, there have always been debates within and without the Church. The debates have been about how to interpret those writings, and about what Christians should believe as true.

When such debates arose, they have led to church splits, wars, heresies, and confusion. While no conflict is desired among those who are called to be one in Christ (“one Lord, one faith, one baptism” – Ephesians 4:5), it has been necessary to decide which beliefs are true, that is, in accord with what God has revealed, and condemn the falsehoods. Such divisions have sometimes been resolved through “debates” in official Church Councils such as the one in Nicaea in 325, and in Chalcedon in 451. Those gatherings of Christian leaders settled many issues, and wrote Creeds which we still recite regularly in church services. Some wrong teachings had arisen even while the Apostles were still alive, leading them to write strong letters against the falsehoods, thus guiding the Church in the right direction.

What are the specific “debates” that had to be resolved over the centuries? Here are some of the more important ones:

  1.  The Judaizers. This early problem happened during Apostolic times. The issue was whether Gentiles who believed in Christ had to become Jews first, being circumcised and having to adhere to the Jewish Law. When the church in Galatia fell into this error, the Apostle Paul wrote to them to correct their theology. He began his letter to them:

 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.” (Galatians 1:6-7ff).

The issue was settled at the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), where it was decided that Gentile converts did not have to become Jews, but had only to refrain from sexual immorality, from blood, and from food which had been offered to idols (Acts 15:28-29). At stake here was the freedom of the gospel, and the recognition that faith in Christ, and not  the works of the law, saves.

2. The Colossian heresy. Apparently, false teachings were circulating among the believers in the city of Colossae. This heresy combined adherence to rituals and laws, and asceticism, denial of food and drink. By these actions, people diminished the role of Christ, and put their trust in their own actions to be acceptable to God. Paul’s letter to the Colossians corrected this opinion, by stressing the preeminence of Christ and the folly of observing asceticism or special days as having merit. Paul wrote, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:16-17). And in 2:16 he said, “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.” Such things, he insisted, were fulfilled in Christ.

3. Gnosticism. Related to the Colossian heresy, this heresy was widespread, affecting many churches and resulting in the writing of many false gospels such as the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Judas. “Gnostikos” is a Greek word meaning “learned” or “having knowledge.” It was a system of beliefs that salvation could be gained through a special form of secret knowledge, which came to certain people directly from God, and not from the Scriptures. The heresy also taught that physical matter was evil, and the spiritual was good; therefore some Gnostics believed Christ only appeared to have a physical body, since God could not be held in an evil body. The Church rejected this heresy and the writings it produced.

4. The Arian heresy. Settling this debate was the purpose of the Council of Nicaea. What happened was a false teacher named Arius was having a great influence among many churches. His teaching was that Jesus was not equal to God nor of the same substance, but was made by God and therefore inferior to God. This was in conflict with John 1: 1 which states that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” and “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Our Nicene Creed states that Jesus is “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.” This was a direct refutation of the Arian heresy, and was opposed by Athanasius, after whom one of the creeds is named. (By the way, Jehovah’s Witnesses are a modern day Arian sect.)

5. The Montanism heresy.  In the 2nd century, a man named Montanus fell into a trance and began to “prophesy under the influence of the Spirit.” He was soon joined by two young women, Prisca, and Maximilla, who also began to prophesy.  They taught a rigorous asceticism, and that the Holy Spirit spoke  aloud through their trances. They taught the imminent return of Christ, and many of their followers abandoned home and church to be where Montanus said the New Jerusalem would descend. The heresy flourished for several centuries, but finally died out. However, in today’s church, there are many so called “prophets” who claim to speak words from God, and manifest bizarre symptoms, and also prophesy Christ’s imminent return.

6. The Pelagian heresy. This controversy began in the 4th century when a British theologian named Pelagius taught that man is born without original sin (born good) and by good living and choices could obtain salvation. He was opposed by Augustine and condemned by the Synod of Jerusalem in 415. This is still a common teaching among theologically liberal churches, and was even spoken by Pope Francis, who said in a 2024 60 Minutes interview, “We are fundamentally good. … the heart itself is good.” But the Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9, teaches the opposite: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” And Paul teaches that sin has come to all because of one man. In other words, original sin. Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”

7. The “Filioque clause.” Not  an argument over a heresy, but a debate which highlights one of the doctrinal difference leading to a schism between the Orthodox churches and the western (Roman) churches. The dispute is about one phrase in the Nicene Creed where it says that the Holy Spirit, “proceeds from the Father and the Son.” (western version). Or, he “proceeds from the Father,” (Eastern Orthodox version). The Creed originally had only “from the Father,” but in the 6th century, the Roman Church added the “filioque” which mean “and the Son.” Partly this was done to oppose the Arians by showing the Son’s equality with the Father. At the time, both the eastern and the western churches hurled condemnations at each other over this phrase, but recently there have been attempts to reconcile. One of the issues has been, differences in the understanding of what the word, “proceeding,” means.

It was important for the Church to address these heresies and disputes, in order that the true faith be taught and preached, that the true Gospel be believed – for there is no other Gospel (Galatians 1:6-7). Of course, the debates didn’t end in the first couple centuries after Christ. They continued in the centuries that followed, which will come in the next blog!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: 2 Timothy 2:14-26.

What About the Sabbath?

Today in church I heard a sermon from a guest pastor speaking about God’s commandment to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. He recounted growing up under what were known as Blue Laws, which required local businesses to be closed on Sundays. He then asserted that although the civil laws have changed, God’s command still applies to us today. He then explained that he prefers to be the only person “working” near the altar during a service to prevent the lay people from sinning by working  on the Sabbath; they are supposed to be resting during the service. Of course, then he had to acknowledge that we had lay people reading the scriptures and assisting with communion in our service!

When the  service ended, I found myself uneasy in the wake of this law-heavy sermon. Was he right? Was I (and our church) taking the matter of the Sabbath too lightly? What does the Bible teach about the Sabbath and what we are to do to observe it rightly?

First of all, I also grew up where there were either Blue Laws or at least the custom of everything being closed on Sundays. I remember when a new store came in and announced Sunday hours; a group of pastors led a protest in front of the store. The protestors failed to dissuade the store, however, when it was obvious the crowds in the store were greater than those outside protesting.

I also remember asking my dad, who was a devout Christian man, why he often went to work on Sundays at the YMCA. He explained that as Christ healed on the Sabbath, he too was doing the Lord’s work when he went in. I accepted that distinction – which helped a lot later when my own primary work day (some would say only work day) would become Sundays!

So, what about the Sabbath for Christians?

1. We note the Sabbath was ordained by God at the beginning of creation. We read in Genesis 1 and 2, that the Lord created the earth and all things in six days, and then rested on the seventh day. Genesis 2 tells us:

And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

The word Sabbath comes from the Hebrew Shin-Beit-Tav (שַׁבָּת) and means “to cease, to end, to rest.” Thus, Sabbath means to rest.

2. God commanded the Israelites to observe the Sabbath as part of the Ten Commandments he gave at Sinai (Deuteronomy 5:12-15):

“Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.”

3. The day designated the Sabbath was the seventh day of the week, known to us as Saturday. Observant Jews keep Saturday as their Sabbath, and so do various Christian sects, most notably, the Seventh Day Adventists. They are right: Saturday is the Sabbath. If we are going to be strict about God’s commandment, we should observe Saturday as our Sabbath. So, Sunday Blue Laws or the practice of keeping lay people from assisting worship become irrelevant if Sunday is not the Sabbath.

4. And yet, we Christians do worship on Sunday, the first day of the week, the Lord’s Day, and consider it to be our Sabbath. In a sense we are treating it as a day of rest, so in a sense we are working six days and treating Sunday as our Sabbath. But how did Sunday become our day of worship and rest?

      • Jesus Christ rose from the dead on Sunday. “Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb” (John 20:1). This is why we call it the Lord’s Day.
      • Jesus first appeared to the disciples on two consecutive Sundays. “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”” (John 20:19) and “Eight days later [one week in Jewish reckoning], his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”2(John 20:26).
      • The Holy Spirit descended on the disciples on a Sunday, birthing the Christian Church: “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4).
      • The Apostle John received his revelation on a Sunday. “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, ‘Write what you see in a book . . .'” (Revelation 1:10-11a).
      • Paul addressed the church in Corinth to gather a collection for other needy Christians on Sundays. He said, “On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.” This showed the church was gathering each week on that day.

Certainly, these passages show that Sundays became the important day of the week for Christians. But if Sunday is our Sabbath, does that mean the Old Testament laws just shift one day for Christians?

No, there is a difference, and that is Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, has fulfilled the Sabbath rest and therefore, those who are in him, through faith, now perfectly observe the Lord’s Sabbath command.

Many times was Jesus confronted by the Pharisees, who complained that Jesus and his disciples violated the Sabbath laws. They complained when one Sabbath the disciples began to pluck heads of grain. “And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” Again, the Pharisees complained when Jesus healed on the Sabbath. They complained that he healed a man with a withered hand  on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:10), cast out an unclean spirit from a man (Mark 1:21), cast out a woman’s disabling spirit (Luke 13:14), and healed a crippled man (John 5:9) – all on Sabbaths. Jesus’s reply to their criticisms:

    • He did these things anyway, without apology.
    • He showed that acts of mercy triumphed over the rules of men. “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it?” (Luke 13:15). Again, he said, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?” (Matthew 12:11).
    • He gave us the proper context for the Sabbath. “And he said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.'” (Mark 2:27-28).
    • The Sabbath commandment is the only Ten Commandment not repeated in the New Testament. It has been fulfilled in Christ, who is our Sabbath rest.

Therefore, if we serve the Lord on the Lord’s Day, worshiping him as we ought, in spirit and in truth, whether clergy or lay, as Christians we are in Christ, and are therefore we are not sinning in any way.

Should you still wonder about this matter, consider Paul’s letter to the Colossians, where he wrote: “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” The true Sabbath is Christ, in whom we live and move and have our being.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make hi face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Mark 2:23-28.          

 

 

 

 

Trial of the Century

According to various opinion writers, the trial of the century has just concluded in New York, resulting in the conviction of a former President. But when I think of the most momentous trial of the century, I think of one specific trial in the last century that hardly made the newspapers or even caused a stir, but was in a way so significant that it bears our remembrance.

That trial took place in the 1930s, and ironically, also took place in New York.

It was Christmas Eve, and the Mayor of New York, Fiorello LaGuardia (as in the airport), decided to let one of the municipal judges go home for the holiday. So the mayor robed up, and took his place on the bench. He then signaled the bailiff to bring in the first case. As it turned out, the first case was of a woman charged with theft. The accuser was a baker who stood up, pointed his finger at the woman, and said, “She stole a loaf of  bread from me!” LaGuardia asked the woman, “Is this true?” The woman sobbed and said it was true, but added, “I took it to feed my child, because we had no food!”

LaGuardia sat there silent for a moment. Should he have compassion and let her go for such a minor offense, or enforce the law which said her act was a crime? He was a judge; how could he ignore the law? At that point, he must have regretted sending the judge home! As he pondered what to do, the courtroom became quiet as all eyes were on him. He had to act. . . .

Suddenly, he reached a decision. He lifted his gavel, and rapped it down on the desk with a loud bang. “Guilty!” he charged, “The fine is $5.00!” The whole court gasped. Five dollars then is worth $114 today. There was no way the woman could pay it; if she had that much money she could have bought hundreds of loaves of bread! The woman began to sob loudly, but then, she and the whole courtroom became silent again, as LaGuardia got down off the bench, and walked over to the bailiff. He took out his wallet, pulled out a five dollar bill, and paid the fine for the woman. Then he announced,”And I am fining everyone in this courtroom 50 cents for living in a city where a woman has to steal a loaf of bread to feed her child!” Then he collected the fines, and gave them to the woman. With a final wish of “Merry Christmas,” LaGuardia called for the next case.

Why do I consider this the trial of its century? Because it is a perfect example of the day we stand before our Judge to give an account of our lives. There is no doubt this will happen to us all, whether believers in Christ or not. We will all stand before God’s great white throne, and our lives will be revealed before the perfect Judge. No rationalizing our sins, or getting off “on a technicality.” No excuses or shifting blame. Every act and every word laid bare. Yikes!

Revelation 20:12 says, “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.”

Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:36, “But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.“

And Paul wrote in Romans 14:12,”So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.”

When that day comes, we will realize that the sentence – death and hell – is too much to pay. We will not have a plea in and of ourselves. All our good works won’t atone for the sentence we deserve. Like the woman, we have nothing and are at the mercy of the Judge.

But then, something miraculous happens. The Judge himself get down off the throne, and he reads from the book of life. He announces that our name is written in it. Then he shows the scars in his hands and feet, and proclaims for all to hear, “I paid this one’s debt.” Then he clothes us in his righteous robes (Isaiah 61:10),  gives us his inheritance (Colossians3:24), and welcomes us into heaven for all eternity (John 3:16).

But, what about our record of sin? Gone. This is good news!

Colossians 2:13-14 “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”

Psalm 103:12 “as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”

Hebrews 8:12 “For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

Hebrews 10:17 “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

This is the  future for all  who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The Bible promises that those in Christ will not perish. The whole New Testament is built on that promise, secured by Christ’s own death and resurrection, but key promises are the following:

John 11:25-26 “Jesus said to [Martha], ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die'”

Mark 16:16 “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.”

Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Romans 12:9 “because, 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.”

In the 18th chapter of the Book of Genesis, Abraham had an encounter with God before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham bargained with God regarding how many righteous people in those cities it would take for God to spare them. (Obviously, not enough.) But one thing that Abraham said stuck with me, and informs my thinking about God as our Judge. Abraham said, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”

The Judge of all the earth shall indeed do what is right and just. He will punish the sins of unrepentant unbelievers, and forgive the sins of those who believe and trust in his Son, Jesus Christ. He will keep his promises, upholding equally his righteous laws and his merciful grace. We will never in eternity wonder whether any of God’s judgments were wrong. His judgments are perfect (Revelation 16:7), even when he gets off the throne to pay our sentence. For each of us, THAT will be OUR trial of the century!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Genesis 18:22-33; Revelation 16:1-10

 

 

 

The Legacy

Lately, I have been contemplating the issue of legacies. In other words, what heritage do we leave behind when our time on earth is done? A legacy is defined as “Something handed down from an ancestor or a predecessor or from the past: a heritage.”* So, the legacy may be something handed down to an heir, or it may be more general, as in, how is the world in general different because a person lived? Legacies may be financial, or in the persons of children and grandchildren, or in lives affected by how a person has lived. A legacy may be good, or conversely, it may be bad. An example of a good legacy is Martin Luther; an example of a bad legacy would be a certain other German named Adolph.

This has become a topic for me as I consider my own mortality. Having matured to the range the Bible gives for life expectancy (“The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty;” Psalm 90:10, which is the same range in current U.S. statistics -77.5)**  Also, being in dialysis, I am constantly reminded that my own longevity depends on hooking up to a machine three times a week. So, it gets a person thinking.

Another reason it has come to the forefront of my thoughts is the recent death of Pastor Steve Lundblom. I had worked with Steve for many years, first when he was our church’s youth director, and then when he was our associate pastor. He was loved by everybody, both here and later, when he moved to Williston, North Dakota, by the church he pastored there. His life was shortened due to illness at the age of 57.

This past weekend, four of us flew to Williston for Steve’s memorial service. First came an evening of shared memories at the funeral home. Then, on Friday, was the actual service. The messages were consistent: Steve impacted everyone’s life for the better; his solid faith, his sense of humor, his intelligence and knowledge, his love for people, all endeared him to everybody. The church full of mourners who celebrated him, showed how much Steve touched everyone’s life.  Steve left a legacy – in his marriage, in his sons, in his granddaughter, and in other family and friends. And of course, in Christ’s Church. The world is better now for his having lived.

So what about the rest of us? What kind of legacy will we leave? And more important, what kind of legacy does God want us to leave?

Sometimes, people have grandiose ideas of what it means to serve God and accomplish some great work which God has for them to do. For example, to create a new church, to have some high political office, to invent a cure or new machine, or to become a social media influencer. . . in other words, to have a great impact on the world. But the Bible does not talk of any of these things. What the Bible talks of is the everyday works of love, compassion, service, and witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These are works of love for God and love for our neighbor that are things we are called to do, no matter what situations we find ourselves in.  To live a life that counts is to live a life with our focus on Jesus Christ, and not on ourselves. In the words of the gospel song,

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.”***

So what does the Bible say about the works we do in this life?

  • “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10). God has works for each of us to do. Note that works is plural: there are numerous works each of us has – prepared by God for us to do. These works do not save us, but are expressions of our love for our neighbor. These may be small things, or big things. When we look back on our lives, we may not see any big accomplishments from an earthly view, but those little acts of kindness done for the Lord may have created a huge legacy in the effect they had on the people we met.
  • “If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.” ( 1 Corinthians 3:12-5). This passage makes the distinction between the works that have meaning and will last, and those human endeavors that may seem impressive but will perish. Thus, a kind act to alleviate suffering may have eternal consequences, while a life of fame and wealth may die with the person. Maybe the Sunday School you taught, the witness you gave a fellow worker, the respect you showed someone, will have eternal fruit.
  • “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’” (Matthew 2:25). In this parable taught by Jesus, three servants were entrusted with varying amounts of wealth to manage in their master’s absence. Two invested their sums and earned more for their master, while one did not. When the master returned, he praised the two who earned interest, saying that because they had been faithful with a little, he would now put them in charge of much. This deals with the truth that while we may have different abilities and resources, what matters is not the size of the work we were given, but the fact that we were faithful with the little we have.
  • Finally, we read “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.” (Proverbs 13:22). While this proverb speaks about an inheritance of wealth, the principle applies to the impact a good man or woman has on those who follow them. A legacy of faith, of morals, of character, of compassion, of love – these are all legacies of a spiritual nature far more valuable than any material inheritance. These are modeled by a person’s life, and then are emulated by those whose lives they influence. They are the most valuable gift one can leave to others.

We may be unaware of the extent of the legacy we will leave behind. In Pastor Steve’s case, one legacy was revealed by an anonymous note sent to his obituary page by a trucker in Canada who happened to hear a radio broadcast of one of Steve’s sermons. He said, “I never met Steve , I wish I could have been his friend. I heard him speak every Sunday on the internet, and its like the nature of Christ came through him when he spoke.”

May we also leave such a legacy, that people hear Christ, and come to know Christ, through the words we speak, and the works we do. May we hear Christ call us when we go to him: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Matthew 25:14-30

*The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
** Center For Disease Control, National Center For Health Statistics.
*** Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, Helen H. Lemmel, 1922.

Unanswered Prayer?

Last night I had a dream. It was a recurring one of sorts, in which I am leading worship but am unprepared for it. I don’t have my robes, haven’t picked what hymns to sing, haven’t written a sermon – you get the idea. A pastor’s nightmare! Especially when the congregation slips away while I’m trying to get myself together.

Except, in this dream, I actually knew what I was going to preach. The sermon formed fully in my mind, so when I suddenly awoke from my dream I had a smile on my face. I knew what my next blog would be!

In my sermon, I would begin by telling you that like you, I have times that I am disappointed with God. Not that I would want any other God, but that there are times when my prayers – even fervent ones, go unanswered. I pray that someone I know will be healed of some dread disease, but they get worse, until they die. Or some handicap gets worse, crippling the person. Or even that some newborn suffers birth defects and faces multiple surgeries to lead a somewhat normal life. Or an eagerly anticipated child is stillborn.

There were times I was sure our prayers would be answered – when multiple people prayed, when we anointed the sick person with oil (as per James 5:14-15-  “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up.”) Once,  the person went into remission, only to die soon after.

So, we complain to God  “Why don’t you do what we ask! We don’t ask for much! Just this one healing!” We join with the complaints of the psalmist and cry:

Psalm 56:1 Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me.

Psalm 3:1-2 O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.”

Psalm 6:6-7 I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes.

Psalm 13:1  How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?

Psalm 69:1-3 Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck.  I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.

Yes, these (and many other psalms) come to mind when God doesn’t answer our prayers as we want.  But even when psalms cry out to complaints to God, they usually end with declarations like: “salvation belongs to the Lord;
your blessing be on your people!” (Psalm 3); “But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.” (Psalm 13); and “Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them.” (Psalm 69). So, how do all these complaints to God end us praising him anyway?

What do the psalmists know about God that we need to keep in mind?

  1. God is God. He is the one in charge, and he does everything according to his will. You can not make God do anything. He can not be tempted, bullied, controlled, or bargained with. James 1:13 says, “God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.” and Ephesians 1:11 says, “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.”
  2. Even the lifespan of everyone is set by God: Psalm 90 says we are to “number our days,” and Psalm 39:4 “Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.” Job 14:6 declares, “Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass.” And Jesus reminded us in Matthew 6:27, “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?“
  3. God sees the end of things from the beginning. He knows how everything will end, and how changes would effect everything. Isaiah 46:10, says God “declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’” We see what we want, but God sees the result of our getting what we want. What looks good to us, may in God’s eyes be the worst that could happen to us.
  4. God has an eternal perspective. God may, unknown to you, use your suffering to reach other people with his gospel. The Christian martyr, Telemachus, died while trying to stop a gladiator fight, and led to the emperor outlawing future gladiatorial contests. Father Damien, a missionary to the lepers on Molokai, failed in his mission until he caught leprosy, then saw his mission succeed.
  5. God may already be putting things in motion to answer our prayer without our knowing it. He doesn’t need to reveal all he is doing; we don’t need to see or approve all his efforts. Until we see the final results, we are to be patient and have faith.
  6. God disciplines those he loves. Sometimes, the harsh outcomes we are experiencing comes directly from God as a blessing in disguise. This apparent contradiction is revealed in Deuteronomy 8:5: “Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you.” Also, Hebrews 12:6 says, “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” Hebrews 12:11 sums up the benefit of the Lord’s discipline: “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.“
  7. Only God has the power to do what we ask for. He is omnipotent. We look to him as the grantor and author of all our needs. Like the hymn, “I sing the mighty power of God who fill the earth with food”* he provides all our needs. He can creates something from nothing, as Romans 4:17 says, he “calls into existence the things that do not exist.” He knows what we need before we ask (Matthew 6:8), and gives us good things instead of bad: “What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent?” (Luke 11:11).

So we keep praying, making our needs known to God, submitting ourselves prayerfully to him, whether or  not we see immediate answers to our prayers. Because he is our God, the source of our life and our salvation. To him only go our prayers. From him only come the answers! And that, is no dream!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: James 4:1-11.

* Isaac Watts, I Sing the Mighty Power of God, pub. 1715

Total Eclipse of the Son

Last weekend, Karen and I flew to Dallas, Texas to be in the totality zone of  this year’s total eclipse of the sun. We weren’t so sure it would work out, given weather forecasts of clouds and possible storms for the Dallas area. Indeed, when we arrived there Sunday evening, it was overcast with clouds. But on Monday, the day of the eclipse, the sky cleared and we were blessed with a warm (but not hot), sunny day with light, cool breezes. On top of that, we had a great viewing venue at a cousin of mine’s church grounds. Our relatives and we had an unobstructed view, and enjoyed snacks provided by the church to all attendees: Sun Chips and Moon Pies. It was a perfect day, ending with a great dinner out with the family at a local restaurant. This is one of the pictures of the eclipse at totality*:

To celebrate the event, I wore a t-shirt given me for the occasion by friend Dave. The shirt summed up the experience: “Traveled Miles for Seconds of Darkness Worth Every Penny.”

At the end of that wonderful day, my cousin sat down with us, and becoming very serious, told us the news of the diagnosis they had just received just days earlier, that her husband had advanced melanoma cancer, and if untreated, had about six months to live. They had kept the news to themselves all day so as not to spoil our eclipse!

The next day, my cousin, her husband, Karen, and I toured a local creation museum (ICR Discovery Center**) in Dallas, which is a Christian ministry that researches and advocates the connection of true science to what the Bible teaches about the creation. My cousin and her husband are strong Christians, which is a major factor in how they are dealing with the devastating diagnosis. We are joining them and our churches in praying for his healing and their peace.

When I thought about their faith and the sureness of all our hope in Jesus Christ and what he has accomplished for us now and for all eternity, I wondered as I often have at the difference it makes in having Christ when we face difficulties and tragedies in life. My cousin and her husband have Christ and it will make a huge difference for their coming journey, wherever it leads. But what about those who don’t have the promises of Christ? What about those who don’t have the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to work in their spirits to face all that life brings?

You might say that those without Christ are suffering from “A total eclipse of the Son.”

Not knowing Christ’s love, they face life on their own. They have only a few fallible or fickle people to turn to when troubles happen, and facing the end of life they have nothing sure to anticipate. No “better place” to go to, no eternal life or fellowship with God.

Unfortunately, our society, once founded on the Christian faith (Harvard was originally a seminary for training Christian pastors!), has done all it can to block out the Son of God from our lives and thoughts. Consider:

  1. Renaming of time periods from B.C. (Before Christ) and A.D. (Anno Domini = Year of our Lord), to B.C.E. (Before the Common Era) and C.E. (Common Era). Why should we date everything from the most important event in all history?
  2. Complete omission of any reference to the biblical account of creation in our schools or public life. Only secular explanations are allowed, even when the evidence supports creation. (Hence the need for creation organizations such as the one we visited.) An example of what happens when you go counter to the narrative: the California Superintendent of Schools tried to shut down the Institute for Creation Research for not teaching evolution, even after an accreditation  committee approved the Institute. (Which is why they moved from San Diego to Dallas!)
  3. Separation of church and state used to mean non-interference of government in religion, now it means the government stamping religion out of the public life. Example: The state of Washington was giving out college scholarships for any kind of degree – except for a Christian student applying for seminary studies. And the courts upheld the denial, saying such a grant would be the state supporting a religion.
  4. Most Hollywood TV shows and movies mock religious people as ignorant hicks, or as charlatan preachers, as violent racists, or as criminals wearing crosses. One example was the first episode of a new show on British security services, where the villain was a pro-life American who was going to bomb an abortion clinic. Watch carefully the next show you see for similar themes!
  5. And need I say anything about shows celebrating “the true meaning of Christmas” without even mentioning Jesus?
  6. The FBI was calling devout Catholics terror threats, and placed undercover agents in churches to spy on them. The FBI called conservative Catholics, “Radical-Traditionalist Catholics.”
  7. The LA Times published an article about the growing godlessness in America, and said, “This increasing godlessness in America is actually a good thing, to be welcomed and embraced.”***
  8. Our Secretary of State called for a cease-fire in Israel and quoted the Quran (Surah 5:32) rather than Jesus’ words about peacemakers (Matthew 5:9).
  9. In 2022, the Justice Department prosecuted a record 26 pro-life advocates. Meanwhile, last year, nearly 100 attacks against pregnancy resource centers and churches went unpunished.
  10. The arrest of pro-life activist Mark Houck while at home with his wife and children. A SWAT team burst in with automatic weapons drawn and arrested him in front of his children.His crime was praying in front of an abortion clinic and defending his son from an attack. Charges were later dropped.

I could go on, but you get the point. Not only is Christ excluded from public life, society is aggressively counter to Christian faith and his Church, and has tried in many ways to suppress, ostracize, and (ironically) demonize it.

But for us who believe in Jesus Christ, and the words of Scripture that give testimony to him, we see such events as the solar eclipse just one more reason to glorify our Creator. Hear what God’s Word says about creation:

  1. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1).
  2. “God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:16-18).
  3. “This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.” (Genesis 2:4).
  4. “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”  (Psalm 8:3-4).
  5. “Through him [the Word = Christ] all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1:3).
  6.  “For in him [the Son] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16-17).
  7. “For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.”   (Hebrews 3:4).
  8. “Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”  (Jeremiah 32:17).
  9.  “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”  (Psalm 121:1-2).
  10.  “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.” (Psalm 33:6).

In a way, all of Scripture is built around the fact that God created all things, including us, whom he made in his image, whom he gave the breath of life, and for whom he sent his own Son to redeem from the curse of sin and death. It’s amazing to realize that the greatest of all miracles, beyond even the stars, sun, and moon (and their eclipses!), is our redemption and new life in Christ.

And for my cousin and her husband, there remains the following words from Psalm 124:8, “Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” Amen!

Now may our Creator Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Genesis 1; Psalm 8; Colossians 1:15-23

*Photo of this eclipse by Brian R.

**See the website at https://discoverycenter.icr.org

*** LA Times, by Phil Zuckerman,

 

He Is Risen, Indeed!

The story is told about an incident in the early days of the Soviet Union. A commissar and his cohorts arrived in a small town and gathered up the locals into the town square. There he began to harangue the crowd about the blessings of the new soviet state. After two hours his speech took aim at the local priest and his church, claiming that religion was obsolete. After another hour directed against Christianity, the commissar concluded his speech with a smug smile, knowing his arguments were unassailable. He challenged the priest, saying, “And what do you have to say?” Then the priest stepped forward and cried,”Christ is risen!” to which the people replied in one voice:”He is risen, indeed!” It is amazing that even in the days of the atheistic Soviet Union, the Russian word for Sunday was Воскресенье (pronounced voskreseniye), meaning “Resurrection Day.” And we in the West named our day after the sun!

“Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!”

That chorus will be heard proclaimed in churches around the world this Easter Sunday, just as it has been down through the centuries for almost 2000 years. Jesus Christ’s resurrection is the most life-changing, world-overturning, and hope-creating event in all of history. Without it there would be no Easter, of course. Without it, neither would there be a Christian Church. Without it, (shudder!) there would be no pastors emeriti! Without it, there would be no resurrection for you and me, nor hope of eternal life to come. But, Christ is risen (He is risen indeed!) and therefore we do have the sure and certain hope of our own resurrection to come, based on the historical fact of Christ’s resurrection and the biblically-revealed significance of what happened that first Easter.

Many people doubt that the resurrection happened, or is even possible, because they have never witnessed one in their life. But, the Bible recounts 10 resurrections, instances when people died and were brought back to life. Briefly, these are:

  1. The son of a widow in Zarephath. Raised by Elijah in 1 Kings 17:17-24.
  2. The son of a Shunammite woman. Raised by Elisha in 2 Kings 4:18-37.
  3. A man whose body was tossed into Elisha’s tomb and came to life after touching Elisha’s bones. (2 Kings 13:20-21).
  4. The son of a widow from Nain. Jesus raised him in Luke 7:11-17.
  5. Jairus’s daughter. Jesus raised her in Luke 8:40-56.
  6. Lazarus. Jesus raised him after four days in John 11:1-44.
  7. Dead saints at Jesus’ crucifixion, recounted in Matthew 27:50-53.
  8. A girl named Tabitha (also called Dorcas) raised by Peter in Acts 9:36-42.
  9. A man named Eutychus raised by Paul in Acts 20:7-12. (The man had fallen asleep during one of Paul’s sermons, and fell out a window to his death!
  10. I may have preached a long sermon or two, but at least my listeners didn’t die from them!)

10. Finally, we come to the most important resurrection of all: Jesus Christ. You could call all the other events “revivifications.”

  • Only Christ’s resurrection was permanent. The people who were raised were only temporarily alive. Eventually they would die again, and would have to await the final resurrection to come. But Christ being raised will never die again. He is bodily alive right now, seated at his Father’s right hand.
  • Only Christ’s resurrection was prophesied. As we say in the Nicene Creed, “On the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures.” Christ told his disciples, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day” (Matthew 20:19, also 16:21, 17:23).
  • Only Christ’s resurrection saves us. First, his crucifixion provides for our forgiveness by canceling our debt of sin. Colossians 2:13-14 says, “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” Then, with our sins forgiven, we are made alive in Christ. Because Christ was raised, we too who believe in him will be raised to eternal life. His resurrection is not only a wonderful historical event; it is the seal of God’s approval that Christ did indeed cancel our sins and win life for us. Because he was raised, we too will be raised. Romans 6:4-6 tells us, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!

The question is not whether Christ rose from the dead; his resurrection is one of the most attested events from ancient times, affirmed by multiple witnesses and physical evidence. Rather, the question is: how do we live, knowing that Christ, indeed, was resurrected?

First, we live in the strength  of faith.  Our faith is not anchored on a mere philosophy or fable, but in historical fact. As the Apostle Peter testified, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16). Our faith gives us strength because it is more than just intellectual knowledge – it has the power to save. Romans 10 :9 promises, “because, 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.”

Second, we live in the confidence of hope. Because Christ rose, we know that our life does not end at death, but instead will continue for all eternity. Therefore, no matter what affects us in this life, no matter how this life ends, we know with confidence that, like Christ, we too will be raised. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die ” (John 11:25-26). And according to the Apostle Paul, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:17-21).

Third, we live in the power of love. We love, because he first loved us. The Apostle John wrote in 1 John 4:10-11, “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” As Martin Luther once wrote, God does not need our works of love, but our neighbor does. Because Christ rose, we know that all his commandments and all his promises are true. This knowledge empowers us to act sacrificially for the benefit of others, caring, serving, and proclaiming to them the good news of forgiveness and resurrection to eternal life. Rather than timidly hiding our faith, we should be bold in telling others the good news, the greatest news, that anyone can hear: that Christ is risen, and will raise us as well!

There is a Gospel song written by Bill and Gloria Gaither that sums up the faith, hope, and love we can have in knowing that Christ rose from the dead that first Easter. It’s titled, “Because He lives, I Can Face Tomorrow.”*

God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone,
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: John 11; 1 Corinthians 15

*Written by: Gloria Gaither, William J. Gaither. Lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing.

 

Spoiler Alert!

If you have ever read or watched a movie review, you have come across the disclaimer, “Spoiler alert!” It is meant to warn the reader/viewer that the reviewer is about to reveal a plot twist or surprise ending that will “spoil” the experience for someone who has not yet seen the movie.

This happened to me years ago when a group of high school buddies and I went to see a movie that one of our group had already seen and raved about. We were all enjoying the movie until it came to a dramatic scene. Just as we became engrossed in the suspense, our (former) friend blurted out, “Oh, I hate this scene! The bad guy wins!” We almost did to him what the bad guy did on the screen.

Well, today, I am going to follow in his footsteps. I am going to spoil the ending to what appears to be a tragic story. For today is Good Friday, the commemoration of a horrible event. On this day, the holy and sinless Son of the living God was arrested, tried, flogged, and crucified. Before the sun set, his lifeless body was sealed in a tomb and guarded by  soldiers to make sure no one stole his corpse.

His followers scattered, fearing they would be next. One of his twelve closest disciples had betrayed him, another denied him three times. The betrayer hanged himself, and the rest hid out of fear. Their hopes and dreams seemed to be over; the man they had followed as the long-promised Messiah was dead. Like other pretenders before him, Jesus and his kingdom were dead and buried.

“Good riddance!” said the religious leaders, who could brook no rival to their religious monopoly. “Good riddance!” said the Roman occupiers, who could brook no rival to Caesar. “Good riddance!” said the spiritual powers in dark places, who thought their enemy was defeated, leaving them free to tempt, torment, and destroy the creatures which God made in his image. Jesus was dead and gone, a joy for evil, but a devastation for those who hoped in the Lord.

So, that was that. End of story, right? Well, SPOILER ALERT! It’s not over! There’s more to the story. That well-guarded tomb, filled with the dead body of Jesus of Nazareth, would soon be empty, and the Occupant would be seen alive! He would appear to his  followers, men and women, eat with them, and invite them to  touch his healed wounds. He would teach them from the Scriptures about himself, and would ascend bodily into heaven. And because of that, his timid followers would boldly take the good news into the world, even at the cost of almost all of them being martyred for their faith and proclamation.

Yes, this has been a spoiler alert – but not as you might think. The real spoiling has been to those who thought they could destroy the Son of God and his mission to save us from our sins. For by killing him, they enabled his redemptive work to be done, and brought about their own defeat. Death could not hold him. Instead, Hebrews 2:14 tells us, “that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil.”

As Tony Campolo, a Christian writer and speaker put it: “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s comin’.”* That’s one spoiler I don’t mind hearing!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Mark 15.

*Campolo, Tony. It’s Friday, but Sunday’s Comin’. Contemporary Classics. 2002.

P.S. Watch for a new blog on Sunday!

What Would Saint Patrick Do?

A number of years ago (just like this year), St. Patrick’s Day fell on a Sunday. As I was scheduled to preach that Sunday, I told my Senior Pastor, Pastor Deuel, that I planned to preach about Saint Patrick. He asked why, saying “We’re not Roman Catholic.” To which I replied, “Neither was Patrick!” So, even though he shook his head, I did in fact preach a first-person sermon, a monologue, that Sunday about the patron saint of Ireland.

Of course, the sermon was actually about the Gospel; Saint Patrick was only the vehicle for presenting the Gospel, which his own words and writings show he would have completely endorsed. To know why Patrick’s life was all about the Gospel, it would be helpful to remember some of the details about his life and why he came to be called a saint.

First, we recognize that Patrick was neither Roman Catholic nor even Irish. Patrick was born a Romanized Briton named Patricius in the 5th Century AD. At age 16 he was captured by Irish raiders who took him to Ireland to work as a slave in a pig farm. While slaving for six years, he became more devout in his Christian faith. Then one night he dreamed that a ship was ready to take him home,  so he escaped and found the boat and sailed back to England. He then studied and was ordained as a missionary. Again he had a dream, in which a man handed him a letter called, “The Voice of the Irish.” Patrick later wrote that he seemed to hear a certain company of Irish beseeching him to walk once more among them. “Deeply moved,” he says, “I could read no more.” Therefore, he returned to the land and people of his slavery and brought them the freedom of Jesus Christ. He became their bishop and spent the rest of his life preaching, teaching, and baptizing them, though often opposed and threatened by kings and their pagan priests.

As I said, we celebrate not the person named Patrick, but rather the Gospel which he took to the Irish people. So how does knowing Patrick’s life help us to know and spread the gospel, too? We could ask, “What would Patrick do?” Consider the following:

  1. Though enslaved and treated harshly, he did not surrender to despair, but used his experiences among the Irish to serve the Lord. Indeed, it was his enslavement which created in him the heart to evangelize his former oppressors.There are two passages in the Bible which encourage us not to be defeated by adversities, but to see in those conditions the benevolent hand of God.
    • Near the end of Genesis, we read of Joseph’s rise from slave to second in command of Egypt after prophesying to Pharaoh of a coming famine. In his elevated position, Joseph was able to stockpile enough food for many people to survive the famine. Later, Joseph confronted his brothers who had sold him into slavery. Though they feared retribution for their actions, he told them, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:20).
    • In Romans 8:28, Paul teaches the same principle, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Rather than cursing the misfortunes that befall us, we should pray to discern how God may use the situation to bless us or others.
  2. He held no hatred toward his captors, but rather forgave and sought to bless them with the Gospel. Jesus told us not to hate our enemies, but to forgive and love them. In Matthew 5:43-44, Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. . .” Patrick had every right to hate the Irish and avoid going back to save them, but he gave up that right out of love and obedience to Christ. Likewise, we will meet people we just cannot stand, who have wronged us by word or action. Yet Christ calls on us to forgive them and seek to do them good, rather than evil. Do as Jesus commanded: “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.” (Luke 6:27-29).
  3. Patrick persevered, though he doubted his ability. In his writings, Patrick confessed that even as he returned to Ireland after escaping, he had serious doubts about his abilities to preach and evangelize the Irish people. He felt inadequate to the task at hand, but he went ahead, and as a result he planted churches and converted many to the glory of God. This is a great example to all of us, most of whom also feel inadequate to the task of proclaiming the Gospel to those around us. Those who haven’t gone to seminary may be afraid they don’t know enough; those of us who went may feel overwhelmed by the immensity of the task. Soon after I began my internship, I was called to the home of a man who had died. When I arrived, his widow called the grandkids into the room and told them that Pastor Eddy would tell them about what happened to their grandpa. At first I panicked inside, feeling inadequate to the task, until I heard a voice inside saying, “What do you think I have called you to do?” With that rebuke in mind, I sat down with the children and we talked about life and death and heaven (and whether there are Taco Bells there!).
  4. Snakes. Okay, so it is only a legend that Patrick drove the snakes from Ireland. Scientific articles are happy to point to Ireland’s climate and isolation from the European mainland as the REAL reasons the island is free of snakes (except as pets and zoo exhibits). But there is another meaning to that legend, and that is the connection of snakes to Satan, the original snake in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3 and Revelation 12:9 – “that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan.”). The island was under the control of Satan and those who worshiped him through pagan gods. By bringing the Gospel, Patrick overcame the angry opposition of the pagans, who threatened to kill him, with the freeing truth of the Gospel. In that sense, he “drove the snakes” from Ireland by replacing them with Christ. We must expect opposition from spiritual powers when we do God’s work, but we must not fear that opposition, knowing that “he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
  5. Shamrocks. Okay, probably another legend, but it is said that Patrick taught about the Trinity using the three leaves of a shamrock combining on one stem. Whether true or not, we know two things: First, Patrick did believe in the Trinity, beginning a poem with the words. “I bind unto myself today, the strong name of the Trinity: three in one and one in three.”* And second, Patrick did not invent the Shamrock Shake, available at McDonald’s since 1970. (Besides, McDonald is more likely Scottish than Irish.)

So there you have it. Enjoy St. Patrick’s Day, but as you eat your corned beef and cabbage, washed down with a Shamrock Shake, remember the reason for the season. Consider what Saint Patrick would do, and use his example in your life as a Christian.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.**

Read: Genesis 50:15-21.

*From the hymn known as “St. Patrick’s Breastplate,” which is #188 in our Lutheran hymnal (LBW).

** In Irish: An Tiarna beannaigh tú agus tú a choinneáil, An Tiarna a dhéanamh ar a aghaidh a Shine ar tú, agus a bheith gracious a thabhairt duit. Tógfaidh an Tiarna suas a ghnúis ort, agus síocháin a thabhairt duit. Amen. (I can’t begin to pronounce this, so I will stick with English.)

High King of Heaven

I have always enjoyed hymns and spiritual songs that come from Celtic lands such as Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Songs like Praise and Thanksgiving, Lord of All Hopefulness, The King of Love My Shepherd Is, Sent Forth by God’s Blessing, Immortal Invisible God Only Wise, Let All Things Now Living, and especially, Be Thou My Vision.

Maybe my enjoyment stems from some inherited memory of ancient times when my ancestors in Scotland, Ireland, and Wales sang similar folk tunes and hymns. Maybe it comes from my own finely-tuned appreciation of the vocal arts. Or maybe, it’s the lilting tunes themselves, tied to words which proclaim God and his blessings. Whatever  the reasons, these songs resonate with me in powerful ways, and I always enjoy trying to sing them.

Recently, while listening and croaking to the old Irish song, Be Thou My Vision, I came to what is my favorite part. It comes at the end of verse 4, and is repeated at the beginning of verse 5. See if you can spot what I mean:

4 Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
be Thou mine inheritance, now and always;
be Thou and Thou only the first in my heart,
O High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

5 High King of heaven, Thou heaven’s bright Sun,
O grant me its joys, after vict’ry is won;
Great Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
still be Thou my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Given that the title of this blog is “High King of Heaven,”  you probably guessed the words I mean. For some reason, those words just thrill me and fill me with a vision of God’s glory..

One reason they appeal so much has to do with the ancient Irish custom of having one king, the High King, ruling over all of Ireland; the various tribes had their own chieftains or  kings, but over them all was the High King. The tradition dates back to 1500 B.C., with various legendary kings, but the first historical record is of a High King who served between 846–860 A.D. The last High King was Ruaidhrí Ó Conchobhair (Rory O’Connor) whose reign lasted until 1166. Comparing God to the sovereign Irish High Kings is a special honor.

The second reason I love those words is that they portray the truth that the God of the Bible is the true High King, the great King over all kings, “God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords,” (1 Timothy 6:15), and “Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth” (Revelation 1:5).

As Americans, we read those accolades of God our King (our High King) but often dismiss it as archaic language. After all, except for a few foreign kings who have little effect on our lives, the concept of being ruled by a king is as foreign to us as are those kings. But in reality, even as Americans, we have many kings who try to assert their authority or control over our lives, and unfortunately, too often we submit to them as we would to a king.

Consider the following “kings”:

1. Our government (Federal, state, and local). The federal government alone has 53 volumes containing some 4,500 criminal statutes, spelled out in over 10 million words, regulating every aspect of our lives. And should you think that compliance is a voluntary matter, there are 708,000 officers ready to enforce those laws. In addition to laws actually passed by Congress, there are “executive orders” declared by presidents and myriad regulations decreed by government agencies.

2. Our employers. Sure, our association with employers is on a mostly voluntary basis – we could tell them “No” and walk away. But given they hold the purse-strings that provide us with our livelihoods, they have a great deal to say regarding our time and behavior. We may not like all they tell us to do, but for the sake of income and reputation, we often have to toe the line and jump when they say “Jump!”.

3.  Cell phones. Admit it. . . when our cell phones call, we answer. And even if they don’t call, they hold us in bondage, promising us connections, social networking, information, and entertainment.  We check them constantly, hoping for some emotional “hit”. Go to any event, or to any restaurant, (or to any traffic intersection!), and you will see everybody checking their phones constantly. The phones command, and we obey!

4. Commercial advertisements. “Go ahead! Buy it! You deserve it!” Such are the messages that try to control us by controlling our behaviors and our spending. Companies buy and sell data about our spending (and our giving), our online browsing history, and our personal demographics. And now, with advanced artificial intelligence, companies can predict and direct everything we do.

5. Bullies. There are all kinds of bullies, but basically they all have one thing in common: they want to control you and force you to do what they say. They could be at school, at work, in the government, in the neighborhood, among your “friends,” or even in your family. They think they know what is best for you, or best for them, and they dominate you by their aggressive behavior or threats (voiced or implied). As a kid, I used to live near a couple cemeteries; one day a neighborhood bully threatened to put me in one of them. So far, he hasn’t succeeded!

6. Our own passions. Probably the most difficult to deal with. Pride, greed, lust, anger. How often do we go against what we know is right for the sake of satisfying one of our urges – only to be totally unsatisfied with the aftermath of giving in. All temptations promise much, but deliver nothing but emptiness and regret. And yet, their power is great and they seek to rule over us.

Whatever the person or thing that would seek to rule us, that would crown itself as king over us, we need to remember there is a High King above all other real or self-proclaimed kings. That High King is the true King of all creation, over every power and authority. That High King is our God.

So how do we deal with our lesser kings? By following Scripture.

  1. Government? “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good” (1 Peter 2:13-14). But at the same time, “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God, what is God’s” (Jesus’ words in Mark 12:17). God’s commandments overrule man’s laws.
  2. Employers? “Bond-servants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” (Colossians 2:22-23).
  3. Cell phones? Not in  the Bible. But . . . in Acts 12, an angel freed Peter from his cell, and in Acts 16:24-46, God used an earthquake to free Paul and Silas from their prison cells, so if your are in bondage to your cell, God can set you free!
  4. Commercial advertisements? Once you recognize the manipulative tactics of such ads, you are much less likely to be influenced and directed by them. As Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Yes, I know Jesus was not talking about ads, but what he said still applies. The ads will rule you only if you let them.
  5. Bullies? If they insult you, remember that “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). Similarly, Jesus said to turn the other cheek if someone slaps you on one cheek (Matthew 5:39). Remember and pray the psalms, especially ones like Psalm 18:48, which proclaims, “who rescued me from my enemies; yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me; you delivered me from the man of violence.”
  6. Our own passions? Our society praises people who follow their “passions,” but the Bible connects passions to our old, sinful flesh, and calls on Christians to subdue those passions for Christ’s sake. Galatians 5:24 tells us, “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” 2 Timothy 2:22 says, “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” And if the temptation of those passions is strong, remember: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

To sum it all up: the High King of heaven is ruler over all, and it is to him we owe our allegiance, above all earthly rulers and powers. Ultimately, all other rulers will submit and bow the knee to the One who allowed them to rule, to the One to whom they must give account of how they used their authority.

Today, I close with a two-fold blessing. First, as usual, the Aaronic blessing from Numbers 6:24, and then a video of people from 300 Irish churches singing, “Be Thou My Vision.”

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

 

 

 

 

Three centuries later, a monk named Dallan Forgaill wrote the Irish poem, “Rop tú mo Baile” (“Be Thou my Vision), to remember and honor the faith of St. Patrick. Forgaill was martyred by pirates, but his poetry lived on as a part of the Irish monastic tradition for centuries until, in the early 20th century, Mary Elizabeth Byrne translated the poem into English, and in 1912, Eleanor Hull versified the text into what is now a well-loved hymn and prayer that at every moment of our lives, God would be our vision above all else.

Leaving mythology behind, Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid (Malachy MacMulrooney) is recognised as the first historical High King of Ireland. He served as king between 846–860 AD and died two years later. After King Máel there would be another 16 other High Kings in Ireland until the last serving King in 1166.

 

Of Groundhogs and Other Superstitions, Part 2 – Reprise

Yesterday was Groundhog Day, which got me thinking about the part that superstitions play in our “modern” and “enlightened” times. Even though we use the term “superstitious” in a derogatory sense, we still have many superstitions today.

In Part One of my musings on that topic, I wrote that there are, generally speaking, two kinds of superstitions. The first, which I called “omens,” are those things we believe will give us special knowledge that is otherwise unknowable; such methods seem to inform us through some occult or supernatural activity. I suggested that believing a groundhog (especially one in Punxatawney, Pennsylvania) can forecast the next six weeks of weather for us is a mild example of an “omen.” I also wrote that seeking hidden knowledge through Ouija boards and seances is a much more dangerous – and biblically forbidden – activity. (The Ouija board was popular during World War I, as families sought to learn how their soldier sons and husbands were doing in far-away France. The name was invented by combining the French and German words for “yes” – oui and ja. It was believed that spirits would relay the information – definitely forbidden by God!)

But besides the superstitions that people have which purport to give them information which they can then use in some normal manner, there are also those superstitions which claim to control or exert some influence upon reality. It is this second category of superstition to which we will now turn our attention.

2. The second  type of superstition  is what I would call, the “magic” type. Of course, by “magic” I don’t mean the amazing illusions or tricks you see “magicians” perform. I mean more like the, “If you step on a crack, you’ll break your mother’s back” kind of superstition my grade-school friends and I repeated aloud while we stepped from one sidewalk section to the next. Somehow, we were afraid that our action would actually cause our moms some harm; or at least, we weren’t taking any chances!

Magic superstitions can be intended to protect someone, such as by avoiding stepping on cracks, or intended to cause harm,  such as by sticking pins in voodoo dolls. But mostly, people follow them in order to gain some benefit or advantage for themselves. Gamblers blow on their dice and recite a certain “good luck” phrase before casting them, believing it will cause the right number to come up; a high school friend of mine swore you could get rid of warts by cutting a potato in half and burying it during a full moon; and even I sometimes think I can keep it from raining by carrying my umbrella with me (though there may be some truth to this last example . . .)

But the “Super Bowl” of people following magic superstitions can be found surrounding, well, the Super Bowl. By next Sunday, I predict great numbers of Americans will have pulled out all the stops when it comes to acting superstitiously. They will: wear special victory clothing such as team shirts and caps; they will sit in their favorite chair for reasons other than comfort or handy cup-holders; they will invite over certain good luck friends and avoid the others; they will eat certain foods and drinks in a certain order; they will try to avoid jinxing their team by saying things like, “We’ve got this won!”; and they will either clutch their Brock Purdy bobble-head to their bosom, or rip its head off. All done to somehow actually influence the course of the game. As I asked yesterday, do opposing superstitions cancel each other out? If the fans of both teams do or avoid the same things, then who wins?

Logical paradoxes are not the worst thing about magic superstitions. The worst thing is that they are attempts to play God, or to force God to do what we want him to do. This was the religion of the Baal worshipers in ancient Israel (and actually of all pagans). They sought to influence the “gods” of nature by their actions, doing things like what they wanted to make happen, as if by doing them their gods would have to use their powers to effect a good outcome. Fertility cults existed to increase crops, livestock, and children; war gods like Mars were worshiped by purifying soldiers’ weapons and trumpets; and children were offered in sacrifices as “seeds” for Molech to give more children in return. In magic, people sought – and still seek – to be God, giving in again to the first temptation made by the devil to our first ancestors in the Garden.

The biblical faith, the faith which the true God desires from us, is a submission to him and to his will. It is about trusting God alone for all our provision and for all good things. While he does invite us to pray to him and bring our needs to him, we recognize that he is not some genie in a lamp that we can command to obey us, but rather the all- powerful and sovereign God of the universe who has all authority. He is not bound by our superstitious actions, nor by the eloquence of our prayers. He does not have to grant our wishes because we make the sign of the cross when we ask him. He gives us good things because he loves us and desires good for us. Jesus himself taught us about our heavenly Father, saying,

“Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:9-11)

Martin Luther addressed this in his Large Catechism when he explained the First Commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me.” Luther wrote that we must recognize that all good things come from God, and that to attribute them to anyone or anything else is to break that commandment. This accords with James 1:7, which says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” Ultimately, the greatest gift which God has given us is his own Son, Jesus Christ, through whom we receive forgiveness of our sins and eternal life.

What does this all mean for a Christian? It means we look to God alone for what we need to know. He has given us the mental abilities to understand and appreciate much of the world he created, and in his Word he has revealed to us many precious things about himself and his plan for our salvation. But some things are hidden, mostly for our own good. In those areas, such as the future, we must just trust God and not seek to supplement what he has revealed by seeking other forbidden sources for answers. It also means that we recognize that he is God and we are not. We are not to play God by trying to manipulate reality by magical means. Instead, we pray to God repeatedly in every circumstance, but then we have to trust him and say, as our Lord said in Gethsemane,

“Not my will, but yours be done.” (Matthew 26:39)

So when it comes to the Super Bowl, will I go through some magical ritual to help one team win? No. Will I pray about the game? Yes – but only that no one is injured. (After all, my team didn’t make it!)

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord look upon you with favor, and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Matthew 7:1-11

Of Groundhogs and Other Superstitions – Reprise

In anticipation of today being Groundhog Day, I began writing a blog about the superstitions people hold. I formed an outline, ordered the supporting points, and began researching the appropriate Scriptures. But then, a discordant thought intruded into my mind. Didn’t I already write about this? So I went back seven years and found a two-part blog I wrote in February of 2017 on this very topic. When I read it, I realized it was exactly what I wanted to say. So, hoping that most of my readers have come aboard more recently than that, and that the other readers won’t remember a 7 year-old post, I present once again (with a few appropriate updates): “Of Groundhogs and Other Superstitions.”

Happy Groundhog Day . . . or not . . . depending on how much credence you give to Punxatawney Phil, the famous groundhog who did not see his shadow this morning (2024). As happens every year, crowds gather on Gobbler’s Knob in the town of Punxatawney, Pennsylvania, to watch the rodent come out of his burrow. And, as the tradition goes, if he sees his shadow on February 2nd, it means we’re in for another six weeks of winter. Or at least, Punxatawney, Pennsylvania is. How accurate is he? According to NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, (seriously?) he’s been right only 21% of the time. Not that good for an enduring superstition, considering the odds are 50/50.

But Phil is not the only superstition that people are dealing with right now; it is after all, almost Super Bowl week. Talk about superstitions! It seems everyone has a certain ritual to perform, a certain shirt or outfit to wear, certain foods to eat or a special chair to sit upon to ensure their team wins. They’re afraid to say certain things that might “jinx” their team. And that’s just the players we’re talking about! When it comes to fans watching the game (or not, if watching might jinx your team) the rituals and traditions are all over the place. Of course, I always wonder how it works: if all the superstitions are true, who wins, given that fans and players on both sides are doing them?

I’m glad to say I’m above such things (though I may have jinxed the Packers this year by checking their playoff score against the 49ers online).

In some cases, such superstitions are harmless fun. In Punxatawney, for example, it’s a tourist draw and a matter of civic pride for which the leaders play dress-up with top hats and long coats. I think hardly anyone actually believes the groundhog is a real prognosticator. But, unfortunately, many people are caught up in other superstitions which affect their lives, their decision-making, their finances, their families, and even their relationship with God.

This is especially surprising to see in today’s Western world, which supposedly left its superstitious beliefs back in the Dark Ages. People refuse to believe in God because “it isn’t scientific” to put faith in what we cannot see, yet they buy lottery tickets or read horoscopes or give offerings to “earth spirits.”

Superstitions come in two broad categories.

  1. First, there is what I call, the “omen” type. This includes attempts to discern knowledge in ways beyond our senses and reason, such as with horoscopes, Ouija boards, I Ching sticks, Tarot cards, fortune tellers, seances, and yes, even groundhogs. It’s not that wanting to know things is bad; after all, we study the Bible to learn about God and science to learn about what he has created. The former is commanded by Scripture itself: (Psalm 111:12, Acts 17:11) and the latter reveals God’s power and divine nature through what he has made (Romans 1:20). The problem comes when we seek knowledge in ways which God has forbidden us to use. And God has clearly commanded us to avoid such occult sources: “There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 18:10-12)

While the things which God forbids sound extreme compared with something seemingly harmless like reading a daily horoscope, the two are actually of a similar nature. In either case, a person is seeking answers and directions for life decisions by putting some other authority above God. He wants us instead to look to him in prayer. Notice that it doesn’t matter if the forbidden source happens to yield information that is true; we are still to avoid seeking knowledge in that way. In fact, it can be especially dangerous when a forbidden source comes through with accurate answers, because then we trust it even more and can put ourselves into its bondage.

There is a classic episode of the Twilight Zone called “Nick of Time” in which a young couple’s car breaks down in a small town. While they wait for it to be repaired, they hang out in the local diner where the booth has a penny-operated “fortune-telling” machine that spits out cards with answers to the couple’s questions. The fact that there was a devil’s head on the machine should have been their first clue not to get involved! But they do, at first for entertainment, but then in growing fear and dependency on the machine as the answers it gives prove to be true, one right after another. Finally they realize the machine was coming to control them and they break away from its bondage and escape the town. On their way out, they pass an elderly couple who are coming into the diner with a handful of pennies, obviously still in such bondage.

Isaiah 8:19 says, “And when they say to you, ‘Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,’ should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?”

It’s not that God cannot use various means to make his will known for us. The Bible does tell us that he has done so, such as when the apostles selected a replacement for the deceased Judas Iscariot: they cast lots and prayed for God to reveal his choice between two qualified candidates. We believe God did answer their prayer. But that was before the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and before the writing of the New Testament Scriptures; now we seek answers in God’s Word through the guidance of his Spirit.

The second type of superstition is what I would call the “magic” type. It includes all attempts to influence or control the outcome of events and things by rituals that we do. This is the kind of superstition which will be rampant around the Super Bowl, and it is the kind of superstition which I will address tomorrow in my next post, “Of Groundhogs and Other Superstitions: Part Two”.

Until then, may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord look upon you with favor, and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Deuteronomy 13:1-3

Are You a Bibliophobe?

While having lunch with a good friend, I invented a new word. During our discussion of the problems facing society today, we agreed that the rejection of the Christian faith and the Scriptures is at the root of our problems. I said, people are not just ignorant of the Scriptures, they distrust, disbelieve, and even hate what the Scriptures teach. They are, I said, “bibliophobes.” We looked at each other, and agreed that the term said exactly what we meant. Now, I say I invented the word, but I later looked it up in the dictionary and found the word “bibliophobe” already existed. There goes my claim to fame! Of course, the dictionary meaning is “a person who hates, fears, or distrusts books,” but I meant it specifically to refer to the Bible.

In what way are many people Bibliophobes?

  1. They don’t believe the Bible is God’s Word. To them, the Bible is just a collection of writings by people who wrote down their own ideas or beliefs about God. They experienced some event or felt some kind of spiritual feeling, and attributed it to God. But the Bible is clear that it is God’s word and not human ideas or imaginings. Over 130 times it attributes what it says to “the word of God” and almost 350 times to “the word of the Lord.” In 2 Peter 1:20-21 it says, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Paul concurs, writing in 2 Timothy3:16, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” And in case there should remain any doubt of how seriously God takes how we treat  his written word, check out Revelation  22:18-19 – “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.”
  2. They believe the Bible has been corrupted, that books have been removed or added over time, and the original texts have been changed by the Roman church. Interestingly, both Mormons and Muslims assert this. But, in the case of the Old Testament, the painstaking rules of the Hebrew copyists kept the texts consistent for over a thousand years; the Dead Sea Scrolls revealed texts a thousand years older than what we had before their discovery, and they were the same. For the New Testament, the  canon (the list of accepted books) was established before the Roman church gathered what it had into its collection of books. False gospels like Thomas and Judas were late fictions and were never accepted into the Bible. Today, we have over 5,000 manuscripts from around the ancient Mediterranean that testify to the accuracy of what is in our Bibles today.
  3. They don’t believe what the Bible says is true. The Bible, they say, is full of pre-scientific myths and fables. “The science is wrong and the history is wrong. We are more advanced and knowledgeable as people these days!” The evidence for the Bible’s truthfulness and accuracy fills books and has been validated by archaeological and historical finds. For centuries, historians slammed the Bible for talking about Hittites, saying they never existed; then in 1886, archaeologists announced that ruins found in Turkey were the Hittite capital of Hattusa. Then there are several stone pillars (stelae) of neighboring nations referring to kings of Israel and Judah reported in the Bible. And, as far as Noah’s flood, not only is there geological evidence for a great flood, almost every nation and people around the world has a similar story from its past, of an angry god who destroys all mankind except for a small group who survive in a boat to repopulate the earth.
  4. They don’t believe the Bible applies today. Even those who concede that some of Bible history is true, will say, “Fine. The Bible may have some good things to say, but it is so out of date. Today, we are more enlightened in our views of things like sexual freedom. Don’t try to apply Jewish rules from three thousand years ago to modern times.” While it is true that some of the Jewish cultural regulations no longer apply (such as kosher foods and Sabbath practices*) due to their fulfillment in Christ, Christ himself said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:17-18). In addition, Isaiah 40:8 says, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but  the word of our God endures forever.” What God commanded “way back when” still applies today. The morals of how people are to treat each other still apply, and we see daily the devastation that results from disobeying God’s commandments today.
  5. They don’t believe the Bible applies to them. Here is where many people are actually Bible-phobes. They are afraid of what the Bible labels as sin. They are afraid of the Bible’s prohibitions. Sure, they might agree with the “Do not kill” and “Do not steal” parts when applied to them being the victims, but don’t talk to them about the “Do not commit adultery” command, especially when their eyes are filled with lust. They think they are more enlightened about moral issues, yet they are the same human beings now as they were in ancient days. The same rules apply, and the same personal and societal consequences follow bad behavior: diseases. unwanted pregnancies and abortions, broken hearts and suicides, hatred and violence, theft and destruction, and the breakdown of society. Things the Bible prohibited are still rampant today, and so are the bitter fruits of such disobedience. Yet people think their lives will be better if they follow their own sinful impulses.
  6. They refuse to submit to God and his word. This is the attitude that led directly to mankind’s first sin. Tempted by the devil, Adam and Eve disbelieved God’s warning and disobeyed God’s one prohibition. The devil pooh-poohed the command not to eat of the forbidden tree “lest you die,” saying “you won’t die!” so our first parents disobeyed, and death and the desire to be our own gods, has been with us ever since. Ultimately, this is what Bibliophobia is all about – wanting to be our own gods. We don’t want to submit to anyone or any authority, let alone a God we cannot see, who doesn’t seem to punish those who rebel against him. We join the Psalmist’s lament: “Why do the wicked prosper?” and conclude there is no god, or he is unloving or impotent to intervene in human affairs. But such people disobey God’s first and greatest commandment, to love God with all their heart and mind and soul and strength (Matthew 22:27-28). They also forget that the wickedness they see will not go unpunished. Galatians 6:7 reminds us, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” Popular society calls this “karma.” The Bible calls it what it is, and that’s what sinners don’t want to submit to.

It’s unfortunate that our society has largely silenced the Bible, through ridicule, slander (that it’s old-fashioned, irrelevant, and oppressive), and hatred. It’s unfortunate because the Bible is a wonderful gift, given to us by our Creator and Redeemer for our benefit and blessing, for this life and the next. Joel Osteen wrote a book called, “Your Best Life Now,” but God gave us the real way to our best life now, thousands of years ago. His book is called the Holy Bible. It is true, God-breathed, unchanging, relevant, and able to save beyond all measure. Let us honor, read, and follow its precepts. Let us be Bibliophiles, and not Bibliophobes!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Psalm 1; Psalm 119:105.

*The relaxing of these laws was approved by Jesus and the Apostolic writings. For the elimination of the kosher food laws, see Matthew 15:10 and Acts 10:9-18. And for the freedom from Sabbath rules, see Colossians 2:16-17.

 

How Did I Do?

The start of a new year is a time when people like to take stock of how they did over the past year, as they prepare for the year ahead. Did they keep their resolutions? Did they lose weight? Get healthier? Get engaged or married? Get a job promotion (or a new job)? For me, as I look back, I realize that I made a number of predictions for the year 2023 in my first blog of the year.

I wonder, how well did I do? Did my predictions come true? Am I a true prophet, or a non-prophet pretender? Check out the predictions I made (in bold letters) and what actually happened:

1. There will be at least one war between two countries, and some people will be killed. Were there any wars in 2023? Yes there absolutely were.

The Russia/Ukraine War continues unabated. In addition, there is now war between Israel and Hamas. Connected to that latter war, Iran’s allies have been firing missiles at US ships in the region. And now, Venezuela is threatening to invade Guyana and seize a province from them.

2. We will see TV reports of earthquakes . . .

2023 saw  earthquakes in Nepal, Afghanistan, Morocco, Turkey, and Syria for a total of 60,000 lives lost.

. . . and other natural catastrophes.

The Maui fire, heavy rain and flooding in Rwanda, Cyclone Mocha in Myanmar, floods in the Congo, Cyclone Freddy in Malawi, and Storm Daniel in Libya for another 1,800 lives lost.

3. And there will be outbreaks of disease, and maybe pronouncements of a new pandemic.

There are outbreaks of new strains of Covid-19, Monkey Pox (aka Mpox), dengue, measles, polio, diphtheria, cholera, typhoid, and influenza; all were reported in 2023 by the World Health Org.

4. Sexual perversions will increase to unknown levels.

I hardly need to document the fulfillment of this prediction. Do drag queens at the White House and in children’s story hours, and the neutering of children qualify?

5. Christians will be mocked, marginalized, and persecuted, even to death in some places.

Besides the cultural animosity to Christians in this country, over 300 million Christians are being persecuted, harassed, or killed for their faith in many other countries, including Nigeria, Libya, Mozambique, Afghanistan, India, and North Korea.

6. There will be fake televangelists, spouting heresies and bilking people for money with false promises.

While I am not aware of any new scandals toppling current televangelists, there are many who need to be toppled. The airwaves still hum with the likes of Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Benny Hinn, Bill Johnson, Joel Osteen, etc.

7. People will becomes even more selfish, self-centered, “selfied,” and nasty to each other as they turn further away from God.

Obsession over social media, being liked, conforming to peer pressure, and preferring current values over biblical teachings. Touting of self identity, what feels good, and subjective feeling over objective truth.

8. An evil person will shoot, stab, or run over a random group of people.

In the US, there were 30 mass shootings in December alone! There were 20 shootings in 2023 where five or more people died. Included were Lewiston, Maine, where 19 died, and Monterey Park, California, where 12 died. Also, a man in China ran over pedestrians in 2023, killing five people.

Pretty impressive track record, isn’t it? I was 100% right! Does that make me a prophet? Well, actually, no. God inspired true prophets to speak his word to his people; my only claim is that I read the words his prophets spoke as recorded in the Bible. Scripture has told us what to expect in this world, and while the names and places and dates will change, the stories stay the same. That’s why my predictions were accurate:

  • Prediction 1: (Matthew 24:6) Wars and rumors of wars.
  • Prediction 2: (Luke 21:11) Earthquakes in many places.
  • Prediction 3. (Luke 21:11 again) Famines and pestilences.
  • Prediction 4: (Romans 1:26-27) Dishonorable passions and shameless acts.
  • Prediction 5: (Matthew 24:9) Delivered to death and hated by all nations.
  • Prediction 6: (Matthew 24:11 and Luke 20:47) False teachers and bilkers.
  • Prediction 7: (2 Timothy 3:2-3) Lovers of self and money, heartless.
  • Prediction 8: (Matthew 15:19) From the heart comes murder.

The only major changes in history since the creation and fall of mankind were the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  And the only great future event that will be truly unique will be Christ’s return. Since Christ did not return in 2023, let us pray for him to come back in 2024. If he doesn’t return this year, I will repeat my 2023 predictions for 2024. But, whenever he does return, I boldly predict that we will join him in the air, and be with him forever! (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Deuteronomy 13:1-5; Deuteronomy 18:22; 2 Peter 1:20.

Why Shepherds?

Recently, I was asked by the editor of The Evangel, the national magazine of the American Association of Lutheran Churches, to write an article about the shepherds who witnessed the events of Jesus’ nativity. The alternative topic was the magi, but since they were not present at the stable,and we don’t celebrate their arrival until Epiphany, I thought an article about the shepherds would be more appropriate for the November/December issue of the magazine*. And so, I wrote the article, and it was published as follows:

“While shepherds watched their flocks by night, all seated on the ground, an angel of the Lord came down and glory shone around, and glory shone around.” These words, an almost exact quote from Luke 2:8-9, form the first verse of the old Christmas hymn, While shepherds watched their flocks by night, All seated on the ground, written by Nahum Tate in 1700. Anyone familiar with Jesus’ nativity story know about the shepherds, how they were greeted by angels, and how they found the babe lying in the manger. And anyone who has set up a nativity scene has placed a few shepherds and their sheep somewhere near Mary and the baby Jesus. But, did you ever ask the question, “Why shepherds?”

Of course, the response of many people could be, “Why not shepherds?” Bethlehem was a locale known for sheep and shepherds, and they happened to be the people who were available and awake when Jesus was born. Sure, they were close at hand. But I think there was more to it than just that; God purposefully chose those shepherds to be the first witnesses to the birth of the Savior. There are three things that make this apparent.

First, Scripture tells us that God is not impressed by titles or social standing (Acts 10:34). It teaches us in 1 Corinthians 1:27 that “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are…” He bypassed the political and religious leaders of the day, and sent his angelic messengers to lowly shepherds instead. The shepherds came as they were: lowly, unwashed, wearing the rough clothing of their trade, the lay people of their day. But God’s call exalted them above society’s celebrities to be witnesses to the arrival of mankind’s Savior.

Second, it was fitting that shepherds, who had witnessed the birth of many lambs over their years of work, would get to witness the birth of the Lamb of God, the birth to which all the other births had pointed. Bethlehem was just a few miles from Jerusalem, so it is quite likely that many of the lambs raised by those shepherds were intended for sacrifice in the Temple. Likewise, the baby they saw born that night would one day be sacrificed for our sins, serving as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” (John 1:29 and 36). Revelation 13:8 teaches us that this was God’s plan from even before the beginning; that Jesus was “the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world.”

Third, it was also appropriate that God would choose shepherds to witness the birth of the Good Shepherd. The Scriptures proclaim God as our Shepherd many times, from Psalm 23 (written by David, a former shepherd), to Micah 5:4 which says the Messiah born in Bethlehem shall “shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,” to John 10:11, where Jesus calls himself, “the Good Shepherd.” The arrival of shepherds, rather than priests, kings, or generals, proclaimed the newborn’s main calling.

Finally, we need to recognize that God’s call on the shepherds was not just for their own personal blessing. What they saw and heard was not only for some spiritual high, what we would call a “mountaintop experience.” No, they were more than passive observers; they became witnesses to what they saw and heard from the angels, and of what they found in the manger. Their testimony to Mary caused her to treasure what they said in her heart, and their testimony to other people was such that “all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.” Then, they testified to the Lord, “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.” (Luke 2:17-20). And finally, they continue to testify to us today, as we marvel both at their experience, and at their faith that caused them to overcome their fear and obey an outrageous command. May we also overcome any doubts or holiday distractions we may encounter, and follow the shepherds to the Savior born to us that day – and then let us tell others, that they too may wonder at the good news of great joy we share!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord life up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Luke 2:1-20.

*The Evangel, A Publication of The American Association of Lutheran Churches, Issue No. 214 – November/December 2023, p. 7. Editor: Editor: Gretchen Baker.

Lamb’s First Christmas

The little lamb was born this year to a world it found so fresh and new. From sun and grass to cows and deer, to rain and snow and morning dew.

The lamb learned all about these things, and many more besides, such as buzzing bees and birds that sing, woolly coats, and leathery hides.

The little lamb thought it knew it all; what else could there be to learn? But Winter came and followed Fall, and with it a brand new term.

For now, the farmer spoke a word the lamb had not heard before, “Christmas” was what the lamb now heard; it wanted to understand more.

“What does it mean, this word so new?” The lamb now asked, its face in a frown. “What Christmas is, I haven’t a clue, I know: I’ll find the answer in town!”

So the lamb took off and followed the road, its eyes alert and fully aware, looking, listening, onward it strode, till finally it reached the town square.

There before it stood a massive pine tree, all covered with lights from bottom to top. “Is this now Christmas before me I see? Has my quest finally come to a stop?”

As the Lamb gazed, transfixed by what he did see, came a man yelling, “Scram! Get away from the tree, you filthy old lamb!”

Surprised and not a little frightened, the lamb hurried away, but then its face brightened, when it heard music play.

For the lamb heard a Christmas tune, coming from a nearby store. So the lamb moved closer until it was soon, at the window, wanting to see more.

Inside were people rushing around, pushing and shoving and grabbing their gifts. Nobody smiled, instead they all frowned, and some even got into tiffs!

The lamb said to itself, “This can’t be it! How can Christmas be so full of strife? There just has to be more, just a little bit, of some joy it could bring into life.”

So the lamb walked on until it found a house. Out front stood elves, surrounding Ol’ Claus. Beside him stood the Mrs., his spouse, all of which gave our lamb some pause.

Then from the house came an angry kid, shouting, “Don’t do our display any harm!” He threw some snow even as he slid, saying, “Go away! Go back to your farm!”

“Is this what Christmas is all about?” asked the lamb to the setting sun. “Idols which people serve so devout? I fear my searching is done.”

The lamb walked, sadly, on down the street, continuing its hopeless search, when a group of people it happened to meet, gathered outside a church.

There were men there, dressed in robes like kings, and shepherds, to which the lamb was no stranger. And a man and a woman and an angel with wings, all bowing down before a manger.

When the lamb saw the straw, its hunger grew strong, And it thought, “I think I’ll grab a bite, just maybe!” But when it grew near, on joining the throng, it saw the manger had in it a baby!

The scene was so peaceful, the people so calm, the lamb settled down beside them. Its previous heartaches had found their balm, a new feeling did now overwhelm.

The lamb knew it had settled where it belonged, a place where Christmas reigned, it found the answer for which it longed: the true meaning it had obtained.

This Christmas was our little lamb’s first, but it would not be its last; each year to come it would be immersed, in the Nativity’s living cast.

For Christmas is about a little Lamb, but not the one that went looking.  The lamb of God, the great I AM, came to save us, our sins overlooking.

So, join with me to celebrate, this soon and coming season. Put aside all greed and hate, for Jesus is the reason!

Merry Christmas!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: John 1:29, 36; Galatians 5:16-26

To Tell the Truth

There used to be a TV game show called, “To Tell the Truth.” In it, the host would read the biography of someone with interesting experiences or an interesting job. Then, three contestants would appear, each claiming to be the person described. The celebrity panel would then ask questions of the contestants, trying to discern which were faking it, and which one was telling the truth. The more the panel got wrong, the more money the contestants would win.

It’s a good thing “to tell the truth.” The Bible commands it, whether in the Ten Commandments from the Old Testament (Exodus 20:16), or the New Testament’s admonition to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). To lie is to do the work of the devil, whom Jesus called, “a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44).

Truthfulness to a Christian should be like breathing, a natural part of living. After all, our lives are based in the Ultimate Truth, Jesus Christ (“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” [John 14:6]).

Unfortunately, when it comes to the world today, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Christians, and everyone else, to distinguish between what is true and what is false in the massive amounts of information we take in daily. We hear terms like “disinformation,” misinformation,” and “fake news.” For a long time we have had “photo-shopped” pictures, and now we have artificial intelligence (AI) generating phony audio and video of political leaders saying things they never said or did. It has become scary-easy to be fooled by such doctored media.

Having heard about one such AI engine, ChatGPT, I went to the site and asked it to write a story about Karen at Christmas (her favorite holiday). In just 2 seconds, it spit out a 525 word story that began with:

Karen was a whirlwind of festive energy when it came to Christmas. Her passion for the holiday season was infectious, and she was known as the neighborhood’s very own Mrs. Claus. Every year, Karen transformed her home into a winter wonderland, adorning It with twinkling lights, cheerful ornaments, and an array of decorations that would make the North Pole jealous.

Scary. I also asked it to write a 500 word essay on the theme of this blog. Again, 2 seconds later, came the reply, starting with:

In an era saturated with information and inundated by opinions, discerning truth has become an intricate task, demanding a thoughtful, multifaceted approach. The quest for truth is foundational to human progress, societal harmony, and personal growth. However, today’s landscape, with its digital advancements, diverse narratives, and rampant misinformation, presents a labyrinthine challenge in identifying what is genuinely true.

Yikes! I’ve been replaced! (And from now on, whenever you read one of my blogs, you’ll be asking yourself, “Did Rich write this blog, or was it AI?”)

So, why is it so hard to discern the truth in today’s society? What is about today’s “landscape” (as ChatGPT calls it) that presents such a challenge?

1. Our propensity to lie. From an early age, we lie to avoid blame and punishment, or to gain an advantage over other people. Children with chocolate all over their face deny getting into the candy. Dads tell their kids that the good Halloween candy got spoiled and he had to throw it away. Spouses cheat on each other, athletes take performance-enhancing drugs and lie about it, and politicians take bribes and deny it. We even lie to ourselves: “I’ll start exercising . . . tomorrow for sure!” Scripture says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

2. The schemes of the devil. The one who first lied to Eve, denying God’s warning about the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:4-5), continues to lie to us today. His temptations are lies – showing us a tasty apple while hiding the worm inside. He lies about our salvation filling us with hopeless guilt, or puffing us up with destructive pride. He turns people against each other with hateful lies, and against God with the lies of pseudo-scientific philosophies. (Acts 5:3 and 1 Thessalonians 3:5).

3. Advertising. From the 1949 ad that “More doctors smoke Camels” to the 1965 Brylcreem commercial’s promise: “The gals will all pursue ya,— They’ll love to put their fingers through your hair.” advertisers have said almost anything to get you to buy their product. And did you ever win a “free weekend” at some resort, subject to a “45 minute” presentation for some “exciting opportunity?”

4. Propaganda. Similar to false advertising, propaganda seeks to mold opinions and actions to suit some political agenda. Fabricated stories against political opponents, trumped up legal charges, fabricated videos and emails that put your opponent in a bad light, and false witnesses are just a few of the lies used toward a desired end. A recent example concerns the horrific attack by Hamas against Israel: some pro-Palestinian supporters claim it never happened. Then Hamas claimed that Israel bombed a hospital in Gaza and killed 500 people, including children. Later, we learned that the hospital was not bombed, and the only rocket to come close was fired by a Hamas ally. Media are so filled with self-serving political claims that it’s hard to know what to believe.

5. Human error. “To err is human, to forgive divine.” So goes the 1711 quote by Alexander Pope. It is certainly one of the truer truisms about life. We don’t need to have evil intentions when we tell someone something that is false: we may ourselves believe it to be true. For example, in school we learned that George Washington had false teeth made of wood. We repeated it to others, thinking it was a fact (a certain cherry tree comes to mind, as well). Now we know his teeth were made of actual teeth. Another example: one Thanksgiving we were visiting family and were having dinner at their church. It was a fun event until the pastor announced that the Soviets had launched missiles at the US and our missiles were responding. The mood turned somber, until I realized his description of events matched a TV show I had just been watching before the dinner; he had seen part of the show and thought it was really happening. Fortunately, no one took any drastic actions before the mistake was cleared up!

6. Computer errors. “To err is human, to really mess up takes a computer.” So says Rich Eddy in 2023. Another truthful truism, I kid you not. We trust computers and their output for all kinds of information, from weather patterns to predictions of eclipses. Unfortunately, computers have sometimes made horrible mistakes, and fortunately, people were in the loop and doubted what the computers were saying.

  • October 5, 1960 – NORAD computers alerted that a massive Soviet missile strike was coming at the U.S. When people checked it out, they found sensors had misread a sunrise as missile launches, and a counter strike was averted.
  • December 26, 1983 – Soviet Lt. Col. Stanislav Petrov was on duty at a Soviet early-warning base outside Moscow. He found himself staring at a red screen reading “START” as an alert siren wailed. The computer deemed that a single missile was incoming, followed by a salvo of five. Lt. Col. Petrov had a hunch the warning was a computer error, so he shut things down instead of launching -and saved the world from catastrophe.
  • January 13 2018 – Sirens and alerts on radio, TV, and cell phones warned Hawaiians that the islands were under nuclear attack, with the words, “Emergency alert – this is not a drill!” Fortunately, it was another computer error, and nobody died.For all these reasons – and more – we need to read, view, and hear information with a skeptical attitude that is ready to compare what we are told with what we know to be true. Just as Secret Service agents compare suspected counterfeit bills with authentic ones to determine they are bogus, so we need to compare the counterfeit claims of our culture, and the people in it, to what we know to be true.And how do we know what is true? We begin with the Word of God. We believe that it is infallible and inerrant, meaning it is without errors or deceptions. 1 Peter 1:24-25 tell us that the word of the Lord remains forever, and Numbers 23:19 says that God is not a man, that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. God’s word is true, eternal and unchangeable; what better standard of truth could there be? Jesus himself said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35, Mark 13:31, and Luke 21:33).

    It is to Jesus, the Truth, to whom the Scriptures testify. The closer we get to him, and the more immersed we are in his Word, the more brightly shines the truth and the more obvious the world’s lies become. He and his word are our touchstone. True, the Bible doesn’t expose every lie out there – such as whether the gals really will love to put their fingers through my hair – but it will reveal the ones that threaten my soul. And to tell the truth, that is what really matters!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: John 1:14-17; John 4:23-24; John 8:31-32.

P.S. Except for the two examples I included, I did not use ChatGPT to write this blog!

 

 

War and Peace, Part 3

What? A three-part blog? Yes, it’s true, even though I had promised my blog titled “War and Peace” was not going to be as long as Leo Tolstoy’s work of the same name. His book was 1400 pages long, so I have a way to go before breaking my promise. But I do promise there will not be a Part 456 to this topic.

So, why a third part? I had a few more things to say about the topic, and I saw that Part 2 was approaching the length of the Hundred Years War, so I needed to close it up. I hope that the following thoughts will complement what I already said, and provoke some thoughts on your part. Also, no more Latin phrases; I would hate to create a casus belli (reason for war) for you to raise up arms against me.

In no particular order, here are my additional thoughts on warfare:

1. What about a one-on-one battle? Imagine how many lives and resources would be saved if warring nations each chose one champion to fight his or her enemy counterpart. This is actually biblical: the Philistines sent out their champion, Goliath, to fight the champion of the Israelites. He challenged the Israelites, saying, “Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” And the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.” We know, of course, that David arose as Israel’s champion and slew Goliath, winning the battle (1 Samuel 17:1-58).

This idea was portrayed in a 1970 movie called The Challenge. The story is about a confrontation between the U.S. and an unnamed Asian country over recovering an American jet that crashes in the other country’s waters. Rather than fight a war over the jet, the countries agree to implement a plan called “Surrogate” in which each country will land one soldier on an uninhabited island to fight it out. Whoever kills the other, wins the “war” for his country. Needless to say, both countries cheat and land a second soldier to improve their chances of winning. And that’s the problem with the idea of a champion; the stakes in real life are too high to risk the outcome of a single battle.

2. Is a war just if you fight to defend only your material possessions? At the personal level, can you use force to defend your home or car if someone breaks in to steal but does not threaten to harm you? The law says that the person’s life is more valuable than your material objects, so you can’t harm them to make them stop. But what is left out of that view is the fact that your property is important for your survival and well-being. Your possessions cost part of your life to acquire, and will cost more to replace. If someone steals all your food, what will you eat? If someone takes your home, will you survive on the street? If shoplifting goes on unchecked, can the affected stores survive to provide jobs and needed goods and services? If society devolves into chaos, everyone’s life is at risk.

At the international level, few wars are fought to kill all your enemies in a genocide. Most have been to seize resources the other country has and you want, such as farm land, water, oil, or valuable minerals. When the Ostrogoths invaded Rome, it was because they needed farmland for their people, since they in turn had been driven out of their former lands by other invaders. They needed land to survive. Without it, their people would die as surely as if out to death by the sword.

James 4:1-3 tells us the reason we fight and war with each other: “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”

3. What about preemptive attacks? Is it okay to attack an enemy before they attack you? Obviously, if you are both at peace, and the other country shows no sign of preparing to attack you, such an attack on your part would not be just. But if war is inevitable, a first strike to diminish their war-making ability may shorten the war and save lives. This is what Japan tried with the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 – to destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet and prevent us from stopping their conquests. America has not considered that attack as “just.”

But what about Israel committing cyber-attacks to stop Iran from developing atomic weapons, when Iran has sworn to wipe Israel off the map? What about with drones, missiles, or aircraft? Or does Israel have to wait until Iran strikes first to make their own attacks legitimate?

On a personal level, do you have to wait until a home invader hurts you before you can fight back?

4. Is it morally okay to “bear false witness” (lie) in a war? During World War II the British conducted two hugely successful “disinformation” operations that completely fooled the Germans regarding invasion plans. In the first, they planted false invasion plans on a corpse which they dropped in the sea near Spain. The plans were for an allied invasion of German-held Greece, though the real invasion was set for Sicily. The ruse fooled Hitler, who ordered most of his troops in Sicily to defend Greece instead. Likewise, the Allies created a fictional army led by George Patton, comprised of rubber inflatable tanks and false radio traffic, stationed across from Calais, France, to fool the Germans into thinking Calais was the intended invasion target. The ruse worked, and many lives were saved in Normandy, the true invasion destination.

More recently, in its war against Israel, Hamas claimed that Israel bombed a hospital, killing 500 people including many children. It turns out that the hospital was not hit at all, and the only damage to its parking lot was caused by an errant rocket from a Hamas ally. This lie is representative of disinformation (lies) spread by many groups and countries today wherever conflicts occur.

It seems that the propriety of lying in war depends on the justness of the war. If a country is just in fighting the war, it should use means to shorten the war and achieve victory, even through lying. As the Chinese strategist, Sun Tzu, wrote in his book, The Art of War, all warfare is deception.

5. How much force is appropriate? In today’s conflicts, you hear the call for the more powerful party to use “proportional” responses, meaning they should not use more force than necessary to achieve their goals. This is a principle of just war doctrine, but the definition of proportionality can vary. On the one hand, it would be unjust to nuke a country if one of their ships strayed into your territorial waters, or even if they shot down one of your planes in disputed airspace. On the other hand, you are unlikely to win a victory if you send only as many forces as the enemy has available; the result will likely be a stalemate and a bogged down war of attrition, like World War I, causing much more death and misery than if you had been more forceful in the beginning. The principle calls for using only as much force as needed to bring the fighting to an end and save lives in the long run – but enough force to achieve that end.

This pertains to societal and personal levels of conflict as well. Police are constrained to use non-lethal means when possible, but to use sufficient force and numbers to take control of situations and perpetrators. In personal self-defense, potential victims are allowed to use only as much force as is needed to defend themselves; they cannot shoot someone who only shoves them, for example. In this way the principle of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” in Leviticus 24:20 is fulfilled.

6. How is peace ever possible? Humans’ capacity and desire for war are a great scandal. We should be sustaining and helping each other; instead, we fight and kill, justifying our actions with the flimsiest lies and rationalizations. In the name of national honor we kill and destroy. We want and kill to take what we want. We cause desolation, suffering, and loss, and consider every war as “just.” From the beginning, when the first human born on earth killed his brother, to the future end of time when the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse ride (conquest, warfare, famine, and death), there have been, and will be wars and rumors of war (Matthew 24:6). Only when the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) returns will we finally be at peace. Only then shall we “beat [our] swords into plowshares, and [our] spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Micah 4:3). Only then will we find true peace at every level: personal, societal, and between nations. Only in Christ will we find true peace.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you,the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: 1 Samuel 17:1-58; Isaiah 2:1-5; Revelation 6:1-8.

War and Peace, Part 2

In my previous blog, I presented biblical passages and teachings regarding matters of war and peace. A short summary of those teachings is that God both desires us to be at peace with each other and abhor violence, and permits, even commands, violence (the use of force) to protect people and restrain evil. The question of which command is applicable in any certain situation, is where issues and disagreements arise.

I ended the previous blog with this statement: “There were times when God commanded the ancient Israelites to war against their neighbors and oppressors. Is there such a thing as a just war today? If so, under what circumstances, and how would such a war be carried out?”

This is the question I will try to briefly address. Given that peace is our prime directive, are there times when war is a valid exception to the rule? Is there such a thing as a “just war?”

For the first 300 years of Christianity, the answer was almost always, “No.” Christians were a despised or even illegal minority, and they suffered persecution and death without fighting back. Even when soldiers converted to the faith, they would lay down their arms and refuse to kill other human beings, under penalty of their own death.

One example of this was the martyrdom suffered by over 6,000 soldiers of Rome’s Theban Legion, who in 286 A.D. were slaughtered by other Roman legionaries after they refused to obey the emperor’s command to hunt out and kill other Christians. Other examples abound of Christians who accepted martyrdom without violent resistance, considering their deaths to be patterned after Christ’s own submissive death.

It was after Christianity became legal – and even mandated – that Christians considered war as appropriate and in some cases, necessary. Very soon, the rightness of war was debated. One very influential writer on the subject was Augustine of Hippo (St. Augustine) who wrote:

“The real evils in war are love of violence, revengeful cruelty, fierce and implacable enmity, wild resistance, and the lust of power, and such like; and it is generally to punish these things, when force is required to inflict the punishment, that, in obedience to God or some lawful authorities, good men undertake wars, when they find themselves in such a position as regards the conduct of human affairs, that right conduct requires them to act, or to make others act, in this way.” Reply to Faustus the Manichaean XXII. 74. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, vol. 4, p. 301.

Even after the Church accepted the idea of just wars, certain Christian sects continued to hold and practice pacifist doctrines. These have included the Cathars, Lollards, Amish, Mennonites, Quakers, Moravians, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Seventh Day Adventists. (See the moving story of Desmond Doss, a Medal of Honor recipient, Adventist, and conscientious objector who served as a medic in World War II, in the movie, Hacksaw Ridge.)

When I think of situations when the use of force, even lethal force, might be appropriate, I think of three levels: personal, societal, and international.

First, as individuals we may need to use force to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and those who are in our care and need our protection. If someone is on a murderous rampage (such as the recent killer in Lewiston, Maine), and attacks us or those we must protect, we are not only allowed to stop the attack, we are righteous in doing so. Where we draw the line is at self- defense; we may not invade other people’s homes and harm them to steal their stuff. We may not torture the wrong-doer or act as vigilantes, roaming the streets looking for law-breakers to punish. We may not kill someone over a perceived insult or minor wrong; this is where “turning the other cheek” comes into play (Matthew 5:39).

The second level is societal. God raises up governments and charges them with subduing evildoers from harming their subjects/citizens. Romans 13:4 says, “But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he [the ruler] does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” The police are necessary for a peaceful and ordered society. Where laws are not enforced, the result is rampant crime and societal chaos. It would be nice if police could be like the old British Bobbies, patrolling without sidearms, but those days are past. Nowadays, police have SWAT units to fight criminals with military weapons and tactics. And what happens when police officers themselves step over the line and commit crimes? Then they too should suffer “God’s wrath” under the ruler’s authority.

The third level is international. In a way, it is an extension of personal and societal justifications for violence. It, too, is used to protect those who are, or are about to be, under attack. When one country attacks another, it gathers forces and launches them against the other country. The attacked country responds, and the result is war. Here, one country acts in self defense, and its government uses the sword to restrain the evil being directed at its citizenry. Thus the similarity to the other levels.

Because of the devastating nature of war, countries have entered into treaties to limit aspects of war to protect civilians and regulate the treatment of combatants and Prisoners of War (POW’s). Examples of this are the Geneva Conventions, the Geneva Protocols, and the Hague Conventions. Certain chemical and biological weapons were banned, while the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons addressed such things as landmines, booby traps, and incendiary devices. the intent of the 1980 accord was to limit post-conflict casualties, especially among civilians.

Politicians are not the only ones to consider the question of just wars. Theologians in the Church have also addressed the issue, and have come to the following conclusions on when warfare can be considered “just.”

The first category is about just reasons to go to war (called by theologians, jus ad bellum):

  1. Just cause – innocent life must be at stake
  2. Proportionate cause – the good accomplished by the war must outweigh the evil done by it.
  3. Employed only by a competent authority (Government)
  4. The right intention (to save lives more than to kill enemies)
  5. Probability of success to avoid needless deaths (Luke 14:31 –  “Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?”)
  6. Last resort (All attempts at peaceful resolutions have failed.)

Once a country is engaged in war, it must conduct hostilities in certain ways to remain just. Theologians call this, Jus in bello:

  1. Distinction – between combatants and civilians. You fight against enemy combatants, not civilians, surrendering enemies, POW’s, or neutrals.
  2. Proportionality – minimize collateral damage of civilian life and property.
  3. Military necessity – no violence that does not directly help defeat the enemy.
  4. Humane treatment of prisoners of war – medical treatment, food and water. No torture allowed.
  5. No malum in se, that is, do no acts that are evil in themselves, such as rape and  torture.

Finally, people have recently added a third area of just war: Jus post bellum. This concerns justice after a war, including peace treaties, reconstruction, environmental remediation, war crimes trials, and war reparations. Those are important issues, but are beyond the scope of this blog.

Ultimately, the purpose of a just war is to end violence and bring reconciliation, for we are fighting our brothers and sisters, those who, like us, are made in God’s image. The goal is not to destroy our enemy, but to stop their evil actions. In this way, former enemies may become friends and allies (such as Britain, Germany, and Japan). This desire for renewed fellowship is an important Christian distinction to conflict. Paul tells us in Galatians 6:1, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.”  And Jesus told us that we are to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44), bless those who curse us, and pray for those who abuse us (Luke 6:28). This doesn’t mean we stand by and allow us or others to be killed, but it gives us the right motives and limits our actions to what is needed and no more.

I hope and pray that neither you nor I face situations where our desire to avoid violence is tested. If so, may God protect and guide our actions!

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine on you and be gracious to you, that Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Romans 12:16; Romans 15:5; Matthew 5:38-48.

P.S. Stay tuned for Part 3, coming soon!

War and Peace

War and Peace.  That was the title of Leo Tolstoy’s great work, his magnum opus, an 1869 novel set in Russia during the war against Napoleonic France. It was magnum in both literary impact and in size – some 1400 pages long, with a cast of 500 characters. It is also the name of this blog, though you can take some comfort in my promise that this blog will likely be shorter than Tolstoy’s epic.

This blog, and the thoughts that brought it to mind, were triggered (a sadly appropriate term) by the events of last Saturday, when the group known as Hamas launched a coordinated attack from Gaza into Israel. The attackers killed over 1,300 Israelis and captured an unknown number of hostages. They also launched thousands of rockets at Israel, adding to the number of dead and wounded.

Israel has declared war on Hamas, and after regaining territory from the invaders, the Israeli military amassed troops on the border, poised to counterattack into Gaza to destroy Hamas. We will see what comes next, though everyone expects the war to be brutal and bloody.

Amid the many calls for peace and negotiations, was the dissenting voice of one Israeli, who said that for there to be peace, the perpetrators who killed so many civilians must themselves be killed. To him, and many like him, the path to peace will lead through war. In the words of the old Latin adage: Sic vis pacem, para bellum (If you want peace, prepare for war).

This situation has raised the question of what Christians should believe – and do – about war.  Historically, Christians have responded in many different ways, from mounting crusades to fighting defensive wars to insisting on pacifism. Therefore, we cannot depend on tradition for our position; we need to go to the Scriptures for guidance.

On the one hand, we see that God’s desire is for us to be at peace with each other. In Genesis, God condemns the spilling of others’ blood, “for God made man in his own image” (9:6). Later, he gave the 10 Commandments, in which he said, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). Luther explained that this commandment went far beyond prohibiting killing, to also mean, “We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.”

Then we read Psalm 46:9, which says, “He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.”

And we have Jesus’ words in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9), and, famously, “Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:39). And when Jesus told us what are the greatest commandments, he summed them up as loving God and loving our neighbor (Mark 12:31); it’s hard to reconcile loving our neighbor with killing him. Finally, we read Paul’s admonition in Romans 12:18, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”

From these passages, it is clear that God does not desire war and killing. Therefore, pacifism can be a legitimate response by those seeking to honor and obey God’s word.

On the other hand, we unfortunately live in a fallen and sinful world, in which most people don’t care what God has said. Some are sinners who hate their neighbors, and some are outright wicked, delighting in killing for their perceived benefit. What do we do about them? Do we let them run rampant in this world, slaughtering innocent people, hoping that they get their just deserts on Judgment Day? What if the “slap on my cheek” becomes a knife attack against a loved one? Do I tell my family member to turn their other cheek to the knife, when I have the means to stop the attack?

Though the Bible commands peace, it is not naive in its understanding of life. Its clear message is that we do live in a world of sin, and that we must be aware of its dangers and deal with them. The passage that tells us to be “innocent as doves” also tells us to “be wise as serpents” because we are in “the midst of wolves” (Matthew 10:16). Therefore, Jesus could command his disciples to sell their cloak and buy a sword (Luke 22:36).

The Scriptures go further in saying how we should deal with the evil actions of wicked people.

  1.  We are not to associate with wicked people, lest we support them or be tempted to do evil. Proverbs 22:24 warns, “Do not associate with a man given to anger; Or go with a hot-tempered man” Psalms 1:1 says, “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!” And Paul warns Christians in 1 Corinthians 5:11, “But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one.”
  2. Capital punishment of killers is not only permitted; it is commanded. God said in Genesis 9:5-6, “And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”
  3. Governments have the duty to protect people and restrain evil. Romans 13:3-4 says, “For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.”
  4. The command about turning the other cheek deals with responding to insults, which a Christian can bear without reprisals. It does not talk about protecting the innocent (or yourself) from violent assaults. While you may choose to forfeit your life when threatened (such as accepting martyrdom), you are not required to do so. Your submission may embolden the attacker to kill others,and your loved  ones may depend on you provision and protection. The old saying, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men should do nothing.” is true. Proverbs 24:11 says, “Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.” Rescuing people may require force.
  5. The biblical statement, “an eye for an eye,” from Exodus 21:23 is often looked at as being a bloodthirsty command. But the point was to limit reprisals to “proportionate” actions. You were not allowed to kill someone who took your eye; you were only allowed to take their eye, too. God’s command was to keep violence from spiraling out of control.
  6. Tribes, gangs, and nations go to war for many reasons: land, natural resources, human resources (slaves), markets (legal and illegal), pride, and security from active and potential threats. James 4:1-3 addresses this impulse to war: “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”

Wars of conquest and genocide are obviously wrong. But are there times when it is legitimate for a nation (or an individual) to go to war? Are there times when not going to war would be a greater evil than actually doing so?

There were times when God commanded the ancient Israelites to war against their neighbors and oppressors. Is there such a thing as a just war today? If so, under what circumstances, and how would such a war be carried out? Those are big questions that deserve answers; in the next blog I will try to address them. Until then, be at peace, and pray for the peace of Jerusalem! (Psalm 122:6).

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Isaiah 2:4; Joel3:10; Micah 4:3-4.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Individual

 

society

 

between nations

There’s No Debate

This week witnessed a so-called “debate” in which seven candidates for the Presidency answered questions and traded barbs at each other, all hoping to gain popular support for their candidacies. I say, “so-called” not to insult the participants, but to point out that neither the format nor the results conformed to what I had learned in school about how debates are to work. In a classical debate, there is a proposition, which one side affirms and the other side denies. Then the two sides take turns arguing for their side and against the other. There are rebuttals and counter-arguments, until all the points are made. Finally, the judges, or the audience, declares which side won the debate.

While pondering this week’s debate, another debate came to mind, one which I instituted a number of years ago. For my sermon one Sunday, I pitted my two associate pastors against each other over the question, “Which is more important in Christianity: faith or love?” Defending the former was Reverend Faith, a.k.a. Pastor Salge, and the other, Brother Love, i.e., Pastor Brokenshire. (Of course, neither had a chance, since I provided them with scripts to follow.) In a key exchange, Brother Love claimed to be “another Abraham,” to which the (much) older  Reverend Faith retorted, “I knew Abraham, and you’re no Abraham!”*

It was a lighthearted recap of a very real controversy fought between two major branches of Christianity, over what was necessary for salvation. The Roman Catholic position was that God gave faith to people which enabled them to do works of love, which in turn saved them (salvation by works). But following Martin Luther, Protestants claimed that it was faith alone, apart from works, which saves (sola  fide). Both sides recognize that without God’s grace and Christ’s death and resurrection, there would be no salvation. They differed on how to receive that salvation.

When it came to my faux debate, neither side argued for salvation by works. Both insisted on salvation by God’s grace alone through faith alone as exemplified in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Their debate was therefore about which was more important in the life of a Christian. 

Brother Love had a wealth of passages to draw from. Key passages included the following:

  1. Jesus himself taught us that the greatest commandment is love. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40).
  2. The Apostle Paul elevated love over faith when he said in 1 Corinthians 13, “and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing,” (v.2) and “so now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (v. 13).
  3. Even the Old Testament, with its many laws which commanded works, also demanded  love: Leviticus 19:18 says, “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”
  4. At the Last Supper, Jesus told his disciples, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:34).
  5. The Apostle John repeated this command in his 2nd Epistle: “the [commandment] we have had from the beginning—that we love one another” (v. 5).
  6. John also said in his 1st Epistle, 4:8, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
  7. And finally, we read in James 2:17, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

Brother Love made a strong case, but as Proverbs 18:17 says, “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.” Now we hear from Reverend Faith:

  1. The very beginning of God’s relationship to a people was when he made a promise to Abraham, and Abraham believed him. Genesis 15:6 says, “And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.“
  2. Paul quotes that verse in Romans 4:3, and in verse 5 adds: “And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.”
  3. In Galatians 3:7, Paul says, “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.”
  4. Even James speaks of Abraham’s faith: “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness—and he was called a friend of God.”
  5. Numerous times when Jesus healed someone, he credited their faith as having saved them: a paralytic, an ill woman, a leper, blind men, etc.
  6. Hebrews 11 recounts many faithful heroes. It begins with the statement, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” It speaks of faith’s power: “who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.” Hebrews then praises those who believed God’s promises, yet died before seeing their fulfillment in Christ.
  7. In Matthew 17:20, Jesus said, “For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
  8. Finally, the importance of faith is given in Mark 16:16, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

So, which is it? Faith or love? Which is more important? Of course, when all is said and done, “Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35), so one must take all of what the Bible says about both faith and love. They are both vital in the life of a Christian. It’s like a coin with two faces: which is more important? They are both important; if one face is missing the coin is incomplete. Without either faith or love, the Christian life is incomplete.  Our faith receives God’s love and compels our response to love God back, to love those whom he created in his image, and to love the creation which he made. Our faith demands works of love, not just feelings of love which are cheap and transitory. Love is costly; it is risky. But if we trust God through faith, we will act, and our love will draw others to the faith which will save them.

After all is said and done, there is no debate. Faith and love. What a powerful combination of two of God’s greatest gifts. May they both be active blessings in your life!

May the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you,may the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: 1 Corinthians 13; Hebrews 11.

*An allusion to a famous remark during the 1988 Vice-Presidential debate, when Dan Quayle claimed to be another JFK, and his opponent, Lloyd Bentsen, snapped, “I knew Jack Kennedy, and you’re no Jack Kennedy!”

The Old Gray Mare

Something big and earth-shattering happened since my previous blog. On August 31st I had a birthday – number 72, by the way. The earth shook, the stars fell, and the people cried out in agony. Okay, maybe that was a bit too dramatic, but my wife did bake me a German chocolate cake. And I spent half the day in dialysis. That was dramatic enough for me. Oh, and some of you sent me birthday cards, which was very thoughtful. Thank you!

As I contemplated my new age, I felt the dichotomy of recognizing the effects of aging on my body, while feeling like I’m still in my 20’s. I’m not in pain, am able to think and remember things (except for a few senior moments), and can handle daily activities as before. But thanks to my diabetes, foot problems, and kidney disease, I am only too aware that my body is showing its age. You might include my gray/white hair as evidence, except both my parents, younger sister, and I all turned gray at early ages.

The old folk song came to mind:

The old gray mare,
She ain’t what she used to be
Ain’t what she used to be,
Ain’t what she used to be
The old gray mare,
She ain’t what she used to be
Many long years ago.

My folks used to sing it to me; now it’s my turn.

In today’s youth-centered culture, old age is something to be looked down on. Youth and vigor is lauded, advertisers direct their efforts at young adults (their prime demographic), and young 20-somethings grace our media. The only place I regularly see 60+ people featured is in my doctor’s office (and for some reason they are all shown smiling, though they would smile more if they weren’t in their doctors’ offices.) Yes, youth is in great demand, and the oldsters are pushed to the side, sometimes with patronizing comments like, “Let’s put them out to pasture.” Some actually advocate withholding treatments for the elderly or “assisting” their passage from this life. The only place where old people are welcomed is in our government: Congress and the Presidency. (Am I old enough to run for office now?)

As Christians, our attitudes toward seniors should come from what God says in his Word, rather than from the culture around us, especially since much of that culture is under the direction of non-and anti-Christians. So, what does God say?

  1. All life is precious, because God created us in his image. There is no age limit or restriction on that declaration (Genesis 1:26-27). Child in the womb? Included. Aged seniors unable to care for themselves? Yep. Any color? Absolutely. Any size or physical or mental condition? Ditto. When God instituted capital punishment in Genesis 9, he said whatever animal or man took the life of another person, would pay with their own life, “for God made man in his own image” (Genesis 9:6).
  2. When God commanded, “honor your father and your mother,” (Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16), he gave that commandment to adults who were to honor their older parents. Unlike the practice they had known in Egypt, where the elderly were taken out into the desert to die, the Israelites were to care for their aged parents and honor them. Interestingly, this commandment was linked to a blessing for those who obeyed it: they would see long life in the land where they were going. In other words, if they cared for their old parents, they would get to grow old, too!
  3. The Scriptures say that long life is a blessing from God. Besides the blessing attached to the Fourth Commandment above, Psalm 34:12 connects fear of the Lord with longevity. It says, ” What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good?” Moses was blessed with 120 years, Joshua with 110. (Not to mention the ancients who lived 900 or more years.) In Deuteronomy 6:2, God says to obey his commandments “that your days may be long.” Psalm 91:16 promises that for those who love the Lord, “With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” In the Book of Proverbs, where Wisdom is personified as a woman, it says that there is a blessing for those who find her: “Long life is in her right hand;” (Proverbs 3:16). Another proverb speaks of old age as a blessing: Proverbs 16:31 declares: “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.”
  4. Old people have the wisdom of life experience and the knowledge gained over many years. They have lived history and dealt with many of life’s challenges over their many years. That’s why many societies honored their “elders”, turning to them for advice and decisions that would affect the tribe or community.  Deuteronomy 32:7 says, “Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you.” The key verse that affirms this point is Job 12:12, “Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?”
  5. Finally, the ultimate “Senior” is the One who lived before the earth began: the One the Bible calls “The Ancient of Days” (Daniel 7:9). In both Daniel and  Revelation 1:14 the Lord is described as having hair “white as snow” (snow white?). Jesus himself proclaimed, “Before Abraham was, I am,” (John 8:58), by which he announced his divinity and his eternal nature.

So there you have it. Now I don’t feel so bad, turning 72. Not only am I close to the US male life expectancy of 73.5 years, I also have the Bible on my side. Therefore, whenever I think of dying my hair, I recall the comforting words of Proverbs 20:29 which say, “The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.” Amen, brother!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Isaiah 46:2-4

Fingers To the Bone, Part 2

Welcome back! Previously, I presented some of the things I have been thinking about in regards to the subject of work. I left off by saying that work is about much more than just earning a paycheck. Today, I would like to talk about five reasons why work is good (as long as you are not forced to work your fingers to the bone!). Consider these benefits that come from our work:

  1. Our work provides financial rewards to those who work and their families. Work transforms our efforts into tangible rewards with which we can purchase goods and services we need and want. By working we are trading our time and effort for money or some other means of exchange.  The Bible recognizes employment for gain. Jesus’ parable about workers in the field    centers around workers being paid for their labors (Matthew 20). Luke 10:7 says, “The laborer deserves his wages.”  1 Timothy 5:18 speaks about fair pay when it says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” And 2 Timothy 3:6 says, “The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.” The Bible warns those who would cheat workers of their just pay in passages like James 5:4, “Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.” On the flip side, the Bible also warns those too lazy to work: “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Work for pay and pay for work are good things.
  2. Our work provides goods and services to other people. As I said above, without workers, we wouldn’t be able to buy any goods or secure any services. But when we work, we produce things and services that other people need to live and enhance their lives. The farmer works hard and produces the food that many people need to sustain life. The electricians install and service lines to provide our homes and businesses with electricity. Teachers instruct our children and watch them a good part of each day so we can work to provide other people with their needs. Just as a tree produces fruit, so a person provides fruits of his or her labors to benefit others. (Ephesians 4:28 says, “. . . work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.”
  3. Our work is spiritually and emotionally rewarding. It just feels good to work hard at something and see what you have accomplished. There are sayings about “a good day’s work” and “a job well done” that speak to the satisfaction that comes from hard work. It satisfies us to see our work do good for others, or else why would so many people volunteer to serve others without pay? We feel happier to help others without expecting any remuneration in return. (Besides, no one could afford me if I charged what I am worth!)
  4. Our work is important for our socialization. Where do we learn how to work with other people, get along with them, handle disagreements, celebrate joint accomplishments, and learn communication skills except in places where we work? Tough bosses can frustrate and anger us, but we learn how to do our jobs while placating them. Lazy co-workers? We learn how to deal with them, too. Rude customers? We gain experience from every one of them. Even if we don’t like them, we can thank God for the “on the job training.” Ecclesiastes 4:9 commends working with other people: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.”
  5. Our work is for the Lord. Whether we work for a company, a corporation, a school, a government, or are self-employed, our ultimate employer is God. Our good works, paid or volunteer, glorify him above all, so we are called to serve him in all our work. In the Old Testament, Proverbs 16:3 promises, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” In the New Testament, Colossians 3:23-24 tells us, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Summarizing, our Lord Jesus taught us, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

So you see, whatever work we do here on earth, it is much more important than the paycheck we may receive for doing it. Our work benefits ourselves, others, and even glorifies God. Jesus tells us that now is the time to work, “while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work” (John 9:4). For one day our labors will cease: “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his” (Hebrews 4:9-10).

Until that day, work hard! But wear gloves if you have to mix any concrete!*

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Philippians 4:13; 1 Peter 4:10.

*See my previous blog for the story behind this.

Fingers To the Bone

Have you ever heard the expression, “He worked his fingers to the bone.”? I thought about that phrase once when working at a YMCA in New Jersey. It was my first day on the job, with day camp set to start two days later, but unfortunately, our swimming pool had been shut down by the state inspectors since the water was green and sections of the pool tile had come loose and fallen into the water. I immediately drove to the store, bought some chlorine and a bag of Quikrete concrete, and spent the entire next day mixing the concrete and re-attaching the tiles to the pool deck. The good news was, my work was successful, and we passed our new inspection so the camp could begin. The bad news was, I had mixed the concrete bare-handed for twelve hours, and my finger tips were raw and bleeding. I had almost literally worked my fingers to the bone.

I’ve been thinking about the subject of “work” lately. Maybe it’s all the “Help Wanted” and “Now Hiring” signs that adorn every store and restaurant in town. Maybe it’s the employment/unemployment numbers reported on the news each month. Or maybe it’s hearing people call for a guaranteed income for everyone, whether they work or not.

Whatever the reason, I have been thinking about work, its purpose and benefits, its blessings and dangers, and how it fits into God’s (and therefore our) plans. So following are some of my thoughts, not in any particular order (because it would take work to organize them!).

  • Work is not a curse, but the natural condition of life. Before mankind fell into sin and received God’s curse, God had already assigned work for us to do. Genesis 2:15 says, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Therefore, Adam and Eve didn’t just lie around all day eating grapes brought to them by monkeys; they had work to do. It was after the Fall that God made their work more difficult and dangerous. God cursed Adam, saying, “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food”   (Genesis 3:17-19).
  • The natural state of mankind is poverty. It takes work to create goods, deliver services, practice trade, and meet basic needs. People create wealth by work, transforming their labor into things of value, such as money, which can then be used to purchase the fruit of other people’s labors.
  • God created the world and everything in it in six days, and rested on the seventh day (Genesis2:2-3). He took his time; being all-powerful he didn’t need that long to do his work. What he did was set the pattern for us: six days of work, one day of rest. (Work. Rinse. Repeat.). While work is good, it does take a toll on our physical and mental energy, so a day off each week is a healthy way to recharge. Jesus explained the purpose of the Sabbath rest when he said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). God commanded us to take that Sabbath rest every week; because Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8), if we are in him by faith, we fulfill that commandment (though we still benefit from taking a weekly break!).
  • I grew up in a town that observed what were called, “Blue Laws.” This meant that stores and other businesses were closed on Sundays for the Christian Sabbath. I still remember the time in the 1960s when some pastors led protests against the first stores that opened on Sunday; nowadays, Sunday is hardly different from any other day. I admit that my wife and I do sometimes shop on Sundays, though technically, the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week: Saturday. So we’re okay . . .
  • As a pastor, I worked a reverse Sabbath system: I worked one day a week and rested six days. Or at least, that’s what people thought . . .
  • Some people believe that guaranteed income, that is a check from the government, is a good substitute for a paycheck. After all, if everyone had enough money, they wouldn’t have to work, right? Setting aside basic issues of economics for now, my question is: What good is that money going to do you if everyone else gets their check and decides not to work either? What good is your money if no one makes any goods for you to buy? What if no one is available to provide the services you want or need? What if you are hurt or sick and all the former medical people are sitting at home with their checks?

Work has more purposes to it than just earning money, as important as that is. I think we can identify five reasons why work is beneficial, but because I have already worked my fingers to the bone writing this, I will talk about the purposes of work in my next blog: “Fingers To the Bone, Part 2.” See you there!

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Deuteronomy 5:13-14; Psalm 90:17.

The Implant You Need

Next week, I am going to receive a dental implant. It not being my first such implant, I think the word “receive” is a bit mild and misleading.  I will not just walk up to the receptionist at the oral surgeon’s office and pick  up the implant, thank the receptionist, and walk out with the implant. No, it’s more like this: first, the assistant will x-ray my jaw to make sure the powdered cow bone they packed into the empty tooth socket four months ago has formed a strong bone structure. Since I have been craving grass lately,  I am sure it has taken hold properly.  Second, the surgeon will numb my gum/jaw, my first clue that something traumatic is about to occur. Third, the surgeon will pull out his mechanic’s toolbox and select an electric drill. He will rev up the device, and with a grin on his face, he will proceed to drill a hole deep into my jaw. Next, he will place the implant into the top of the hole. Is he done now? Oh, no. Now he grabs a new tool: a socket wrench, and begins to ratchet the implant down into the bone. Finally, I have “received” the implant, and I crawl out of the office with gauze pads packed in my mouth to stop the bleeding, drool coming from my unfeeling lips, and a prescription in my hand for a Schedule II federally- controlled narcotic pain medication.*

The other kind of implant I have is known as an intraocular lens. After being diagnosed with cataracts, I underwent removal of my original lenses and replacement with these artificial, soft plastic lenses. They really are remarkable; years ago a person had to wear what were called “coke-bottle” eyeglasses in order to see after such surgery. Now, the implanted lenses, formed to give a person their desired acuity close up or far away, allow that person to see clearly without glasses. The fact  that I was awake during both of my cataract replacements and could see what they are doing, did nothing to diminish my joy at having improved eyesight.

Yes, implants can be a wonderful thing. I’m waiting for them to invent kidney implants so I can give up dialysis,  but for now, I will just enjoy the benefits of the implants I do have.

But there is one more implant I have not yet mentioned, and that is one that I received without medical intervention. It is truly the greatest implant of all, the one that changed my life forever. And it was given to me apart from anything I have done or deserved. I am speaking of the Holy Spirit, planted in my heart by the Word of God at my baptism.

The Bible is clear that Christians carry the implanted Holy Spirit.

  1.  At the Last Supper, Jesus promised the coming of the Holy Spirit to take his place in the world, to comfort his followers, to empower them, and to lead them in all truth:  “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him” (John 14:16). But note that he promised them the Spirit in a new way, beyond how the Spirit had been with the disciples already. Jesus said, “You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:17). Note the change from “with you” to “in you.” The Holy Spirit is not something we put on and take off as it suits us, but a person who takes up residence within us.

2. Paul picks up this teaching and includes it in his epistles. Romans 8:9 says, “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.” 1 Corinthians 3:16 reminds us, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”confirmed in 1 Corinthians 6:19, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?” Again, Paul writes to Timothy, saying, “By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you” (2 Timothy 1:16).

3. The Apostle Peter also speaks of the Holy Spirit indwelling the prophets: “ Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories” (1 Peter 1:10-11).

4.  And finally, James tells us how the Spirit comes to us: by God’s Word. He says, “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21).

My physical implants confer certain benefits: better chewing and better vision. Likewise, our spiritual implant, the Holy Spirit, confers all kinds of benefits to those who have received him.

  1. He teaches us and brings to remembrance all that Christ has taught us (John 14:26). This requires that we read God’s Word first, so the Spirit can remind us of what we read.
  2. He pours God’s love into our hearts (Romans 5:5).
  3. Romans 8:11 says, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” The Spirit gives life, now and eternally.
  4. The Spirit gives us gifts according to his will. Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 give us lists of such gifts, including faith and love, prophecy and tongues. He also grows spiritual fruit in us, such as peace and patience (see Galatians 5:22-23).
  5. The Holy Spirit is our direct connection to God. He helps us to pray. Romans 8:26 says,  “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Not bad, having a divine advocate speaking on our behalf!
  6. The Holy Spirit is God’s seal, his guarantee, that we are his and will be his forever (2 Corinthians 1:21-22).

So, where does this leave us? It means we are not alone in the world; we have God’s own Spirit within us to strengthen, guide, comfort, and at times rebuke us, to convict us of our sins, and keep us in step with the righteous-ness which Christ has bestowed on us. It is our calling as Christians to walk in the Spirit, believe in the Savior to whom he points, and follow the Holy Scriptures which he inspired – all of which he enables and empowers.

Not bad for a painless implant!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you. the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Galatians 5:16-25.

* Actually, my oral surgeon is excellent, and I have not had to take more than a Tylenol or two following the surgery.

 

 

 

 

Light In the Darkness

We live in dark times. Not only are sins openly allowed, they are celebrated. Movies, TV, and social media are filled with words and images that just a short time ago would have never appeared in public places. On top of that, anyone speaking against them or calling for constraint or decorum is called a hater of some kind and is then canceled or outright attacked.

Christians are portrayed as villains in movies and TV shows. A man plays Satan in a televised award show. A pro baseball team gives an award to a group that mocks Christ and those who believe in him. A movie exposing the horrors of child sex trafficking is demeaned as “right-wing propaganda,” while others call for unlimited abortions up to and after  birth. Our government, charged by God with restraining evil (Romans 13:4), instead condones and even promotes evil.

It is indeed a very dark time.

Sort of like the time into which Jesus was born.

In those days, the prevailing Greek and Roman societies promoted the worship of idols, that is, demons (1 Corinthians 10:20). Women practiced abortions, primarily by throwing their newborn babies onto the city dump. Pirates and highwaymen waylaid travelers, and human trafficking into slavery was so common that Paul had to address how slaves and their masters were to act toward each other (1 Timothy 6:1-2). Even among the religious Jews of the time there was corruption in business practices (“wicked scales and deceitful weights” – Micah 6:11) and ethnic bias. People were sinful then, just like now. It was a dark world then, just like now. As the French would say, “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” (“The more things change, the more they are the same.”).

The good news was that something was about to change – drastically. Not the nature of the world, but the solution to that darkened condition. Light was about to shine in the world. The Apostle John opened his Gospel with the Good News that “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:9). Who or what was that light? The light was Jesus Christ, who in John 8:12 said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

So, what does light, especially the light of the world, do? What good is it?

  1. The first thing light does is reveal our path. Without light, we stumble in the dark; with it, we avoid obstacles and find our way safely. Twice this year, severe wind storms knocked out our power, leaving us without our computers (Oh, no!) or any lights. We dug out a couple flashlights and candles, allowing us to walk safely around the house until the power returned. In a world beset by spiritual darkness, we stumble from one false teaching or belief to another, ending up totally confused and lost. But spiritual light, in the person of Jesus Christ, shows us the way to salvation and eternal life with our heavenly Father. His coming fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah that “the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light” (Matthew 4:16). He who announced that he is the light of the world also said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Jesus not only lights the way to salvation, he is the lighted path himself.
  2. Another thing that light does is reveal things hidden in the dark. This especially applies to evil deeds, which try to hide unseen in obscurity.  That’s why most crimes happen at night, when the perpetrators can hide their identity, or cover up their misdeeds. That’s why political figures try to hide their crimes and moral failures by weasel words and cover-ups. The Bible proclaims that all such evil deeds will be brought to light in the day of judgment. 1 Corinthians 4:5 says when the Lord comes, he will “bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart.”

Unfortunately, many who dwell in darkness – and even love it – don’t want the light or the One who brings it into the world. John 1:9-11 tells us, “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” Why doesn’t everyone want the light of Christ in their lives? 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 says, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” They have been spiritually blinded to the glory of Christ, not wanting to acknowledge their wickedness nor give up the sins which make them happy. Better to “turn a blind eye” to God’s commandments than to feel any obligation to obey them!  

But what about us? What part does Christ’s light play in our lives?

1. We trust that the true light will ultimately triumph, even if the darkness around us is so strong. John 1:4-5 says about Christ, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Similarly, the warning that the light will reveal the deeds of darkness shows the triumph of good over evil. In the words of the song, “This Is My Father’s World,” we hear, “For though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the Ruler yet.”*

2. Like moths, we should flock to the light and avoid the darkness. The Bible warns us as Christians to no longer live in the darkness nor associate with it. This may mean dropping certain activities or friends that would tempt us to continue dark and destructive paths. 2 Corinthians 6:14 warns us, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” And Jesus himself said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 1:12).

3. At his Transfiguration, Jesus shone like the sun (Matthew 17:2). If he is like the sun, we are like the moon, reflecting his light into the world around us. That is why Jesus could say to us, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). When we shine Christ’s light into the world, we reveal both its lost condition and the one way to its salvation. The world may not like to hear the first part, but it needs to hear the second. According to Romans 2, we are “a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness.” We take to heart the words of the old Sunday School song: “Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m gonna let it shine!”** Our duty as Christians is to walk in the light. Paul called us to be “blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). Our shining is a testimony to Christ and a call to follow the light to eternal life in Christ.

In Ephesians 6:12, Paul called the world, “this present darkness,” and said it is under the influence of spiritual, cosmic powers of evil. We should remember that when we face the evil words and actions of people around us, we are not to hate them, but to enlighten them to the light of Christ, that they too, like us, may be called out of darkness and into God’s marvelous  light (1 Peter 2:9).  Ultimately, it is only the light of Christ that will chase away the shadows of spiritual darkness.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: John 1:1-14; Ephesians 6:11-13;

*”This Is My Father’s World”, by Maltie D. Babcock, 1901, public domain.

**”This Little Light of Mine”, by Harold Dixon Loes, public domain.

Alone But Not Afraid

While recently surfing the Internet (a favorite pastime during dialysis), I encountered some ads for a book titled, Alone and Unafraid. Ostensibly written by a former CIA officer, the book purports to teach the reader all kinds of secrets from the spy world about surviving various dangerous situations. Even if a person finds himself alone during a catastrophe, he need not be afraid; the book will teach him what he needs to know to endure safely.

Sounds like a deal. Who wouldn’t want to face life and whatever it dishes out without being afraid? It’s like Shakespeare wrote in Julius Caesar, “Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once.” (Act 2, Scene 2). How much more enjoyable is life when we don’t fear all kinds of things that may or may not happen to us?

The above referenced book title certainly appeals to one of people’s greatest fears: being alone. There’s something especially intimidating about facing problems on our own, without someone there to protect us, share our burdens, comfort us in our pain, and console us in our losses. There are many such tough situations:

1. You lose a loved one to death or other loss, especially a parent or spouse who loved us and provided financial support and handled daily practical needs. Maybe they paid the bills, drove us to school, work, or appointments. Or maybe they just provided companionship (“It is not good that the man should be alone” – Genesis 2:18), a listening ear, and a ready smile. Suddenly there is a void in life, a space that cannot be filled.

2. You are facing a challenge. Maybe it’s a test at school, or a job interview, or a public speech, or “the big game” you’ve been training for. Whatever it is, it is up to you and you alone to take it on. No one can do it for you. (Reminds me of preaching! Talk of feeling “Alone and Afraid” on a Sunday morning!)

3. You are dealing with a serious medical condition. No matter how many people encourage you, the bad news is about you alone, and you are the one who has to undergo whatever procedure or treatment is required. It’s hard not to feel alone and afraid when the doctor looks at your test results and frowns or says, “Oh, oh . . .”

4. You are physically alone due to some disaster. A flood, fire, earthquake, or riot separates you from your normal network of support, supplies, or caregivers. No outside people or providers are available to you as you hunker down or flee the situation. Imagine losing touch with family and friends as you become a refugee.

5. You are at the end of your days. As the words of the song, Ten Thousand Reasons**, put it: “And on that day when my strength is failing, the end draws near and my time has come. . .” During the covid lock downs, too many people in hospitals and nursing homes had to die alone due to bans on visitors. Even Karen’s mother, though she lived another year, had to spend her 90th birthday alone due to restrictions. But even if you are surrounded by your whole family when the time comes, you have to make that final journey by yourself.

These situations can be very discouraging and potentially fear-inducing. But no matter how threatening they may be, with no other human being anywhere near us, we need not fear them, because our powerful and loving God promises to be with us, no matter what happens. Whether we see him or not, he knew what would happen to us long before it did, knows our fears and struggles, and will answer our prayers for help. God promises this to us many times in his Word.

1. When the mantle of leadership passed from Moses to Joshua, God told the new leader not to be afraid of the challenges ahead in conquering the promised land. He said, “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6). This promise was not only for Joshua, but for all believers, because Hebrews 13:5 applies it to us: “for [God] has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

2. The Psalms are full of celebration that God is with us in good times and bad. Psalm 3:6 rejoices, saying, “I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.” Likewise, Psalm 27:1 says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” And Psalm 56:11 claims, “in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?” The psalmist even addresses loneliness in Psalm 25:16 by calling on God: “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.”

3. The basis of our courage and sense of togetherness with God is based on his love for us. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” And 1 John 4:18 tells us, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” God’s perfect love for us guarantees his presence and comfort. We love our family even when we don’t see them. whether in the next room or across the country; likewise we know God loves us as his own children (John 1:12) even when we feel most alone.

4. God has come to be with us and in us, so we are never alone. Not only did Jesus promise to be with us: “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age“(Matthew 28:20); he also said. “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17). Jesus continues in verse 27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” Why are we not afraid? Because God’s own Spirit is now in us, so we are never alone.

5. Finally, God does not promise to spare us all the problems of this  life, but does promise to be with us and strengthen us through them all.  Proverbs 16:4 says, “The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.” That God is sovereign and allows suffering is plain in the Scriptures: “What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy” (Romans 9:14-16). But even if the problem we face is the ultimate one of death, even then God is with us. The Apostle Paul asked what can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus; and he concluded that neither “life nor death” nor anything else can do that (Romans 8:38).

Alone and afraid? Not so much. We don’t need a spy-master’s book to tell us that, for we have a better book, the Good Book, through which our God, who promises to be with us always in this life, also promises that we will be with him in the life to come.

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Psalm 46

*Alone and Unafraid, by Scott Hanson, Laissez Faire Press, c. 2018.

**Ten Thousand Reasons, by Matt Redman and Jonas Myrin, released on Kingsway Music, 2011.

The End of Pride

Today is the end of the month of June, or as it has come to be called, Pride Month.

Though many people celebrate this month to show pride in their lifestyle, I am glad it’s over. For one, it’s a public celebration of sins which God calls abominations (Leviticus 18:22, Deuteronomy 22:5, 1 Corinthians 6:9, etc.). But second, the very name, “Pride Month,” gets something very wrong; it exalts that which the Church has long considered to be one of the “deadly sins,” namely: pride.

What is pride? The dictionary has two different definitions. The first one sounds good: “A sense of one’s own proper dignity or value; self-respect.”* This is the kind of pride used in the country song, “I’m Proud To Be An American” or in expressions about a sports victory, a good test score at school, or raising happy and successful children. This kind of pride rejoices that God made us in his image as the pinnacle of creation, and sent his Son to die for us. Pride in this sense is better than its opposite: shame.

Unfortunately, pride has a second definition, which is “Arrogant or disdainful conduct or treatment; haughtiness.”* This is overweening pride, the kind in which a person thinks of him or herself as better than others, or even better than God. This is the kind of pride that God detests.

The Bible is full of condemnations against sinful pride. Here are just a few of the many pronouncements:  Proverb 8:13 – “Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.”; Proverbs 11:2 – “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.”; Proverbs 29:23 – “One’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.”; 2 Samuel 2:28 – “You save a humble people, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.” Jesus himself warned in  Mark 7:21-23 -“For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” Take note that pride is ranked with murder and immorality as defiling a person.

The Bible gives us examples of people who let pride puff themselves up and paid the price for it

1.  Adam and Eve. Why did they disobey God’s one prohibition and eat the forbidden fruit? The tempter framed it as able to make them “be like God,”   (Genesis 3:5). 1 John 2:16 calls this sin, the pride of life.” And what was the penalty for the pride of wanting to be like God? Only banishment from paradise, suffering, and death.

2. Nebuchadnezzar. In Daniel 4, the Babylonian king learns the pitfalls of pride the hard way. He begins by surveying his magnificent city and says, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” God immediately rebuked him, and caused him to go mad, crawl like an ox and eat grass. Finally, after being duly humbled and restored to sanity, the king summed up his ordeal by saying, “and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” (4:37).

3. Theudas. In Acts 5:36, the Pharisee Gamaliel, spoke of a false Messiah who paid the price for puffing himself up: “For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing.”

Truly, these example prove that Proverbs 16:18 is correct when it proclaims: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

But why does God treat pride so harshly? Because we sin when we look at ourselves as not needing God. Basically, we put ourselves in God’s place, attributing our accomplishments to our own wisdom and strength, rather than praising God for what he has done for us. Psalm 10:4 says, “In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, ‘There is no God.'” In his Large Catechism, Martin Luther explained the First Commandment as meaning we are to recognize that all good comes from God. To look elsewhere (such as to ourselves), is to make a god out of that other thing.

Paul warned against this sinful pride when he wrote, “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight” (Romans 12:16″ and “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:31). He affirmed that true Christian love seeks what is good for the other person in humility: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant” (1 Corinthian 13:4).

Today, the world is full of pride, whether celebrated in parades, boasted in the number of “likes” on social media sites, or shown by conspicuous consumption of high priced things. Isaiah warns that the day will come when all our markers of self-exalting pride will be stripped away. He says, “The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day” (2:11), and “I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless” (13:11).

Fortunately, we sinners – who are also guilty of pride – have a way out. The Old Testament prophet Habakkuk point the way in his book: “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.” And what is the faith by which we shall live? Simply this: faith in Jesus Christ our Savior, who did not grasp onto the pride which he deserved as the eternal God, but humbled himself to become man and die for our sins. By faith in him all our sins- even pride – are forgiven.

One day, all human pride will end as we stand before the throne of God at the final judgment. We will hear proclaimed the name of our Savior, and then “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). Some will bow in joy, others in terror. but all will bow humbly, as we realize that we can boast of nothing in ourselves before the Almighty God (1 Corinthians 1:29). That’s when pride shall meet its final end.

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen

Read: Daniel 4:28-37; 1 Corinthians 1:28-31; Ephesians 2:8-10.

*American heritage Dictionary, 5th Edition.

**Also known as “God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood, 1983.

Free At Last!

Our nation is about to observe its newest federal holiday: Juneteenth. Although the federal holiday is only two years old, various states and localities have celebrated Juneteenth since 1866. The celebration commemorates the day, June 19th (=June-teenth), 1865, when Union Major General Gordon Granger proclaimed freedom for the slaves in Texas, just two months after the end of the Civil War. Although Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation (January 1, 1863) had already announced the end of slavery in the rebellious states, it was up to the Union army to conquer those states and enforce the proclamation. General Granger’s declaration is considered the final step in that process.

At first, the commemorations took place in churches, especially in Texas, but then they spread to other locales and other venues. In 1980 it became a state holiday in Texas, and in 2021 a federal holiday.

It is right to celebrate freedom.  We celebrate our freedom from Great Britain every July 4th. We sing it in our national anthem in the closing words, “the land of the free, and the home of the brave.” We often say, “It’s a free country, isn’t it?” (Not to be confused with the phrase, “Buy one, get one free!”) Our Constitution’s Bill of Rights enshrines our God-given freedoms of religion, speech, press, etc. and Franklin Roosevelt is remembered for his speech in 1941 that announced his desire for four universal freedoms: of speech, of religion, from fear, and from want. There is something innate within us that yearns to be free from oppression, coercion, and control. We want to be free to “do our own thing,” whatever that thing may be.

Unfortunately, the same impulse for political freedom can also be our undoing, when it leads us to do things harmful to ourselves and others by breaking the laws of nature, society, and God.

1. Nature’s laws are equal-opportunity restrictions. Everyone is bound by gravity and the necessities of air, food, and water. I may be free to do so, but if I use drugs, jump from a tall building, or crash my car into  a tree, I will suffer the natural consequences of my actions.  Wisdom is knowing how and when to exercise my freedom in ways that do no harm to anyone, myself included.

2. Society’s laws. Because people don’t always use good judgment in using their freedoms, or outright misuse them, society has to regulate our actions to protect us from each other. Traffic regulations, contract law, and laws against abuse, assault, theft and murder are examples of rules that limit our actions for the benefit of everyone. Although these days we are being over-regulated by an ever-increasing bureaucracy, government has a God-given responsibility to restrain evil (Romans 13:4).

3. God’s laws. These are the most important laws of all, yet the ones we have broken from the very beginning. The first law God gave Adam and Eve was not to eat from one forbidden tree, but their desire to be free from any such rule brought sin into the world, resulting in the punishment of pain and death. Mankind’s rebellion did not end there, but has continued on in every person of every generation ever since. Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned. . .”

No one would desire to be a slave, owned and controlled by someone else, but when we sin, we become slaves to sin. This is obvious when we indulge our desires with alcohol, drugs, pornography, or gambling, because addictions are a form of slavery. But it is just as true for every sin which binds us to the world. The Apostle Paul warns in Romans 6 that Christians are not to become slaves to sin by submitting to it, for they have been freed from that bondage by their baptism into Christ. Ultimately, we will either be slaves to sin, or slaves to righteousness.  As Romans 6:18 says, “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.”

Slaves to righteousness? We humans rebel against those words. Why would we exchange one f0rm of slavery for another? Didn’t Jesus promise us freedom from oppression (Luke 4:18)? Didn’t he say, “. . .  you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32)? Yes, he did. But note the context for his promises:  In Luke 4 he promised freedom from oppression, which is release from sin’s bondage. And in John 8, his promise of freedom is contingent on us knowing the truth. And how do we know the truth? He gives us the answer in verse 31: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth . . .”  So being set free means to be obedient to Christ.

I once heard an analogy about freedom and slavery. Think of a train. It is a powerful machine, capable of great speeds and strength, able to pull heavy loads from one place to another. The train is “free” to perform as it was designed to do – as long as it remains on the tracks. But, if you remove the train from its tracks, the train will just bog down in the dirt and not go anywhere. It loses its freedom. Likewise, when people are on the tracks of God’s commandments, they are free to live as God designed them to live; but when they try to live off the seemingly confining “tracks” laid down by our Creator, they become mired in sin.

The Jewish leaders who confronted Jesus in John 8 were offended when he promised to set them free. They objected, claiming to never having been slaves. They forgot that as a nation, they had been enslaved numerous times before, and had to be liberated by God. They were enslaved in Egypt until the Exodus; they were imprisoned by the Babylonians who destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple; the Greeks conquered them and oppressed them under Antiochus Epiphanes; and in Jesus’ day, they chafed under Roman rule. Now, their ultimate Deliverer stood before them, offering them the greatest freedom of all – from sin and death – yet they failed to recognize their bondage.

That’s the same problem people face today. Thinking themselves to be wise, they become fools (Romans 1:22); thinking themselves to be free from God’s moral restraints, they become even more enslaved. Let us recognize those areas of our lives where we have allowed sin to enslave us, and pray for the Holy Spirit to guide us in all truth (John 16:13) and thereby set us free to be the people of God he wants us to be.

Ultimately, Christ will raise us to new life unshackled to a mortal body bound by the curse of sin and death. No more slavery to sin or to the oppressors of this world.

Then, we can join in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who ended his famous “I Have a Dream” speech with the exultation: “Free at last! Free at Last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”*

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Romans 6

*Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream”, August 28,1963 at the Mall in Washington, D.C.

 

 

Reclaim the Rainbow!

IMPORTANT UPDATE: June 18 -The number 1 hip-hop/rap song in the US is Reclaim the Rainbow by Bryson Gray, Shemeka Michelle, and Jimmy Levy. It is also the number 3 hit in all music genres! What is it about? Exactly what I wrote in the following:

You see a lot of rainbows these days, but I don’t mean the ones in the sky after a rain storm. The rainbows you see are on flags, protest signs, bumper stickers, and clothing. Which would be okay, given that the origin of the rainbow is biblical; unfortunately, the rainbow has been “co-opted,” that is, hijacked by society and given a completely different meaning. To display it publicly now is to affirm the new, corrupted meaning, rather than the original biblical one. Which is unfortunate, because the original meaning is beautiful, combining the two essential doctrines of the Christian faith: Law and Gospel.

To recapture the original meaning, we have to go back to the Book of Genesis. There, we read of the Great Flood of Noah, when God was so grieved at the complete wickedness of his greatest creation – human beings – that he decided to wipe them and all air-breathing animals off the face of the earth. Genesis 6 presents the prologue to the Flood and God’s  call on Noah to build the ark and preserve and preserve his family and a remnant of the animals. The Flood begins in Chapter 7, and lasts until Genesis 8:18, when Noah, his family, and the animals exit the ark to repopulate the earth.

In Genesis 9 we come to the pertinent passage. It reads as follows:

9:8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Some have said that this was the first rainbow ever seen on earth, because the Bible talks only of mist watering the ground (Genesis 2:6) before the “windows of heaven” (Genesis 7:11) were opened to cause the Flood. Others say that rainbows had appeared before, but that God now gave them new significance. Either way, what is important is that God did endow the rainbow with a special meaning: his promise to never again destroy the earth by a flood. Now obviously, many floods have occurred, some of them with horrific damage and great loss of life. But these were local floods; never has the whole earth been destroyed by one great flood. Nor will it ever be again, thanks to God’s promise.

Earlier I said that rainbows were signs of the two great doctrines of Law and Gospel. How so?

Consider first the connection to the Law. The Law tells us God’s command-ments, that is, what he expects from us. It also warns us of God’s judgment against us when we break his commandments. An example of this is the Second Commandment, which commands us not to take the Lord’s name in vain, and warns us that “the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain” (Exodus 20:7). An even more explicit statement is found in Romans 6:23, “for the wages of sin is death.” The law condemns us all because “we all sin and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The Law cannot save us. It only pronounces righteous judgment against us, just as God did against the wicked generation of people in Noah’s day. Those people were not just bad; they were really bad. Genesis 6:5 says, “The Lord  saw  that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” That’s really bad. They were so bad that God was sorry he had made mankind, and decided to destroy all but a remnant of them.

So how is a rainbow a symbol of the Law? Because it reminds us of how severely a holy God punished wickedness. It reminds us that God will not allow sin to go unpunished; as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be one day when God visits his judgment on an unrepentant earth. Peter warns us of the connection. He writes in 2 Peter 3:5-7, “For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” When we see a rainbow, we must remember that God will destroy the ungodly one day, not with water, but with fire. This is Law. 

Now consider how the rainbow is also a sign of the Gospel. The Gospel is a message of God’s grace and mercy. It proclaims what God did for us to save us from the due penalty of our sinfulness. We could not gain this grace by our own efforts, but by God’s gracious decree. This grace is based on Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross, by which we are forgiven and brought near to God. Colossians 2:13-14 says,  “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”  This is the Gospel, that although we earned only death and judgment, God himself saved and redeemed us to eternal life for the sake of his Son. This promise not to destroy those who believe in Jesus Christ for their salvation is embodied in the message of the rainbow: that God will spare mankind, even when they sin, by setting aside a watery destruction.

Why has God set aside such a destruction and delayed the fire to come? According to Peter, it is because of God’s mercy. As he writes in 2 Peter 3:9, “but [the Lord] is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” So even now, God holds his judgment to allow the lost to come to him for forgiveness. That is Gospel.

Therefore, God gave us the rainbow and gave it to us as Law, a reminder of how God judged sin with the Great Flood, and as Gospel, a  promise to never again destroy mankind by another Flood. As Christians, we should feel good to see a rainbow, because God gave it to us as a promise.  To us it not only holds a promise about flooding, but also about God’s forgiveness of our sins, and the promise that those who believe in Christ will never die. (John 11:26).

My hope, therefore, is that we will one day reclaim this powerful symbol, and rescue it from those who kidnapped it. Maybe we could do something like the following, adding the word REAL to the rainbow to show we believe in its real meaning, the meaning given to us by God himself.

                                          REAL

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Genesis 6; Genesis 9:8-17; Colossians 3:8-14; 2 Peter 3:1-13. 

The Good Book in the Pew

Recently, the editor of The Evangel, the national magazine of The American Association of Lutheran Churches (TAALC), asked me to write an article for their May/June edition. The edition was to address one of two topics: the Holy Scriptures, or the congregational life of the Church. I accepted the assignment, immediately knowing I would combine the two topics into one about the Scriptures in the life of the congregation. The article was accepted, and appeared this month in the magazine. For those who don’t get The Evangel, I thought I would include it here in my blog. Therefore, I give you the following:

The Good Book in the Pew

I am sure you have seen, either in a church you visited, or in your own church, a rack on the back of the pew in front of you. That rack may hold a hymnal, some offering envelopes, an old bulletin covered with kids’ scribbles, or most likely, a Bible.

Certainly, a church that places the Bible there does so to honor God’s Word and benefit the worshipers. But does that Bible actually get used, or is it just a symbol of the faith, another churchy decoration like the paraments and candles? Does it play a part in the service, or does it just gather dust?

I ask these questions, not to denigrate the use of pew Bibles. They should be there. But if we are to be faithful Christians who believe and follow what Scripture teaches, then the Bible needs to play a much bigger role in the life of our congregations. Scripture cannot be just for show, or something we add to our other church activities, but must exist at the very core of who we are and all that we do.

By definition, “The Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered.”* But how are we to rightly preach or administer the Sacraments, or even know what the Gospel is, or those Sacraments are, without the Scriptures? Indeed, how do we know who are the saints, unless the Bible tells us so? Therefore, the absolute requirement for any church is to teach those things to its people.

Another core necessity for continued biblical understanding flows from our doctrine that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, the only infallible rule for faith and life. As Paul wrote, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV). If Scripture is going to guide our lives, both as a congregation and as individuals, we need to know what it teaches and treat it as our authority.

So, how do we make sure the Bible does more in our churches than just fill some pew racks? Let me suggest the following:

  1. Begin with a firm commitment by the pastor and church leaders that Scripture will be an integral part and guide for the congregation. They must agree to use Scripture as their guide for all decisions they make and all ministries they conduct.
  2. Preach and teach from Scripture. Contemporary illustrations can help people relate to God’s Word, but sermons must not be about the latest theories or self-improvement fads. Preaching should both challenge with the Law and comfort with the Gospel.
  3. Teach and encourage a love for God’s Word, so that the people will want to hear it and read it on their own, in addition to at church. Think of Psalm 1, which speaks of the blessed person delighting in God’s Law and meditating on it day and night. If we treat Bible reading as a chore, people won’t take the time and effort to read it.
  4. Regularly conduct Bible studies throughout the week as able, expanding the teaching to include Scriptures beyond the lectionary. There are many rich and edifying stories not covered in the usual preaching cycles, such as Noah’s Flood and Daniel in the lions’ den. If all Scripture is God-inspired, we should not ignore any of it.
  5. Provide opportunities for members to share their favorite Bible passages with each other, maybe in newsletters or during church gatherings. Hearing others tell why certain Scriptures mean so much to them blesses us as well.

During his time as a monk, Martin Luther had access to only one Bible. It was in Latin and chained to a desk in the monastery’s library. Its precious teachings and words of hope and life were not available to the common believers in the churches. One of the greatest things Luther did was to free the Bible from its shackles by translating it into the language of the people, and thus making it available and understandable. He knew the power of God’s Word for salvation and life, and the important role it must play in the life of the congregation. Let us not leave our Bibles shackled to our pews, but use them freely in every aspect of church life, that the Word of Christ may dwell richly in us (Colossians 3:16).

End of article

The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Psalm 1; Colossians 3:16; 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

*Article VII of the Augsburg Confession

You can read this and other articles online at taalc.org. Click on the Resources tab and you will see The Evangel as the first selection.

Hold Your Tongue!

Recently, as I have viewed various movies and video clips, and have heard people speaking, one particular biblical passage has come to mind.  The passage is from the Book of James, Chapter 3. It goes like this:

“The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell” (James 3:6).

Why does this verse come to mind so often? Because of the coarseness of today’s speech. It is one thing to despair of improper grammar and sloppy sentence construction – which do bother me to some degree (such as using “it’s” as a pronoun rather than as a contraction of “it is” which of course, it is). Or when people say “aks” instead of “ask.” Or when they write “whom” when the correct word is “who.” (or vice versa).

Yes it’s one thing to be a “grammar policeman,” always correcting people’s spelling and grammar,  but altogether something else to lament the current state of public discourse in our country. For no matter how much instruction you have had in proper English usage, you have to recognize that our society has become much more vulgar and blasphemous in recent years. It’s (notice the proper use of the contraction) not that people never swore in the past – they did, and some of our swear words today have long and “colorful” histories even back to Anglo-Saxon days, but the use of such words has become ubiquitous, being used everywhere. Previously, rough language was used privately or in certain situations but now it is common throughout the media, especially in millennials’ social media.

Now, I need to address this issue, but I will try to do so without actually writing the offensive words. For one thing, I don’t want you to put those words in your minds like infectious mind viruses. Another analogy would be to call them toxic waste that would pollute your mind.) But the other reason is that offensive words can change; the principle is what matters. No matter  what words become “bad words” in the future, there are three types of speech which James would agree we need to control.

These kinds are:

1. Blasphemous words. These are the words which break the Second Commandment. It’s not that words naming or describing the Deity are inherently bad; it’s how we use them that matters. If we name them in prayer, in preaching or teaching, or in witnessing to others, those are holy uses and therefore they honor God and don’t blaspheme him. It is when we use them as expletives in  anger, as common expressions of surprise, or combined with vulgar words to show emphasis, that we have used God’s name in vain. This is no small thing with God. His word proclaims many times that his Name is to be praised (e.g., Job 1:21 and Psalm 113:2,3 “Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore”).  Beyond that, God warns against blaspheming his Name: when God gave the command against taking his Name in vain, he finished the sentence by saying, “for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.” Let us make sure that we don’t misuse God’s Name, especially around what may be non-believers, thereby cheapening the Name that should be praised. How can we treat the “name that is above every name” (Philippians 2:9) as vulgar?

2. Vulgar words. While discussing bodily functions (or the lack of them!) with your doctor is certainly appropriate, do we really need to sound like junior high boys spouting crude names for excretory and reproductive functions?  No one needs to hear me pepper my speech with graphic descriptions of body parts. Sure, as a teenager I thought the Russian “Song of the Volga Boatmen” was about the “vulgar boatmen,” but I grew up. Unfortunately, it seems many adults have not yet made that transition. Their argument is that they want their speech to sound “real.” They say not to hide our thoughts with softened words like “heck” or “rats!”  But my parents “kept it real” when talking about all aspects of life and never used any vulgarities in their speech. When people fill their sentences with one vulgarity after another, they are only revealing how limited are their vocabularies.

3. Words used to insult, belittle, or harm others.  When explaining the Eighth Commandment, Martin Luther wrote, “We should fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way.” It is a sign of our love and fear of God that we use language that is beneficial and uplifting to others. There is no room for a Christian to curse others with hateful speech. The Bible commands Christians to watch their language, and not use it against other people. James 3 contrasts the words with which we praise God and those which we use to curse those who are made in God’s image: “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be” (James 3:9-10). Likewise, Paul commands Christians to focus on good speech: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is  anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8).

All in all, Christians are called to rise above the common speech of whatever culture in which they live. Neither blasphemies, crude language, nor hateful words are allowed.  As James 1:26 says, “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.” A few other relevant passages include:

  • Ephesians 5:4 “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.”
  • Matthew 5:2 “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”
  • 1 Peter 3:9 “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.”
  • Colossians 3:8 “But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.”

Therefore, I encourage you to guard your speech, making sure that it is holy, uplifting, edifying, and sweet in the ears of all who hear you speak or read what you write. And if you should be tempted to blurt out any words you shouldn’t, then follow James’ advice, and “Hold your tongue!”

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Psalm 30:12; Psalm 47:6; James 3:3-12; Colossians 3:1-17.

Without Easter

Have you ever wondered what the world would be like without Easter?

For those who don’t know Christ, it might mean some of the following:

  • The absence of hollow rabbits made of questionable chocolate.
  • The vanishing of marshmallow Peeps(r).
  • One less family feast (with ham instead of turkey).
  • A decline in Hallmark’s holiday sales figures.
  • The end of community egg hunts for the children.
  • Not seeing The Ten Commandments movie on TV (the only acceptable religious show, even though it does not deal with Christ’s resurrection).
  • And for atheists, good riddance!

Yes, without Easter, our modern culture would lose some of its traditions, but nothing really earth-shaking. There would have to be some changes made, but eventually there would be a “Coming of Spring” holiday that would take Easter’s place, just as a celebration of Winter has supplanted much of Christmas. Then the chocolate bunnies and Peeps(r)  would return and even the atheists would be happy.

But for Christians, a world without Easter – not just the celebration of it, but the reasons for it – would be devastating. Christians know that without Easter:

  • Good Friday would not be so good.
  • The mocking of Jesus by the priests, soldiers, and crowds would ring bitterly true. (Luke 23:3).
  • The death of Jesus would be just another death, like all the false messiahs before (Acts 5:36-37) and after him (Matthew 24:24). His work would have ended with his death.
  • The promises of God would be null and void. We could no longer trust his word, nor believe Jesus who promised he would rise on the third day (Matthew 27:63, Mark 9:31, Luke 18:33).
  • We would have to strike our Creeds, which proclaim Jesus was raised “according to the Scriptures” (Nicene Creed) and “on the third day he rose again” (Apostles’ Creed).
  • We would not have the Christian Church. At the most we would have a social club or philosophical society debating the sayings of Jesus.
  • Sundays would no longer be miniature Easters.
  • Christmas would lose it importance. Why celebrate the birth of another Jewish baby 2000 years ago?
  • Eternal life would be a futile hope.
  • We of all people would be most to be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:19).
  • The deaths of our loved ones would be disasters, and we would grieve as those without hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

It’s clear that to a believer, Easter is an essential part of our faith, however it is celebrated, with hymns or lilies or bunnies or Peeps(r). It is the core of our faith, the motivation for our lives, and the hope of our future. It is irreplaceable and all-encompassing. In it we find peace and joy. It is life itself.

But there’s one more great truth to remember about Easter. It does not affect only Christians. Though much of the world denies its truth and tries to live in ignorance or denial of the greatest event in history, its truth will one day catch up with them. Because God’s promises were fulfilled at the empty tomb, so also will all his warnings be fulfilled at the end – of the world or of their lives. One day even those who denied or mocked Jesus will realize he is who he said he is: Lord of all. On that day, “every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). For many, that will be a terrible day of judgment and wrath. But for believers it will be a day of unspeakable joy.

A world without Easter? Never! That glorious event happened 2000 years ago and changed everything. Because it happened, “all the promises of God find their Yes in him [Christ]”  (2 Corinthians 1:20). That means promises of forgiveness, adoption by God, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and eternal life. No matter what the world believes, the truth of Easter can never be taken from us, for what God has promised, he will fulfill.

May you have a happy and joyous Easter celebration! Christ has risen; he has risen indeed!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen.

Read:  Matthew 28:1-10; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-18.

It’s In the Blood

This past week I began dialysis treatments. For those unfamiliar with dialysis, it is a procedure which cleans the blood of people with advanced kidney disease. In effect, it uses a mechanical device to do what the kidneys usually do, which is remove the waste materials which the body normally produces. While not pleasant to go through, after three sessions I have already felt some improvement in my energy level and overall condition.

During one of my treatments, a nurse came and drew blood for testing. As she did, I thought about how significant blood really is. Not only did my blood need to be cleaned, the sample she took would give vital information about many aspects of my health. By such samples, they have a window into my body’s functions. A verse from the Bible came to mind: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood.” (Leviticus 17:11).

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood.”

How true! For not only is blood needed to route oxygen and nutrients to keep cells alive, it also removes those cells’ waste products. If a person is cut and loses too much blood, he or she will die. If a person has too little blood, a transfusion of someone else’s blood will restore their life. And as I said above, a person’s blood will reveal a lot about that person’s condition. As it says in Leviticus 17, the life is truly in the blood.

Of course, if you have read any of my blogs, you know I haven’t said this just to discuss biology or medical practices.  And you would be correct. The connection between life and blood is also a spiritual one, one which is declared in the last part of the same verse from Leviticus. That verse continues and says, “for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.”

How can blood make atonement, that is, atonement for one’s sins? This verse refers to the blood sacrifices which the Old Testament commanded. Hebrews 9:22 explains that, “under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” A guilty person would either pay for their sins with their own blood, or provide the blood of a sinless animal to take their place. Thus, by such sacrifices, the blood of innocent animals was shed to pay for, or cover, the sins of the person offering the animal. This practice actually began back in the Garden of Eden, when God himself provided animal skins to cover the naked and sinful first couple. It continued until the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in A.D. 70.

Although God commanded and honored this practice throughout the Old Testament, there is one verse which reveals that the blood of animals is not the end of the story. Hebrews 10:4 says, “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” The blood sacrifices which God ordered were but a foreshadowing, a preparation for the one true blood sacrifice which was coming, and that is the sacrifice of God’s own Son, Jesus Christ. By shedding his own blood, Jesus provided the one, true, complete, and final sacrifice to atone for all of our sins. While our sins condemned us to eternal death and separation from God, Christ’s death brought us full forgiveness of our sins and eternal life. Hebrews 10:14 concludes, “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” And 1 John 1:7 affirms, “the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

In the words of Charles Wesley’s great hymn, O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing, “His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood availed for me.” But how do we gain the benefit of Christ’s great blood sacrifice? How do we know his blood avails for us?

“His blood availed for me.”

The answer is very simple. It is through faith in the One who died for us. Just as God provided the covering for Adam and Eve, so he provides the covering for us through the gift of his Son. It is by God’s grace, and not by any of our works that we are forgiven. As John 3:16 proclaims, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Finally, as Christians, we have the privilege of participating in Christ’s blood by the sacrament of Holy Communion. Jesus offered his body and blood at the Last Supper when he said, “This is my body; take and eat” and “this is my blood; take and drink,” (1 Corinthians 11:24-25). Likewise, in  John 6:53 Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” Whenever we receive Christ’s body and blood in Communion, we are strengthened in our faith and “transfused” by the life-giving blood of our Savior.

Our life is in the blood – in the blood of Christ.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Hebrews 9  and 10.

Sackcloth and Ashes, Part 2

In my previous blog, I talked about this season of Lent, its meaning, and some of the ways Christians observe these somber weeks. The overall theme is God’s call on us to repent of our sins, sins for which Jesus died to bring us forgiveness and eternal life. I illustrated this call to repentance with the story of Jonah, the reluctant prophet whose half-hearted warning to the people of Nineveh still resulted in their repentance and forgiveness. Their story is important to know, but how does that affect us and God’s call on us to repent?

Let me suggest that our repentance can be described with the following, all beginning with the letter, “C”.

  1. Conviction – This is about recognizing and admitting that we are sinners and stand before a holy God, deserving of his punishment. This, the very beginning of all repentance, is probably the hardest for many people to accept. In our own hearts and minds, we are basically good people. Sure, we occasionally mess up, but it’s not really our fault, and besides, we don’t do that badly, right? After all, we’re not bank robbers or murderers or terrorists, are we? Like the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable, we thank God we are not like those sinful tax-collectors over there!

Even when we know our actions don’t match up with God’s commands, we often find excuses by which we rationalize what we do: “I took it because I deserve it; I gossiped because everyone needed to know what happened; I cheated on my taxes because the government was just going to waste it anyway, I cheated on my spouse because he/she doesn’t really understand me, etc.” We try to justify ourselves in order to keep our self-esteem high, because to admit we actually did something wrong may make us look bad to others – or to ourselves.

But scripture is clear that we are all sinners who stand convicted and guilty before God. In our weekly services we hear the words of 1 John: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” We read in Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And both testaments affirm “there is no one righteous, no not one.”

At the Last Supper, Jesus promised the coming of the Holy Spirit. He said that the work of the Holy Spirit would be to convict the world of sin. When we truly know in our hearts that we are sinners and have sinned, it is because the Spirit has convicted us of our guilt through the hearing of God’s commandments in his word.

This is what hit the Ninevites so hard: they heard God’s word spoken by Jonah, and God’s Spirit convicted them that they were truly guilty and deserved God’s wrath. Likewise when we hear what God expects from us and what he forbids us to do, we become convicted that we have sinned and deserve the same wrath God almost poured out on Nineveh. That prepares us for the second part of repentance.

  1. Contrition – This is sorrow for what we have done – against God and others. It comes from the Latin word, contritus, which means, “ground to pieces,” as in being crushed by guilt for what we have done. It goes beyond just admitting our guilt – contrition is sincere sorrow, regret, and remorse for sins we’ve committed.

We feel sorry when something bad happens to us and our loved ones, but do we ever feel sorrow for the bad things that we do? How many public officials and politicians hold tearful press conferences about how sorry they are for their bad behavior before their sin is exposed by someone else? They seem more sorry to have been caught than to have done it in the first place. Likewise, are we more sorry for the consequences of our acts than we are for our sinful desires and attitudes that led us to do them? Are we truly sorry that we have thumbed our noses at God and his commandments? Are we just “sorry” because we know we should do better, or do we feel true contrition, that is, heart-felt sorrow for “our failure to live as God’s people in this place”? When the Ninevites put on their sackcloth and ashes, they were expressing the change in heart they felt for their sins: they were showing outwardly the contrition they felt inwardly.

True contrition leads to a “sackcloth and ashes” level of repentance, in which we grieve our sins and throw ourselves on God’s mercy. Gone are our excuses and rationalizations. Gone is our self-justification. We now depend totally on God and accept his judgment. David expressed this contrition in Psalm 51, following his sins of adultery and murder: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

  1. Correction – The mark of true remorse is to correct what we are doing wrong. How sorry do we really feel for doing something wrong if we keep on doing it? Do we cry “crocodile tears” when we are caught, only to go back to it when we think no one is watching? Repentance is turning away from pursuing sin and instead turning toward God and his ways; it means a change in the way we live. God saw this in the Ninevites, who did more than just dress and eat differently because of their remorse; they also turned from the violent and evil ways they had been living, and cleaned up their act. They showed in their more righteous living what Matthew 3:8 later commanded: “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.”

As Christians, we know we are not saved by our works. We can live a moral life, give generously to the needy, serve the church night and day, and even become a wonderful pastor, but all our good actions will not undo even one of our sins. We depend totally on the grace and mercy of God, and yet having been saved, we are called to live differently than the world lives, to live better and more in keeping with God’s will and commandments. And the same Spirit who convicted us also empowers us to desire God and his will for our lives, and to do it.

  1. Christ – the fourth “C” involved in repentance is Christ, for without him and his sacrifice for us on the cross (is that the 5th “C”?), all the conviction and sorrow and change of behavior would not satisfy God’s call for repentance. Conviction does not save us – it just shows we’re guilty; contrition does not save us – it just shows we’re sorry; correction doesn’t save us – it’s what we should be doing anyway. Only Christ provides the forgiveness we need; only faith in his atonement on the cross is sufficient for salvation. That’s because true repentance involves both turning from sin, and turning to God through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ.

So let us move forward through Lent, repenting of our sins, all the while looking forward to the day when Christ himself shall trade our sackcloth for his robes of righteousness, and our ashes for his oil of gladness. And let us give thanks that Jonah was right about one thing: for God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Jonah chapters 1-4 again!

 

Sackcloth and Ashes

Today begins the 40 day observance of Lent, the somber season in which we Christians traditionally consider our sins as the reason Christ died. Our observance often includes wearing ashes on our foreheads (hence the name, Ash Wednesday), worship with confession and repentance, fasting, and service to others. In our liturgy, we replace the singing of the “Alleluia” with what is called the Lenten Sentence, which calls us to “Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”

These Lenten practices have their basis in Scripture, especially, if surprisingly, in the Old Testament book of Jonah. We would do well to consider his story as we journey through Lent toward the Cross and the Empty Tomb.

Jonah was not happy, for he was having a bad week. It all began when God called him to go preach a warning message to the huge city of Nineveh, which happened to be the capital of Israel’s mortal enemies, the Assyrians. Then when Jonah tried to get out of the task by sailing in the opposite direction, God sent a violent storm, and he was thrown into the sea by the pagan sailors who realized Jonah’s God was angry at him for something. Jonah almost drowned, sinking down to the depths of the sea and being entangled in seaweed. But even as Jonah’s death seemed imminent, along came a great fish that swallowed him whole and kept him alive for three days and nights in its belly. Not a pleasant experience for sure: even if you like seafood, the term, “sleeping with the fishes” is not something you really want to do! Finally, the fish spit Jonah up onto land.

Again, this was not a good week for Jonah, because even though he survived that ordeal, from his perspective, things were about to get worse. God came to him a second time and repeated his command for Jonah to go preach to Nineveh. This time, Jonah obeyed: he proclaimed to the city a simple message, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” and then he sat down and waited for God to pour his wrath upon the Ninevites and destroy them.

But something dramatic happened. The people of Nineveh, from the king on down to the lowliest peasant, believed God, and turned to him in repentance for their sins and violent ways. They fasted and wore sackcloth – think burlap bag. The king himself took off his royal robes and put on sackcloth and sat down in ashes to mourn what he and his people had done and what was likely to happen to them if God did not forgive them. The king ordered that man and beast alike must fast and wear sackcloth, in hopes that God would spare them.

And then, to Jonah’s dismay, God accepted their repentance and forgave them. Jonah complained to the Lord, saying why he fled from God the first time: he didn’t want Nineveh to be spared, and was afraid they might repent and be forgiven. He said to the Lord, “For I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.”

So why did God spare Nineveh, when centuries earlier he had destroyed other wicked cities such as Sodom and Gomorrah? Jonah 3:10 tells us: “When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.”

Now did you notice what was missing from that explanation for the Lord’s mercy towards Nineveh? It does not say, “When God saw what they did, how they put on sackcloth and ashes and fasted, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them.” What it says is, “When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them.” It was not a change of clothing that saved them; it was a change of heart, which showed itself in their new, more righteous way of living.

The main effect of sackcloth and ashes back then, and of all the Lenten disciplines of prayer, worship, service to others, and fasting today, is not on God. He already loves us; he already is by nature gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love; and we cannot manipulate him into forgiving us by what we wear or what we eat. Instead, the main effect of the Lenten disciplines is what those disciplines do to us.

We are the ones who need to be changed. We are the ones who sin and stand in danger of God’s righteous judgement; we are the ones for whom Christ died, and we are the ones called to turn to God in faith and repentance. Lenten disciplines remind us of these facts, and help us to focus on them more than we usually do in our daily lives.

Repentance is what the Lord desires from us. 2 Peter 3:9 says the Lord is patient toward us, “not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” Matthew 4:17 tells us that from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, his message was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Then, just before Jesus ascended to heaven, Luke 24:47 says he taught “that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” And on the great day of Pentecost, Peter told the crowd, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. . .” (Acts 2:38)

God’s word clearly says so many times that he desires us to repent. But what does that actually mean? In Part 2 of this blog, I will suggest four things that are essential to true repentance. In the meantime, see what you come up with on your own.

Now, may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Jonah chapters 1-4

Super Bowls of Wrath

We are just one day away from the national extravaganza known as Super Bowl LVII. I think LVII translates to 57 in every language except ancient Latin. To show how old I am, I remember back to Super Bowl I. When that first match up between the champions of the National and American Football Leagues was announced, I thought the name “Super” was a bit pretentious and even corny, and was just a passing fad. Boy, was I wrong!

Now, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying an athletic contest between the best teams and players. Unfortunately, all the attention and hype given to the Super Bowls make it seem as if those bowls are important in the great scheme of things. But they are not; in fact, those bowl games pale to insignificance compared to another series of bowls – the seven bowls of God’s wrath proclaimed in the Book  of Revelation.

The 16th (XVI ?) chapter of Revelation describes seven terrible bowls of God’s wrath that his angels will one day pour out upon the earth. These include sores and boils, the sea and rivers turned to blood, a scorching sun, darkness, demonic spirits, a great war, and city-destroying earthquakes. Similar to the plagues that struck Egypt in the days of Pharaoh, these will demonstrate God’s power and judgment on mankind’s wickedness, prior to Christ’s final, victorious return.

I do not bring up these seven “Super” bowls of God’s wrath in any attempt to explain the Book of Revelation. There are many existing commentaries that attempt to do just that. Differing interpretations have led to various theories and the formation of entire denominations, all certain that their particular understanding is the right one. My purpose instead is to remind people that a day of God’s judgment is coming, and it will not be a game.

Usually, I write about God’s grace and mercy, and how knowing that can shape our lives. We celebrate God’s love for us, and rejoice that he has allowed us to become his children and inheritors of eternal life. His goodness to us calls us to “pay it forward” in acts of love and service to each other as we look forward to Christ’s glorious return.

That’s all good – it is after all, the message of the Gospel – but there’s the other side to what God has revealed in his Word. For he is not only a loving God, he is also a God of judgment, a God who is not mocked (Galatians 6:7), a God who sent a great flood to wipe out most of mankind (Genesis 6), who will destroy the earth with fire (2 Peter 2:10,12), and cast the devil, the demons, and those who are not redeemed into hell (Revelation 20).  These are scary thoughts, but they are necessary to fully appreciate what Jesus did for us on the Cross. If we are to proclaim that Jesus saves, we need to know from what does he save us? If God is just a “kindly old grandfather” who accepts anyone and everything, then what we do in this life doesn’t matter. But, if as Galatians 6:7 says, “for whatever one sows, that will he also reap,” then how we live matters greatly.

Unfortunately, too many American churches today are focused solely on God’s love, to the exclusion of God’s anger and wrath. In an effort to appeal to the widest possible audience, they soft-pedal God’s call to righteousness. Instead of preaching condemnation of sin, and calling for repentance, they teach a smiley-face form of happy living, self-improvement, and blatant acceptance of every sinful behavior in the name of “inclusion.” But how can you have “your best life now” when you are mired in horrible sin and its consequences?

Where is there godly sorrow for what we have done? Where are the voices speaking out against wickedness? Where are the warnings of fire and brimstone falling on unrepentant sinners? They are largely absent, shushed up by our pagan culture so that nominal Christians are afraid to be called judgmental, fill-in-the-blank-phobic, narrow-minded, out of step, or worse: extremists! So they try to keep a low profile, avoiding speaking out against the evils around them. Like the false prophets of old, they cry “Peace!” and lead people astray (Micah 3:5).

In the words of Rich Mullins’ song, “I hope that we have not too quickly forgotten that our God is an awesome God.”*

But the Bible is clear that God detests sin, and will bring severe judgment on all who are not covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. We are all sinners and we know that to have sinned in one thing is to be guilty of all (James 2:10); therefore we all deserve God’s righteous judgment. But there are certain egregious sins which the Bible condemns in particular, which are even now rampant in our country today:

  • Abortion. It has gone far beyond a legitimate concern for a young woman who is raped and finds out she is pregnant. Now, protestors carry signs that say, “I’d rather be a murderer than a mother” and brandish red-soaked dolls. And then, congressmen and women wear pins that say “Abortion” to the State of the Union address (with a little heart instead of an “o” – only appropriate since abortion stops a beating heart). But God said we shall not murder (Exodus 20:13), and the Psalmists extol how God knit us in the womb (Psalm 139:13), fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), and call those in the womb a treasure and a blessing (Psalm 17:14).
  • Promotion of sexual sins and deviancy. It’s one thing to be compassionate toward those who suffer confusion over their identities, and another to extol and promote such things as normal and good. The Scriptures warn those who would call evil good (Isaiah 5:20), and spell out what some of those sins are that God detests: homosexuality, pedophilia, incest, bestiality, and even cross-dressing. There are more of these sins than I care to even mention, but they are summed up in the commandment, “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14).
  • Theft and robbery under the guise of inequity and just recompense for past wrongs by previous generations. Theft is expressly forbidden by the Ten Commandments, as is the idea  of punishing people for the sins of their ancestors. Jeremiah 31:29-30 say, “In those days they shall no longer say: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ But everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.” In other words, we are each responsible for what we do.
  • Class, race, and political hatreds. Jesus taught us to love and do good to those we perceive as our enemies (Luke 6:27). Scripture also teaches that we are all descended from the same original parents, and are all created in the image of God. To hate each other is to hate God, and if we do not love, then God is not in us (1 John 3:11).
  • Denial of God and exaltation of paganism. In an effort to cast off the “shackles” of God’s law, people deny his authority or existence, and praise whatever they think will affirm their sinful desires and remove any sense of guilt. This goes beyond any specific sin to include all of them. The Book of Judges 17:6 describes our situation with the words, “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” And Paul sums it up with the words, “they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator,” (Romans 1:25). People have always been guilty of this, but today this is evident in our public culture. You only have to watch the literally satanic performance at this year’s Grammy Awards, or see the horned and tentacled statue honoring Ruth Bader Ginsburg. We have violated the first and chief commandment to worship the Lord God and serve him only (Exodus 20:3, Matthew 4:10).

Revelation 21:8  warns about these and other sins when it says, “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

God will not wink at sin and wickedness. There will be no place in heaven for much of what our country now celebrates. The question is not whether God will pour out bowls of wrath upon a sinful world – and nation – but whether we personally will escape God’s righteous judgment. Romans 1:18 warns, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”

As for our nation, I fear God’s judgment will fall upon America unless we heed the words of 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Short of a national repentance, I fear the super bowls of God’s wrath will destroy us!

The only escape is repentance and faith in Christ, who bore God’s wrath for those who believe in him. It is in that hope that we trust the promise that there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Revelation 16.

* From the song “Awesome God” by Richard Mullins, Reunion Records, 1988.

P.S. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is sometimes referred to as RBG. Interestingly, a different RBG, Ruth Bell Graham, coined the statement, “If God doesn’t punish America, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.” Of course, God will never owe an apology for anything he does, but her comparison of America to those doomed cities makes its point.

 

 

 

Good Night, Sleep Tight

Did you ever hear the little ditty my parents would say to me when it was time for me to go to bed? It went like this: “Good night, sleep tight. Don’t let the bedbugs bite!” Which I always thought was a weird way to send your kid to bed; instead of drifting off to sleep with various pleasant thoughts, the poor children would see “visions of creepy-crawlies dance in their heads.” Not especially conducive to blissful rest! The other restful line kids were told to say included the words, “If I should die before I wake . . .” which though theologically correct, was also somewhat anxiety-producing.

Perhaps it was one of those lines going through my head, or maybe a mess of unresolved thoughts about the current state of our country and world, or, whatever movie I watched before bedtime, or most likely, my own personal health issues. Whatever the mix of those thoughts recently, I couldn’t get any sleep. After tossing and turning most of the night, even after praying for relief, I finally decided I needed to fill my mind with more restful thoughts.

I got up and staggered to my computer. First, I found a video of “sleep- inducing” nature sounds: a good old Midwestern rainstorm. I blanked the screen and listened to the sounds of rain and far-off thunder. The video was said to run for three hours, but I didn’t make it that long; It turns out the sound of running water called forth sympathetic urges in myself that interfered with any thought of sleep.

After that experiment, I tried sitting in the dark while imagining a more benign fantasy of lecturing at some college. I have no idea why I thought that would work, because before long I had created an entire course syllabus in my mind, along with fleshed-out talks, illustrations drawn from current events, and book citations that went back to a book I read in high school! Then came imaginary exchanges with the students and I knew this plan was not working. My mind was just too hyper-active.

That was when I decided I needed to read Scripture. But I knew that the choice of what to read would be important: nothing too exciting (like Joshua) or too theologically complicated (like Romans or Revelation). Nothing to arouse me to ponder ongoing denominational debates. No, maybe something like Leviticus or the genealogical lists of Genesis 10  (“The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. The sons of  Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. . .  etc.”)

But then my choice became obvious: the Psalms. I remembered that many of them contained the cries of God’s people asking for relief, and I knew that applied to me.  So I began reading, right at Psalm 1 “Blessed is the man . . .” From that, I skipped around, looking for the words that seemed most relevant to my pressing need.

I found some very helpful passages. Psalm 86 spoke more generally where it said “Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me.” (verses 6, 7). And Psalm 127:2 addressed my need directly: “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.” Amen!

But what I discovered as I read these and other psalms was more important than verses about helping me to sleep. The thing that all these psalms had in common, besides whatever specific need they expressed, was that they praised God for who he was and what he has done. Even those psalms that complained to God about injustices, or celebrated his creation, or shared the wisdom of fearing God, all concluded by praising God.

As I pondered that, I realized that my own prayers had been weak in that area. Sure, God does call on us to bring all our needs to him. Christ himself taught us that the Father wants us to bring our petitions to him, that he knows our needs and will give us what we need (Matthew 6:8). But too often we treat God like a genie from Aladdin’s lamp; we summon him when we want something, and then put him away until next time. That’s actually a pagan way of treating God, as a servant we can control by saying the right magical incantations, making the right promises, giving the right offering, or performing the correct rituals.

Our right to call on our heavenly Father is not based on our actions, however sincere, but on our relationship to him; and that is based on his love and what he has done for us through Christ his Son. John 1:12 says, “to those who received him, who believed on his name, he gave the power to become the children of God.” Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. . .” Jesus reminded us that if our earthly fathers knew how to give good gifts to us, how much more will our heavenly Father do so (Luke 11:11-13).

Even if God had not made us his children and given us salvation,we should still praise and worship him for who he is. It is here that the psalms excel, and here where I had a lesson to relearn.

  • “At all times I will bless him; his praise will be in my mouth” (Psalm 34:1)
  •  “I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.” (Psalm 57:9)
  • “For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.” (Psalm 96:4)
  • “From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!” (Psalm 113:3)
  • “My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.” (Psalm 145:21)
  • plus another 65 psalms that likewise praise the Lord.

After my reading, I listened to a couple hymns – “When Peace Like a River” and “Nearer My God to Thee” before lying back down and trying to sleep. I’d like to say I immediately fell asleep, but it still took a while. Again, it’s not magic. But I can say that all those other thoughts that had robbed me of my sleep had gone away, and I felt comforted to finally drift off in my Father’s arms.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Psalms 34, 57, 96, 150.

 

 

 

Why Me, Lord?

As a pastor, I visited many people who were sick or injured, hospitalized,  or homebound on what were to become their deathbeds. Some were suffering quietly, while others went through agony from their  illness or from the  medical efforts to save them. I felt bad for them, for what they were going through, and tried to console them with prayer and scripture, that their faith would remain strong even as their bodies weakened. Most had faith that put mine to shame, accepting their condition stoically, or looking forward to seeing Jesus and their lost loved ones, but occasionally, one would ask the poignant question, “Why me?”

Sometimes I found myself silently asking God the same question for them. Why was this particular godly servant, lifelong believer, faithful church-goer having to go through this? Surely they should have a full, pain-free life, didn’t they? Surely there are plenty of evil people who deserve this suffering instead?

I was reminded of Psalm 73:3-5,in which Asaph complains to God, “For I was envious of the arrogant  when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.” Likewise, Jeremiah complained, “Why does the way of the wicked prosper?  Why do all who are treacherous thrive?” (Jeremiah 12:1)

The most personal this question came was when my sister asked it of me. She wondered what she had done wrong, to go through two divorces, several heart attacks, and the amputations of both her legs. Did God hate her? I tried assuring her of God’s love for her, reminding her of Job, the most righteous man of his day, who suffered loss and illness. And of Paul the great Apostle, who was afflicted by a “thorn in the flesh” in spite of his prayers for relief (2 Corinthians 12:7). Not to mention Jesus himself, who was tortured and killed on a cross, though perfectly innocent and holy. Her sufferings were not punishment for personal sin, but a consequence of a fallen world and our mortality. Sadly, her mortality was proven soon after.

But now, it’s my turn to ask, “Why me, Lord?” It’s been over twenty years now since I was diagnosed with diabetes, and other than some recurring foot problems, I’ve been able to live and function normally. I never missed a day of work from it, and retired six years ago, looking forward to times of travel and other activities. But, during that whole time, my diabetes was “chipping away” at my kidneys, decreasing their function, dropping me from one stage to another. Now, the kidneys have failed enough that I need to go on dialysis, something I have dreaded and postponed beginning.

So I now ask, “Why me?” But fortunately, because of my faith and my experiences with suffering believers, there’s no anger or sense of injustice in my question. I just want to know what purpose this will serve, what I am to learn (or teach) from it, and what I am to accomplish with the time I have been given. I have a paperweight that says, F.R.O.G. on it: Fully Rely On God. Below those words are written my special scripture: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6). I want to keep that message in front of me, and trust that the God who has blessed my life so much for so long, has my future in his hands.

As to why I have this condition and others do not, I am reminded of the true story of a group of fathers and sons who took a bike ride up Pike’s Peak in Colorado. They were having a great time until two of the bikes collided, and one of them veered off the path and over the side of the cliff. Horrified, one of the fathers watched as his son plunged to his death. The stricken dad cried out in anguish, “Why me?” and the others in the group gathered around to comfort him as best they could. As it turned out, one of the other dads was a Lutheran pastor. The man looked the pastor in the eye and asked, “Why me?” To which the pastor replied sadly, “Why not you?”

The pastor’s question seems harsh at first. But I thought of it when my need to proceed with dialysis became clear. Why me? Why not me? Why should I, of all the people who have ever lived, be immune from sickness and suffering? What did I do to deserve such immunity? Maybe this is a time of testing as it was for Job, or my own thorn in the flesh, or my “cross to bear.” I know that once I was issued a handicapped placard, I became more aware of other people’s disabilities and sympathetic to them.* Maybe I have more to learn from what lies ahead – hopefully for years to come.

At the same time, I appreciate how blessed I have been for so many years. Basically, I was healthy for over fifty years, which itself was a good long time compared to most people throughout history. Likewise, I never suffered from serious injury or violent crime. I never had to go to war or flee as a refugee from war or natural disaster. I was never poor or destitute, but always had plenty to eat (as anyone who as seen me can attest.) I had godly parents who loved me and modeled the Christian life, raising me in the faith and making sure I was baptized. And not least of all, I have been married to a believing and faithful wife for almost 49 years. Not a bad run.

Therefore, I join with Job in asking, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10). And leave the answer to “Why me?” to heaven – when I won’t care what the answer is, because I will be so filled with joy and awe. But then the question won’t be about why I am ill, but why would God choose me as one of his own. Praise God for his mercies shown in this life, and in the life to come!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord life up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Job 2; Lamentations 3:13, 19-24; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

*See my blog, “I Was Wrong” of January 15, 2022 for when I forgot this.

I Predict for 2023

It’s the end of December, which means it is time for four things: returning ugly sweaters to the store; making resolutions to lose weight; making summaries of the past year’s events; and issuing predictions from self-appointed “prophets” about the new year.

So, what do these “prophets” see for 2023?

  1. One says, “Looking at 2023 clairvoyantly, I am seeing its energy vibrate at yellow.” and “we are all going to go through a blossoming growth period.”
  2. Another says, “We will make climate progress by government working with indigenous peoples.”
  3. Still another predicts, “a fire in a royal palace or presidential home.” and “humans being born in a lab.”
  4. Followers of the mystic Nostradamus claim he predicted humans would walk on Mars this coming year.
  5. A numerologist says, “The year 2023, which totals up to 7, will be full of ups and downs for people with number 8.” (Huh?)

Most of these prophesiers (I can’t call them prophets) make logical assumptions based on  current trends. Others imagine they are hearing from God, or have psychic abilities to see the future. One televangelist quotes God as saying that our country “will look better, do better and be stronger than you ever dreamed it could be.” Nice to hear.

In the spirit of the day, I have decided to make my own predictions of what will happen in the new year of 2023. You may want to print the list and post it on your fridge. Show the list to your visiting family and friends, who will be amazed. Then, as the year goes on, you can check off each item as it comes true. By the end of the year, my record should be 100%. So here goes. I predict:

  • There will be at least one war between two countries, and some people will be killed. (Jesus said so in Matthew 24:6 “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.”)
  • We will see TV reports of earthquakes and other natural catastrophes. (Luke 21:11 says, “There will be great earthquakes . . .”)
  • And there will be outbreaks of disease, and maybe pronouncements of a new pandemic. (Also Luke 21:11 “There will be . . . famines and pestilences.”
  • Sexual perversions will increase to unknown levels. (Romans 1:26-27  says, “For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.”
  • Christians will be mocked, marginalized, and persecuted, even to death in some places. (Jesus warned in Matthew 24:9, “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.”)
  • There will be fake televangelists, spouting heresies and bilking people for money with false promises. (Matthew 24:11 says, “And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.” And Luke 20:47 warns of religious workers who “devour widows’ houses.”)
  • People will becomes even more selfish, self-centered, “selfied,” and nasty to each other as they turn further away from God. (2 Timothy 3:2-3 says, “For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good.”)
  • An evil person will shoot, stab, or run over a random group of people. The authorities will respond with banning guns, knives, or cars, or by blaming social problems. They will ignore that “out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” (Matthew 15:19).

How do I know these things will happen? Because the Bible tells me so.

I could go on and make predictions about inflation, political corruption, celebrity scandals, energy shortages, automobile recalls, etc., but  those are too obvious, even though not specified in Scripture. So I will stop here. Except to remind everyone that one day, whether in 2023 or later, Christ will return, bringing with him those who have died in him. Will he return in 2023? Maybe, or maybe not. But it will happen one of these days, so let us make sure we are ready for his return (or for our going to him!). The next to last verse of the Bible quotes Jesus, who says, “Surely I am coming soon.” That’s one prediction we can count on! Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you,the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Romans 1:18-32; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; Revelation 22:6-21.

 

 

Are You Ready for Christmas?

Are you ready for Christmas?

Now that it’s mid-December, I’ve been hearing that question quite often: at church the last couple weeks, at lunch with a friend on Monday, and even on the radio. As one talk-show host put it, this question is just a normal greeting this time of year, sort of like asking someone how they’re doing or what they think of the weather.

But, what does “ready for Christmas” mean? Does it mean the tree and other decorations are up? Or the Christmas cards are in the mail? Or all the gifts have been purchased and wrapped? Or the house is cleaned for guests who are coming for a dinner party? Or, as the talk host said, is it just a way of saying “hi” in December?

While I recognize all the meanings I just mentioned, I think there are two other meanings worth considering as we approach this Christmas.

First, there is the question of readiness for Christ’s first coming. Was the world ready for it? Certainly, the coming of the Messiah had been wanted and anticipated throughout history. It had been foretold, and even predicted down to the timing (Daniel 9:25-26) and location (Micah 5:2) of his birth. God had set the time of Jesus’ incarnation from before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20), and chose the perfect time for it to happen.

Galatians 4:4-5 says, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

Consider the reasons why God’s timing was so good: the known world was at peace under the Pax Romana; sea travel for the apostles was safer because the Romans had suppressed piracy on the Mediterranean Sea; Roman roads sped up travel throughout the region; a common language (Greek) made the spread of biblical texts and letters easier; writing technology had advanced from cumbersome scrolls to book-form codices;  and the internet had not yet been invented (yes,that was an advantage). So, the world should have been ready for Christmas.

And yet, when the Messiah’s birth occurred, many were not ready for it. There were of course, people from most nations who did not know that a Savior was coming from the Jews. Others expected a glorious kingly event, with trumpets and chariots and cheering crowds, and did not even entertain the thought of Savior coming as a baby born in a stable in a backwater town like Bethlehem. And then there were some like King Herod, who with all Jerusalem was troubled at the news of Christ’s birth (Matthew 2:3), because it would upset the comfortable status quo they enjoyed.

So while the world was ready for the first Christmas – as far as the hopes of many and the suitable conditions for the event – not every person was ready to welcome and believe in the One who was to be born.

That situation continues even today, because most of the world is still not ready for the reality of the first Christmas. They don’t believe that Jesus was and is the Messiah. They either deny there will be a Christ, or they keep putting their hopes in someone yet to come. They latch onto one false Messiah after another, whether a religious or secular leader. Many don’t  acknowledge they even need a Savior, because they deny their sin and its consequences. For them, the answer to the question, “Are you ready for Christmas?” is “no.”

The second meaning of the question applies to Christians, to those who recognize that the Messiah was born, and celebrate that event. They attend special church services, decorate their homes, listen to Christmas carols, exchange cards and gifts, and enjoy gustatory feasts. But are they ready for Christmas spiritually?

  1. Do they recognize their sinfulness and grieve for the sins that they know they have done?
  2. Do they accept their need for a Savior, and their inability to save themselves?
  3. Do they read the old, familiar Christmas Scriptures with true joy and wonder each time? Do they “love to tell the story,” and find “each time they hear it, so wonderfully sweet?” Are they “hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest?”*
  4. Do they spend time praying, giving God praise and thanksgiving for what he has done in sending his Son into the world to save us?
  5. Do they enjoy worshiping God with fellow Christians, bound together in love by the Holy Spirit?
  6. Do they cringe when they hear movies and TV shows speak of the “true meaning of Christmas” as being anything other than the birth of Jesus?
  7. Do they prefer Christian carols like “Joy to the World” over secular, winter songs like, “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer”?**
  8. Do they marvel how the Creator of the universe could and would come into the world as one of us, in so small and helpless form?
  9. Do they say, “Merry Christmas” and really mean it, not worrying about whether non-believers want to hear it or not?
  10. Do they remember that the manger begins Christ’s journey to the Cross, and what that means for them and the world?

The final question is not about whether “they” are spiritually ready for Christmas, but whether “you” are. Amid all the hectic preparations for the season, with all the expectations you and others put on you for this holiday, are you feeling that joy and peace on earth which Christ’s birth should give? If not, take the time to evaluate what Christmas means to you, and why. And then have a wonderful and blessed celebration which refreshes your spirit!

Now, may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Matthew 2:1-12; Luke 2:1-20.

  • * From “I Love to Tell the Story,” by Kate Hankey, 1866.
  • **”Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer,” by Randy Brooks, 1978.

 

The Day After, or, The Leftovers’ Lament

‘Twas the day after Thanksgiving and all through the house,

Leftovers were waiting for me and my spouse.

Though they knew we were stuffed, too bloated to eat,

It wouldn’t be long till we grabbed some more meat.

 

So they gathered to meet on the fridge’s top shelf,

There were green beans, and ‘taters, and turkey itself.

They wondered aloud which would be first to go,

And which would remain for a week or so.

 

So they made a list of which foods remained,

“Just to be ready,” the sweet corn explained.

Each food replied when they called the roll:

Potatoes, and corn and a baked casserole.

 

Turkey and stuffing and a red Jell-o dish,

And rolls and jelly and even a fish!

Said the gravy, so tasty, “I guess we’re all here.”

But they noticed the ham was shedding a tear.

 

“What’s wrong?” they all asked, “There’s plenty still left.”

But the ham still cried; it was just too bereft.

“Something’s missing – it’s been all used up,”

It just won’t be there, the next time they sup.”

 

“What could it be, since there’s still so much food?”

“What would make you so sad and cause you to brood?”

Asked the corn of the ham, as it heard it cry.

Said the ham, “I will tell you,” and gave out a sigh.

 

“Thanksgiving is great for thanking the Lord,

For surely he’s worthy to be so adored.

But the thanks given that day sure run out so fast,

There’s none of it left for the coming repast.”

 

“You would think each meal, and other things, too,

Would make people grateful for blessings so true,

But missing the day set aside for that reason,

They just go on, season to season.”

 

“So they gobble their food, and finish their course,

But don’t even think to honor its source.

It causes me pain, I’m sad to say,

That thanks are used up on Thanksgiving Day.”

 

The ham was done; it had said its piece,

And now their talking did stop and cease.

For they knew the ham’s words were only too true,

So now I must ask, “Are they true for you?”

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Psalm 100:4; Philippians 4:6; 1 Timothy 4:4.

Who Do You Think You Are?

One of the few shows Karen and I watch on TV is called, “Who Do You Think You Are?” In each episode, a celebrity searches for his or her family history with the help of historians and genealogists. They usually learn amazing and surprising things about their ancestors, including one who was tried as a witch in 1600s Salem, another who was a refugee from the Nazi holocaust, and still another who was sent as a “Daughter of the King” (Fille du Roi) to French Canada in the 1600s to wed a French settler. The show is fascinating, and often very moving for the celebrities when they discover their history.

I find the stories fascinating for a couple of reasons. First, because of the history involved. I have always enjoyed reading about history, and here are people who lived that history and helped shape it. Second, I have always been fascinated by my own family history, ever since doing a school project back in junior high. This has especially been true the last two years, when I inherited my parents’ family journals, records and old photos. Karen and I have been researching and building our family trees, filling the gaps with new information and stories we never heard while growing up.

So, if you asked me, “Who do you think you are?” I could go back several hundred years to a Scotch-Irish immigrant in 1630 or a German widow who sailed to America in the 1860s, to survivors of the Great Chicago Fire, to pioneers living in a sod house on the Kansas prairie, to a Civil War soldier captured by the Confederates at the Second Battle of Winchester, and to a Methodist circuit riding preacher in the Dakotas.

I have enjoyed learning these things about my family, but really, they are not who I am. If you asked me who I think I am, my answer would be very different. Not that I reject my family history, nor am I ashamed of it. Like every family mine has had both heroes and scalawags (hopefully, I will be counted among the former and not the latter!) Also, I know that what has gone before has shaped who I am today – both genetically and regarding my beliefs and values; for these I am indebted to my parents who raised me and taught me about life. And yet, regardless of what has gone before, I do not find my identity in such things.

Nor do I find my identity in current cultural fads which try to group everybody into sub categories based on race, ethnicity, language, social status, and gender. Oh sure, I could attach a bunch of labels to myself to show how “woke”* I am, (I am a cisgendered, white, English-speaking Anglo-Saxon male whose pronouns are me, myself, and I), but those don’t really identify who I am. So who or what am I?

I am a Christian. When it comes down to the one identity that really matters, that is it. That one identity changes everything and is more important than anything else that could be said about me, or by me. In that identity, I have faith, hope, love, and life itself. In that identity I have the knowledge of worth, the assurance of forgiveness, and the hope of eternal life to come. In that identity I find meaning, strength, and direction. In that identity, I have a relationship with the God of the universe. What other identity could possibly be greater than that?

I am a Christian, not through birth or inheritance, but through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Romans 10:9 says, “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.” And we have the well-known promise of John 3:16, which says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” My family certainly played an important part in teaching me the Bible, taking me to church, baptizing me, and modeling the Christian life, but it was my own faith which God required of me.

As Christians, there are other identities which follow and help identify and explain who we are. Consider the following:

  1. We are children of God. My confirmation verse was John 1:12, which says, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” This means several wonderful things. It means we can call God, “Father” or “Abba” (Daddy). There’s a personal relation-ship, in which we can call directly on him. Second, as his children we share his only-begotten Son’s inheritance (Acts 20:32, Ephesians 1:11a – “In him we have obtained an inheritance,” and 1 Peter 1:3-5). As his children, we are freed from our natural bondage to sin, to become sons who remain in God’s house forever (John 8:35).
  2. We are saints. By faith, our sins are removed from us. The filthy rags of our own attempts at goodness are stripped away and replaced by Christ’s own glorious robes of righteousness. Isaiah 64:6 says, “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” In Philippians 3:9, Paul explains the basis for his hope: “not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ —the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” In turn, Paul addressed his fellow believers as “saints” in his letters to them (Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:2, Colossians 1:2, etc.).
  3. We are sinners. Ouch! You would think this part of our identity would just go away with our adoption as God’s children. Unfortunately, though, this condition, though temporary, does continue to plague us in this life. We continue to sin, though we don’t want to. We fall to the same temptations too often, and do things we know are forbidden by God – whether outwardly or in our hearts and minds – such as lust, pride, jealousy, and greed. We also sin by failing to do what God commands us to do. Jesus told us the greatest of the commandments was to love God with our whole heart and mind and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves; who of us can say we have truly done that? That’s why, even as Christians, we confess in our weekly worship, ” We have sinned against you in thought word and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart, we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.” Thanks be to God that our sins are forgiven, even when they are too numerous to mention in a single prayer!
  4. We are new creations.  As Christians, we are not just “modified” by our faith, but rather we are made new. Paul wrote, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).  Whereas, in our first birth we were subject to sin and death, in Christ we are reborn children of God and inheritors of eternal life. Christ breaks our original bondage (Romans 8:21) to sin and sets us free (John 8:36) to live as we were unable to do before. The old self dies; the new self will live on. If you are like me, you probably wish you could get a few “do-overs” in your life, to correct mistakes, avoid hurts, and make things right; in Christ we get more than that – we get a new life.
  5. Finally, we are Christ’s disciples, called by him to follow him wherever he may lead us. While it is faith alone which saves us, the new life in Christ calls for us to:
    • follow (John 12:26 “If anyone serves me, he must follow me.”)
    • serve others (Matthew 5:16 “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”)
    • obey his commandments (Matthew 28:20 “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”)
    • make other disciples throughout the world (Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations”) so that people of every nation, tribe, and language will receive their new identities in Christ.
    • and be willing to give up everything, even our lives, for Christ’s sake (Matthew 10:38 “And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.)

When a Christian lives out his or her new identity, it honors God and blesses the Christian who does the things which God desires. As Luther said, “Good works do not make a man good, but a good man does good works.” We do not earn our place in God’s kingdom; God gives us our new identities by his grace through faith. But we get to serve him with our lives, How great is that!

So who do you think I am? The more important question is, “Who does God think I am?” He calls me his beloved child, and that is good enough for me!

Now, may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Romans 7:21-25; Romans 21:1-8; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21.

*See my blog from October 6, 2020, “Are You Woke,” for more comment.

Top of Mind

Recently, a new phrase entered the English language (at least, the American version of English). That phrase is, “top of mind.” It first appeared during a White House press briefing, when a reporter asked the government’s press secretary why the President had asked where a certain dead person was. The spokesperson replied that the deceased person was not only on the mind of the President, but actually “on top of mind,” which is why he had asked about her. In other words, the President had been thinking about her.

Although I have a definite opinion regarding the President’s gaffe, my point here is neither to defend nor ridicule him, but to consider the phrase from a Christian viewpoint. What does it mean to have something on top of one’s mind, and given the many things we could keep in mind, what should that “top-of-mind” thing be?

As we go through the day, many things can rise to the top of our thoughts. They may be that day’s agenda of things that have to be done; or maybe things we want to do. They may be health concerns for ourselves or loved ones.  They may be political issues. They may be worries about possible coming disasters or current wars. They may be philosophical questions about the paradigms of the conflict between stoicism and existentialism in the Third Estate of 17th Century France. Or maybe, you’re just thinking about what to eat for supper. Whatever it may be, something is on your mind right now (such as, “Why did I start reading this blog??).

Karen and I have been leading a Bible study using material called Cold Case Christianity*. In it the writer, a former cold-case detective, names the three motives behind all the crimes he ever investigated. They are: money, power, and sexual or other relationships. Such basic human  motives do not necessarily lead a person to commit crimes, but one or more of them will rise to our “top of mind” sometime each day. (You may be worrying about paying for your next tank of gas, for example.) I think there are also many small, but important, things that occupy our thoughts – practical thoughts that affect our mundane daily activities, such as dressing, driving, or exercising.

There are also pressures on us each day to think about certain things, pushed on us by commercial and political advertisements. Today, for example, we received several political ads in the mail encouraging us to think about (and vote for) certain candidates. We turn on the TV or the computer and many commercials pop up, selling various products and services (“Ask your doctor if our drug is right for you.” I actually wrote down a week’s worth of such ads and took them to my doctor and asked if they were right for me.  He thinks I’m crazy.)

All this is to say that we have active brains that are constantly bringing things to mind, many of which do rise to “top of mind” status. But the question is, “Is everything that comes to mind of equal importance or value?” In other words, “What should be on top of our minds?”

For a Christian, this is not just an academic question. What we think about makes a difference. In the words of the United Negro College Fund, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” This is especially true for Christians who want to honor the God who gave us our precious minds, by not wasting them on things that are temporary or even ungodly. Therefore, we go to the Scriptures to find out what the Lord has to say about our thoughts.

First, we recognize that for Christians, the mind is essential to our being and to our relationship with God. It is not, as many eastern religions assert, in the way of enlightenment. We do not set it aside and go only with feelings as a way to God. (In fact, feelings flow from thoughts.) Job 38:36 says that God has given understanding to our minds.

Second, we become purposeful in our thinking, choosing what we will  bring to mind. We don’t just let our mind drift and be passive, taking in whatever comes our way.  We do not seek to be “conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,” (Romans 12:2a). Instead, we “take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Third, we strive to think always about God, about what he has done for us, and what he desires from us. Psalm 1:2 speaks of the blessed man as one whose “delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

Fourth, we intentionally rid our minds of sinful thoughts such as lust, greed, hatred, pride, and selfishness. Harboring such thoughts makes us miserable and leads to sins against God and our neighbor. Romans 8:5-6  warns us, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”

Finally, we turn our attention to those things that are wholesome, pure, and God-honoring. Humility, gratitude, love, a servant heart, and mercy are among those  thoughts which bless us and all who come into our lives. Philippians 2:5-7 calls us to have the mind of Christ among us, that is, the mind of humility. By having a mind renewed in Christ, we may “discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2b). And don’t forget the greatest commandments as cited by Christ himself: to love God and love your neighbor as yourself.

I think it would be interesting to try for just one day, to keep our mind on God: one day filled with prayer, praise, thanksgiving, and love. One day to shun bad and sinful thoughts, one day to think of those things which please God. One day to practice what Paul wrote in Philippians 4:8,”Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” What a day that would be!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Ephesians 4:17-32; Philippians 4:1-9

 

*Cold Case Christianity, by J. Warner Wallace, David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO. 2013

Wait For It . . .

If you’re like me, you’ve heard people use the expression, “Wait for it . . .”. Sometimes they even repeat it more than once, signalling that something humorous, surprising, or momentous is about to happen. They want you to pay attention to what is about to be said or done by anticipating what is coming. The period of waiting heightens the sense of fulfillment when the thing finally happens. It reminds me of the old ketchup commercial where the open bottle is held upside down with the thick, rich (yummy!) ketchup slowly flowing out, all while Carly Simon sings, “Anticipation is making me wait. . .” If that same commercial were made today, the narrator would be saying, “Wait for it . . . Wait for it . . . ” while the ketchup slowly dripped.

Yes, the expression is quite common these days, often in comedic settings where we are told to wait for the punch line. So imagine my mild surprise this past Sunday when I read the Scripture lesson from Habakkuk, for right there, in the middle of the reading, was the command, “Wait for it.” Was Habakkuk just using a modern expression ahead of his time? (He was a prophet, after all!). Or was he telling his readers to be patient while he thought of what else to say? Was he about to tell a joke? What was the “it” he was telling us to be patient about?

The passage in question is Habakkuk 2:3. It reads, “For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.” But what is the vision mentioned here that will come when we wait for it? To answer that, we need to consider the context.

This passage actually contains the Lord’s response to complaints that Habbakuk made to God about all the evil that was flourishing in the land. In the first chapter of the book, the prophet decries the rampant violence by the wicked, and the perversion of justice. He calls on God to act, saving the innocent and destroying the evildoers, but there seems to be no deliverance. Does God not see what’s going on? Does God not hear the cries for help?

God’s first reply to Habakkuk is for him to look at what God is doing among the nations, raising up and bring down countries by his judgments. But then he made the prophetic announcement that he will judge the oppressors and the idol-worshipers. He will bring deliverance, but – and this is the key point – he will do it at the right time – when God determines the time to be right. The fulfillment will  happen, and it will not delay, but until it comes, the prophet has to be patient. He must “wait for it.”

The situation in Habakkuk’s time is not that different from what we see today: violence; the absence or perversion of justice;  iniquity and wrong-doing; contention and strife. Wars between nations, civil strife, rampant crime, hatred and division,and oppression are common. It’s hard to think of anywhere today that is free of such problems: our country, our families, and even our churches. We are faced with hurts and disappointments, suffering and fear, loss and anger. And, like Habakkuk, we cry out to God in prayer, asking, “Lord, don’t you see what’s going on? When will you act? Don’t you care that your righteous are suffering?”

Just as our current events and our complaints to God echo those of Habakkuk, so does God’s answer to us today: God will judge, he will rescue, and his promises will be fulfilled. But he will set things right in his own time, according to his plan and not ours. Until he acts, we must wait.

Waiting is hard to do, but according to the Scriptures, it is a godly virtue. James tells us that patience is both a test of our faith, and a means of growing that faith. When we have to wait for something,we have to believe it will happen; when we don’t see it right now, we must trust the promise that it eventually will. James wrote, “for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:2). The writer of the book of Hebrews also commended those who waited and trusted for God’s promises to take place, especially the promise of the Messiah. After naming several faithful followers of God who waited for the great promise to be fulfilled, he writes, “And all these, though commended through their faith, did not [yet] receive what was promised,” (Hebrews 11:39). Eventually the promise did occur – in the coming of Jesus Christ.

Christ came the first time to “seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10) through his death and resurrection, by offering himself as the great sacrifice for our sins. He came in God’s perfect timing, “when the fullness of time had come,” (Galatians 4:4). Likewise, he will return to judge the living and the dead, but that will also happen when God’s plan is fulfilled, in the proper time, that is, in God’s time.

To us, it may seem like Christ’s return has been too long delayed. Why hasn’t he returned yet? It’s been almost 2000 years since he ascended to heaven; when will he descend as Scripture promises? Peter tells us to be patient, even as God has been patient with us: “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance”(2 Peter 3:9). James 5:7 agrees, “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.”

Isaiah 25:9 says, it will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

As Christians, we may accept the long-term promise of Christ’s return and the end of this age, when everything will be made right and justice will prevail. Righteousness will be rewarded, and wickedness receive its “just deserts.” But what about right now, when our world is full of wickedness, and evil seems to be winning? Can we wait for God and keep the faith even when we don’t see him acting to restore righteousness?

The answer is still, “Yes!” Consider the following:

  1. The fact that we are troubled by evil happening around us shows that we are aware of right and wrong, and seek what is right. That is good.
  2. The fact that we even call on God shows that we believe in both his power and his goodness. Why would we pray to him if we didn’t believe he is a powerful and righteous God? It is a sign of faith in him that we do.
  3. The fact that we still cry to God even when disappointed is in accord with Gods word. Romans 8:25 says, ” But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”And Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as, “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
  4. We have limited knowledge of all that God is doing. It may seem our prayers have not been answered, but God may be answering them in ways and in places beyond our perceptions. Like the ancient heroes of the faith, we may not see God’s promises fulfilled even in our lifetime, but that doesn’t mean our prayers were in vain or that God did not act as he promised.
  5. The ability to wait on the Lord is a spiritual gift that goes beyond our natural capability for patience. Paul lists that fruit in Galatians 5:22, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” We are able to be patient because God’s own Spirit works in us to make it possible even in times of disappointment.
  6. The Lord will act, but in his timing. With him, “one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8).

All these things tell me that God commands my patience as a sign of trust in him and his promises. And when I do as he commands, he will still my heart and mind and give me the peace that passes the world’s understanding. For I know in whom I believe, and know that he has heard my cry, and even now is at work to make all things right. I trust the words of the Psalmist who wrote, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.”*

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Psalm 25:5; Habakkuk 1 and 2; 2 Peter 3:1-10.

*Psalm 40:1 (NIV).

 

A Marked Man or Woman

This past Sunday I had the privilege of baptizing a young child. As part of the traditional ritual accompanying this sacrament, I made the sign of the cross on his forehead with my finger, and pronounced, “Child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit, and marked with the cross forever.”

That statement is both a promise of  the current reality of being welcomed into God’s kingdom (John 1:12) and the promise of eternal salvation to come (1 Peter 3:21). But of course, although making the sign of the cross has strong spiritual reality, it does not physically appear like a tattoo, visible for all to see. But what if it did?

I once read about a nurse who participated in a baptism in her hospital’s neonatal ward. The newborn infant had a condition called “dermographia” or “skin-writing,” in which the skin welts up, forming red marks and lines when it is touched. As the nurse watched the baptizer make a sign of the cross on the child’s forehead, suddenly red lines appeared leaving a sign of the cross on the skin. The nurse was moved by the visible sign of an eternal reality. Eventually, of course. the welts subsided and the cross went away. But what if they had remained? What if the cross had remained permanently visible?

And what if that were true of every Christian, that at our baptism or at the moment of our conversion, a permanent cross appeared on our foreheads for all the world to see, and for us to be reminded of our faith every time we looked in the mirror? It would be awesome to know our true brothers and sisters in Christ at first sight, and to know who were phonies. We could separate the true sheep from those wolves in sheep’s clothing, the true pastors from those out to fleece the flock, and the politicians who claim religious faith and say, “God bless you!”, from those who say it and actually mean it. It would be awesome if we could become men and women marked for Christ.

The Bible say that believers on earth now receive such a spiritual mark: “When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13), and that eventually those in  heaven “will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads” (Revelation 22:4). Such Scriptures provide the basis for our statement that in baptism we are “sealed by the Holy Spirit” and marked with the cross of Christ forever.”

But unseen spiritual realities and future manifestations of those realities don’t show themselves visibly now, so how can we see that someone is a true Christian in today’s world?

Some people think they can identify Christians (or show they are ones themselves) by looking holy:

  1. By wearing Christian jewelry, such as crosses. That may be true, but some gang members wear crosses, and some people like wearing pretty “bling” no matter what it represents. Besides, you can remove the jewelry when it is dangerous or unacceptable to wear it.
  2. By wearing message T-shirts that bear Bible verses or clever sayings. Not bad, but anyone can wear a shirt and then take it off. And some messages are not so biblical.
  3. By wearing Christian symbols as tattoos. But Leviticus 19:28 says, “You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.” Does that still apply to Christians,or just to the Israelites?
  4. By dressing nice for church. I appreciate that, but looking nice may depend more on one’s finances than on the treasures of their heart. Besides, 1 Samuel 16:7 says that “man looks on the outside appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
  5. By becoming a pastor, missionary, or other leader in the church. Those are good and holy professions, but don’t guarantee a true faith or  holy life.
  6. By charitable good works. Even rank unbelievers or adherents of other religions can do good and laudable things, and we should commend them for doing so, but their motivations may have nothing to do with Christ. For example, Muslims make alms-giving a pillar of their beliefs.
  7. By memorizing or quoting Scripture, but even Satan quoted Scripture when tempting Jesus. And how many activists quote the Bible when it seems to support their cause?

So, it is not by dress or appearance or social positions in a church that we prove our identity as Christians, because anyone can mimic Christian behavior and seem good in a moral sense. Instead, consider the following clues, not as absolute proof of the true faith, but when taken together, can be visible signs that people are marked with the cross of Christ:

  1. They love God in Christ (Matthew 22:37), and proclaim it gladly to others.
  2. They seek to love their neighbors (Leviticus 19:18 and Matthew 19:19) and their enemies (Luke 6:27) as themselves.
  3. They confess that Jesus is Lord, that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9), and that he has come in the flesh (1 John 4:2).
  4. They continue to profess Christ even under persecution, when to do so is costly or deadly (James 1:12).
  5. They worship God regularly and seek fellowship with other believers (Hebrews 10:25 and Acts  5:42).
  6. They turn the other cheek and return good for the evil done to them Matthew 5:39).
  7. They seek to keep God’s commandments because they love and fear God (John 15:14).
  8. They delight in God’s Word, even when challenging (2 Peter 3:16).
  9. They  meditate on God’s law, day and night (Psalm 1:2).
  10. They recognize their own sinfulness, while forgiving others (Matthew 6:12-15).
  11. They put the best construction on what others do and say (Luke 7:37-50).
  12. They don’t judge people (Luke 6:37), but extend mercy to them (Matthew 5:7).
  13. They pray always (Luke 18:1).
  14. They seek what is best for others (Romans 12:10).
  15. They give thanks in all things (Philippians 4:6).
  16. They think on things that are good and holy (Philippians 4:8).
  17. They are reconcilers and peacemakers (Matthew 5:9).
  18. They are cheerful givers, to God and to those in need (2 Corinthians 9:7).
  19. They are humble (Psalm 51:17).
  20. They abhor and avoid the fruit of the flesh – “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.” (Galatians 5:19-51)
  21. They exhibit the fruit of the Spirit – “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;” (Galatians 5:22-23).

Whew! What a list! But I offer it with four caveats: First, it is not a complete list; I’m sure you could think of other signs of true Christians. Second, this list is impossible to follow perfectly. Third, doing these things does not save us; they are works which follow salvation and are empowered by the Holy Spirit. And finally they are not a checklist for us to evaluate others, but rather to examine our own hearts before God, asking whether we truly love God and others as ourselves – the greatest commandments.

If we do show such love for God and our neighbor, then we won’t need a cross etched on our foreheads, for we will bear the true marks of one who is “marked by the cross of Christ forever.”

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Galatians 5, and all the verses cited above!

P.S. In reference to point 11 above, Luther’s Small Catechism explains the Eighth Commandment as follows: “We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbor, but defend him, [think and] speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.”

Sanctuary

You hear the word “sanctuary” a lot these days. It’s all over the news. Politicians talk about “sanctuary states” and “sanctuary cities” in regards to illegal aliens. Other politicians talk about “sanctuary cities” for unborn babies; some 43 cities have outlawed abortions to that end. There are even 1,200 “Second Amendment sanctuary” cities and counties that have voted not to enforce restrictive gun laws.

Obviously, the term “sanctuary” strikes a chord deep in people’s hearts and minds. The idea and practice of providing a safe space for certain people or practices appeals to many of us. Who doesn’t want to be shielded and safe somewhere? I remember as a kid playing “ditch” in our neighborhood. The person who was “it” would yell, “Ditch!” and the rest of us, maybe 20 or so, would scatter and hide. “It” would come looking for us, but if we could make it back to the starting point without being tagged, we would be safe. We called that safe place, “goal” (but we all pronounced it like “ghoul”!). That goal was, in a sense, our sanctuary.

The idea of a safe place to run to actually goes back to the Old Testament. God gave instructions to the Israelites to set aside certain cities for the tribe of Levi, who did not otherwise receive large territories like the other tribes. Then he told them that six of those cities were to be “cities of refuge” to which a person accused of killing someone could flee. That man would be safe there from retribution until his case was heard. If he were found guilty of murder, he would be turned over to the dead person’s avenger; but if the death were ruled an accident, he could live in the city and be safe. The conditions for such a refuge are found in Numbers 35:6-34.

In the modern world, national borders often provide such places of refuge, whether Jews fleeing Nazi Germany, Ukrainians fleeing to Poland, Chinese fleeing to Taiwan, or Venezuelans coming to the U.S. It’s good to have such options when political oppression or other conditions make our old home unsafe.

But why do we call such safe places “sanctuaries”? We take the term from the Latin term, “sanctum,” which means “holy place” or “sacred place.” It is used in the Latin Bible (the Vulgate) to refer to the “holy” area of the Temple, where the priests served God. In addition, the word is used to refer to the innermost area of the Temple, called the Sanctum Sanctorum, or the “Holy of Holies,” where only the high priest could enter once a year.

An example from the Old Testament which refers to the sanctuary is Psalm 134:2 which says, “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord.”

The New Testament continues the use of the word sanctuary, using it just five times in relation to the Jerusalem Temple (Matthew and Luke) and to the heavenly Temple (Revelation). But now that the earthly Temple has been destroyed, Christians have applied the term to the area of a church building set aside for worship. Just as the Israelites and Jews met God’s presence and worshiped him in a physical location so Christians gather to worship God, hear his word, and receive his sacraments in a special place set aside for that purpose – even though we know that God cannot be housed in a building (Acts 7:44-50).

There’s a big difference between the old Temple and a church building. For one thing, the Bible tells us that it is Christians, not buildings, that are the new Temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Peter 2:4-6 says we “like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house.” The temple had a great curtain which divided the “Holy place” from the “Holy of Holies.” But when Christ died, the curtain was torn in two, signifying the opening up of access to God by his sacrifice. No longer are we barred from approaching God in person. The third great difference is in the area of sacrifices. Until Christ, the priests were continually offering animal sacrifices to atone for sin; but Christ offered himself up as the final sacrifice, once and for all (Hebrews 10:1-12). And finally, instead of there being a cadre of priests in the Temple, now we are all priests, not needing anyone besides Christ himself to mediate between God and us (1 Peter 2:5,9).

Even with the New Testament teachings about God’s new Temple and priesthood, the use of the term “sanctuary” is still appropriate when referring to a church’s worship area. It is where we go to deliberately worship God, hear God’s Word, and receive the sacraments. It is where our focus is on God, and where we have fellowship with other believers, encouraging each other in the faith. It is not only a symbol of our faith, it is also a place where we receive the grace our faith promises. And at times, sanctuaries have actually offered a refuge from harm, from attackers who respected God and did not want to violate his sacred places.

So, how should we understand and treat our church sanctuaries today?

  1. Recognize that because we are all priests and God is everywhere, we can worship him anywhere – in a church building, at a campground, in a stadium, in our home.
  2. Recognize that some places are more conducive to worship. When a church sets aside a place dedicated to worship, people enter it with hearts and minds prepared to meet God in his Word and Sacrament. Symbols of our faith are evident -such as crosses, altars, and baptismal fonts. On the other hand, trying to worship in a grocery store or rock concert is a little harder.
  3. Treat the sanctuary space reverently, respecting the other worshipers and focusing our attention on Jesus Christ. Refrain from running, gossiping, or angry speech.
  4. Respect the space even when not worshiping. The Bible speaks of things that are common and those that are sacred. The sanctuary is not sacred in and of itself, but as a space set aside for God’s purposes, it becomes holy.
  5. Respect the sanctuary as a place of refuge, where Christians, and those seeking God, can come and feel safe from the evils of the world. The sanctuary should be a place without prejudices, gossip, social class, feuds, anger and insults. Everyone who enters should feel safe, regardless of who they are or what they’ve done. All our pettiness and disputes should be left outside, never to taint the sanctuary with sin.
  6. We should enter having prepared to meet God. We are to examine ourselves before receiving communion (1 Corinthians 11:28) and settle disputes with others before leaving our offering at the altar (Matthew 5:22-24). We come ready to confess our sins and be forgiven as only Christ can do.
  7. Sing praises to God! “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord! (Psalm 134:2); “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord!” (Psalm 100); “singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16); “Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.” (Psalm 33:3). God is worthy of all our praise, and it is good to give him the honor he is due.
  8. And finally, Go there. When you skip church for no good reason, are you telling others – and God – that worshiping him is not important? Are you such a spiritual giant that you don’t need to receive continuous grace from the Lord? Do you not care about your brothers and sisters that they be encouraged by your presence and service? There’s a reason the writer of Hebrews told us, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24-25).

I hope the next time you hear someone in the news talking about sanctuaries, you think on the special places of refuge, hope, and blessing which our churches provide, and recommit to meeting there with your fellow Christians to worship and fellowship joyfully.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Psalm 100; Hebrews 10

The One Essential Member

Colossians 1:15-20

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

The One Essential Member

I. Who is the most important, even essential, member of any church? Is it:

The Council President? This is the lay leader chosen by the congregation to shoulder responsibility for everything that happens. He or she must make sure the church is staffed, bills are paid, and legal matters followed. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it! The person who does it must be the most important person in the church, right? No; important, yes, but they’re not the most important.

The Head of the biggest family? Especially in the Midwest, some of the  small town churches are built around one key family. They provide the members, the workers, the council leaders, and much of the offering. Without them, the church would evaporate. So their matriarchs or patriarchs must be the most important members! But, no, it’s not them.

The Leader of Altar Guild? How can you have worship, the core activity of the church, without people to set up communion, clean and change the paraments, light the candles, etc.? Surely, they are the most important! No.

The Leaders of the Men’s and Women’s groups? – These are popular, respected, and loved, and active in service. Yes, they are very important and a blessing to the congregation, but not essential to the existence of the church.

The Wealthiest member? You need money to run the church these days. Just fixing our parking lot costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. You want to have the money people on board. So if there are no wealthy members, you need to go out and start recruiting them! It’s that important, but not the most important!

The Biggest giver? Maybe the biggest giver is not the wealthiest, but the one who gives like he or she is. That’s the one you want; without them the church would be in financial trouble, unable to meet its obligations and needs. Utilities get turned off, staff go unpaid, benevolences are dropped. Surely this is the most important? No.

The Custodian? Who keeps the buildings clean, safe, and open? Who makes sure equipment operates safely? If the buildings and grounds deteriorate, where would we meet? It must be the custodian, right? No.

The Friendliest, most outgoing? When visitors come to church, if they are greeted and made to feel welcome and valued, they may come back and want to be part of your friendly church. They provide much needed warmth and loving kindness. Why wouldn’t such people be essential? Granted, they are wonderful and important, but they are not the most important.

The Pastor? Now we’re to the category that’s near and dear to my heart! Who ever heard of a church without a pastor? Who will preach and teach, visit the sick, conduct worship and funerals? Who will perform the sacraments, except a pastor? Yep. We must be the most important people in the church! But, sad to say, we’re not.

So then, if none of the preceding people is the most important to the church, who is? And what are the criteria for deciding who is most important? The criteria are: 1. Whose presence is indispensable; and 2. Whose absence would cause the church to crumble or disappear, or die?

The one, most essential member of the church, obviously, is Jesus Christ.

     Without him, there is no Gospel – no good news for the world (and we of       all people are most to be pitied, according to Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:19).

      Without him, the Spirit is absent.

     Without him, the sacraments are hollow rituals. No body or blood with             the bread and wine.

     Without him, our organization may be called a church, but it’s really just       another non-profit organization which, though well-intentioned, would       be dependent on human strength and the wisdom of flawed, self-                       centered sinners.

     Without him, we would have the appearance of holiness or religiosity,             but would lack what is needed: 2 Timothy 3:5 warns against those                      “having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.”

How do you seek his presence, and keep Jesus as the central focus of the church?

1. We gather in his name – For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (Matthew 18:20)

2. We pray in his name – “My house shall be called a house of prayer.” (Luke 19:46); and at the Last Supper, Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.” (John 16:23)

3. We treasure and revere the Scriptures as the word of God – “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3:16)

4. We pray and submit our will to God’s in all church matters – “Thy will be done” (Matthew 6:10)

5. Lutheran Confessions: The definition of the Church: The gathering of believers where the Gospel is preached in its purity and the sacraments are rightly administered.

6. Forgive as we have been forgiven, and seek unity in the Spirit with each other – Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

The truth about the essential nature of Christ in the church is proclaimed above in the passage from Colossians 1:18, “And he is the head of the body, the church.” It is also celebrated in the hymn, “The Church’s One Foundation.”

The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord;
she is his new creation by water and the Word.
From heav’n he came and sought her to be his holy bride;
with his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.*

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Matthew 16:17-19; Colossians 1

*Lyrics written by S.I. Stone, 1866. Public Domain.

Whose Church Is It, Anyway?

In November 2002, I attended an administrators’ luncheon at a Christian school convention. The speaker was Walt Wiley, who spoke on the topic, “Whose School Is This?” His remarks had such a beneficial effect on me that I have preserved a card with his outline for twenty years – and keep it on my home office desk. In plain sight, to keep me from forgetting what he said.

He made three main points about Christian schools, but his remarks are equally applicable to Christian churches. His points were the following, with the word “church” substituting for “school”:

  1. You know you don’t own the church, so stop worrying. Let God be God.
  2. You know you don’t own the church, so stop controlling. Get your hands off!
  3. You know you don’t own the church, so stop bragging. Give God the glory.

Mr. Wiley’s theme verse was 1 Corinthians 4:7, ” For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” The point of the verse, and of his presentation, was that the church is God’s, and that the church, and our roles in it, are given to us by God.

As a pastor, I found that my role seemed to be to worry about everything our church* did, and everything it faced. I worried about our members, about the visitors who were checking us out, about our staff, about the offering, and about what I was going to preach any given week. I worried about the church leadership, our community reputation, and whether we were properly serving and honoring God. I worried about our missionary work.

It’s not that I didn’t enjoy the work or find it rewarding and fulfilling. I did. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy my relationships with members, staff, and the public. I did. But it seemed at times that if I didn’t worry about making sure everything was right, no one would, and the church would fall apart. I felt responsible for everything that happened.

Which is why Mr.Wiley’s words, “you don’t own the church, so stop worrying,” were so impactful and important for me to hear. They reminded me that it wasn’t my church, but God’s. He formed it, he called its people together, he sustained it, and he gave it  its purpose. Although he calls pastors, lay leaders, and the members to serve the church and its work, ultimately, the church belongs to him. It is his responsibility.

The church is not just an organization, a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation. It is an organism, a living body created by Christ for his glory and for the saving of many souls. The Bible makes it clear that the Church is the body of Christ here on earth. We are his hands and feet, ministering as he would, going where he would go. The same Spirit who was in him, now resides in us, leading, empowering, and protecting the Church.

This is not to say we don’t make mistakes or fail sometimes in our mission, but another biblical metaphor comes into play: the Church is the bride of Christ, which he loves, in spite of its shortcomings, and forgives freely.

The knowledge that our church belongs to God, and is both the body and bride of Christ, is important for me to keep in mind, because though I am no longer the pastor, I still worry about what is happening to our church and about the challenges that lie ahead.

Some of these challenges will probably always be there, due to the nature of society and its people: increasing secularism, government interference, crime, social divisions, inflation, and personal sins of pride, lust, and greed. Then there’s outright opposition and “cancelling” by the media.

But the problems are not only external. While I believe God’s Church will endure persecution as it has for 2000 years, the work and life of any one congregation can be weakened or destroyed by internal factors. These can include heresies – spread by false teachers; conformity to the errors of the culture around us; and divisons that tear us apart. Scriptures warn about all three of these dangers:

  1. Heresies: False teachers are called “wolves” who come in and tear apart the flock (Acts 20:29-30). Peter warns, “there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies” (2 Peter 2:1). And Jesus warned us, “For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect” (Mark 13:22).
  2. Conformity: Romans 12: 2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” James 4:4 warns, “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
  3. Divisions: The early church in Corinth found itself ripped apart by schisms based on which teacher or apostle the various members followed. There arose parties within the congregation, which so threatened the witness and survival of that church, that Paul had to write to tell them to stop it. He pointed out that neither he nor any of the other apostles or teachers had died to save them from their sins. There was only One to be followed and that was Jesus Christ himself. He condemned their actions in 1 Corinthians 3:3, saying, “For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?” His definitive command is found in 1 Corinthians 1:10, “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.” And his conclusion is in 1 Corinthians 12:24-26, “that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.“

Of these three church-wreckers, the one that most concerns me right now about our church is #3: divisions. Long-simmering tensions among our staff and between some members have led to declines in attendance and giving. Members have left for other churches. Staff have quit and the joy of the Lord is dampened. Things came to a head in recent months, culminating in the resignation just last week of our senior pastor.

Pastors leave for various reasons: a new call, sickness, retirement, scandal, or death; no pastor is permanently in that office forever. And the pastor who left has served us for ten years – longer than the average of 3.6 to 5 years. The issue is that his departure was due to a schism in the congregation and staff – highlighted by the reactions of various members to his resignation. Some celebrated, others cried. Some threaten to quit. The situation is not healthy. It is too similar to the picture Paul painted of the Corinthian church.

What we need now is healing and forgiveness all around. We have much work and a difficult road ahead, but our hope is not in our cleverness or abilities, but in the fact that the church is not ours. It belongs to God in Christ, who bought the Church – and our church – with his blood. At his departure, Paul reminded the elders of the church in Ephesus, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”

My human self worries about what will happen; it’s only natural to do so, since my eyes and ears tell me we are in trouble. But this is God’s church, and my faith calls on me to “trust in the Lord with all my heart, and lean not on my own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5 paraphrased). That faith reminds me that God has promised in Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” And so, I will try not to worry, but lean instead on the true Owner of the Church, that One whose purposes are beyond our knowledge, whose foolishness is wiser than the wisdom of men (as in 1 Corinthians 1:25), and who is able to do the impossible (Matthew 19:26).

Trusting in God, let us lift up our prayers, privately and together for this church and its God-given ministry and mission. Let us pray for our leaders and for all member who feel hurt and disaffected. And let us pray for the reconciliation of all, that God may be glorified in his Church.

And remember: you don’t own the church, so stop worrying. Let God be God!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen

Read: 1 Corinthians 3

*When I spell church with a small “c” I am referring to our local church. When I use a capital “C” I mean the Christian Church in general: the Holy and Apostolic Christian Church.

 

 

 

 

For Such a Time As This

Have you ever wished you could have lived at some time in the past, when things seemed more peaceful, with clear values and a clean environment? Before Covid and crime and the threats of war loomed over your world? When spouses loved each other and children listened to their parents?

Maybe you watched an historical drama and thought, “I wish I could have lived back then . . .” I know that I’ve done that: I saw some movie and then fantasized being in the story. Maybe it was about Robin Hood, and I saw myself wining the archery contest(by splitting an arrow in the bulls-eye, of course), and championing the oppressed peasantry. But then I thought, I’m not that good an archer, and the times were rough, total obedience to the king was the law . . . and then there was that Black Death thing. Okay, so not the Middle Ages.

But what about the Westerns I watched that had me imagining I was a dashing young lieutenant in the US Cavalry? The bugles blow and the men line up at my command as I save the wagon train from attack! Of course, half my troop would have died of diseases which today are rare. The food was hard-tack biscuits which broke your teeth, dental care was brutal, you had to ride for days in the saddle, and milk shakes had not been invented. So, maybe not that era.

Or instead, how about a hundred years ago, when my grandparents were born? That was a better time than now, certainly, if you ignore the sod house with no running water or electricity  where my grandfather was raised, or the Spanish Influenza, or World War I or the Great Depression.

Or the Age of Exploration, when I could have died with Magellan on his voyage, or the Reformation when I could have had the Plague before I was executed by the Inquisition, or the days of the early Church when I could have been thrown to the lions for the crowds’ entertainment.  And no milk shakes then, either.

You get my point: there is no time in history better than now, no matter how we idealize the good things about it. For there were good things, and bad things then, just as there are now. True, I’m glad I went through school when I did, in the 1950s and 60s, when we knew our genders and mostly listened to our teachers . . . much better, if you don’t count our hiding under our desks during air raid and tornado drills.

It is important for us to accept that we live now, at this time full of its challenges and dangers, just as people throughout history have faced their own problems. We don’t want to miss out on the good things around us, even as we lament the things that are wrong. No matter what we think of these times, now is the time when we have to live.

This is important for another reason, beyond finding contentment in life.

This past week I wrote a short Bible study on the book of Esther for our church’s national women’s group. In that book is the story of a young and beautiful Jewish woman named Esther, who saved her people from a planned genocide by appealing to her husband, King Xerxes. But before she made the appeal, her cousin, Mordecai, pleaded for Esther to do so. What he said to her was the memorable challenge:  “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).

Apparently, those days had their problems, too! But Mordecai showed Esther that the very reason Esther lived when she did, and had married the king, was to save her people. If she had lived at any other time or place, she could not have done what she did, and God’s purpose for her would have gone unfulfilled.

Mordecai’s words to Esther become God’s challenge for us. Could it be, that we were born into the world, and live when we do, because God has a plan he wants us to fulfill right here and right now? Could it be that we have come into the world “for such a time as this?” That just as God sent his Son into the world “when the fullness of time had come,” (Galatians 4:4), he may have determined that each of us be born in our own fullness of time? For as God is above even time, and knows the end of a thing from its beginning, (Isaiah 46:10), he knows what he has prepared us to do. As the Apostle Paul put it in Ephesians 2, God “created us in Christ Jesus to do good works, which he prepared ahead of time for us to do.”

When we understand that God created us to live when and where we do, we certainly can receive peace in the knowledge. But we also are challenged to ask what that purpose is, and how we can fulfill it. What is it about our time and place, and our abilities and resources, that enable us to influence the world around us for God’s glory and the benefit of everyone else forced to live in our day?

Fictional stories are replete (a word from another era!) with people who have special abilities which save the day: superheroes with secret powers that stop the villains; a retired gunfighter who saves the town from a hired gun; a meek kid who out kung-fu’s the town bullies; or the janitor who changes the formula on the chalk board to solve some professor’s impossible equation. We enjoy such fiction, but we live in a  non-fiction world. And we may find that what we can do, though not as spectacular as those fantasies, is just as important and amazing.

So, what can we do that may help fulfill the purpose for our living now, “for a time such as this?”

  1. Prayerfully search your heart. As you pray to know God’s purpose for your life, you may find certain things that inspire you or trouble you. It could be a cause or an injustice. It could be persecution of fellow Christians or blatant public sins. It could be heartbreaking situations that move you to help the people who are suffering. You may be the person God has sent to alleviate the hurts or confront the sins. Such responses may be difficult and even dangerous, but who else will step in except those whose spirits are troubled and yearn for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven?
  2. Pray for the people and situations. Before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham pleaded with him for them to be spared. God’s answer was that for but a few righteous people, he would relent and spare the cities. Perhaps, God has judgments waiting even now, and has sent you to be one of the righteous people to allow others the chance to repent and live. Likewise, when the Apostle Peter was unjustly jailed for preaching the Gospel, the believers gathered to pray for him – and God sent an angel to free him from his imprisonment. James 5:16 tells us, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power.” Maybe God has you living now to provide the one prayer he desires for working out his will.
  3. Use your particular gifts and abilities. Can you sing or write music? Write a hymn or praise song that will honor God and strengthen faith. Can you write? How about a book about heroes of the faith, or novels with noble themes, or even, dare I say it, blogs? Are you good with children? Teach Sunday school or VBS, or babysit, providing Christian nurture (maybe to someone who will one day become a great evangelist). Whatever you can do, or enjoy doing, can bless others and glorify God, as Jesus himself said: “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
  4. Honor Christ by your relationships. How do you treat people? Do you care about people, and show your love for them? A stable marriage, or children who are taught respect while being nurtured, or friendships that cross social divides of race, languages, or politics, all testify to the love of Christ. Honesty, helpfulness, generosity, and encouragement testify to the one who saved you, and may be the witness that someone needs for their eternal salvation. You may live here and now to be God’s means to reach them.
  5. Speaking of generosity. God has blessed you with the “Three t’s” – time, talent, and treasure. You can use those blessings to help others and advance Christ’s Church. You can volunteer, whether informally on your own when you see a need, or in your church. You can share your skills and abilities as mentioned above. You can give of your material and financial blessings to help others and spread the Gospel through local and foreign ministries. God has blessed you by the most generous gift of all: his Son. The least you and I can do is spread some of those blessings around.

We live in “such a time as this.” It is a time desperately in need of Christian presence, action, and love. You and I live in this time, not the past, or the future. Our time is now. Let us not let it slip by without realizing God has a purpose for our being here when and where we are.

Now, may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen

Read: The book of Esther.

 

 

 

Are You a Secret Agent?

Early in my adult life, I read a book by Billy Graham titled, Angels: God’s Secret Agents.* Playing on the popularity of spy movies and TV shows of the 1970s, the book laid out the reality of angelic beings who, though usually unseen (hence, “secret”) carry out God’s will in the world and in the lives of his people. Sometimes that work includes protection from harm, other times they are God’s  messengers (the Greek word for angel is angelos, a word meaning messenger).

I certainly believe in such creatures, and believe they have intervened in my own life. But I also believe that God has other “secret agents” who serve his will, besides those angelic beings. Those other agents are plain old people, just like you and me. Sometimes those agents are known; other times they are “secret” – even at times to themselves.

I was reminded of this when I recently spoke at a memorial service. I told the mourners of how the deceased man had brought me a message of encouragement at a critical time in my life. During a time when I had been discouraged, I heard a conference speaker tell of how God might speak through someone whose opinion we respected. Within days of that talk, this very thing occurred. The man at whose service I spoke had affirmed my ministry; he was one of God’s “secret agents,” a human “angel” who didn’t even know his message was from God.

I’ve told the story of another such messenger, a visiting pastor who spoke one sentence in his sermon that changed the entire direction of my life. Before I had ever thought of going into the ministry, he said, “There’s a shortage of pastors in the Lutheran Church; some of you may consider that you are being called to the ministry.” His words hit me like a sledge hammer. They were God’s call on me, and after being confirmed by subsequent events, led me to quit my job, sell the house, go to seminary, and move to Elk Grove for a one year internship (which lasted for 22 years until retirement!) He was God’s secret agent who brought me what God’s will was for my life.

I’m sure we could all think of such people who touched our lives in ways that helped us. There were people who helped us in practical ways, meeting our physical and material needs. Other people helped us grow spiritually. Some have admonished us, corrected us, encouraged us, or taught us. Some have shown us Jesus Christ in word and action. They may have been friends, relatives, teachers, pastors (hopefully!), mentors, bosses, or even total strangers whom God sent to lead us in a certain direction, or away from the wrong one. The secret agent may not even be a believer.

One example of such an unknowing agent of God’s will is in John 11:49-52. There we read of the chief priests gathered to plot Jesus’ death. The high priest, Caiaphas, proclaimed, “. . . it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” The next verse tells us, “He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.” Caiaphas’s words both explained and actually helped bring about God’s purpose in Christ’s sacrificial death – all without knowing he was God’s agent in doing so.

We find many examples of people serving as God’s agents in the Bible. The Old Testament prophets and New Testament Apostles were God’s not-so-secret agents in bringing God’s word to his people. Some brought words of Gods judgments, such as Jonah to the city of Nineveh. Another, named Agabus, brought a prophetic warning to Paul (Acts 21).  Elizabeth blessed the pregnant Mary (Luke 1), and Priscilla and Aquila encouraged Apollos, writing to other believers to receive him warmly (Acts 18). In the Old Testament, Jonathan was an “angel” to his friend David, protecting him from King Saul during the latter’s bouts of anger (1 Samuel 20).    

So, God does use special agents, angelic and human, to accomplish his will in the world. But how do we recognize that and be equipped to serve as his agents ourselves? Our nation’s agents learn what is called, “spycraft.” In that spirit, I offer the following training for those willing to serve as God’s agents.  I call it:

SPYCRAFT 101

Know your handler. Code name: the Father.

Know your mission. Your “Handler” has graciously provided you with a manual which describes your overall mission – to make disciples of all nations – and provides you with ways to accomplish it – such as by teaching and baptizing (Mathew 28). Study the manual every day and memorize all you can; Job 22:22 says, “Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart.” (Some other spy schools say to “read and then burn” their instructions, but we don’t recommend that here.)

Maintain communication with Headquarters. Before, during, and after you embark on a mission, maintain communication with the One who sent you out. Don’t make a big fancy show of it; we are told even to go into our rooms and “shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:6).

Spies use disguise. Remember that you may not recognize secret agents because they are, well, secret. They may come to you as total strangers, friends, family members, fellow students, co-workers, or even as pastors. Don’t write off what someone says just because they don’t seem important in the world’s way of looking at people. The Handler may have chosen that person for a very special purpose known only to him. Listen, and watch them and compare what they say to your spy manual.

Don’t draw attention to yourself. Spies use the concept of the “gray man,” meaning they assume an appearance in clothing and mannerisms that allows them to blend in with the crowd, so that they are not noticed or remembered. Apply this idea to yourself. If you help someone, don’t take the credit or boast of your role. It’s not about you. Jesus said if you do good works, people should give glory to the Father  (Matthew 5:16). You don’t have to be special for God to use you. After all, God once spoke through a donkey to a prophet named Balaam -a lesson which prideful preachers need to take to heart! (Numbers 22:28).

Keep supplied. Remember that your Handler has vast storage depots ready to provide what you need to do your mission. Whether food  – “man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3); water – “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'” (John 7:28); weapons -“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. . .” or armor –  “put on the whole armor of God” Ephesians 6:11) (Hebrews 4:12). Philippians 4:19 promises, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

Beware enemy agents. Yes, it is sad, but true. The enemy (code name: Beelzebub) employs his own agents in the world, demonic and human, seeking to subvert and destroy our Handler’s work and will. Their weapons include harassment, anger, hatred, lies, and even violence. But remember, although we often need to deal with them, we should never be afraid to carry out our own mission, because “He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Remember too that our war is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual powers – including Beelzebub (Ephesians 6:12). Therefore we are not to hate his human minions, but must seek to turn them, converting them from being enemy agents into servants of our Handler. (Nothing like a good double-agent to thwart the enemy’s plans!)

Small missions can yield big results. Don’t be discouraged if the work you do for the handler seems small or insignificant. You have no idea what the results are that will ripple outward and down through time because of that little word you said, the encouragement you offered, or the seemingly weak testimony you gave. Your Handler knows what he is doing, and can multiply your work. Even if you don’t see immediate results, your courage in acting may help you to do more next time. You are after all, a trainee (as are we all!).

Finally, we should note that our Handler doesn’t really need us to do anything for him. It is by his grace and mercy that he recruits and allows us to play a role in his work. He could accomplish it all by a single command and the very atoms would have to obey, as they did in creation, and as they continue to do, being held together by his word. But by his grace, he does involve us, blessing us with the eternal joy of being part of his plan. How wonderful is that!

Nathan Hale, one of our nation’s first spies said before he died: “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” When we can say that about giving our life to the Great Handler, then we will truly be God’s secret agents.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Philippians 3:20-21; 1 John 3:1

*Billy Graham, Angels: God’s Secret Agents, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1975 – 1995.

Holy, Holy, Holy

During a recent Sunday worship, I enjoyed hearing – and singing – one of my all-time favorite hymns: Holy, Holy, Holy. You are probably familiar with the words, which begin with:

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty
Early in the morning my song shall rise to thee
Holy. holy, holy, Merciful and mighty
God in three persons, blessed Trinity*

After singing, I asked myself why I found that hymn so satisfying. Part of the reason is that I’ve been hearing it my whole life; it just says, “Church” to me (especially with words like “thee” in it). Part is the tune, which is melodious and easy to sing – even for me. But what I really find satisfying is its theology; it speaks of God’s greatness and his nature. Unlike many contemporary songs which dwell on my feelings and problems, which are changeable and self-focused, this great hymn lifts up the eternal, unchanging nature of God. It is about him.

It’s in a group of classic hymns which praise God for who he is, including: Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise; Praise to the Lord, the Almighty; Crown Him With Many Crowns; and of course, How Great Thou Art.

As the next verse of Holy, Holy, Holy proclaims: “Lord, only Thou art holy.” But that raises two questions: First, what does it mean to be holy?  And second, what is it about God that makes him holy?

First, what is holiness? The basic meaning of holiness is to be sacred and separate from the world. It means to be above any commonness or crudeness. It means to be righteous, pure, perfect, separate and set apart; and therefore to be worthy of awe, reverence and fear.

In the Bible, there are two words that convey God’s holiness. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for holy is kavod, which carries the meaning of “heavy, weighty,” and therefore, importance. It demands awe and respect, as well as beauty, radiance, and glory. The New Testament Greek word is hagios, denoting separateness from the world, and sacredness.

God is holy, not a part of creation, but above and beyond it. Before anything is, he was. He is all-important and righteous in all he does and is.  And when we say God is holy, we are talking about the entire Trinity being holy: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This three-fold holiness of God is reflected in both Old and New Testaments, where revelations of heaven show the heavenly beings praising God with three-fold blessings:

Old Testament: “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!'” (Isaiah 6:1-3).

New Testament: “And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!'” (Revelation 4:8).

Hence the three-fold praise of our hymn: Holy, Holy, Holy. When we sing that, we are joining the eternal, heavenly praises of our God.

Only God is truly holy, but there are things we call holy which are associated with him and therefore derive their holiness from God and their service to him. For example, the Scriptures speak of the holy Temple (Psalm 5:7), the holy place (1 Kings 7:50), holy angels (Mark 8:38), God’s holy words (Jeremiah 23:9), and the holy church (Ephesians 5:27). And in that holy church, we speak of the Holy Gospel, Holy Baptism, and Holy Communion; all holy because they come from God.

We even speak of holiness in people, meaning they act or live in obedience to God, reflecting his holy image. But such holiness is derived only from God, as the moon’s light reflects more dimly the light of the sun. It is not from some innate goodness in ourselves. It is possible only by the Holy Spirit working in a person. Only by such working can Paul say, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1).

When I was in Bible Study Fellowship, we had group prayer times which followed a specific order. Before offering petitions for healing, etc., and even before thanking God for all he has done, we would always begin with prayers of praise to God for who he was, for his awesomeness, love, power, and holiness. May we remember to do the same in our prayers. For God is God, greater than we can even imagine. Truly we should join the eternal chorus of heaven itself, crying out,

Holy, Holy, Holy!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Psalm 30:4; Psalm 99:2-5; Luke 1:49.

*by Reginald Heber, 1826, in the Public Domain 

 

Be Patient, and Do it Now!

“Dear Lord, give me patience, and I want it NOW!”

Yes, it’s an old joke, but its message is still true: we are impatient creatures who want things and want them right now, when we want them. Our parents told us, “Good things come to those who wait,” but our culture tells us, “Eat dessert first!” As individuals and as a nation, we have record-low savings and record-high amounts of debt because we want instant gratification. Rather than saving up for something, we charge it and worry about paying for it sometime in the future. Of course, new wants and needs will come along in that future, too.

We all experience feelings of impatience for certain things and milestones in life. Kids can’t wait until Christmas or until summer vacation; grade schoolers can’t wait till they grow up to be high schoolers; high schoolers can’t wait until they’re adults; a couple can’t wait to get married; workers can’t wait until the weekend or until retirement; if we’re sick or injured, we can’t wait until we heal.

This last test of patience has been, and still is, my experience this year. Ever since foot surgery in January, I have been riding a wheelchair and enduring almost-daily wound treatments. And just when that wound was healing up, a new surgery on the other foot “reset the clock” in a sense, meaning more months ahead of waiting patiently for that wound to heal. I can’t wait to be healed and back on my feet again!

Of course, there are times to be patient, and times not to be. When there is a problem that we can help correct, then we shouldn’t just sit around patiently, hoping things get better. We may need to act right away to prevent the problem from getting worse. As Ben Franklin once put it, “A stitch in time saves nine.” If we experience medical symptoms, or hurt someone’s feelings, or need gas for the car, then prompt action may be called for. If we see injustice, we may need to speak up or seek relief rather than watching it continue.

As one starving buzzard said to another, “Forget patience! I’m going to kill something!”

Although there are times to act instead of waiting, the majority of times we will have to wait patiently, especially when we cannot change what is making us wait, such as time or space.  For example, when my wife and I drove cross country, we “couldn’t wait” to get to our destination, but had to, because of the time it took to cover the distance we had to go.

Because patience is so difficult for us, God’s word addresses this as a virtue, and calls on us to be patient in three different, yet related, ways.

First, be patient with each other.  Part of loving other people is to be patient with them. We don’t now what they are going through, what hurts they have experienced previously, or what factors are keeping them from doing what we want according to our timetable. Or we don’t know why they just don’t straighten up like we think they should. Maybe they’re slow, or have different understandings, or see dangers we don’t see. Regardless, we are called to be patient with them. Scripture  commands our patience: “Love is patent and kind . . .” (1 Corinthians 13:4), and “. . . we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all” (1 Thessalonians 5:14).

Just this week I heard from an elderly woman who told how she had been praying for decades for a son who had misspent most of his life. Through one scrape after another, through a wild, sinful life, through a time spent in prison – she kept praying patiently for her son to get right with God. She never gave up, and now, as her life is drawing to an end, she learned that he did find Christ, and is now serving as a minister. Hers was a patience born of love.

Second, be patient with God. One of the hardest things for Christians is to pray and not see immediate answers to our prayers. We pray for a job, for a relationship, for healing – and we wonder if God hears us. He has promised to answer our prayers and give us the desire of our hearts, yet so often heaven seems silent. We join the psalmist is crying out, “Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me!” (Psalm 27:7), but then we lament, “O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest” (Psalm 22:2).

When we don’t see immediate answers to our prayers, we must remember: God is not a magic genie who has to obey our commands. He is the sovereign Lord of all, who sets the seasons, who gives life and takes it, who works all things for the purpose of his will (Ephesians 1:9). He has his own timetable of what he will or will not do, and when he will do it. He who knows all things and loves us beyond measure, will act in ways that are best. Just because we don’t see an answer doesn’t mean God isn’t working behind the scenes to bring about the best results. After all, God is a loving Father who knows what we need even before we ask; shall he give us a serpent when we ask for a fish, or a stone when we ask for bread? (Matthew 7:9-11).

Being patient with God is a matter of faith. It means we trust his promises, and trust him as our heavenly Father who provides for us in this life, and has provided for us for the life to come. Even if we must wait patiently for answers to prayer, we still pray for our daily bread and deliverance from evil. We still believe in Jesus’s promise to “ask and it will be given, seek and you will find, knock when it will be opened to you,” even when our eyes deny that truth.

It is a matter of faith. It was such faith that Scripture lauds in the saints who endured lifetimes of waiting and suffering for God’s sake. Hebrews 6:15 tells of Abraham, who, “having patiently waited, obtained the promise.” And in Revelation 2, Christ praises the saints in Ephesus, saying, “for  I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.” Likewise, James 5:7 tells us all to, “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord,” as a farmer plants seed and has to wait for the crop to grow.

Third, remember that God is patient with you. I confess that at times I want to see God’s righteous judgment and destruction of evil-doers. So many horrible things happen by so many wicked people, that it seems like it’s time for another world-cleansing flood to take them all away. (Too bad God promised never to do that again!) But then I realize: if God acted to kill every one who sins as soon as he or she did something, the world would end right now and I would be among the casualties. So why does God delay in sending judgment? Because God loves us and love calls for patience.

This wonderful truth is declared definitively in 2 Peter 3:9, which says to those who think the Lord’s judgment is delayed, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

Finally, when it comes to being patient, we have help. Fortunately, we are not left to our own imperfect strength of character to summon up patience toward God, other people, or  difficult situations. Though our wills are involved (we choose to be patient), patience is also a fruit of the Holy Spirit, given to believers whom the Spirit indwells. Galatians 5:22-23 spells out the fruit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Patience is a God-given ability that will bless us as we employ it. For with it come the other fruits of peace and joy.  May you find such peace in your life as you practice patience!

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Psalm 37:7; 2 Timothy 2:24; James 5:7-8;  Revelation 2:2-3, 19.

Worth Remembering

Several of my memories growing up in Racine, Wisconsin, were of going to a large, imposing building on the lakefront called Memorial Hall. Built in a classic Greek style in the 1920’s, it was dedicated to the remembrance of Americans who had fought, and died, in the nation’s wars up through WWI.  It was what we now call an “event center,” being used by speakers, political candidates (including Barack Obama and John McCain), service clubs, and even pro wrestling! My own experiences included receiving polio vaccines and attending an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast on the morning of my wedding. Unfortunately, due to my nervousness, all-I-could-eat consisted of not more than half of one pancake. (I later learned that Karen had no trouble eating her breakfast at her home!)

I mention Memorial Hall because I remember standing outside and reading names carved into the impressive walls. Most were new to me: Chateau Thierry, Argonne, Manila Bay. Some were more familiar: Gettysburg, Bunker Hill, Yorktown. They all held hallowed meanings as the names of battles from our history, battles where, as President Lincoln said, men gave their “last full measure of devotion” and died for our country.  It was always a little sobering to read those names and think about the sacrifices made.

It’s worth remembering what those men and women gave in those wars, and in the many wars since. We owe them all a debt of gratitude and honor. That’s why we celebrate Memorial Day today, an observance that began back on May 1, 1865, barely two weeks after the end of the Civil War. On that day, some 10,000 freed slaves and their families paraded in Charleston, South Carolina to honor the 257 Union soldiers buried in a nearby mass grave. Similar honoring events were soon held in other towns, leading to nationwide observances of Decoration Day, renamed Memorial Day.

Many have died for their country; many more have died for their faith, specifically the Christian faith. Persecuted for confessing Christ, hounded, tortured, and martyred, they gave testimony to Jesus as Lord and Savior. The world hated them, as Jesus predicted it would (Matthew 10:22 and 24:9) and would seek to stamp them out. Their lives, and their faithfulness to keep, defend, and extend the faith are also worth remembering.

Most of their names are unknown to us, lost to history by their sheer numbers, so there’s no Memorial Hall with their names inscribed on its walls. Yet the Bible does honor them. Besides the specific account of the first martyr, Stephen, in Acts  6-8, the book of Hebrews describes what many have endured before giving their “last full measure of devotion” to Christ. Chapter 11:35-38 reads,

       “Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise         again to a better life.  Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even               chains and imprisonment.  They were stoned, they were sawn in two,               they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and             goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not                   worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and               caves of the earth.”

Someday, I believe, we will learn the names of those many martyrs, for their names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Which means we will also get to meet them personally. We may even get to hear their stories, though there will be no boasting of themselves and their sacrifice, but boasting only in their Lord and that they were honored to die for him (2 Corinthians 10:17, Galatians 6:14).

Remember these faithful people who, in spite of terrible persecution, held to the faith and taught it to their children and others whom God called by the Gospel to believe, passing it down some 2000 years to the present, that we might also believe.

So, as we sit comfortably in our padded pews, warmed and cooled as the weather demands, singing and praying openly without fear of arrest and execution, let us offer a prayer of thanks both for those have fought to preserve our religious freedom, and for those who preserved the faith worth dying – and living – for. And to the Lord who has blessed us in every way!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Hebrews 11; Ephesians 2:8-10; Acts 7:51-60.

 

Ball and Chain

I had a dream the other night, a nightmare of sorts. In it, someone took a heavy chain and fastened it around my left leg. Attached to the other end of the chain was a heavy iron ball, the kind you see in old prison yard movies, where the convicts are weighed down to prevent their trying to escape while breaking rocks with their sledgehammers.

I woke up in a cold sweat, screaming in horror at my bondage (actually, I just woke up and chuckled, relieved to know it had been just a dream). But then, when I went to get up, I remembered that part of the dream had been true, for my left foot was indeed shackled with a plastic tube connected to a portable vacuum device called a “wound vac,” something I had jokingly referred to as my “ball and chain.”

The device creates a mild suction on wounds, keeping them clean and stimulating a healing blood flow to them. For three months, 24/7, the device had been attached to my right foot, but now after I lost my left little toe, it was switched to that foot. Everything seems to be improving, which is the purpose of this device. Still, I can’t wait to be done with it and finally be free from my “ball and chain.”

Of course, the inconvenience I have with this healing device is nothing compared to what so many other people have suffered wearing real chains. Throughout history, and even today, people with power have used chains to control, enslave, and punish others. Just about every tribe and nation has put somebody in chains. From slavery imposed on Africans brought by force to our land, to Romans parading conquered enemies in chains in what were called “triumphs,” to Arab slavers capturing Europeans for their slave markets (our word “slave” comes from the word Slav, referring to the many slaves captured from Eastern Europe), to present-day slave markets in Libya, to convicts being transported to prison, chains have been used to bind literally millions of people.

The Bible records numerous examples of people being chained. In the Old Testament, conquerors chained the losing kings to show power over them, and to publicly humiliate them. The book of 2 Kings 25:7 tells us that the Babylonians blinded the Judean king, Zedekiah, “bound him in chains and took him to Babylon.” Likewise, in 2 Chronicles 33:10-12, the king of Assyria “captured Manasseh with hooks and bound him with chains of bronze.” Psalm 149:5-9 prophesies that the godly will triumph in vengeance over the nations, “to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron.” 

Moving to the New Testament, we see that chains have not become obsolete. Luke 8:29 tells of a demoniac who broke the chains that had restrained him. Then, in Acts 12:6-7, we read about Peter being arrested and put in jail, bound with two chains and guarded by soldiers and sentries. (Not a problem: an angel appeared, the chains fell off, and Peter walked away, a free man.) Similarly, Paul was arrested and bound with two chains after his arrest in the Jerusalem Temple (Acts 21:33). Later, Paul wrote about his chains in several epistles, calling himself “an ambassador in chains” for the sake of the gospel (Ephesians 6:19-21). Finally, in the great “faith chapter” of Hebrews 11, the writer commends the saints who “suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment” (11:36).

So you see, chains have always been part of the human story, and God’s people have not been immune to their oppressive restraint.

While we are certainly familiar with the reality of chains, captivity, and slavery in human affairs, we must also recognize the existence of another, more dangerous kind of bondage: spiritual. The Bible calls this other form, being a “slave to sin” (John 8:34). Even though we don’t drag around iron chains (or wound vacs), we all have to contend with the bondage to sin.

In John 8, Jesus had an exchange with some of the Jews. He expanded their understanding of physical bondage to include the danger of spiritual slavery, and their need to be freed from it. He said,

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:31-36).

Of course, his audience did not take kindly to such a statement, and neither do we. We would rather go along with the popular attitude that people are basically good. Sure, we have some flaws, but look at all the good that people do. Doesn’t that count? I’m glad that much good is done, but even when intents are right, too often sin gets in the way and corrupts our efforts. Having phone connections with most of the world is great, so why are most of our calls from scammers? The internet is a real boon for information and communication, but we can’t use it without security software due to man-made malware (viruses, bots, ransom ware, etc.). Advances in medicine are wonderful, if you don’t count experiments done on unwilling or unknowing test subjects – or the creation of viruses in labs. And how much of the money given to alleviate suffering here and abroad goes to the needy, and is not siphoned off by corrupt officials?

The Apostle Paul saw the effect of sin’s bondage in his own life. In Romans 7:14-20,  he laments:

For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

How often can we say the same things about ourselves? As one form of our liturgy of public confession proclaims, “We confess that we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves.” We see this not only in others, but in many of our thoughts, words, and actions. Anger, insults, curses, gossip; all are evidence of our natural slavery to sin.

But the good news is that we don’t have to let sin control us. So how do we break free? What can we do? Well, nothing. Our liberation from sin’s control comes only one way: by God’s power through faith in Jesus Christ. Right after Paul lamented his sins and asked, “Who will deliver me from this body of death?”, he answered his own question, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25). Or as Jesus said of himself, “So if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed” (John 8:36).

The wonderful part of the Gospel is not only that our desire to sin is lessened, but also that the sins we do commit, the sins of omission, and even our basic sinful nature, are all forgiven. By God’s promise, we can rejoice that the ball and chain of sin has been overcome. We can at last find peace and celebrate the words of Jesus in Luke 4:18,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,”

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Isaiah 61:1-3; Romans 7; Galatians 5:1

A Post-Easter World

Easter has come and gone. Well, technically, according to the Church calendar, we’re still in the season of Easter, but you know what I mean. For all intents we are now living in a post-Easter world. No more chocolate bunnies in the stores, no marshmallow Peeps, and no Easter lilies. Or, for those more spiritually-minded (like me) no more special services nor singing of Jesus Christ is Risen Today. Easter is past.

So, what’s changed? What difference did Easter make? If, as the Lord said, “I am making all things new,” (Revelation 21:5), everything, or at least something, has to be new and different. Why would we celebrate Easter if nothing has changed because of it?

At first glance, nothing has changed (except those vanishing Peeps). The world goes on just as it always has. Wars are raging in Ukraine and other places not in the news; people are still catching and fighting Covid and other diseases; accidents still injure people and take lives; criminals run as rampant as ever; people marry and divorce; poverty still afflicts much of the world; our culture continues to degrade; people age and die, and politicians lie and enrich themselves. The words of Scripture remind us of this continuity:

King Solomon lamented (3000 years ago), “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

In Mark 13:7 Jesus said, “And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet.”

As life goes on with no apparent change, we are tempted to join in asking what the scoffers ask: “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation” (2 Peter 3:4).

The daily cycle of life continues: wake up, wash, eat, go to work or play, eat some more, do a hobby or some recreation, catch a nap (oh, yeah!), interact with family and friends, eat again, enjoy some entertainment, and go back to bed. As our shampoo bottles advise, “Lather, rinse, repeat.” Beyond each day, we experience the same weekly, monthly, and annual cycles, usually interrupted only by tragedies or disasters. Nations rise and fall, kings and presidents come and go, wars begin and end, and other seemingly momentous events pass into obscurity and are forgotten. It seems that, Easter or not, nothing has really changed.

And yet . .  .and yet, everything has changed. Maybe not because of this year’s festivities, but because of the event we celebrate this and every Easter: the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord. In the last blog, I wrote about the centrality of the resurrection to the existence of Christianity and the Christian Church; but the significance of the resurrection is even greater than that. The resurrection is the central event in the history of the world; nothing compares to it.

Without the resurrection that first Easter, our transitory lives would not amount to much more than what Shakespeare wrote in As You Like It, “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances. . .” (Act II, Scene VII ). The pronouncement of Ecclesiastes 2:17 would apply to us all: “for all is vanity and a striving after wind.” And, as Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 15:32, “If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.'” Or, as we might say it today, “that’s all she wrote.”

But Christ was raised from the dead, and this changes everything. How so?

  1. The universal law of death was overturned. As Scripture says, death has no dominion over him (Romans 6:9). Death could not hold Jesus. His resurrection is permanent. He is bodily alive forever; Romans 6:9 also proclaims, “We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again.”`
  2.  His resurrection validates his identity and ministry. It is a sure sign that Jesus is who he said he is. Over the centuries, many others have claimed to be saviors of one kind or another, but they all died and didn’t rise again. There is an interesting passage in Acts 5:34-37 in which a Pharisee named Gamaliel recounts some failed messianic pretenders. He tells how their deaths ended their revolts. But Jesus was no pretender. He prophesied his own death and resurrection (Matthew 16:21), then fulfilled them just as he said. He had already shown his divine power over sickness, storms, and spirits; by overcoming death he proved who he was.
  3. Christ’s resurrection showed that God accepted Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf. Our sins have been atoned for and forgiven. It’s one thing to offer forgiveness, but how do we know the offer is valid? We have the proof in the resurrection of the One who offered himself for us. As Job said in Job 19:25, “For I know that my Redeemer lives.”
  4. Because he lives, Christ is able to intercede on our behalf as our high priest before the Father. Hebrews 7:23-25 tells us that whereas all previous priests died and had to be replaced, Christ “holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.” He is seated at the Father’s right hand.
  5. We now have the promise, and proof, of eternal life for ourselves who are joined to Christ by faith. Paul writes, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.”  (1 Corinthians 15:20-23). There are many passages that promise the coming of our own resurrections to eternal life. But without Christ’s resurrection, those promises would carry much less weight.
  6. Finally, the resurrection of Christ changes our perspectives on life. Our lives gain new significance and importance because we know that the God who created us has provided a way for us to overcome the world and death itself. The big question of where our life is headed has been answered. We belong to a loving God who bought us with the price of his own Son, who indwells us by his own Spirit, and who is changing us from one degree of glory to another. We gain new purpose in life, praising God and telling others of who he is and what he has done.

We are living in a post-Easter world, which should give us joy and hope, for no matter what happens now, we will always be living in a world that follows the resurrection of the One who died to give us life. What happened that first Easter can never change or be negated. He lives, and because he lives, we also will live (John 14:19) – now and forever to come.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen

Read: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, 1 Corinthians 15; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

The Reason for the Season of Easter

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. That should say it all right there. We know what Easter is all about, right? Depending on who tells it, Easter is one or more of the following:

  1. The real start of Spring.
  2. The only day of the year that bunnies lay eggs.
  3. An occasion to dress up and be seen in your finest.
  4. A day to break your Lenten fast.
  5. An excuse to gorge oneself on ham, green bean casserole, and chocolate bunnies (see #4 above).
  6. A chance to gather your family together, so everyone can look at their phones in the same room.
  7. One half of one’s annual commitment to attend church; the other one being Christmas.
  8. A day just like any other day.
  9. A day to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

As I look at the above list, I am reminded of the Sesame Street song, “Which of these is not like the others?” Take a guess! The only reason for even having Easter is the last one given: we celebrate the Lord’s resurrection. All the other reasons can disappear with no real effect on our lives, but the one and only essential reason is the one that gives us strength in this life, and hope for the life to come. Only it can calm our fears in the midst of pain, suffering, and death around us. Only our sure trust in Christ’s resurrection can sustain us amidst the trials of this life and allow us to face our own death and the deaths of loved ones with peace.

This year of 2022 has not been a good one for Karen’s and my family. Her mother passed away at age 91 just the day after Karen’s birthday. We also lost a brother-in-law to a sudden heart attack. A cousin of mine lost her daughter and then her son-in-law who killed himself over his grief. Recently I have have had two hospitalizations, losing both little toes in the process (I guess doctors have something against gangrene). I have been forced to confront my own mortality, and that of people I know and care about. Add to that all the current world troubles. Without faith in Christ’s resurrection, all these things would be meaningless and hopeless. But as the song puts it,

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!*

The story is told of an event that took place in Soviet Russia. A team of Soviet commissars and their guards traveled to a small, remote village. Their goal: to indoctrinate the local populace with the joys of communism, beginning with the official doctrine of atheism. When they arrived, they called the whole village together, priest and peasant, and began to harangue them. The head commissar spoke loudly and forcefully for over an hour, pointing out why belief in God was wrong. He used his best logic and examples of Christianity’s failures to show that there is no God. When he finished,he looked triumphantly at the crowd, sure that he had won them over. Then the local priest walked forward, turned to the crowd, and cried out, “Christ is risen!” and the people replied joyously, “He is risen indeed!”

Whatever the sins and failures of any individual Christian, no matter the opposition, no matter the many horrors and heartbreaks of the world, there is one fact that remains: Christ did rise from the dead. He who was laid in the tomb after dying a horrible death on a cross, rose triumphantly alive to show victory over sin and death.

That victory was much more than just one person miraculously overcoming death. The Bible teaches us that Christ was raised as the firstborn of many to come. Colossians 1:18 says, “And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.” In John 14:19, Jesus promised, “Because I live, you also will live.” The significance of Christ’s resurrection is that he defeated death and opened the way to eternal life for all who believe. By faith in him and his resurrection, we are joined with him in eternal life. Paul wrote, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Romans 6:5).

Belief in Christ’s resurrection is the fundamental and inescapable basis for there being a Christian Church. As good as many of the aspects of a church may be: socialization of its members, charitable works, personal growth, moral instruction, or tasty potlucks, without belief in the resurrection, a church is not a church; it is just a club or fraternal society. Whatever else Christians believe, however a group of Christians worships, no matter the language or culture they have, there are two essential beliefs. Paul put it this way in Romans 10:9, “because, 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.”

Where two or more gather in Christ’s name, he is there with them. Where the true Gospel is preached and the sacraments of God’s grace and forgiveness are celebrated, there is the Church. By faith in Christ’s resurrection, we too receive forgiveness and the promise of eternal life, and are joined to Christ’s Church. With that Church in all places and times,we proclaim loudly and confidently,

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!

Now may the RISEN Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen

Read the Easter story: Matthew 28; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24; John 20:1-23.

*”Because He Lives,” By Gloria and William J. Gaither, (c) Hanna Street Music, 1983.

The Joy of Suffering

Once upon a time, in the side of a mountain far away, there was a huge cave. Now this was not just any normal cave in any normal mountain, but a very special cave. It was called, “The Cave of Joy.” The cavern was huge, rising up with a vaulted ceiling like some great cathedral, with light streaming in through overhead holes like skylights. Inside this huge cave there were large basins of stone, arranged in a large circle, each filled with what looked like sparkling, pure water. Before each basin was a sign, carved in all the languages of the world, telling what was inside that basin. In the very center of the room was a single stalagmite, on which rested a dove.

Most of the animals didn’t even know that the Cave of Joy existed, let alone know the way to get there. Most just spent their lives wandering around the mountain or flying past it, unaware of the cave or the joys it held. Only when the dove cooed would some hear its call, and respond to the invitation to come to the cave.

And so it happened one day, that the dove sang out its invitation, and its call was heard by a sparrow flying by. The sparrow had never heard any call so sweet, so it turned in the air and followed the beckoning call straight to the cave’s entrance, landed, and walked inside. It went right to the center to stand before the dove, marveling at the peacefulness of the cave and the ring of basins surrounding it. The dove welcomed the sparrow and said, “We’ve been waiting for you for a long time. Around you are basins filled with all the joys the heavens can offer. Help yourself and drink deeply of them.”

The sparrow turned and hopped over to the first basin, and read the sign before it, and since it was in all the languages of the world, including Sparrow, that bird could understand. The sign read, “The Joy of Forgiveness.” The sparrow drank, and was filled with joy at knowing its sins were all forgiven. The next basin was “The Joy of Eternal Life”, and drinking from that, the sparrow rejoiced at knowing that it would live forever. Next, “The Joy of Fellowship” with those who had already come to the cave, then “The Joy of Praise” and the sparrow sang out with a song louder and cheerier than it had ever sung, joined by the cooing of the dove.

And so it went, the sparrow drinking from the various basins the sweet waters of joy, until it came to the final basin, and there it stopped. The sparrow read the sign out loud: “The Joy Nobody Wants,” and then turned with a puzzled look on its beak, and asked the dove, “What is this?” The dove replied, “Just what it says. The Joy Nobody Wants is the Joy of Suffering.”

The sparrow asked, “Does anyone ever drink from it?” “Oh yes,” said the dove. “Eventually, everyone does. But most hesitate, like you; only a certain Lamb came and drank fully of it without hesitation.”

The sparrow considered the dove’s words, and though it couldn’t understand how joy could come from suffering, it reasoned that the sign “Joy” must be true, and so the sparrow landed on the rim of the basin and drank of the water of “The Joy of Suffering.”

What a mistake! The water was bitter and burned in the mouth, and at once the bird’s little stomach began to hurt. It couldn’t understand how the sign had promised joy, when there was nothing enjoyable about it. The sparrow hopped off the basin, bid the dove goodbye, and took off flying for the cave’s entrance. But instead of flying straight and clean through the air, the sparrow somehow veered off to one side and smashed into the cave wall, breaking one wing. Now it couldn’t fly! So instead of soaring out into the sky, the injured bird had to hop and walk slowly and painfully down the mountain.

And so it did, looking up occasionally to see other birds flying overhead, soaring effortlessly in the sky. “Why me?” the sparrow asked, “Those birds don’t even know about the Cave of Joy! How come they’re flying free and happily while I’m down here, hurting and broken?” But even as it asked those questions, the other Joys came to mind, and the sparrow felt less and less sorry for itself, and more sorry for the birds who didn’t know about the Cave of Joy.

After a couple long, painful hours of hopping down the mountain, the sparrow came upon a nest of chickadees – or what had been a nest; the nest had been raided by blue-jays and most of the sticks and grasses had been taken by the jays for their own nest. The two chickadees sat despairing, until the sparrow came up and offered to help. “What can you do? Your wing is broken! And why do you want to help us when you’ve got your own problems?” The sparrow replied, “Because I’ve learned about the Joy of Serving Others.” And with that, the sparrow told them about the Cave of Joy, and urged them to follow the call of the dove when they heard it. The chickadees rebuilt their nest with the help of the sparrow who couldn’t fly but could pull up grass and weeds for them to use. The job finished, the sparrow continued on

Further down the mountain, the sparrow came upon a crow, sitting by the path. It too had a broken wing, having been shot by a near-sighted duck hunter. The crow had its head in its one good wing, crying over its fate. “Why me? What did I do to deserve this? Now, I’ll never fly again!” The sparrow spoke gently to the crow, “Don’t take it so hard! There is hope you know, and you’re still alive!” Without looking, the crow complained, “That’s easy for you to say!” But the sparrow answered, “Yes it’s easy, but not for the reason you think.” The crow looked up and was astonished to see the broken wing of the sparrow, and for the next hour the crow listened attentively to the sparrow’s story of the cave, even as the sparrow helped to patch its wound. “Do you think I can go there, too?” asked the crow. “I’m sure you can; every language was there, even crow! Just listen for the call of the dove.” And with that, the sparrow continued its journey, filled with the Joys of Witnessing and Friendship.

By now, the sparrow was very hungry. It hadn’t eaten all day, and its stomach growled with pain. So what should the sparrow encounter next but a mother robin standing next to a pile of delicious, writhing worms. I don’t know if sparrows really drool, but if they do, this one did! But then the robin asked it, “Please kind sparrow, guard these worms for me while I fly one to my babies in the nest! If I leave them unguarded they might get away or be snatched by someone else.” The sparrow considered its own hunger, but then thought, “I’ve endured the pain in my wing all day, certainly I can suffer hunger for the sake of those baby birds.” So the sparrow agreed and stood watch, and not one of those delicious, wiggling worms got away – nor did any end up in the sparrow’s hungry belly. Yet, through the pain of the hunger, the sparrow felt the Joy of Giving, and knew it was sweeter than the Joy of Receiving.

Finally, as the sun was about to set, the sparrow arrived at a rock from which it could see its home valley just before it. It would be good to get home, and what an adventure it had to tell to its family and friends. What joys it had learned in that Cave! But even as it pondered what had happened, it realized that if it had not drunk from the Joy of Suffering, it would not have broken its wing, and therefore would have flown out of the cave and into the sky, high above those other birds who were struggling on the ground. It would never have known them or the Joy of Serving Others. They would not have heard about the Cave of Joy and the Dove’s call, or might not have believed it, unless one sparrow with a broken wing had endured its own suffering to reach out to them. And so the sparrow knew deep in its heart, the “Joy that Nobody Wanted,” was the “Joy of Suffering.”

What happened next? I don’t really know. Some say the wing healed miraculously at that moment, and the sparrow returned to the air with the “Joy of the Creator’s Power.” Others say the sparrow just hopped on home and lived a life of quiet testimony. But others say the sparrow came upon a nest of baby killdeer in danger of a hungry fox, and that it gave its life, using its broken wing to lure the fox away, and showed the Joy of No Greater Love.

——–

Of course, this story is not about a bird – it’s about you and me. You and I are called out of the world by the Holy Spirit to believe in Jesus Christ and receive the joy and the reality of forgiveness, fellowship with other believers, and eternal life. We do live a life of joy, because we know God through his Son, and have the assurance of unending joy to come in the presence of our Creator.

But as the dove warned, all of us drink of the Joy of Suffering sooner or later. In fact, the Bible says that it is a characteristic of the Christian life that we suffer. We suffer from illness, accident, and evil actions by other people; we suffer from our own mistakes; and because of love, we suffer for other people as we grieve with them, share their burdens, and sacrifice ourselves to show the love of Jesus Christ.

Yet though we do suffer, we are not defeated. Instead, we are called to rejoice in our sufferings for what the Lord can do through them. In Romans 5:3 the Apostle Paul says that we rejoice and even boast in our sufferings, because the Lord will use our suffering to produce perseverance in us, and from perseverance, character, and from character, hope. As we endure hardships and pain, the strength of our faith and character is revealed, to us as well as to others. We all know people who have endured suffering far greater than we can imagine – yet they gave testimony to the love of Christ and the power of God through their suffering: a woman who on her deathbed praised God for allowing her family to see her faith through her suffering; a man who died of cancer, yet at peace, while his family was amazed at the new, loving and peaceful man he had become after receiving Christ just weeks before his death; and the modern day martyrs imprisoned and murdered for Christ.

Whatever suffering you are experiencing now, or may in the future, remember the apostle Paul. Consider everything he went through – we heard the list from 2 Corinthians – floggings, beatings, stonings, shipwrecks, imprisonment, hunger and thirst, and finally, being beheaded for his faith – and then remember what he said about suffering: that we rejoice in them.

Remember too our Savior, the Lamb who drank deeply from the Joy of Suffering, who took upon himself incredible suffering for your sake and mine, that we might have the Joy of Eternal Life.

And about that sparrow – Jesus taught us that not even a sparrow falls to the ground without the Father knowing it, and that you and I are worth much more to God than any sparrow! No grief, no pain, no suffering escapes our Lord. Nor does he allow us to go through it alone.

Now, may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Job 2:1-10; Romans 5:1-5; 2 Corinthians 1:3-7

Deliver Us From Evil

There is a famous line from Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, in which Marc Anthony speaks at the recently murdered Caesar’s funeral. He begins his eulogy with the words:

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones;

In his speech, Anthony cleverly turns what he says about the evil that Caesar had done, to a condemnation of the evil that the murderers had done in killing Caesar. No one is free of guilt; all are evil in one way or another.

Though probably not on purpose, Shakespeare’s lines echo what Scripture claims: “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. . .” (Romans 3:23). Sure, we all sin, but what about real evil? Does it really exist, or is it just the clever wording of a long-dead poet whose works were not “interred with his bones”?

Let me see. . . is there evil in the world today? How about Russian troops attacking Ukraine, bombing its cities and killing its civilians? Or, what about our country killing babies before they’re born, in the name of “reproductive rights”?* Or the U.S. droning an innocent man and his son during the pull-out from Afghanistan? Or elected leaders who lie and enrich themselves at the expense of those who elected them to office? Or drive-by shootings that kill bystanders along with their targets? Or mobs that loot stores with impunity? Or insurance companies that find loopholes to not pay claims? Or businesses that gouge their customers with inflated prices? Or people who abuse children, spouses, or the elderly? Or gangs who sell drugs that kill or leave users homeless? Or. . . or. . .or. . .

I could go on, and so could you. There is much evil in the world today, as there has been since the first humans took that bite from the forbidden fruit so long ago. We are reminded of the words of Genesis 6:5,”The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

Evil is real, and its effects do live on after the evil has done its worst. People are harmed, societies crumble, and even nature is diminished by what people do. God warned Adam not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil; before Adam and Eve ate of its fruit they knew good, but ever since they ate, they and we have known evil as well (Genesis 2:16-17).

 The Bible does not shy away from the reality of evil. It speaks of it some 539 times, including in the prayer our Lord Jesus taught us to pray, “. . . and deliver us from evil.”

What is the evil of which the Lord spoke? I can think of three ways our prayer for deliverance applies:

1. It is a prayer for protection from the bad things other people do to us, whether intentional or not, and from the dangers of the natural world. It could be a robbery, an assault, a car accident, infidelity, a flood, tornado, or earthquake; in other words, anything that would harm us. Just because we didn’t cause what hurts us doesn’t mean we won’t be harmed. We look to God to deliver us from all such evil events.

2.  The word “evil” in the Lord’s Prayer can also be translated, “evil one,” meaning we are praying for God to protect us from Satan. Evil is not just a term we use to refer to unhappy events; it also applies to a spiritual being, to the one who first tempted Eve and Adam to sin and who desires our destruction. Satan has been active in the world since the beginning, destroying people’s lives through his lies. In fact, Jesus called him “a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). Peter says of him in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Fortunately, Satan and his demons are not omnipotent gods; they can only do what God allows them to do, so we pray for God to protect us from them. (See Job 1:6-12, where Satan needed Gods permission to afflict Job.) Satan tempts us to do evil, beginning with separating us from God’s Word (Luther).

3.  Unfortunately, there is another source of evil, and that is us. As fallen, sinful creatures, we don’t need the devil to harm us or lead us astray. We can do that quite well all by ourselves. We are especially adept at rationalizing our evil actions – “I deserve this,” or “They have insurance,” or “They had it coming!” or “It’s just a white lie,” or “No one will know.” Jeremiah 17:9 proclaims,  “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Or as Walt Kelly put it in his 1970 cartoon, Pogo, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” That’s why the Lord’s Prayer also contains the petition, “And lead us not into temptation”; we are asking God to keep us from doing evil ourselves by giving in to our wrongful desires.

This three-fold problem has been called, “The world, the flesh, and the devil,” first described by Thomas Aquinas in the 1500s as “implacable enemies of the soul,” though also seen in the temptations which the devil threw at Jesus in the wilderness: 1. gaining the kingdoms of the world by tempting God (the world); 2. satisfying his hunger by turning stones to bread (the flesh); and 3. worshiping Satan (the devil). See Luke 4:1-13. Jesus refused to give in to any of  those temptations, preserving his sinless nature and thus his ability to take our sins upon himself at the cross.

Jesus remained sinless, but we are inherently sinful, so what do we do about sin and the evil it causes?

1. As Jesus told us, we pray for deliverance from evil, and from the temptations to think and commit evil ourselves. We need God’s help!

2. We resist Satan. James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

3. Read the Scriptures, so you know what God considers right and wrong. This makes it harder to rationalize our actions as “not so bad.” or “I’m only human” when we see that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

4. Remember the promise of 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” When you feel tempted to do wrong, look for the way of escape God provides you.

5. Psalm 34:14 says, “Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” Don’t put yourself in situations where you know you will be tempted; seek what is good and wholesome. Guard your thoughts: as Philippians 4:8 tells us, Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” In other words, get your mind out of the gutter!

But what if we do these things, and evil still comes our way? Romans 12:21 says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Our Lord said, “But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:39) and also “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44), a lesson repeated by Paul: “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all” (Romans 12:17). This is not to say we must let evil have free rein in the world, it does have to be opposed and stopped; the point is that we are not to stoop to the level of the evildoers, but to recognize them as people who are also loved by God.

Ultimately, our deliverance from evil has been provided for us by Jesus Christ, who died on the cross so that the evil we have done will not “live after us” into eternity. We not only have the strength of the Holy Spirit now in this life to resist sin, but also have full forgiveness of all our sins and the evil they cause, for all eternity. That is our hope, and we look forward to the day when evil is banished and only good remains.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Job 1; John 8:34-47; Romans 12:9-21. 

* 41.9 million since the Roe v Wade decision in 1973.

Humble Yourself

After going through my recent foot surgery and hospitalization, an old praise song from the 1970s started going through my head. The song*, based on James 4:10, begins with the words:

“Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord . . .”

The song’s message seems appropriate for a number of reasons, all centered on how my recent hospital experience has humbled me.

  1. I was humbled by the nature of hospital life. It began with what they euphemistically call “a hospital gown.” As far as I can tell, they must have bought them at a half-off sale,  because they were, well, half off. The backs were missing, as were the supposed ties to hold my gown together. As a result, my backside was visible to all who unfortunately looked in my direction. Not that I was embarrassed, but I’m sure the staff ran to eyewash stations after every visit to my room. Add to that the times the staff would come  in while I was using my bedside “jug,” and you get the idea.  The ultimate was when they had to shave a hitherto unshaved area of my body for my angiogram. I gave up my last shred of privacy, and pride, as the trimmer went to work. Hospital stays are humbling because there is no privacy whatsoever. You are at your worst, and the least presentable possible. Any illusion of pride gets carried out in the first bed pan.

2. I was humbled by losing control of the situation. Normally, we control what happens to us. We decide on something, act on it,  arrange our surroundings to please us,  dress as we wish, eat what we wish, and go where we want. We are in charge of our lives (right?). Although I kept control of how I reacted to what was happening, I lost control of everything else that was happening to me. I was told where to go, what to wear, what to eat, when to wake up (every two hours for blood work or shots), what was done to my foot, what medicines to take, when I could go home, etc. I was totally dependent on a team of other people who made decisions for me. I depended on them to know and do what was best for me, and depended on them to tell me what I now need to do to heal. Considering what can happen to any of us at any time, I was reminded that our idea that we control our own lives is an illusion. Things happen to us that we do not control; we do the best we can to manage what is in our control, but we cannot boast in our health, prosperity, or life situation. Ultimately, God is the one who is sovereign over our lives. He brings down and lifts up; he heals and sets the number of our days, and he redeems us beyond any ability of ours to add or subtract. As Jesus said in Matthew 6:27, “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” It is humbling to give up control to other people, and humbling, but proper, to relinquish control to God.

3. I was humbled by the change in roles. As a pastor, I was the one visiting people in the hospital, hearing about their illnesses, praying with them, and hopefully giving them comfort and encouragement. I was the hero, the rescuer, who rode in on my mighty steed (sometimes my wheelchair) to bring them the Church’s loving concern and God’s blessings. Though I truly cared for each person, I felt good to walk in as their pastor, usually in my collar, doing the work that God had called me to do. Then, after each visit, I could leave and go back home. But now, things were different. Now, I was the one in the hospital bed undergoing surgery. I was the one suffering a physical ailment, lying there, hoping to heal. Only now, there were no visitors allowed, even Karen or my pastors. I lay there, understanding better how many of our members had felt over the years, feeling fear for their health and hoping someone would come to visit them. Over the years, I  should have done more.

Though humility is not our desired condition, nor natural for us human beings, humility – the condition of being humble – pleases God. Scripture is full of passages teaching that we should be humble before God and toward our fellow human beings.

Toward God:

      1. As above: James 4: 10, “Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord . . .”
      2. In Daniel 10:12, an angel who appears to Daniel  says to him, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.”
      3. In 2 Kings 22:19 and 2 Chronicles 34:27, God hears the king of Judah’s prayers because “your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the Lord.”
      4. Proverbs 16:18 warns, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
      5. “For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar.” (Psalm 138:6).
      6. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).
      7. Psalm 147:6 says, “The Lord lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground.”
      8. In Isaiah 66:2,God proclaims, “But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”

Toward each other:

      1. Jesus told a parable that we should not seek places of prestige over others, but approach them humbly: “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:8-11).
      2. Paul wrote in Philippians 2:3, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”
      3. 1 Peter 5:5 says, “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'”

Humility before God and each other is only right, because the greatest and most exalted person of all eternity, the One whose Name is now exalted above every name, humbled himself by coming into the world as one of us, to die on a cross and save us from our sins (Philippians 2:5-8). So how can we be prideful? Who are we compared to him? What have we done, compared to him? What teachings should we follow regarding our attitude except those in God’s Word?

Humility is right, and it shouldn’t take a stay in the hospital or half of a hospital gown to check our pride and bring us back into line with what God desires. And when we do humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, James 4:10 concludes with the promise found in the rest of that 70’s song: “and he will lift you higher and higher.”

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read:  Philippians 2:3-11; James 4:6-9; Matthew 8:4; Matthew 23:12.

*Humble Thyself in the Sight of the Lord, (c) 1978 CCCM Music (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.).

This Little Piggy

As a number of you know, I was in the hospital over the weekend. I had a bad toe infection that didn’t respond to my own first aid attempts so I went to the emergency room. After numerous tests (at least I didn’t have Covid or the flu!), they admitted me to a regular room in the acute care wing. Come Saturday they removed the little toe and some adjacent bone. On Sunday they did another procedure to improve the blood flow to that foot. Both were successful.

As I lay in my hospital bed after the surgery, one of many doctors/nurses/ assistants came to check on me for something. In our small talk he asked how I was doing, then noticed my bandaged foot. He asked what happened and I replied with a line from the old children’s game: “…and this little piggy went ‘wee, wee, wee’ all the way home.”

He said, “Oh, that’s good.” Realizing he was too young to have ever heard that jingle, I explained plainly what I meant. Afterwards, for some reason I started craving some roast beef, though I had none.*

Lying in bed for several days was hard. I couldn’t get much sleep because the old cliché is true: they do wake you every couple hours to check you, feed you, bleed you, or do a myriad other things best not mentioned here. Not interested in watching the TV, I spent much of my awake time thinking and praying. Other than a few “Woe is me!” moments, I was surprisingly calm and philosophical about my ordeal.

A couple comforting verses popped into my mind as I prayed. They were:

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
    From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;
    he who keeps you will not slumber. (Psalm 121:1-3)

[Jesus said] “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29-30).

and my long-term favorite verse of encouragement when I don’t know the way forward:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Those verses were comforting. I never felt that God had abandoned me, but was thankful for getting the medical care of seemingly thousands of doctors and medical workers focused on me getting through this crisis. I was amazed at the modern medical technologies, and thankful this happened in 2022 and not 1922.  I expressed my amazement to one of the doctors, and he agreed that every year the knowledge and tools improve – so I asked if I should have waited two years to get better treatment. He said no. So I asked if I could get fitted for a prosthetic toe, but he just walked away.

Here are some other things I thought about during and since this crisis:

  1. I am mortal. Yeah, we all know this, but we usually have to live as if this were not true, or at least something in the far distant future. We couldn’t function if we just sat around, waiting to die. For the first time in my life, I had to consider that I really am getting old, and that I might not recover from this or some similar future event. It was like my body had let me down, and now I  would have to make some life adjustments. Even though I did not at all think I was going to die from this, I had to confront questions of whether I have properly prepared my earthly affairs for when I do. Images of my overflowing book cases and my rock collection came to mind. The book of Hebrews says it well: “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,” (9:27). And as for all my stuff? A rich man once wrote, “ I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me” (Ecclesiastes 2:18).
  2. I cried because I had no shoes. You probably know the old saying (why do I know so many old sayings?): “I cried because I had no shoes, but then I saw a man who had no feet.” Whenever “Woe is me” came to mind, I thought of that saying. Besides hearing two “Code Blue” emergency alerts for people whose hearts had stopped, there was my roommate, who had both feet bandaged and sounded like he had pneumonia. I also thought of my sister, and the ordeal she had suffered having both her legs amputated. Compared to her and to so many others, I was indeed fortunate.
  3. The Church is essential. Some people look at church as a social outlet; some look for entertainment; some think of it as boring and out of date; some go to earn “Brownie points” with God; and still others follow celebrity pastors in cult-like devotion. I feel sorry for all those people, because they miss the fact that the Church is the body of Christ in this world. We hear God’s Word, spoken, sung, and preached; we receive the sacraments with their visible and touchable promises of God’s forgiveness; and we pray for, serve, and comfort each other through life’s journey until life’s end. Paul wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:4). I can attest to this truth by the incredible outpouring of love and support for Karen and me from our church family. Dinners, rides, errands, and other offers have already provided so much practical help. But even more so, are the universal offering of prayers. None have prayed more fervently than my wife, Karen, but many others in our church family have joined in a spiritual chorus that God has already been answering, with peace, protection, and healing. Karen and I can’t imagine facing this without everyone’s loving prayers. The Church is alive and doing what it  is called to do.
  4. Why me? The correct answer to that question is of course, “Why not me?” Why should I be immune to life’s problems? I have lived a long (as in old) life and been relatively healthy for most of it. This was my first stay in a hospital ever. The Bible says we will all face troubles, simply by living in a fallen world. But even with this knowledge, I still wondered a little if there were a more specific reason this happened. Was God punishing me for some specific sin, as Job’s “friends” offered as an explanation for his woes? Had I done something to earn some cosmic consequence; in other words, was this just karma (which I don’t believe in)? Or more biblically put, did I reap what I had sown (Galatians 6:7)? Had God abandoned me after 70 years of protection? No, for he promised never to leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), and Christ promised to be with us to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). Finally, was this an attack from Satan to discourage or stop me from my Christian witness? Satan does attack us, looking for ways to separate us from God, but against Christ he has no power. So when that idea came to mind in the hospital, I simply prayed to Jesus to be with me and keep away any evil; I know that prayer was answered.

So there you have it: this was an ordeal, and months of healing lie ahead. But I am a child of God by faith in Jesus Christ (John 1:12), so no matter what happens, I am safe in his arms. Therefore, even though my little “piggy” was separated from me, nothing can separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:39).

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Isaiah 53:4-6; Matthew 8:14-17; 1 Peter 5:6-7

*If you don’t get that reference, you’re too young, too!

I Was Wrong

I was wrong.

I don’t like admitting that, because I don’t like being wrong. Maybe because I seldom am; in fact, I hold to the famous saying, “I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken.” (Sort of like boasting about being humble.) But, every once in a while, something happens that proves that I can be wrong. Even very wrong.

So it was recently on a visit to a local grocery store, that I did something that was totally wrong. This is what happened: After checking out with our groceries, Karen and I returned to our car, which was parked properly in a handicapped space. I had to wait a minute for a woman in a motorized wheelchair to use the adjacent ramp – she had come from further away in the parking lot, so I felt bad that she had to travel further than I had, since all the handicapped spaces were used. After she passed I walked down the ramp, then noticed the person using the space next to mine. He was young, robust, and seemed not to be disabled at all.

Having seen people abusing the parking privilege before, I immediately assumed he wasn’t disabled. Even though his car had a placard, I assumed he was using someone else’s. Rushing to such a judgment was bad enough, but then I compounded it by asking him as he walked past, “Handicapped?” In my righteous judgment, I guess I expected him to confess and apologize for taking a handicapped space when he shouldn’t have. Instead, he lit into me with a barrage of angry accusations.

He said I had no business questioning him about that. He said it was none of my business and that I had no right to judge him. He said he didn’t owe me any explanation of his medical condition, that just because he didn’t have gray hair or was as old as I was, didn’t mean he wasn’t disabled. He showed me his placard, and then, his anger building, he took off his shoe and sock to show me the ulcer on the side of his foot, explaining that he had been fighting it for several years. I was instantly shamed for what I had done, and tried to apologize, admitting that I was wrong in judging him.

He was still yelling at me as I sheepishly got into my car, and as I pulled away, I could tell by his parting one-finger gesture that I was not quite forgiven.

The whole incident rattled me. Most of my interpersonal interactions, even with strangers, are pleasant; certainly, I don’t like causing a rift with anyone, or causing them to get angry because of me. But what really bothered me was that the man was absolutely right. I had violated one of my core beliefs, one of my core Christian beliefs, that it is wrong to judge someone. I was a Pharisee who had looked down on someone for doing what I thought was wrong. I was a “disability nazi,” who appointed myself to enforce the rules, while violating one of Christ’s own commands.

As I pondered and grieved what I had done, I came to several conclusions.

First, I had violated what Scripture clearly teaches. Starting with the Old Testament, I had broken the Eighth Commandment: “Do not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16 and Deuteronomy 5:20). As Luther explained this commandment, “We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbor, but defend him, think and speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.” Do you think I missed that one?

Jesus also forbade what I did, when he said in Matthew 7:1-5 “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.  Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” Do you think I maybe had a log in my own eye?

There is a telling situation in the book of 1 Samuel, where the prophet Samuel is sent to anoint a new king to replace Saul. Samuel is impressed by the appearance of one of David’s brothers, Eliab, but the Lord tells him that Eliab is not the one God has chosen. The Lord tells Samuel,  “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (6:7) Did I know this passage? Yes. Have I ever preached on it? Yes. Did I follow what it says? No.

Once when Jesus was teaching in the Temple, people rushed to judge him for healing on the Sabbath. He told them, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment” (John 7:24). I had judged the man by his outward appearance, and out of my own inward ignorance. My judgment was not righteous. I had sinned.

Second, I was a hypocrite. I acted contrary to what I believe and to what I have preached. I did not practice what I preached, but instead, I had pulled a, “Do what I say and not what I do.” I have taught that we cannot see what’s going on inside a person, or know what they’re going through, so we cannot judge them. Judgment is left to God who alone knows each person’s heart and mind. I had put myself in God’s place by rendering judgment.

Third, I was ignorant. I didn’t know the man’s situation, nor was it my place to know it and decide whether he met my standards of disability. Other times when I saw apparently fully-capable people using handicapped parking spaces, I had cut off any inklings of judgment in my mind by reminding myself that not all disabilities are visible. As the saying goes, everyone is handicapped in some way; some ways show more than others. The man could have had heart problems, breathing problems, or even had some terminal illness and was out shopping for the last time. Or, he could have been loading groceries in the car for an elderly parent who was still on his or her way to the car. Or being a Good Samaritan, helping a disabled stranger with the groceries. I had no idea, yet I mentally condemned him.

Fourth, I lacked compassion. Instead of praying for someone who needed a handicapped parking permit, I ignored the possibility he actually needed the permit. But even beyond that, the more I thought about the level of anger he vented at me, the more I realized that this was probably not the first time he had been questioned about his status. He probably has been challenged before, and maybe responded every time with patience and gentleness. But then I came along, and it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Now, as I remember the event, I pray for his peace – and healing. I know first-hand that foot ulcers are no small thing, and that their persistence and slow healing does try one’s patience.

Fifth, what I did was extremely dangerous. Especially these days. Karen was afraid during the incident, that the guy could attack or even shoot me if he were armed; road rage is a real thing, even when the two cars are parked. Even if the guy had wrongly parked, it wasn’t worth the risk to any of us.

Finally, I’m glad for the man’s angry response. Not that I made him angry, and not that it felt good. It didn’t. But his level of anger was like a slap in the face that I needed to repent of my judgmental tendencies. If he had just said, “Yes, I am handicapped,” and gone his way silently, I would not have been forced to confront my sin and correct my thinking. I would have probably thought, “Yeah, sure you are” and still harbored doubts and felt self-righteous. As it was, I think God used him to correct wrong attitudes in me; my particular handicap was sin, and God knew my sin needed to be repented of and healed.

Yes, I was wrong, and for that I am truly sorry.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Exodus 20:1-17; 1 Samuel 16:1-13; John 7:14-24

 

 

Did You Hear the Bells?

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:13-14, KJV)

It’s Christmas again, and once more, as in every year at this time, I have been enjoying the old, familiar carols proclaiming and celebrating the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. With its abundance of so many carols, this season is like no other, and that’s not even counting the songs about snowmen, Santa Claus, reindeer, grandma’s house, or grandma’s encounter with a reindeer.

A week ago, I was at our church’s senior luncheon (as a guest, since I can’t possibly be old enough to be a member of the group!), and enjoyed joining in the carol sing. We sang out many old favorites, led by one of our pastors who also accompanied us on the piano. He began taking requests from our song sheet, but then called on me. At first I feared he wanted me to sing a solo, but to the relief of everyone there, he just wanted me to pick the next song. One of the tunes popped into my head, and I immediately called out to the group, I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day. And so, we sang it.

I didn’t know why that particular song came to mind; it’s always been okay to me, but it’s never that special or meaningful. Until that day. For the first time, I actually heard the words. For the first time, they touched me, and brought home the power of the Christmas message. Read them right now, aloud to yourself:

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

Till, ringing singing, on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men!

Those words hit me like a hammer: the message that even in a world full of sin and hate, where there is no apparent peace, “God is still with us. He is not dead, nor doth he sleep.” That is the message of the Christmas bells as they play the old familiar carols. The message that Christ came into a world full of hate to bring us ultimate peace, true peace that overcomes all that is wrong. For that reason, the bells can chime and ring out joyfully.

I wanted to know more about the song, so I did a little research, and found its story enhanced the meaning of the song.

It was Christmas of 1863, in the midst of the bloodiest year of the Civil War.
The poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, was a widower, his wife having died when her dress caught fire. Now, his son had returned from the war, seriously wounded by a rifle bullet on December 1. As he nursed his son’s recovery, he heard the local church’s bells ringing out on Christmas Day, and struggled with the message proclaimed by the angels of peace on earth, goodwill toward men. How could there be peace when thousand were dying in a war that had torn the country apart, and wounded his own son? Where was God and God’s promise in all this? Was God asleep, or even dead?

Longfellow picked up his pen and began to write: “I heard the bells on Christmas Day, their old familiar carols play . . ” He laid out his sadness about the world, but like the ancient psalms, moved from doubt and hurt to an affirmation that God was still with us, and that his promise given to us at Christmas, still holds true. A promise announced by the angels, but fulfilled in the baby born that day in that stable in Bethlehem.

Why did this song affect me so much as we sang it, and again when I read its story? Could it be that the words of the song are just as true today as when they were written? After all, peace in our world, and even in our country, is in short supply. Or is it because that was the case when Christ was born in a country conquered by a foreign empire, ruled by a despot who would murder infants to abort the rise of a rival king, divided by sects and ethnic loyalties, and riddled with poverty and disease? Or because it has always been the case throughout human history, from the first child born on earth becoming a murderer of his own brother, to modern dictators who kill their own people, to religious fanatics who behead people they consider infidels?

The answer is all the above. But what means the most to me is not the despair such evil causes, but the final, triumphant message of the song, that the bells can still ring out joyfully because God has fulfilled his work in his Son, Jesus Christ. Even in the reality of sin and hatred, our God loved us so much that he sent the remedy: his only Son who would bear the penalty of our sins and open the way to a sin-free eternal life. Because of Christmas, (and Good Friday, and Easter), we can have hope – and peace – as promised.

So, I would ask you, “Have you heard the bells on Christmas Day? If so, what do they mean to you? And if you don’t hear actual church bells ringing, have you heard the same proclamation in other ways: on TV, radio, online, in church, or in a blog (I hear there are some good ones out there!)? And most importantly, do you read your Bible, which contains the most definitive and authoritative proclamation of God’s promises and fulfillments?

Have you heard the bells on Christmas Day? Listen for them every day, and rejoice in their joyful proclamation!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Psalm 29:11; Matthew 5:9; Luke 2:1-20; Romans 5:1; Romans 14:17-19; Romans 15:13; James 3:16. 

 

 

 

 

 

What? No Christmas?

Recently, news reporters have been talking about the backlog of ships and shipping containers in American ports. Freighters have been moored offshore from Long Beach, California, up to Seattle, Washington, waiting for an opening at the docks so they can unload their cargoes. This crisis in the supply chain has resulted in the scarcity and unavailability of many products which would normally line our stores’ shelves, or fill online retailers’ warehouses.

Lamenting these supply problems, various reporters and politicians have complained that because of the lack of toys and other gifts, there might not be a Christmas this year. What?! No Christmas?! What a disaster! Please say it isn’t true!

Well, of course it isn’t true. The arrival, and even celebration, of Christmas will not depend on whether we can buy and give a new game console, a new doll, a bike, a PajamaGram® outfit, or even a recycled fruitcake. Christmas is not dependent on any of our gift-giving, because what we celebrate on this special day is the greatest gift ever given: Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

You can find many written histories of the celebration of Jesus’ birth. The first Christians celebrated Easter rather than Christmas, because Christ’s resurrection, and its meaning for our own eternal lives, was what was so important and made the faith so powerful. It wasn’t until the 400s when Pope Julius I declared it and set the date of December 25 for the celebration, that it became a Christian holiday and a “Christ Mass” was observed. Much has been made of the fact that he chose the date to co-opt the pagan winter celebration called Saturnalia (especially by present-day atheists), but I think that celebrating Christ’s birth is better than worshiping a so-called “god” called Saturn.

Soon, the celebration of The Feast of the Nativity spread throughout Christendom, from Egypt to England, from Germany to Spain, and eventually to the Americas, once we were discovered and settled by European Christians. The English in Jamestown, Virginia, for example, celebrated Christmas in the 1600s, and in the 1700s the Dutch settlers did so in New Amsterdam (now known as New York), introducing Sinter Klaas in the process (guess who?). Then came Washington Irving’s stories about English Christmas traditions, Clement Moore’s An Account of a Visit from Saint Nicholas (aka ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas), and Thomas Nast’s cartoon rendering of the portly gift-giver. The Germans (thanks to Martin Luther) introduced Christmas trees (Tannenbaums), and here we are, celebrating Christmas in America. (Note: the NSA and FBI are still working to uncover who first introduced fruitcakes. . .)

Of course, not everyone has celebrated the religious aspects of Christmas, though many non-believers enjoy the winter holiday aspects of the season, the lights, the gift-giving, and the family gatherings. But certain Christian groups and sects also have forbidden such celebrations. For example, the English Puritans under Oliver Cromwell cancelled Christmas, due to its raucous nature at that time (1645). Likewise, the Pilgrims who came to America refused to celebrate Christmas; from 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston, at a penalty of five shillings for any violation. For the next two hundred years, very little was made of Christmas in the U.S., until June of 1870, when it became a federal holiday.

Today there are hundreds of Christmas carols, hymns, and popular songs that celebrate Christmas, even though many are more winter-holiday focused (Frosty the Snowman, anyone?). Truly, Christmas is a richly blessed celebration, much enjoyed by many, many people of all ages, full of fun, food, fellowship, and fruitcake. Then there are movies, television specials, music, decorations, and of course, worship services. Karen and I really love this holiday, even with all its excesses, and would hate to see it go away.

But the wonderful truth is that Christmas can never be cancelled, because it already happened. Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, was born in a Bethlehem stable over two thousand years ago and laid in a manger. The eternal God and Creator of all things humbled himself and entered the world he created as one of us, to bear our sins on the cross and win salvation for us. Philippians 2:5-11 is one of my favorite passages in all Scripture:

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

This historical event really occurred in time and space, and cannot be erased, no matter what we have on hand to celebrate it. Do we need music, gaily-decorated evergreen trees, outside lights, blown-up Santa figures on our lawns, stockings on our mantle,  eggnog, or a certain fruit-filled cake? Do we need big dinners, new clothes, and expensive gifts? Do we need foggy Christmas Eves or White Christmases? Do we need all those container ships to be unloaded in time for us to have Christmas?

The answer to all these questions is, of course, “No!” Not one of those things is essential to the Christmas event, nor to our celebration of it. What is essential is that the Son of God was born as one of us, lived, and died on the cross after teaching us the Gospel of forgiveness for our sins, and giving us the hope of eternal life. What matters is that we believe in that same Jesus Christ, and acknowledge that he is our God and Savior.

Romans 10:9 says, ” . . . because, 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.”

Many billions of people have been born, but only one came into the world to save us, and it is his birthday we celebrate.

Luke 1:35, “And the angel answered [Mary], ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.'”

Luke 2:10-11, “And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.'”

Acts 4:12, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

1 John 4:9-10, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

Therefore, we can shrug our shoulders at the absence of gifts, cancel our parties, serve crackers and water, turn off the TV and our music, dress in sweatshirts and sweatpants, and stare at our bare walls and empty tree stands, . . . and still have a great Christmas celebrating the birth of the Savior of mankind. Supply chain worries? Bah, humbug!

May you and yours have a happy and blessed Christmas this year, and always!

And may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38, 2:1-20.

P.S. PajamaGram® did not sponsor my blog. Nor have I recently recycled any fruitcakes.

Have They Come For You?

Recently, I posted a blog which spoke of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his opposition to Adolf Hitler, a stand which cost him imprisonment and finally, execution, in a Nazi concentration camp (see The Era of Stupidity, November 14).  Today, I’m going to refer to another German Lutheran pastor who likewise opposed the Nazis and who also suffered imprisonment for his stand. Also, like Bonhoeffer, this other theologian had important things to say which are as relevant today in America as they were in Germany during the 1930s and 1940s.

Martin Niemöller (1892-1984) was a German Lutheran pastor and theologian who opposed Hitler’s Nazification of the German Church. At first, before Hitler took total power, Niemöller approved of the leader for opposing the atheistic Communists, and actually met with him. During their meeting, Hitler assured Niemöller that the Nazis would respect the freedom and autonomy of the Church. However, when Hitler became chancellor and began asserting control over the churches by appointing Nazi-approved bishops and limiting what could be preached and taught, Niemöller joined other objectors in denouncing Hitler and his party.

Of course, this didn’t sit well with the dictator, so Niemöller was arrested and imprisoned in the Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps for seven years, from 1938 to 1945. Fortunately, he survived the ordeal.

Niemöller’s most famous quote, and the one most pertinent to today’s situation, is this one which he wrote in 1946:

“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

His poem was a confession of the fact that he, and many others in the Church, did nothing when the government targeted various groups as being undesirable, a burden on society, or non-conforming to its orders. Out of cowardice or complicity, many Christian leaders kept quiet as Jews and others were arrested and persecuted, because it didn’t affect them personally. Even if they didn’t like what was happening, they justified their silence as preserving their own ministries.

What struck me in reading Niemöller’s statement about the costs of remaining silent, was its applicability to today’s “cancel culture” in our country.  We’ve watched as many people have been attacked by various social media, or fired, or “cancelled” from speaking publicly. People are shunning other people – former friends and even relatives – who voice anything they dislike. Even worse, some are attacked just because they don’t agree fervently enough with the attacker. And yet, though we don’t like what is happening, how many of us actually speak out and actively defend those who get cancelled?

This phenomenon is not new. In a sense, warfare and murder itself are forms of cancelling people (permanently). But even when people set out to shut up others peacefully, there is an inherent violence in the attitude that often comes out in actual violence against those being cancelled. Some historical examples illustrate this point of people who were once allied but suffered because they fell out of favor or were deemed not enthusiastic enough for “the cause”:

  1. Following up on the violence perpetrated by the Nazis, Hitler turned on one of his earliest fervent friends and supporters, Ernst Röhm, murdering him and disbanding his pro-Nazi militia in 1934.
  2.  In the Soviet Union, Josef Stalin denounced and executed some of his allied communist leaders, including Leon Trotsky, who had served in the Russian revolution with Lenin. He conducted what is called the Great Purge (called by the Russians, “The Great Terror”), dividing people by their class and ideology before executing literally millions of them. He then executed his leaders who had conducted the purges for him.
  3.  Another Great Terror took place in France during and following their revolution. Again, social class and fervency for the cause were criteria for whether someone lived or died. Eventually the revolutionary leader, Maximilien Robespierre himself, died on the guillotine in 1794 after being denounced by his fellow revolutionaries.
  4. Following our own revolution, numerous Americans who had remained loyal to the Crown were harassed. Some 80,000 of them fled to Canada or back to Britain for safety.
  5. Lest we find the Church faultless in this area, consider the Inquisitions conducted by the Roman Catholic Church for four hundred years, which purged the Church and its territories of people considered to be heretics or Protestants. The accused lost jobs, positions, families, and even their lives. The number of executions is estimated at some 32,000 people.

Beliefs do matter, and the impetus to ally with those of like mind and purpose is a powerful and important one. I certainly would not have called any non-believers to serve as my associate pastors. Our church body does conduct thorough reviews of all candidates to make sure they know and believe the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions. But the difference is, we don’t execute those who don’t make it!

But now, our society is tearing apart as people group themselves and others into “acceptable” and “unacceptable” categories. What race are you? How old are you? Who did you vote for? What did you post on social media? What did you tell a friend twenty years ago in private, that now became public? What belief did you espouse that was once popular, but now is considered offensive? What are your preferred pronouns? Vaccinated or unvaccinated? Which computer system do you use, Mac or PC?

As you can see, there is an almost infinite variety of categories which can divide us. Unfortunately, once divided, it becomes easy to hate the other group and rejoice at their misfortunes, or desire their cancellation. It also prevents us from seeing the other person as an individual who probably has the same needs, wants, and hopes that we do. As people whom God loves and for whom Christ died.

So, how do we react to this current “cancel culture”?

  • We speak against it, in love but forcefully. Whenever anyone is cancelled, we could be the next in line, just as Niemöller warned. Even if we aren’t targeted, we are diminished by the loss of others’ ideas and works.
  • We avoid cancelling other people we may disagree with. The French philosopher, Voltaire, famously said, “I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
  • When we disagree, make sure we are hearing the other person accurately. Avoid overreacting to what we think they mean, or what their critics tell us about what they mean. Read and think for ourselves. We should follow Martin Luther’s teaching on the Eighth Commandment: “We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbor, but defend him, think and speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.” When we give the other person a chance, we may actually learn something!
  • We obey Christ’s command to love our neighbor as ourselves (Luke 10:27), a command echoed explicitly throughout Scripture in both Old Testament “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:18), and New: “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’.” (Galatians 5:14). Therefore, even if we completely disagree with what another person says or does, we still treat him or her with respect and love. And if they hurt us by words or actions, we still forgive them, as we have been forgiven (Matthew 6:12-15).
  • We see other people as people, and not as representatives of groups at odds with our particular group. As I stated above, God loves that person just as he loves me, and does not desire that either of us perish. John 3:16 is our guide here: God loved the world (that’s everybody) and gave his Son that we should not perish but have eternal life. If God did that, who am I to decide otherwise?
  • Finally, I remember the poem written by Edwin Markham, who wrote:
          • He drew a circle that shut me out
            Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
            But Love and I had the wit to win:
            We drew a circle that took him in.*

This is hard to do, to take in those who insult and hate me. But I seem to have heard about Someone else who did just that, enduring the hatred, mocking, brutal beatings – and yes, even death by crucifixion – out of love for those he came to save. Our Lord had every reason to cancel all of us, but his love took us in, even when we deserved only his wrath. Let us strive, in love, to cancel the cancellations.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Matthew 5:43; Mark 12:30-32; Luke 10:27; Romans 13:9-10; and James 2:8.

*Edwin Markham, The Shoes of Happiness, and Other Poems, 1913

Thanks No Matter What

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, I’ve been thinking about some of the enjoyable  traditions which go along with this national holiday. There’s the food, of course: turkey, stuffing, cranberries, mashed potatoes (or sweet potatoes), green bean casserole, and the ever-delicious pumpkin pie. Then there are the activities, including a morning church service, gatherings of friends and family, televised football games, and triptophan-induced couch comas.

Another great dinner tradition is to go around the table and have everyone share those things for which they are thankful this holiday. During this time, you are likely to hear thanks for the food, family and friends, a new job, recovery from an illness, freedoms, and among Christians, salvation in Jesus Christ. While people in general may be happy and generally thankful for the good things in their life, believers direct their gratefulness to God. It certainly is a good and proper thing to do, and it obeys the many Scriptural admonitions to recognize the source of our blessings and to thank God for them. Just a few of those passages are the following:

1 Chronicles 16:34, “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”

Psalm 9:1, “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.”

Psalm 100:4, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!”

Isaiah 12:4, “And you will say in that day: ‘Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.'”

Revelation 7:12, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

There are so many reasons to be thankful to God, that the dinner may get cold before everyone finishes their list of blessings! Maybe we ought to restrict each person to say just one – or maybe two – points of praise.

Unfortunately, for many across the country this year, that restriction won’t be necessary, because there are so many problems and worries on people’s minds that thankfulness does not seem to be the dominant attitude. The apparent collapse of our society this year due to crime, inflation, shortages, civil unrest (that is, uncivil unrest), political division, border crises, the debacle in Afghanistan, and of course, the Covid pandemic and its effects. My guess us that many people are thinking, “What’s there to be thankful for? Let’s wait till things improve and then throw a big thank-you party!”

But that’s just the opposite of what we should do. Now, I’m not saying we ignore the issues facing all of us (not to mention personal problems any of us struggle with individually), nor am I advocating a Pollyanna approach that looks for the “silver lining” in those troubles. Even if we try to “make lemonade out of life’s lemons” the worries, hurts, disappointments, pains, and heartaches are all too real. No, we treat those problems seriously, and seek to overcome them with prayer, fortitude, and hard work.

And yet, it is precisely because we have those very real problems and dangers in our lives that we need to stop and turn our attention to God and offer him our thanksgiving.

I was struck when I read about Thanksgiving, that throughout our history, this celebration has occurred right after, or even during, times of extreme danger and troubles, rather than during periods of peace and prosperity.

  1. The very first Thanksgiving, celebrated by the Pilgrims in October of 1621  (400 years ago this month!), came after the first harvest. But the meal was celebrated by only 57 Pilgrims, the other 45 members of the colony having died the previous winter.
  2. In 1777, the Continental Congress called for a day of Thanksgiving to God, not because of victory, but during a time of desperation. They had to meet in York, Pennsylvania, for that declaration, because the British were occupying their usual capital of Philadelphia.
  3. Abraham Lincoln declared a day of Thanksgiving in the year of 1863, in the midst of the bloody Civil War, when the fate of the nation (and the freedom of millions of slaves) was at stake.
  4. In 1939, while millions of Americans were struggling due to the Great Depression, President Roosevelt declared a national day of Thanksgiving.
  5. In 1942, Congress established the federal holiday, even though World War II was raging, with much fighting, bloodshed, and civilian hardships ahead.

As you can see, giving thanks is not contingent on good times. Rather, our attitude should be that of the prophet Jeremiah, who cried over the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Babylonians, yet still could write these profound words: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23). 

But why should we offer thanks to God when we don’t feel like it, when our eyes tell us “the Temple is destroyed.” Isn’t that just going through the motions, insincerity cloaked in religious piety? No; there are very good reasons to offer thanks even when we struggle to do just that.

First, we thank God  because everything we have comes from him. Food, clothing, shelter, health, material goods, family, and friends all are from him. Not to mention our  very lives themselves. All are a gift from God. And even should all those things be lost, including our lives, we still thank God for the greatest of all his gifts, eternal life through Jesus Christ. Scripture says that all good gifts come from our Father above (James 1:17). And Luther taught us that keeping the First Commandment requires us to attribute all our blessings to God and to nothing else (Large Catechism, Part I).

Second, we thank God because he deserves it. He is worthy of all praise and all devotion, even if we received nothing good from him. This is the lesson of Job, who though he lost everything, still held to faith in God, saying, “Though he slay me, I will hope in him” (Job 13:15). I picture the great scene in heaven, when all the saved – even those who lost everything in this life – join in the great chorus of “every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them,” saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” (Revelation 5:13).

Third, we thank God because we recognize that he is sovereign, that is, ruler over all. We might not like what we see, but we lack the knowledge or wisdom of God, whose foolishness is greater than man’s greatest wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:25). In other words, we don’t have the whole picture. We can’t see what God is doing behind the scenes to accomplish his purposes, nor do we know his purpose in any specific situation. We have to trust that the One who is ultimately in charge knows what  he is doing. “I’ve got this!’ is what he tells us in his Word. By thanking him, we are trusting him to do what is best. As Abraham told the Lord just before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” (Genesis 18:25).

Fourth, we thank God because he is the One who can actually overcome evil circumstances. Our thankfulness acknowledges our dependence on him, and is part of our prayer for his intervention. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). Paul shows us the linkage between a grateful heart and asking God for his blessings. If we have an attitude of entitlement, why should God show his love and power by jumping to obey our demands? True prayer holds thankfulness for past mercies, and the promise of gratitude for God’s mercies still to come.

Fifth, we thank God even in times of trouble because it is a witness to others. When Satan afflicted Job, it was to see whether Job loved God only because God had blessed him so much. But Job did not abandon God when he lost everything, which was a testimony to Satan, and to all of us, that his faith in God was true. So too, when we continue to worship, pray, and thank God during our difficult times, we are showing the world that our faith is sincere and that God is worthy of worship. To unbelievers, giving God thanks blows away any prejudice they may have that our faith is a selfish thing, or that we see God as a magical genie we can summon to grant our wishes. To our fellow believers, our thankfulness during trouble is a strong encouragement for them to hold on when they face difficulties (which they will). Having difficulties is not a witness; how we handle them with God is.

There’s more that can be said, but it’s time to grab the old blunderbuss and go hunting for a turkey. I hope you have a great Thanksgiving, and that you will be blessed when you, too, “give thanks with a grateful heart”*

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Job 1; Philippians 4; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; Revelation 5

*Give Thanks, by Don Moen, Integrity Music, 1986.

 

Era of Stupidity

The other day I came across a video about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German Lutheran theologian and pastor who was executed by the Nazis in 1945. I have always been interested in his story and in his writings, such as his famous quote about discipleship: “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” (From The Cost of Discipleship, 1937).

What intrigued me was the subject of the video, which was Bonhoeffer’s views on stupidity. Having had some experience in that area, I decided to watch to learn what he said about it – written in one of his final Letters From Prison (1945), shortly before his execution.

Bonhoeffer’s purpose in the letter was to answer the question which so puzzled him, which was how a country so advanced in science, art, literature, and religion as Germany certainly was, could perpetrate the horrors he was witnessing firsthand. His answer was: stupidity. Not so sure of his conclusion, I watched intently. What I saw was not just a critique of Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, but a warning to America in the 2020’s, because much of what he wrote applies to what’s happening here today. So let’s consider what he said, and see if I’m right about the parallels.

First, he was appalled by what he saw in society: an authoritarian regime that allowed no opposition, incited mobs that rioted and destroyed shops and businesses, and the persecution and murder of targeted groups. He wondered how the people had turned into cowards, crooks, and criminals.

Second, his answer was that the people had become stupid. By stupid he didn’t mean mentally deficient or uneducated; he meant people who closed their eyes and ears to the truth around them, closing their minds, and yielding their independence and autonomy to those who took power.

Third, stupidity is not a psychological problem, but a sociological one, which is fostered by social group interactions. You don’t inherit it from your parents, but you “catch” it from other people around you. Also, it is not an intellectual problem, but a moral one – the equivalent to what the Bible calls “foolishness.”

Fourth, he said that you cannot reason with or argue with a stupid person. Stupid people are secure and self-satisfied with their prejudices; they are willfully stupid. They speak in slogans and catch-phrases, as if under a spell. If you disagree with them, they become irritated and go on the attack. They are dangerous.

When I got to this point in the video, I sat back and said, “Wow!” It was like watching the news: government mandates, mobs smashing and looting stores, angry people shouting at each other, absence of any civil discourse, public shaming of certain groups, mindless slogans, and moral failures everywhere. Like Bonhoeffer, I found myself asking, “How can a country so blessed as we have been, with our freedoms, prosperity, and resources, have fallen into what Bonhoeffer called, stupidity?”

The core problem predates our situation, or even Nazi Germany. It was known back in biblical times, when the nation of Israel turned away from the true God to worship idols, even when God gave them every gift, creating and preserving a people out of them. The image that comes to my mind is when the newly liberated nation built a golden calf and worshiped it, saying,  “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” (Exodus 32:4,8).

The problem then, and now, is that people turn their backs on God and become fools. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10), and that “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God'” (Psalm 14:1). Foolishness is a moral issue, not an intellectual one, and the Bible equates it with stupidity. In typical Hebrew poetry, the prophet Jeremiah puts foolishness and stupidity together: “For my people are foolish; they know me not; they are stupid children;” (Jeremiah 42:2).  And the basis of their foolishness/stupidity? They don’t know God.

As a nation, we have gone from at least a common set of biblical teachings and references, so that disagreements could be settled by appeal to the one Higher Authority, to a situation where “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6). In Israel’s case, God allowed other nations to enslave them for their disobedience; is he now doing the same regarding the U.S.?

Scripture supports Bonhoeffer’s view of national stupidity., that people won’t listen and cannot be reasoned with:

  1. Proverbs 12:15 “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.”
  2. Psalm 92:6 “The stupid man cannot know; the fool cannot understand this:”
  3. Proverbs 23:9 “Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words.”
  4. Proverbs 26:4 “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.”
  5. And finally, Proverbs 29:9, “If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.”

Seeing so many parallels between what Bonhoeffer (and Scripture) said about moral foolishness/stupidity, I was eager to see what solution he might offer for the problem we face today. Unfortunately, here I was disappointed. I was expecting our Lenten call to “Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Joel 2:13). Or maybe a fire and brimstone warning to unbelievers to “seek the Lord while he may be found.” (Isaiah 55:6). But Bonhoeffer’s solution was “liberation,” of the soul certainly, but beginning with external liberation.

I can understand that he would have wanted himself and the other prisoners to be freed from their prison, but Christian history is filled with people who were imprisoned physically for their faith, yet thrived spiritually, holding to the faith and accepting their persecution as a testimony to Jesus Christ. I think of other prisoners who did not become stupid or foolish against God: Paul, Peter, William Tyndale, Martin Luther King, Jr. and many others, including Bonhoeffer himself.

But I do agree with his assertion that there must be an internal liberation, through which a person becomes free of the social and cultural bondage which keeps him or her in a state of stupidity. How is that liberation achieved? The same way that all of us are called out of darkness into the marvelous light of God: by the power of the Holy Spirit working though God’s Word. Only when we love and fear God are we wise; only by his Word do we believe in God and accept his Truth. And it is that Truth of which Jesus spoke when he said, “and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).

So how do we combat the rampant moral stupidity that has infected our country? By holding fast to and proclaiming God’s Word, for it is more than just an argument or point of view; it is the power of God for salvation to all who believe (Romans 1:16), sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). It is a spiritual weapon that brings inward freedom, which we pray will also bring wisdom and external freedom back to our nation, which sorely needs it, for we are in an era of moral stupidity.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Psalm 92; Proverbs 29; Hebrews 4:11-13; 

P.S. The video is available at https://youtu.be/ww47bR86wSc  It was posted by Sprouts (not the grocery), www.sproutsschools.com

 

The Reforming River

Following the recent torrential rains that hit Northern California, I was amazed to see the news videos of what had once been dry creek beds, now turned into raging torrents that even threatened nearby homes. The dangers of those flooding waters were sufficient to warrant the cancellation of a major Ironman competition, in which contestants would have had to swim in the flooding river waters.

Seeing those images of local flooding reminded me of Karen and my visits to Niagara Falls – but not so much the falls themselves, as impressive as they were. What really blew me away was the Niagara River above the falls. Having canoed some minor rapids in my day, I could only stare open-mouthed at the power of that river, rushing and sweeping everything in its path toward the inevitable plunge that lay ahead. Anything caught in that current would be impossibly trapped and carried to its doom; the water was too strong to swim or sail against. In the middle of the river was a stark reminder of that river’s power and danger: the rusted hulk of a barge caught on some large boulders. The barge had broken loose from its upriver moorings, and been swept by the river toward the falls. On board was a crew member who had been sleeping, but awoke to sudden terror. Only his quick action of scuttling the barge – sinking it on purpose – caused it to hang up on the boulders and allow him to be rescued.

These thoughts came to mind as I pondered the arrival of yet another Reformation Day. October 31 is the 504th anniversary of the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, commonly recognized as the start of the Protestant Reformation.  Luther questioned many of the Church’s teachings and practices, especially regarding the sale of indulgences. His study of the Scriptures led him to proclaim the true Gospel of salvation by faith alone apart from works, based on Romans 3:28 and Ephesians 2:8-10. As Luther said, “Good works do not make a man good, but a good man does good works.”* The Church needed reforming from its emphasis on papal authority, works righteousness, and false doctrines such as a belief in Purgatory. What is known as the chief article of faith is simply this:

“This article concerning justification by faith … is the chief article in the entire Christian doctrine, without which no poor conscience can have any firm consolation, or can truly know the riches of the grace of Christ.”**

But why would thoughts of flood waters and the Reformation go together. and why would events of over 500 years ago bear any relevance today, except in the legacy of the name Luther in so many churches?

There are actually several important connections between the two, and definite relevance for our present times.

The Church today is caught up in the flood waters of social change.

  • The Church today is caught up in the flood waters of social change. The term, “current events” is appropriate for both flood waters and culture. No longer is the Church – representing biblical truth and morality – the arbiter of cultural values. No longer does the nation define its character or values in terms of Christianity; rather, it ignores, ridicules, or outright reviles Christ and his teachings. Christians find themselves carried along in the currents of social change, unable to swim against the tide. At the most, they can find an occasional pool, backwater, or eddy*** in which to briefly rest and catch their breath. Churches are forced to follow government rules regarding their non-profit status, facility design, occupancy and even in-person worship, thanks to Covid restrictions. Churches that uphold biblical teachings face attacks by social and national media. Seminaries turn out “woke” pastors who lead their flocks into what they call the social gospel, championing left-wing causes over biblical commandments and the true Gospel. The same applies to individual Christians as well: the younger ones are caught up in demands of confusing and hostile school environments, workplace discrimination and intolerance,  and the breakdown of social structures. And as for older people (so I hear), they feel bypassed by radical social changes that render their values and existence irrelevant. And all are treated as political pawns or data-points or potential customers, rather than as people created in God’s image and of great value to the Creator.

Everyone is just being carried along by the floodwaters of a society that espouses good-sounding platitudes, yet hates the very faith that created those desirable outcomes of love, forgiveness, and compassionate caring for our neighbors.

The Church in America has in many ways lost its way.

  •   Unfortunately, the Church in America has in many ways lost its way, either carried along and conforming to the cultural current, or spun off into some irrelevant backwater to watch the world go by. Neither will save the Church’s witness today, nor is either the true biblical response to society.
    1. Many of the larger churches and prominent preachers espouse a health and wealth gospel, citing the lack of either as a sign of little faith (or too small of a donation to their coffers). If you’re sick or poor, it’s your fault!
    2. Some churches emphasize the public manifestation of dramatic behavior as evidence of the Holy Spirit. They question the salvation of those who don’t speak in tongues, shake, or fall dead-like to the floor. They teach how to create such “gifts” in you, though Scripture says the Holy Spirit gives gifts as he chooses, to whom he chooses (1 Corinthians 12:11). Their witness is of behaviors which exist in other religions, too, such as in Islam and Hinduism.
    3. Many congregations look for political answers to our problems, rooting for one candidate or party, rather than to God who lifts up and brings down all authority (Romans 13:1 – “For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”). They ignore the First Commandment, which says we are to have only one God – and to look to him to provide all our needs.
    4. Other congregations soften their message to be palatable to non-believers, removing the words “sin” and “hell” from their vocabulary. They smile and call on people to accept each other regardless of blatant sinful behavior. The greatest sin to them is offending or judging anyone.
    5. Unfortunately, there are supposedly Christian churches that openly combine Christian symbols with anti-Christian and pagan practices. A few have even put Korans in their pews.
    6. The Christian Church is supposed to be one “holy catholic and apostolic church,” yet the American church is fragmented into hundreds of denominations (40 Lutheran ones alone). Many hold such different views that having one common voice in society is impossible. Q: What do Christians believe on any given topic? A: Depends on whom you ask.

The American Church is in serious trouble. When not losing members it is still losing influence and impact on the society and culture around us. We have become either dropouts, watching from the shore, or else co-conspirators, swimming in the water with everyone else in a headlong rush toward the falls. So what are we to do? It’s time for another Reformation. It’s time to do what Luther did 500 years ago, and call the Church back to what it is supposed to be and to do.

It’s time for another Reformation.

  1. The Church never was, nor should it be, just a reflection of society’s accepted values. Scripture warns the Church not to be conformed to the world, but to be transformed by renewal though Christ (Romans 12:2). If there is no difference between the Church and society, then the Church has nothing to tell the world. The Church needs to return to the authority of God’s Word (Sola Scriptura) rather than Twitter, Facebook****, celebrity pastors, or executive orders.
  2. The Church’s message must be about Jesus Christ (Solus Christus) and not about self-improvement, finding success, prosperity, popularity, or finding your “best life now.” The Church can remove other barriers that keep people from Christ, but must confront them with who he is and what he has done. To proclaim Christ and make disciples in why the Church exists.
  3. The Church is not a political organization, but politics has intruded where it does not belong, and has corrupted matters of life, death, and morality which are matters addressed by Scripture. Abortion of the unborn and euthanasia of the disabled and the elderly are Christian issues and always have been. God’s command to honor our parents was first given to adults who were raised in a culture that put old people out to die, and the early church rescued infants that the Romans had tossed out on the city dump. Just as most of today’s social services were begun by Christians who cared for people in need, so we cannot keep quiet, but instead be involved.

The good news is that this new Reformation is not just up to us and our power. For there is another River that flows from God to give us life and strength. Psalm 46:4 says, “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.” And John 7:38 proclaims the words of our Lord: “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” That river of living water is the Holy Spirit, true God who works his will in the world through us and for us. It is he who has called us to faith, and he who will accomplish God’s purposes. So let us be fervent in our prayers for a new Reformation of Christ’s Church and for our nation,   knowing that ultimately, we will gather at “the great river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Revelation 22:1).

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Psalm 46; 1 Corinthians 12; Romans 12.

  1. *The Freedom of a Christian, Martin Luther, 1520.
  2. **The Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration. III, 6.
  3. ***One of my favorite canoeing terms!
  4. ****Now called “Meta”.

 

 

You Are a Chimera!

A faithful reader of this blog responded recently to my article, “Male and Female,” which I published on September 25. Having worked in the medical field, she had witnessed individuals who were born with both male and female organs, and wondered how that fit in with God’s creation of us as male or female (or pertinent to her question, male and female).
 The condition she spoke of is called a  chimera (kī-ˈmeer-ə), named after a mythical beast that was part lion, part goat, and part serpent. It happens (the human condition, not the mythical beast) when fraternal twins begin forming in the womb, but one dies and the other absorbs its DNA. The result is a person with two sets of DNA, which can mean both a female and a male in one body. (I first heard of this on an episode of the TV  show, House, when a female cheerleader came down with testicular cancer.) This can certainly cause social and emotional issues for an individual who has two sets of sexual organs. But spiritually, I think the concerns are the same as for any person. As with all people, a chimera is a sinner in need of forgiveness, and Christ died for him/her as well as for you and me.
Several things came to mind when I read her question. There are the sayings of Isaiah 29:16 and 64:8 and Romans 9:21, which speak of God as the potter and us as the clay, and that he has the right to make us as he wishes. We are all different and yet are all his workmanship (Ephesians 2:10), and all in his image (Genesis 1:26-27). Also, we know that God loves each of us, no matter how we are born, and therefore we must in turn love each other. No accident of birth, or defect, can change God’s love or our duty to love and respect. Certainly, we must be especially compassionate to people born as chimeras, for they will face social and physical challenges. Another reality is that we live in a fallen world where we all suffer, all  have handicaps (some visible, some hidden), all face illnesses and injuries, and all die. We also know from Jesus’ own words that someone born with a defect is not being punished by God for his or her (their) sins. neither the twin that died nor the one who was born is being punished (John 9:3).
At this point you might by thinking, “Okay, this is interesting, but what has it to do with me? I’m not a chimera.” To which I answer, “Oh, yes you are!”
Maybe not a chimera in the medical sense (or mythical sense), but there are two ways that anyone can be considered a chimera in the spiritual sense.
1. First, all people incorporate in their one being, two opposite natures and sets of characteristics. On the one hand, we were created in the image of God and retain much of the glory which he instilled in us: the ability to love, to create, to give, to help, and to fellowship with God and with each other, among other lofty traits. Unfortunately, because sin entered into the world and into us, we suffer under its curse, and therefore embody all that is bad in human thought, attitudes, and actions: we hate, steal, harm, kill, cheat, and deny the God who created and loves us. Because of this, everything we do is tainted; even the most altruistic acts can carry the blemish of pride and self interest. (I’m especially proud of my humility!)
I’ve seen this many times in our modern world, though this is not a new phenomenon. There is no invention or development so wonderful or beneficial that it can’t be turned by sin into something harmful. Had any spam calls, email scams, or identity theft lately?  This goes beyond the unintended negative consequences that good intentions can have, such as wind turbines chopping up birds that get too close, or oil drilling that leaks oil and damages wildlife along beaches. It involves people willfully using technology to harm others. For example, think of the amazing development of airplanes for long-distance travel, only to see them used for bombing, drug-smuggling, and crashing into buildings.
This dual nature of mankind is clearly seen in today’s “cancel culture,” when people who otherwise do admirable things get caught saying or doing something that is either unacceptable or outright terrible. A sports announcer says something insensitive in the heat of an exciting play; a great teacher loses his or her temper at a student, a pastor butchers Martin Luther’s reputation by dressing up like him and speaking in a fake German accent*. Every person we respect or admire is capable of, and has already done, something that is cringe-worthy. Think of Kate Smith, who inspired millions of Americans over the decades with her rendition of the song, “God Bless America”; but also recorded several blatantly racist songs. Or of Martin Luther himself, who both restored the true Gospel to the Christian Church, and advocated burning synagogues. Two natures, indeed.
The problem is that everyone does things that are good and things that are bad. If we cancel everyone who has ever said or done something stupid or nasty,  there won’t be anyone left. Even Robespierre, a leader of the French Revolution, went to the guillotine when the mob turned against him.
So then, all people struggle with this dual identity as both exalted and fallen beings. But what about us Christians? Does this struggle also apply to us? Or are we better than that?
2. This brings us to the second way in which even Christians are chimeras. As believers in Christ we are reborn children of God and inheritors of eternal life (Romans 8:6-7), but while we are still in this body, we retain our fallen natures as well. We are both saint and sinner. We have been redeemed by Christ and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, yet we cling to the old sinful nature, even when we abhor it. The Apostle Paul lamented this duality in Romans 7 when he said,
” 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.”
Paul does not use this as an excuse to go on sinning. He doesn’t give the lame excuse, “Well, I’m only human, after all!” No, instead he admonishes us not to keep on sinning, even though God forgives us by his grace. He wrote in Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”
The Apostle John put it this way, “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God” (1 John 3:9). See similar teachings in Hebrews 10:26 and 1 Corinthians 15:34.
The point is that even as Christians who are born again of water and the Spirit (John 3:3), we struggle to be faithful to the new spiritual life which God has given us in Christ. The old nature clings to us, tempting us and going against what we know God desires for our lives. We backslide into the old ways, due to social pressures or our own sinful desires, and fall short of God’s will and the new man or woman God has created in us. Then we get discouraged, with Satan whispering in our ear that we are failures, and that all this “God stuff” just isn’t for us.
So, what do we do about this chimeric split personality within us? First, we recognize it exists, so we don’t get blind-sided when we or someone else disappoints us. Second, we thank God for his grace, by which the sinner in us is forgiven, and the saint in us is proclaimed by his righteous decree. Third, we study the Scriptures to know what behavior and thought is consistent with God’s nature and the image he desires in us. Fourth, we seek out others who also strive to be faithful disciples of Christ -in church, Bible studies, charitable ministries, and other common places. Fifth, we pray for God’s strength, knowing that he has given us his own Holy Spirit to convict and guide us, to strengthen and comfort us for our life’s journey. He has promised to provide us a way out from the temptations to sin (1 Corinthians 10:13), even if it means giving us to the strength to run away from it! (1 Corinthians 6:18).
So, my fellow chimeras . . . let us thank God for blessing us with his own image, and for forgiving that other side of us. For in Christ, we are all being made whole again.
Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.
Read: Romans 7 – 8:11; 1 Corinthians 10:12-14
*Hypothetically, of course.

Odds & Ends #6

From time to time, I have posted a blog under the title, “Odds & Ends,” deviating from the usual mini-sermon/essay format to share news, do some “house-keeping,” or explain some things that don’t rise to the level of full blog material. This is the sixth such posting. Some of the comments may be familiar to you, but given that there are a number of new readers, I thought it wise to iterate the new and reiterate the old.

  1. The blog address originally began with http:// but now starts with https://. The added letter “s” signifies “secure,” which is a security improvement to the website, provided by the host company. This is to the benefit of both the writer (me) and the reader (you).
  2. Many, if not most, websites include paid advertising that pops up alongside or beneath the writers’ articles. This is very common, and is one way for the “bloggist” (Is there such a word? If not, there should be – “blogger” sounds so mundane. . . ) to pay for his or her site, or even to make money, based on the number of views they get. I have decided not to use paid ads, for three reasons. First, because I’m not doing this site to make money, and I can afford the low cost the web hosting company charges. Second, I can write what I believe without looking over my shoulder at sponsors, being afraid to run afoul of their editorial policies. I already have one very special Editor looking over my shoulder regarding my writing – and He is the only one I am accountable to. Third, in most cases the bloggist, er, blogger, does not get to choose which ads appear on the site. I have seen Christian blogs with some very questionable ads, and my immediate reaction has been to ask why the bloggers chose those ads – and then I remember they didn’t have a choice. So, to avoid those mixed messages, I chose not to take ads.
  3. Likewise, I do not “harvest” data, either names or email, from my readers to sell to anyone. If you know someone who might like to read my blog, I will be glad to add them to my notification list, but only with their permission.  People can also subscribe on my site to receive notices directly from the blog as soon as I post each new article. This might help if you find my notices getting sent to your spam folder.
  4. I find that I’m blogging about twice a month on average (160 blogs so far!), so if you don’t hear from me in over a month, check your spam/junk folders for my notices, or go directly to the blog to catch up.
  5. A couple reminders on format: I usually use the English Standard Version (ESV) for my biblical quotations, but occasionally use other versions when useful – such as when a key word is in a version I memorized. In those cases I signify which translation I’m quoting, such as KJV or NIV. Also, I usually don’t capitalize pronouns used for God, using “he, him, and his” instead of “He, Him, and His.” This is not to lessen reverence for God, but to follow the lead of the original biblical languages, which did not capitalize such pronouns, either. At least I don’t use “s/he, ze, or them”! I do capitalize titles used of God, such as Creator, Savior, etc.
  6. A few of my articles have been picked up and published in our church’s national bimonthly magazine, The Evangel, such as in the March-April of 2021 issue (#198). That and other back issues of the magazine are available on the website at https://www.taalc.org/the-evangel-magazine.
  7. The Bibles pictured in the heading on my blog pages are from my own library. While I was looking online for stock images of books to place in the header and portray my interest in reading, my wife asked me why I didn’t just take a picture of my own books since I had so many to choose from. It was one of those “duh!” moments. She was right of course, so I got out the camera and took the picture you see. We like how it turned out, and besides . . . no royalties! (Unless you want to use it, then let’s talk . . .)

As always, I close with what is called the Aaronic Blessing, a benediction which, in Numbers 6:24-26, the Lord told Moses’ brother, Aaron, to say to the people : The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Ecclesiastes 12:12; Numbers 6:22-27

A World Without God?

What would the world be like without God?

Besides the fact there wouldn’t even be a world or anything else without God (Colossians 1:17 – “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”), what if God just “walked away” and left the world to its own devices? What if no one knew God or called upon him, or believed in his Son, or lived under the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit?

The Bible has actually given us powerful examples of times and places that the world lived in ignorance of, or rebellion against God. There were our first parents, Adam and Eve, who disobeyed God and tried to put themselves in his place – the result was the death sentence on them and all their descendants (including us). Then came the days of Noah, when the entire world apart from Noah’s family (eight souls) was so hopelessly evil that God regretted having created mankind, and wiped the slate clean with the Great Flood (Genesis 6:6 and following). Then there were great cities filled with evil, such as Sodom and Gomorrah (which God destroyed) and Nineveh (which he spared when they turned to him; see the book of Jonah).

But mankind’s disregard of God is not limited to a few dramatic times and places; it can be seen throughout the world and throughout history wherever people have tried to live without him. The disbelief in God is so pervasive, Romans 3:11 says, “no one seeks for God.” The absence of belief in God or obedience to his Word manifested in ancient times before Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit came into the world:

  1. Constant wars and killings.
  2. Slavery, usually of conquered peoples or the poor.
  3. Abortion and Infanticide: the ancient Romans would toss unwanted children onto the city dumps (only to later have Christians rescue them). Canaanites would sacrifice children to their god, Molech, in a heated iron idol.
  4. Sexual licentiousness. There was an entire ancient Greek regiment made up of male pairs, and it was accepted for tutors to teach their young students more than the three R’s. Cults and religions had temple prostitutes and men could legally kick out their wives for  younger women. God forbidding such behavior is found in God’s law given to the Israelites in Leviticus 18:23, Exodus 22:19, and 1 Corinthians 6:9, among numerous places.
  5. Worship of nature rather than its Creator. Cults thrived that sought to control nature through magic, and gods were invented to represent forces and objects. Wind, rain, land and sea, stars and planets, the sun and moon: all were deified and worshipped.
  6. Selfishness and seeking material wealth and power at the expense of other people.

I’m sure glad we’ve gotten past all that foolishness in our modern world! No, wait, we haven’t, have we? We are every bit as sinful in all those areas as the world ever was:

  1. There are wars between tribes and nations, and hundreds of killings in our own country every week.
  2. Slavery still exists in what is called “human trafficking” as well as in outright servitude of some people to others.
  3. Abortion is rampant, protected, and even publicly funded in our country, with over 600,000 a year (down from 1.5 million due to fewer pregnancies). Now, two governors have spoken in favor of infanticide right after a child is born.
  4. Homosexuality is praised and taught to school children, and no negatives about it, or transgenderism or bestiality are allowed in the public arena. TV, movies, and online videos are filled with sexual innuendo and explicit acts. Acceptance of people is made contingent on accepting any sexual behavior those people do, regardless of what Scripture says about it.
  5. The new nature god is Science, and nature worship continues. Whatever the latest theory is, gets support and funding, and people speak of the planet being alive, self-evolving, and “all there is.” People who would never speak of Father God freely speak of Mother Nature.
  6. And as for selfishness and seeking after material wealth and power, do I really need to give examples?

So how is it that we see the same effects today of a godless world, when God himself came to earth to save us, and left his Spirit with us to guide and strengthen us? You would think things would be different. I think there are three points to make about that:

  1. First, things are different for those who believe in that Savior and trust God’s Word, both his Law and his Gospel. The Spirit does work through the believers to soften the effects of sin and the Fall, both in changing lives and providing remedial care for those suffering the consequences of a sinful world. The Holy Spirit is still active, calling and enlightening people to faith in Christ, and then moving them to show God’s love in Christ to the world. The world would be even worse without the Church being in the world.
  2. Second, even though Christians have brought blessings to the world, we are still sinners, and find that we don’t live up to our calling as well as we should. At times we have contributed to the world’s problems through wars, slavery, and greed, but these were not caused by faith, but by failure. At least our sins are confronted by God’s Word and the Holy Spirit, so that we can, and have, repudiated many social sins.
  3. Third, most of the world does not believe in God, and therefore is living in a “world without God.” Their own perceived needs and desires drive their actions, and social pressures drive their beliefs. Even if they have heard about Christ, they don’t believe. Their hearts are hard, their pride is in control, and they don’t want to submit to divine authority and change their lifestyles. They say in their heart, “There is no God.”

Of course, those who say there is no God are just deluding themselves. Psalm 14:1 and 53:1 say, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.'” There is a God (the God of the Bible), whether or not people believe in him. He does not derive his existence or power from his creation or his creatures; he is what philosophers call, the only “necessary Being.” The rest of us are all “contingent beings.” We depend on God for our existence; he does not depend on us. He existed self-sufficiently from eternity past without us. He did not need to create us, but freely chose to do so out of love.

That God’s existence is real can be known by his creation, especially in his creation of us who were made in his image. Paul wrote in Romans 1:20, “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” The rest of that passage (verses 18-25) reveals God’s judgment on those who would deny his existence:

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”

Regardless of what people believe, or think they want, God is in the world. The world cannot shut him out, it cannot kick him off the throne and put themselves there, no matter what they want. He is still in charge, and now, just as in the days before the Great Flood, he has allowed the world to follow its own path, a path that leads to destruction. Each of us will face the reality of a righteous and holy God when our lives here end, and one day the entire world will face its day of reckoning. On that day, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11).

So, what would the world be without God? Bleak and doomed. But fortunately, those in Christ will never have to know such a world, for God has promised never to leave or forsake us. Amen thank you Lord!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Colossians 1:15-20; Psalm 53; Romans 1:18-32.

Male and Female

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27 ESV)

Quick quiz: What do “ze, ne, ve, xe, zir, hir, nirs and eir” have in common? Answer: they are pronouns invented to refer to people who no longer want to be classified in the traditional and so-called “restrictive binary” designations of “he and she.” After all, if your gender identity is fluid, and you can be whatever you want to be on any given day regardless of your physical attributes (and thereby have the right to choose which bathroom you use), why not make up a word to go along with your self-understanding?

When I read articles and hear stories about such developments in our society, and about governmental units threatening fines and lawsuits against those who don’t go along with the most extreme attacks against traditional gender identity and sexuality, I have to ask, “What is our world coming to?”, “Are people crazy to take this seriously?”, and “What do I do about this . . . get angry or learn some new vocabulary?”

The answers begin with setting aside my own feelings and attitudes, because they can be flawed, culturally influenced, and sin-tainted. Instead, I need to go to the Scriptures to see what God has to say on this subject, and let His Word guide both my attitudes and my response. While a full exegetical study of everything the Bible says is beyond the scope and space limitations of this blog, there are a few key passages that are very helpful.

We begin in the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth and everything in them. His final act of creation is summarized in Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” This one verse is loaded with important lessons. First, God is the Creator, and he determines what we are. Second, God made us male and female – the “restrictive binary” categories are from God; he did not make us with the 56 different gender options used by Facebook. His design was for intimate, complimentary companionship  (Genesis 2:18, “It is not good that the man should be alone. I shall make a helper fit for him.”), and for making babies (Genesis 1:28 “Be fruitful and multiply.”).

Third, God made us, whether male or female, equally in His image: “in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” This is important to remember, for no matter how flawed we become through sin and the curse, we still retain some of that image. All people, male and female, have been made in God’s image even if they deny God and His creation categories.

Other biblical passages make it clear that God’s male/female designations are important to Him and are not to be confused: He prohibits cross-dressing (Deuteronomy 22:5); detests homosexuality (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13, Romans 1:26-27); and limits certain roles in the church to men (1 Timothy 2:12). We do well to hear what God has to say about what it means to be a man or a woman, and about how we express our God-given identity.

But having considered aspects of the Law – that God expects us to uphold his sexual standards – I would like to consider what the Gospel teaches us about what God has done for us in this area. First, inasmuch as we are in God’s image and God did send His Son to die for all of us, we will extend His grace to those who disagree with us. Therefore, even gender-benders are to be treated with love and respect. As Luther said in the Small Catechism, the Eighth Commandment’s prohibition against false witness means: “We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbor, but defend him, think and speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.” Christ came to call sinners to repentance, and he died for all of us because we are all sinners; none of us can boast in our own righteousness.

Second, rather than feeling upset and angry with what the world is doing, let us rejoice and proclaim the gift which God has given us in making us male and female. Let us celebrate every biblical wedding, every marriage, every anniversary, and every birth as fulfilments of God’s loving plan for our lives here on earth. And let us agree with God who pronounced as he looked upon his finished creation, which included his “restrictive binary” man and woman, “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).

There remains one more question regarding gender, and that is: what gender is God? This question was first posed to me back in the late 1970’s when one of my camp counselors questioned our calling God “he.” In her view, that made women second class by identifying God as male. Her assertion shocked me, because everything I had learned about God was that he was our Father, not our “Mother and Father” as the counselor preferred.

As I’ve considered this question over the years (decades) since then, I have come to two basic conclusions. First, God is above and beyond our human concepts of sexuality, and embodies in his person all the good attributes that we normally associate with both men and women. He is strong and powerful, a warrior and a judge (Psalm 7:11). He is also compassionate and nurturing, one who would gather the children of Jerusalem as a mother hen would gather her children (Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34).  God is love, which knows no gender, but is true of both make and female identities. No person, male or female, should feel in the least inferior because God is our Father.

Second, the main reason we use male pronouns and titles for God is because that is what God says about himself. God’s own Word refers to himself as “he, him, and his.” Gender is a grammatical term, and in both Hebrew and Greek grammar, God’s pronouns and titles are male. It is the way he wants us to speak of him. Unlike many pagan religions, our Godhead is one (Deuteronomy 6:4), and not a gathering of male and female deities who give birth to people and more gods and goddesses. He creates outside of himself like a father, not birthing us as a mother. Add to that the fact that Jesus was born literally a male, and you can see that God wanted no confusion about the Trinity. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all spoken of as male in their gender, though again, their qualities embody both male and female goodness.

Amidst our present day confusion and conflict over “gender issues,” we can take comfort and assurance that with God, there is no confusion. Let us rejoice in who God is, and in the fact that he loves and died for all of us, male and female alike.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Genesis 1 and 2; Romans 1

Three Score and Ten

Three score and ten years ago . . . No, those aren’t the opening words of the Gettysburg Address; Lincoln’s famous 1863 speech began with, “four score and seven years ago,” and referred to the founding of our country in 1776. So to what major event does “three score and ten” refer? Why, to my birth, of course!  Yes, in a little over a week from now, I will celebrate my 70th (three-score and tenth) birthday. It’s hard to believe that I’m now that old, though I’m even older according to Native American reckoning – 71 – since many of those tribes counted the time in the womb as the first year of life.

In most respects, 70 is just another number, and my birthday will be just another day. I will be just another day older and won’t feel much different from the day before. No church bells, sirens, fireworks, or parades to mark the occasion (though there should be!). No, I will just go to bed at age 69 and wake up the next day at age 70.

But in one respect, seventy is a significant age, and that is because of its use in Psalm 90 – the only Psalm ascribed to the great prophet and leader, Moses. This Psalm describes the Lord as being “from everlasting to everlasting” (verse 2), and says that to him, a thousand years are like one night (verse 4). Then it asks the Lord to teach us to “number our days” (verse 12) because unlike God, our time on earth is limited. How limited? According to verse 10, “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty . . . they are soon gone, and we fly away.” In King James English, that’s, “threescore years and ten; or fourscore years.”

It’s interesting that despite our advances in nutrition and medical care, in 2020 our life expectancy in the U.S. falls right in the biblical parameters set over 3000 years ago: 75 years for males and 80 years for females. (Maybe I should follow the trend and change genders – and thereby extend my life another five years?)

Whatever my own personal “expiration date,” I think that reaching the three-score-and-ten-year milestone does call for me to number my days and evaluate where I stand.

First of all, I have come to realize that there are just some things I will never accomplish. I will never win an Olympic gold medal (or silver, or bronze); I will never be a billionaire and fly into space; I will never win an Oscar, or an Emmy, or a Grammy; I will never  climb Mt Everest; I will never win a Medal of Honor; I will never run in the Boston Marathon; I will never swim the English Channel (though I did once pass underneath it!); I will never again sing a solo in church; I will never raise water buffaloes; and I will never become President of the United States (though, based on the last two elections, I’m barely old enough to run!).

On the other hand, I have done a lot of amazing things in my three-score and ten years: I have been on the radio, on TV, and in several national journals; I have published a book and written two others; I was a national Merit Scholar and graduated third in my high school class; I once did sing a solo in church, backed up by an all-Black Gospel choir; I have been to 12 countries on four continents (inadvertently invading one of them*); I rode on a Soviet tank and swam in a river in Siberia; I sailed in France, petted reindeer above the Arctic Circle, and preached a sermon in Spanish in Peru; I won my division in my city’s tennis tournament; I earned a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree summa cum laude; I served in the pastoral ministry for 22 years; I read the Scriptures during a worship service in Martin Luther’s  church in Wittenberg, Germany; I have learned (and am still learning) several language; I have a blog (duh!); and, last but not least, I have been married for 47 years!

But of all the important things I could say about my life, there is one above all others: I am a Christian, redeemed by Jesus Christ, forgiven of all my sins, and written in the Book of Life for all eternity (Revelation 3:5). This is ultimately the one that matters, for as Psalm 90 says, my years “are soon gone, and we fly away.” As wonderful as my blessings in this life have been, they will all pass away, and only one thing will remain: eternal life in Jesus Christ.

Other passages in Scripture also emphasize our mortality. 1 Peter 1:24-25 proclaims, “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” Genesis 3:19 says, “for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Ecclesiastes 3:20 lumps us with the animals, saying “All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return.” Psalm 90:3 says, “You return man to dust and say, ‘Return, O children of man!'” Psalm 39:4 says, “O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!” In the New Testament, James 4:14 says, “What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” And Hebrews 9:27 reminds us, “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment. .  .”

By now you’re probably thinking, “Rich sure has gotten morbid now that’s he’s turning 70!” But that’s not the case, because my – and all mankind’s – limited lifetime is not the whole story; as Christians we know that our lives have really just begun. Not only do our spirits go to the Lord at our death, we can look forward to our bodily resurrection, when we will rise to new life in a new heaven and new earth (Isaiah 65:17 and Revelation 21:1). For as Christ has by his own death and resurrection conquered death, so we too shall live: Paul tells us beautifully in 1 Corinthians 15:51-55,

“Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be  changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. or this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?'”

In the book of Job, that ancient, suffering saint proclaimed joyously in the Bible’s earliest reference to resurrection,

“For I know that my Redeemer lives,
    and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
    yet in my flesh I shall see God,
whom I shall see for myself,
    and my eyes shall behold, and not another.” (Job 19:25-27)

The most well-known statement of eternal life is John 3:16, which says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

In the words of the contemporary Christian song, 10,000 Reasons, the last verse reads, “And on that day when my strength is failing, The end draws near and my time has come, Still my soul will sing your praise unending,  Ten thousand years and then forever more.”

You may have one more question at this point: Do I consider my eternal life to be my greatest accomplishment?  Well, no, because like Paul I cannot boast in anything except in Christ my Savior: “Let the one who boasts,  boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:31). Why? Because my salvation is not my accomplishment, but the gift of God and by his grace alone. Remember, we are saved by God’s mercy through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

“For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Romans 3:28).

Therefore, my greatest “accomplishment” was not done by me, but by God working in and on me. It is to him I turn in thanks for the three score and ten years he already granted me, and for how many years there are still to come. But most of all, I look forward to his greatest gift of all: eternal life in his presence, given by his mercy and love.

Seventy years old? No, not old. Based on God’s promises – which I believe – at 70 years I’m just a new-born babe!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Psalm 90; 1 Corinthians 15; Revelation 21. 

*I invaded Canada in high school  when the bus I was in failed to check in properly at the border. On the way back to the U.S. the Canadian border agent couldn’t admit an entire bus had gotten past him and entered his country illegally, so he let us go.

 

Those Pesky Weeds!

This morning I grabbed some cottage cheese for my breakfast and stepped out to enjoy it on the veranda (also known as our concrete slab back patio). As I sat there enjoying the fresh air and listening to the sounds of nature (not to mention the drone of an airplane and the clanging of a neighbor’s back yard building project), I let my eyes wander around the yard and took in our tastefully-done landscaping.

There was the orange tree, festooned with young green fruit; the row of rose bushes holding on to a few withered petals; and a Lily-of-the-Nile bush resplendent with its purple flowers. The mostly-green grass was the final note in the visual symphony. Yes, a pleasant and harmonious opus of nature before my eyes!

But then, as I focused my vision more closely, there arose a few discordant notes: a prickly, leafy stem sprouting from the middle of the lawn; a medley of unrecognizable leaves spreading across the top of the garden mulch; and some huge plant that looked like a small tree – but which my wife assured me was not planted by us. In other words, we had weeds!

Those pesky weeds! I thought we had eradicated them by a combination of weed-killer, digging, and deft knife-work. We had even laid down weed- barrier fabric along one long strip, but that had not stopped the sprouting of noxious plants. Why are these undesirable plants so robust in spite of drought and all we do to try to remove them and prevent their return? Why do most of the flowers and vegetables we plant, water, and fertilize wither and die, yet these uncultivated little monsters thrive? It’s just not right!

While shaking my head at the prospect of having to crawl around the yard with my knife and trowel (or with a chain saw to remove the previously-mentioned tree-like weed), I began thinking about how sin crops up in our lives, spoiling our peace and introducing harmful “weeds” into  our souls. And with that thought there came remembrance of some biblical teachings about weeds, and the thorns that often accompany them.

Before digging into the comparison of sin to weeds, let’s define what a weed is. One of my teachers once said that a weed is any plant that grows where it is not wanted. Therefore, even an apple tree is a weed if it grows in the middle of a farm field. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a weed is “a plant that is not valued where it is growing and is usually of vigorous growth, especially: one that tends to overgrow or choke out more desirable plants.” That part after “especially” is an important point that will help us see the effect of sin as we consider it below.

Why do we have weeds? It is interesting to see the connection between sin and weeds, all the way back to the first humans. In the beginning, God created all plants and pronounced them to be “good” (Genesis 1:11-13). Then, God put his highest creation, man, in a garden of those good plants. God charged the man to cultivate that garden to care for the life-sustaining fruit those plants provided: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). At that point there was no sin, nor any noxious weeds.

But then, Adam and Eve sinned. Part of their punishment was having to deal with weeds in order to eat: God said, “. . . cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field” (Genesis 3:17-18). And thus began the connection between sin and weeds.  

Jesus talked about the symbolism of weeds when it comes to sin and its effect on our lives. In Matthew 13, he told two parables, both of which included weeds as metaphors for sin and sinners. The first parable is known as the Parable of the Sower. In it, he describes a sower who sows seed that falls on various soils. Some of the seeds “fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them” (verse 7). When Jesus explained the meaning of that verse, he said, “As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” The problems of the sinful world and the sinful desire for wealth above God’s word, act like weeds to choke out what is good and righteous in that person’s life.

The second parable is actually known as the Parable of the Weeds (“tares” in King James language). In it, Jesus contrasted weeds with desirable wheat; at the judgment the wheat (those who are righteous) will be gathered to the Lord, while the weeds (unrepentant sinners) will be cast into the fire. His message was clear: there will be judgment, but leave it to God and his timing (Matthew 13:24-30).

Why are weeds (sins) so hard to remove? As far as botanical weeds go, I have no idea why they are so hard to remove, except for being tough, sometimes spiky, and so quick to spread. And in some cases, they are actually beautiful in appearance, disguising themselves with desirable flowers; I have at times gathered a cluster of dandelions to present to Karen as a bouquet – much cheaper than a dozen roses and almost as pretty!

Come to think of it, sins share some of the same resistant traits as weeds. They grow so strong because the soil they spring from is by nature sinful and unclean. Sins are the product of our very natures, and thus grow strong. They are also, like weeds, prolific: one sin leads to another, and another, until they take over, crowding out the good. After a while we don’t even see them. And just as I have a weakness for dandelions (my wife, not so much), sins can appear attractive to us at first glance. We enjoy our sins and don’t want to root them out. They seduce us with promises of happiness and fulfillment, but in the end destroy us. Like a poisonous mushroom that looks as pretty as an edible one, sins that look good can kill.

Beyond the weed analogy, sins are also so pernicious because there is a spiritual battle raging constantly, in which the devil tempts us to sin with his lies. Whether tempting Eve to eat of forbidden fruit, or tempting us to think and act in forbidden ways, he uses every trick in the book to lead us away from God. In the Parable of the Weeds, Jesus attributed the appearance of weeds in the wheat field as the work of the devil (Matthew 13:39).

What do we do about our weedy sins? The first step is to recognize what is sinful by studying God’s Word. The Ten Commandments are a good place to begin. Second, is to recognize sins as harmful to our spiritual health and future; we must learn to not wink at sin, but to grow to hate it with all our heart as the destroyer of all that is good. Third, we turn the noun “weed” into a verb, and “weed” our garden by digging out our sins by the roots. This can only be done in the power of God, whose Holy Spirit convicts us of sin and drives us to the Cross of Jesus Christ. In Christ we have forgiveness of our sins (spiritual weed-killer!) and a new life no longer in bondage to sin. As Paul wrote, “you are no longer your own; you were bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20),and therefore are no longer a slave to sin (Romans 6:15-22). You need not live a weed-choked life; let God, the True Gardener, begin a cleansing work in you. The weeds of sin spoil our ordered lives; it’s time to get rid of them.

And now, I’ve put off attacking those weeds in my yard long enough; time to put down my pen (keyboard) and pick up my knife and trowel, and get to work on those pesky weeds!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Genesis 3; Exodus 20; Matthew 13; Mark 4

Olympic Lessons

It’s that time again: the quadrennial event known as the Olympics – specifically the Summer Olympics – being held this year in Tokyo, Japan. Once again, I decided to sit this one out and not personally go for the gold. Partly, it’s because I have spent too much time writing blogs instead of working out, and partly because I just can’t make up my mind as to which sport I should enter: men’s gymnastics, street skateboarding, or the men’s high hurdles. I guess my biggest hurdle is getting in shape to compete in any event. But don’t count me out; back in junior high I ran low hurdles in competition and came in third in my race (so what if there were only three runners and I knocked over a hurdle in the process).

These competitions are not new. The modern Olympics were started back in 1896 in Athens, Greece, and have been held ever since, except for cancelled games during the two world wars. But the Olympics go back even further, of course, to ancient Greece, when athletes from the various Greek city-states would gather at Mount Olympus to compete for olive leaves and crowns. Interestingly, the Greek name for those games was Olympiaki agones; we get our word, “agony” from the intense physical strain of those competitions.

Most people know about the Olympics, but they may not know about a similar, ancient event held every two years in the city of Corinth, Greece, and known as the Isthmian Games – so called because Corinth lay on an isthmus that connected the two major areas of Greece. This natural trade route prospered both from land and sea routes, as well as from the athletes and “tourists” who attended the games.

One of those visitors was a man named Paul of Tarsus, the great missionary and apostle of the early church, and author of thirteen books of the New Testament. After arriving in Corinth around 50 or 51 AD, he founded a Christian Church there, then lived there for about eighteen months. It seems that the Isthmian Games took place during his stay. It is also likely that Paul plied his trade of tent-making while he was there, providing tents for the out-of-towners who came to see the games. This seems to be the case, because when he later wrote to the Corinthians, he stressed four times that he had not been a burden to them (2 Corinthians 11 and 12), probably by supporting himself through his work.

Paul also drew on his observations of such athletic contests in several of his letters to the early churches, including  Philippians 2:16, Galatians 2:2,  Galatians 5:7, 2 Timothy 4:7, and 2 Timothy 2:5. But his longest comparison between athletics and living the Christian life was in his first letter to – who else? – the Corinthians. He told them,

          “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one                        receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete                              exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable                wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not                      box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under                control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”            (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

So, what can we learn from Paul’s observations of the Isthmian Games, that might come to mind even as we watch this year’s Olympics?

First, not everyone will be saved. In the Olympics, not everyone gets a gold medal, or even a bronze. At the awards ceremonies, most of the competitors have to watch from the bleachers while only the best get their medals. Now, Paul is not saying that only one person will receive the ultimate prize of eternal life through Christ, but rather that not everyone will be saved. We can see this truth around us today, in which many people reject Christ and belief in God. What Paul is encouraging here is that Christians persevere in the faith, no matter how difficult or long the struggle. He is saying not to give up, but to continually push on to the finish line. When Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith,” he was not saying that he was the only one to “win,” but that his finishing the race meant he kept the faith – which is an example to all believers. He made this point explicitly in 2 Timothy 4:8, “Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”

Second, the Christian life is one of self-control. We are “only human” as are all other people, and we are subject to the same desires, emotions, and temptations to sin as everyone else. But a Christian cannot use that as an excuse to give in to sinful impulses. We are called to be better than that. Where others curse, we bless or hold our tongue. Where others steal, we restore or give freely. Where others lust, we flee temptation and seek love instead. Just as an athlete strengthens his or her body by food choices and exercise, so a Christian chooses carefully what to take in (by eye or ear) and how to act. It is not a mistake that the Bible calls the followers of Christ, “disciples,” for our lives should exhibit the discipline and self-control which lift us above animal instincts to noble, God-honoring works.

Third, the rewards of the Christian life are far greater than what the world can offer. The ancient Greeks competed for a laurel wreath or crown. The modern athletes compete for medals (for which they must pay taxes!). Some few get great endorsement deals and their faces on the front of cereal boxes. But nothing awarded to athletes – or to people outstanding in other fields – can compare with what we receive through faith in Christ, which is joy and peace now, and eternal life to come. Paul told the Corinthians that all those wreaths they saw awarded to great athletes were perishable, but that their “wreaths” awarded to those who believe in Jesus Christ are imperishable (1 Corinthians 9:25). Having this long view of life helps us endure temporary difficulties, sicknesses, and loss in a way that the world cannot. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard believers tell me how grateful they were that their recently deceased family member was a believer; they always add, “I don’t know how anyone can deal with such a loss without Christ!” Sure, we aren’t happy to go through trials and losses, but we know how it all ends – with victory in Christ, and the inheritance of all the joys and treasures of heaven (1 Peter 1:4).

Fourth, the Christian life has purpose. Unlike the runner who runs  aimlessly, or the boxer who just punches the air (1 Corinthians 9:26), the Christian lives a life of purpose centered in Jesus Christ. Like other people, we have to work, go to school, care for our family, and yes, even exercise. Those activities have short-term goals and purposes, but ultimately, we know that our lives have a God-given purpose to them. We are not here by accident. We are not just temporary blips in the circle of life on this planet. God created us to know and love him and each other. God designed us to honor and serve him. Even the works we do are God-ordained: Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Isn’t that amazing, that God created us with specific works in mind! If that doesn’t give us purpose in this life, what does? And knowing that God has an eternal purpose for creating us should inspire us to keep our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2).

Finally, don’t get disqualified. This may seem like a strange idea: since salvation is by grace alone, a gift from God, how can a Christian possibly be disqualified? And yet, Paul makes the point, that he must persevere in the faith lest he be disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:27). There are several ways that could happen, which by themselves could be the topic for another blog. For now, let me briefly state them. 1. Falling away from the faith. 2. Attributing your salvation to your own works and self-righteousness, rather than to God. 3. Blaspheming the Holy Spirit by denying Christ is God. And 4.  Worshiping the Antichrist and the Beast. Notice that temporary doubts or moral failures don’t in themselves disqualify us; what does is a wholesale rejection of the grace which God freely offers in Christ. The book of Hebrews warns us that those who have once tasted salvation but fall away, cannot be restored (Hebrews 6:4-8). Just as athletes can finish an event in triumph, but lose their medals if they cheated, used enhancing drugs, or violated the rules of their event, so Christians are called to faith and obedience to God’s commandments. Though works do  not save us, we cannot just throw out God’s laws. Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:5, “An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.” Let us follow the rules, even as we gratefully receive God’s forgiveness for our failures to keep them fully.

There’s probably more to say on this subject, and as a pastor, I’m eager to say it . . . but the next big Olympic event is coming on the TV, so I’ll wrap it up and grab a snack. I’ll begin my training for the next Olympics  tomorrow.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make is face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen.

Read: 1 Corinthians 9; 2 Timothy 2:22-26; Hebrews 6.

A Time of Drought

We are in a time of drought.

For those of us living in California, that’s hardly news. We are experiencing the worst drought in centuries, coming hard on the heels of a string of dry years. Lack of winter snows, followed by a dry spring and summer, have led to arid conditions, which are impacting crops, livestock, wildfires, and soon, everyday water use by millions of people. According to one report,  2021 could be one of the driest years in a millennium, with only half of the normal precipitation so far this year.

There’s not much we can do to end the drought, since its out of our hands. All we can do is try to endure and manage the water we do have, the best we can, and of course, pray for rain. As Psalm 135:7 says, “He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.” So let us pray that he does just that, and brings the rain.

Unfortunately as bad as the lack of water is, there is another kind of drought that is also devastating our land, here and throughout the country, and that is a spiritual drought. People’s spirits have dried up, turned to dust, and blown away in the hot winds of life, leaving people thirsting and seeking relief in the arid sands of drugs, material possessions, and entertainments. In doing so, they are like survivors on a life raft who drink the ocean water, only to become thirstier and thirstier until death overtakes them. The signs are all around us as violence, drug overdoses, and suicides reach epidemic proportions.

What are the causes of this spiritual drought? Certainly the past year and a half of the pandemic and the unrelenting coverage and warnings about it have played a part, but the drought goes much deeper. We have survived epidemics and even wars before, but now the situation seems much worse. What’s to blame?

The primary cause of our spiritual drought – and its horrible consequences in society – is our nation’s general rejection of God. This is not to say that there aren’t numerous believers, because there are. The problem is that we have removed the name of God, and the fear of God, from our public life. Every institution has been stripped  of its God-given responsibilities and moral restrictions. Politicians and public officials, educators and students, judges and corporations, movie stars and sports celebrities, have banished God and sought to operate by their own power and desires. In the words of Judges 17:6, “. . . Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

All people are sinners, and we have all broken God’s commandments in both the spirit and the letter of the law, but in former times we at least recognized the validity of those laws; now we have rejected the very idea of there being a set of God-ordained requirements that should form the basis of society. This change in attitude and behavior has come through a steady encroachment of atheistic forces, but even our churches have played their part, either by compromising with the culture to “fit in” or by retreating from engagement with society into seemingly safe fortresses. The result has been a spiritually dry, drought-blasted nation.

I have been very discouraged about this spiritual drought and its consequences in our society. It seems that every day things get worse and worse, until my well of hope has almost dried up. But then I remember the book of Lamentations, in which Jeremiah looked with sadness upon the destruction of Jerusalem and its beloved Temple by the Babylonians. He lamented the loss, but then by faith was able to proclaim,

           My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me.

           But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of             the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new             every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:20-24)

Jeremiah put his hope for future restoration, not in what his eyes could see, but in what God promised. Over a century before him, another prophet named Isaiah had given God’s word of promise: “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants” (Isaiah 44:3). Note that the greater blessing, even greater than water to a parched land, is God’s Spirit. Later, the Lord spoke through the prophet Hosea (13:5) to remind the people, “It was I who knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought.” Although so many have rejected him, and though God seems at times so far away, he has not forgotten his people. Instead, he calls us to return to him and receive the blessings he desires to give us, even to shower upon us. Even if it seems that the world around us is suffering spiritual drought and its terrible results, God’s promises still hold true for those individuals who believe in him and trust in him.

Psalm 1:2-3 describes the man (person) who delights in God and his Word: “but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.” Jeremiah continues God’s promise of abundant spiritual water: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit” (Jeremiah 17:8).

And how does someone become planted near such abundant spiritual water that refreshes and nourishes his or her spirit? Not by laws or hard work, nor by good deeds or exemplary living, though such actions would improve our society. Those are good things, but are only surface changes and therefore temporary. What it takes for true spiritual blessing is answer the call and promise of Jesus Christ, who  Jesus stood up and cried out, “‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”‘ Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive” (John 7:37-38).

If you believe in Christ, you have the Holy Spirit, and therefore your own spirit is alive. Water it daily through prayer and the study of God’s Word. Delight in God’s laws and in his promises. And don’t be discouraged; instead, “trust in the Lord with all your heart” (Proverbs 3:5), and worship the One who provides both natural and supernatural water to sustain us now, and through all eternity.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Job 24:19; Lamentations 3; John 7:37-39; Revelation 7:17.

 

 

 

A Skunk in the Works

There is a skunk in the works.

I mean that literally. We have a skunk that has decided our back yard provides a handy path for it to travel from its den to our back-fence neighbor’s yard. Karen discovered this not long ago when she stood on our back patio one evening. As she looked around at our yard, suddenly a large (she emphasizes large) skunk came sauntering around the corner of the house, just a few feet from her. She stepped quickly into the house, then watched the critter (also known as a polecat) calmly make its way across the yard. The next day, we checked the fence line, and found the places where it had dug underneath the fence.

This began a series of efforts to keep the skunk out of our yard: spreading so-called skunk repellant at the entry points, blocking the holes with hard and heavy objects, and driving tent stakes along the fence line. But after all these efforts, the skunk just keeps digging new holes and getting through. There’s still a skunk in the works.

And, because skunks are famous for their ability to spray a horrible stench, the idiom, “skunk in the works,” refers to something that messes up a situation that is otherwise good. But, as I pondered the situation with our cute, but persistent, furry critter, it occurred to me that the term, “skunk in the works,” also has a deeper meaning.

When we look around us at the world, both the natural creation given to us by God, who proclaimed it “very good” (Genesis 1:31), and mankind itself, created in God’s own image (Genesis 1:26-27), we have to admit that things are not as good as they once were, or should be. There is a skunk in the works. Or rather, two skunks, both which begin with the same letter as skunk.

The first skunk is sin. It’s almost beyond comprehension how badly sin has infected and distorted the world ever since the first act of disobedience in the Garden of Eden. The effects on mankind have been devastating, in the way our attitudes, desires, words, and actions have brought so much misery to ourselves, to other people, and to the natural world. Crime, wars, lying, stealing, racial and tribal animosities, adultery, and sexual perversions have brought sorrow, division, and death on a massive scale. It had become so bad in the past that God once sent a great flood to wipe the earth clean: “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord  regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart” (Genesis 6:5-6). The way things have gotten these days in this country, and around the world, the fact that God hasn’t yet acted similarly is amazing! It must be as Peter explained, that the Lord “is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

We have to remember that sin is not just bad things we do or think, but is an innate part of us. We are tainted by sin from the moment of our conception; as David wrote in Psalm 51:5, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” It’s like a birth defect that stays with us our entire lives; in fact, birth defects, sickness, injuries, and death are all consequences of sin. Not every sickness or injury is from us committing a sin, but all are part of the curse which God pronounced on us and all his creation as a result of Adam and Eve’s fall into sin and disobedience (Genesis 3:14-17). But note that we can’t just blame our first parents for the consequences of sin; The Apostle Paul explained in Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”

Sin has such a natural hold on us that Paul says we are slaves to sin. Only through faith in Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit in us can we be freed from that bondage to be free indeed. And for those who are in Christ but are troubled by the hold that sin still seems to have on them, we are comforted by the Prophet Joel: “Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster” (Joel 2:13). Sin need not control us; even though the stink of sin is all around us, we need not fear this skunk, for in Christ, all our sins are removed from us, as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12) . . . which is a lot better than we’re doing with our furry friend so far!

The second skunk is Satan. I know it was a serpent that tempted Eve in the Garden, but it could easily have been a skunk, for the devil has certainly played a huge role as a “skunk in the works” to mess up our lives. Not only did he lead that first couple into the sin that brought them hardship and death, he also continues to plague us. As 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” He crafts temptations in ways that make sin appealing and not so terrible. He knows each of our weaknesses, and seeks to exploit them to separate us from God. His desire is to sear our consciences, alienate us from Christ, and cause us to despair by accusing us of the very things he led us to do.

What should we do about this evil, spiritual being, whose name literally means accuser or adversary?

  1. First we recognize that such a being exists, and that he is powerful and very skilled in deception.
  2. Second, we avoid having too much fascination in him; rather, our focus should be on Christ our Redeemer, and not on our enemy. The Christian writer C.S. Lewis wrote in the  preface to his 1942 book, The Screwtape Letters, “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.”
  3. The devil does not look like the red-suited, pitch-fork-carrying, horned goat-like monster so often depicted in comics. The Bible tells us that he “disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). How often do the temptations of the world appear so deceptively attractive to us?
  4. Satan is a liar, and “the father of lies” (John 8:44). As the saying goes, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” Satan’s lies may sound good, but they lead only to destruction.
  5. Through faith in Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can resist Satan and his lies. James 4:7 says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
  6. Last, but not least, Christ defeated Satan. Christ beat his temptations in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11), he defeated him when Peter suggested Jesus avoid the cross (Mark 8:33), and he finally overcame Satan in the crucifixion and resurrection. You might say Christ “skunked” the devil. Christ has been exalted and glorified, and will be forever, while Satan and his demons will burn in the lake of fire for all eternity (Revelation 20:10). Because you are in Christ, you share in his victory, and need not fear the evil one.

Yes, when we consider life in this fallen world, we recognize that there are “skunks in the works.” But fortunately, life’s skunks of sin and Satan have been overcome through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. As Luther wrote in his Small Catechism, Jesus has “saved us at great cost . . . from sin, death, and the power of the devil.”

Now, if only Karen and I can overcome our polecat, we’ll be just fine!

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Job 1:6-12; Matthew 4:1-11; Romans 5; 1 Corinthians 15; Revelation 20.

P.S. The phrase, “skunk in the works,” is not to be confused with Lockheed-Martin’s secretive, advanced airplane development operations known as “the Skunk Works,” in Palmdale, California. 

Our Father’s World

Some of my favorite memories as a child are about the times I spent at our YMCA’s summer camp in northern Wisconsin. From swimming and boating, to great food and fun campfire programs, to trail rides on the camp’s horses, to catching frogs and toads, there was almost always something going on that I now look back on with fondness.

Some of my memories go back to Sunday mornings at the camp, when all the campers would gather at the outdoor chapel for a worship service (the Catholic campers were taken into town for mass, and the one Jewish counselor had the morning off!). Besides the beautiful, peaceful setting looking out through the trees to the lake below, there was one more thing that made those services special: my dad was worship leader and preacher.

Although he wasn’t an ordained minister, my dad was devout in his faith and always involved in some church or lay ministry. In fact, since the YMCA was in those days a lay Christian ministry, he saw the purpose of his work as implementing the organization’s purpose of furthering Christian values and building a Christian society. So, as our Y’s Youth Director, he would come to the camp on Sundays to see how things were going (and to check up on me?), and to lead the worship.

The one thing I remember most from those Sunday services was my dad’s choice of hymns, which always seemed to include the old hymn, This is My Father’s World.* It always inspired me, sitting surrounded by the beauty of nature, hearing birds, feeling the gentle breeze, and seeing the trees and shimmering lake down below. Add to that, the fact that my own father was up front leading the service, and you can see why even today I have such fond memories and an appreciation for that hymn. I still affirm that this is indeed my Father’s world.

But in what way is it my Father’s world, speaking as the song does, of God, being our heavenly Father?

  1. At the time, and for most of my life, the hymn has spoken to me of the natural world which God designed and created by his power. How beautiful his creation is, from mountains to oceans, to rivers and lakes; from trees and flowers to rocks; from sun and moon to stars; and most amazing, creatures from the small frogs I would catch at the camp, to the horses we rode, to the birds, and yes, even to the mosquitos we swatted. Everything in nature that shouted “God!” was praised in the hymn, which reminded us that this world is indeed a gift from God and from him alone.  This world is from him and belongs to him. We just get to live in it.

Think of the ways God has reminded us of this fact. Genesis 1 recounts the creation of all things in the heavens and on earth by God, who sums up his work in verse 27: “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” Psalm 8:3-4 says, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” Romans 1:19 says, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” Colossians 1:16 reminds us that by Christ, “all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” Hebrews 3:4 says, “For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.” Jeremiah 32:7 proclaims, “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” There are more verses which proclaim God as Creator, but let me add this one more from psalm 90:2, “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” This is truly our Father’s world as proclaimed in the first two verses of the hymn:

This is my Father’s world,
And to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world:
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas–
His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father’s world:
The birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white,
Declare their Maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world:
He shines in all that’s fair;
In the rustling grass, I hear Him pass,
He speaks to me everywhere.

From both the affirmations of Scripture and my own senses, I have never doubted that God is real, that he is all wise and powerful, and that he is the Creator and Sustainer of everything that exists. This is my Father’s world – and universe.

2. But recently, I have had to look closer at the hymn’s third verse, which asserts that this is God’s world, regardless of its problems and challenges. With all the horrible things going on in the world, and especially now in our country, it would be very easy to think that everything is out of control, that our faith has lost the battle, and that the forces of evil have taken charge to remake everything in their own image. God’s commandments are thrown out, people look to the material world as all their is. As Carl Sagan put it, “The universe is all that is, ever was, or ever will be.” As Paul put it in Romans 1:25, “they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever!”

But no matter how discouraged we might be, or how dominant the anti-Christian forces seem to be these days, we must not forget the truth which the hymn proclaims in its third verse:

This is my Father’s world:
O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world:
Why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King: let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let earth be glad!

God alone raises up rulers and brings them down. He alone sets the time span for nations and empires, for the righteous and sinners alike. He is the sovereign, in-charge ruler over all. Though we don’t know his purposes in the events we see or the struggles we face, we must remain confident that in the end, God’s will, will be done on earth as it is in heaven. He will judge us all with perfect justice, so those who mock him will not prevail: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”(Galatians 6:7). And above all, God’s love and mercy will triumph over all (James 2:13b), for not only is he the all powerful Father, he also loves us more than even our earthly fathers can.

For that I am grateful, to my earthly father for his love and Christian testimony, and to my – our – heavenly Father for all he has done, and will yet do, in this, his world.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Nehemiah 9:6; Isaiah 66:2; Revelation 4:11; Isaiah 45:18

*Public domain, written by Rev. Maltbie Davenport Babcock, published in 1901 as a poem, and in 1925 with the music.

All Hail King Science?

Among the “hit” praise songs of the 1970s was a rousing, triumphant number titled, All Hail King Jesus. Written by Dave Moody, the song extolled Jesus Christ and lifted him up as the sovereign, eternal King and Lord of all (which of course, he is!). The verse goes like this:

All hail King Jesus!
All hail Emmanuel!
King of Kings,
Lord of Lords,
Bright Morning Star!
And throughout eternity
I’ll sing Your praises.
And forevermore, I will reign with You.*
It’s been a while since I heard it sung in a worship service, but I’m afraid that if the words were updated for the 2020s, the lyrics would go like this:
All hail King Science!
And my physics manual!
You know all things,
Nobel awards,
Reaching the stars!
So throughout my short life here
I’ll sing your praises.
And for all good things, I will turn to you!
Why would I be so cynical as to think (and write) this version of the song? Maybe it’s because our society has come to look upon science as the sole repository of knowledge and arbiter of truth. As the saying goes, “Follow the science!” Unfortunately, although science is a worthy pursuit that has yielded many modern benefits, people have come to believe certain myths about science and its role in life. For example:
Myth #1: Science is neutral and objective. This is a basic fallacy which has allowed educators and government boards to push atheistic teachings and policies in our schools and colleges. The idea is that religion is subjective and divisive while science is objective and unifying. Facts are facts, and if we just follow the science, we will be properly educated. But this idea is false for several reasons:
     1. Science is based on certain presuppositions which are anything but
         neutral, such as an anti-supernatural bias.
     2. There is no neutral science or technology. Take, for example, nuclear
         science and technology. Whether used for good (energy production) or             bad (atomic bombs), it requires disposal of radioactive waste.
     3. Scientists are just people, flawed and sinful like the rest of us. They                   have biases, “blind spots,” and expectations which affect their work,
         and especially, the interpretation of their findings. There are many
         stories about falsified reports, data doctored to fit hypotheses, and
        what we call “dry-labs” (i.e., faked data). One such invention was the
        so-called “brontosaurus” skeleton in New York’s Natural History
        museum, put together from two different fossil locations, and since
        discredited. Or Piltdown Man, a contrived skeleton once declared to be
        the missing link in human “evolution,” but later discovered to be a
        complete fraud.
     4. Money drives research, and too often, the results of that research.
        Lucrative government and foundation grants require favorable data
       outcomes, proving what the grant was given to prove.
     5.  Politicians pick and choose the data that support them and their
       plans, while ignoring or discrediting contrary evidences.
Myth #2: Science is settled. Ironically, though politicians and government spokespeople tout the idea that “the science is settled,” on various issues, scientists know that true science is never settled. Knowledge is always changing as new data come to the fore, and what was “known” at one time is shown to be wrong or needing some correction shortly afterwards. True scientists hold a theory, base on the evidence, until counter evidence accumulates and forces them to change their operating theory (It’s called a “paradigm shift”).
Consider these former gems of “scientific knowledge”:
  • Phrenology, which measured the bumps on a person’s skull to determine that person’s intelligence and character;
  • Racial evolution, which classified the various races based on how far they had evolved from apes (guess which race the proponents of this theory considered themselves!);
  • Alchemy, which sought to turn lead into gold;
  • Blood-letting, done to “let out the bad blood” and balance the body’s humors (remember, we consist of four humors: black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood);
  • Nebraska Man, touted as the “missing link” in human evolution, only to be later identified as a pig’s tooth;
  • And speaking of teeth, when did dentists start telling us to brush sideways, instead of up and down? If only I’d known, I would still have all my teeth!
Accepted theories change, which is why scientists speak mostly in terms of probabilities, rather than certainties, and why just about any public health issue has contradictory documents, each signed by “thousands of scientists” who disagree with each other. Not only can you find people in lab coats on TV, hawking various products as “scientifically proven,” wait a couple weeks and you’ll see other lab-coated people telling you the opposite.
The changing nature of scientific inquiry is part of the process of learning about God’s creation; new data requires new understanding. It is never settled. But contrast this with God’s Word, which is settled; Isaiah 40:8 proclaims, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” God’s words and promises are unchanging, because he is unchanging: Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever,” and James 1:17 praises God as “the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
Myth #3: Science can answer all questions about life. While science has expanded our knowledge about the natural world, from microscopic life down to atomic particles on the one hand, to far-flung galaxies and nebulae on the other, there are limits to the questions it can answer. It cannot know the soul, morality, sin, righteousness, or spiritual rebirth. It cannot know the past (though it tries to explain what it cannot observe or measure); nor can it know the future (how many times should the world have ended by now, according to scientists’ dire predictions?). Science cannot tell us what should be. Science cannot know God or our place in his eternal plans. It cannot know what had to be revealed to us by God himself.
Scientists should heed God’s words to Job when that man questioned God’s purposes: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding” (Job 38:4). In fact, the entire chapters 38-41 of Job contain a rebuke of how mankind cannot know the works of God. God challenges Job (and with him, all of us), saying, “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?” (Job 38:2). 
Even where science has gathered knowledge, it cannot teach us wisdom; that comes from God and his Word. As Psalm 111:10 proclaims, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”
Myth #4: Science has given us all good things. Scientific research and technology have produced may wonderful benefits, especially in the fields of medicine and electronics. I have personally benefited in both areas, as my cataract surgery allows me to read this page clearly, while I listen to my cassette tape player.  (Isn’t technology great? What will they think of next?)
But, this myth is wrong for two reasons:
     1. Science has been a mixed blessing. It has caused great suffering along
        with benefits. Advanced weapons of war, poison gas, bacterial agents,
        and toxic pollution are some of the problems brought by scientific
        advances. But wait, you might say, don’t we have science to thank for
        coming up with vaccines to fight Covid-19? Yes, which is great, but we
        also can thank science for inventing the virus in the first place.
     2. All good things actually come from God. James 1:17 says, “Every good
        gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father
        of lights.” Luther taught that to keep the First Commandment and have
        no other gods, we must recognize and attribute all good things to God.
       To look to science as the supplier of all good things is to make a god out
       of it, and worship the creation instead of the Creator (Romans 1:25).
Please don’t get me wrong; I think science is awesome. My favorite subjects are herpetology (I used to keep and raise frogs) and mineralogy (hence my rock collection). A friend gave me a beautiful hard-bound book of space photos taken by the Hubble orbiting telescope. Wow! I can hardly wrap my head around all that has now been seen in the universe! I love how Psalm 8 praises God for this: “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”

I see no conflict between my faith and true science because science can only find what God has created: the energy, the matter, the chemical and life processes, the earth, sky and heavens, and so on. As they used to say, scientists “are thinking God’s thoughts after him.” In those days, theology was considered the “queen of the sciences.” Unfortunately, that attitude has disappeared. Now, too many people use science’s discoveries to deny God and the honor he is due. They take the data which research uncovers and squeeze it into preconceived notions about reality. Their research may be very precise and accurate, but their conclusion can be way off, because they deny anything supernatural, and teach that only what can be experienced through our senses and manipulated by our rational minds can be true. Their religion is naturalism, and their answer for everything is evolution.

So, do we sing, “All Hail King Science”? I think not! Let’s put the glory where it belongs, on Jesus, the true King of kings and Lord of lords! All hail King Jesus, now and forever more!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Psalm 8; Colossians 1:15-20; Daniel 12:4; Job 40-41

* (c) 1979 by Glory Alleluia Music

Under the Mask

You’re probably familiar with the common symbol for live theater, namely a set of two masks, one smiling and one frowning, which represent the two traditional kinds of plays: comedy and tragedy.

A certain non-artist I know personally might depict the faces like this:

This symbolism actually goes back a long way to the theaters of the ancient Greeks, where the actors wore large masks to play their characters. It was a good way for the audience to identify the identities and natures of the characters, and allowed one actor to play multiple parts as needed. It worked well in the large amphitheaters of the day – and besides, as an actor, you wouldn’t need make-up!

Since the actors spoke their lines while under their masks, the Greek word for actor became hypokrites, literally, one who speaks or interprets from underneath. From that usage we get the word, “hypocrite,” referring to one who portrays a false image while acting differently. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a hypocrite is “a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings.” They are speaking from “under the mask” that they wear publicly. In churchy terms, “they don’t practice what they preach.”

This idea of speaking “under the mask” came to mind the other day as I ran several errands, each of which required that I slip on my face mask before entering the various stores. I think it was when I went into my bank and wondered whether the tellers would recognize me – or call the police on the unknown “masked man” coming to their window. Fortunately, I was making a deposit, so I think their guard was down. Making a withdrawal might have sparked a different response . . .

Yes, I thought about how we are all “under the mask” and have been so now for over a year. I thought about how the mask mandates have affected our society beyond the nuisance factor (how many times have I been halfway to a store entrance, only to realize I had forgotten my mask in the car – and had to go back and get it!). To what extent has it distanced us socially and emotionally from each other? From friends, or from people we should have gotten to know? And what about people we do business with – or worship with? And has it been an impetus to crime for some people, as is visible in riots where those who act violently cover their faces to hide their identities?

How differently do we act now from when we wore no masks?

But even in the “olden days” when we only wore face coverings when playing as a baseball catcher, a hockey goalie, or a bank robber, we sometimes wore a different kind of mask: facial expressions and demeanors that hid our true feelings and thoughts from others. We would smile and say we’re fine even though we hurt or were sad. We “kept a stiff upper lip” and did our best not to “let them see you sweat.”* We hid our grief so as not to seem weak, and our tears were those “of a clown when no one’s around.”** And how many times have we smiled at someone when we just didn’t feel like it?

And then there’s the real, hypocritical type of image, when we actively try to deceive others by portraying a false face that we think will win their favor or approval. Some prime examples of this are the politicians who spout the right things to get elected, but then don’t follow through on their promises; televangelists who portray themselves as godly, righteous servants, but behind the scenes are active in financial and sexual scandals; or the young man who promises his date that he “will respect her in the morning.”

The Bible warns us about such frauds when it comes to our faith. “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

But what about the rest of us? How often do we adopt certain looks or postures, or say certain things, that are contrary to what we really mean or intend, just to gain some advantage in a relationship or public persona? For those who are active in social media (bloggers excluded), are your profile photos and posts real? Or are you texting and posting “under the mask” in order to appear more attractive or competent than you feel?

And what about our participation in church? Are we fully honest in what we say and how we act, or are we putting on a show to look more holy and righteous than we really are? Are we like the phony religious leaders whom Jesus criticized in Matthew 23:27, when he said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.” Ouch! They paraded around like righteous saints, but Jesus revealed them for the sinners they were.

At least fifteen times, Jesus blasted the religious leaders for their hypocrisy, including in his introduction to the Lord’s Prayer, when he said, “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward” (Matthew 6:5). But, he made his most severe pronouncement when he spoke of the coming judgment, when the Lord would take a wicked servant “and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 24:51).

Hypocrisy does no good with God, because to him, there is no mask. He can see right through our false faces and attitudes into our hearts. There he sees the truth about us, all the sin, all the corruption, all the lies we have so carefully crafted to look good in other people’s eyes. Isaiah speaks of the Messiah when he says, “He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear” (Isaiah 11:3). God is not fooled by our outward show or our “whitewashed tombs”; he is not deceived or mocked (Galatians 6:7). 

In our social interactions, there is a place for physical masks, whether to protect people from communicable diseases or lessen people’s anxieties about catching such illnesses. There is also a place for masking our true thoughts to protect others’ feelings, or to open up opportunities for positive social relationships. But let us be careful to never be hypocrites, using false facial masks to deceive and harm others. And let us never even try to mask ourselves to God, for he knows us fully and loves us anyway, even though he can see “under the mask.”

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Isaiah 11:2-4; Matthew 24:36-51;  

  • *From Gillette Dry Idea deodorant commercial, June 1984.
  • **From Tears of a Clown, 1967 by Smokey Robinson, hit single in 1970.