Prayer Archives - Pastor Rich Eddy

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?

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;”
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.“
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.)
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.
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.
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.”
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.

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:

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?

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.”
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?“
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.
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.
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.
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.“
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

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:

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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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).

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?”

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?
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.
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).
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.
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.

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:

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).
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.
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.
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!

Jesus and Belial, Part 2

In my previous blog, I told about reading a newspaper ad for an “interfaith” prayer meeting to be held online as a way to show, in the sponsors’ words, “the kinship of all Faiths.” I commented on that assertion and request by stating that other than some idealized moral values, such as the Golden Rule, Christianity is not kin to other faiths. Nor are they kin to each other, because their beliefs are not only different, but at times, polar opposites.

In addition, by participating publicly in a joint prayer session, Christians are giving subtle approval to, and acceptance of, those other faiths. We are telling people that all faiths are basically the same, each being one of many paths to God – though the ideas of who and what God is, are so different. As Christians, we must continuously demonstrate that Christ is unique, the Only Son of God, and the One Way to the Father. As Jesus himself proclaimed, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, except trough me” (John 14:6).

Jesus’ claims were very exclusionary, and the rest of Scripture agrees. He said, “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). He also said, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works” (John 14:9-10). He also told the crowds, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). And later, Peter said of Jesus, “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”(Acts 4:12). Also, Paul proclaimed the exclusivity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: “As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:9). And, of course, this unique claim begins in the Old Testament, when the Lord God commands his people in the First Commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3 and Deuteronomy 5:7).

Reminded that there is but one God, the God of the Bible, and only one way to him, how then do we live in and respond to the society around us that affirms “diversity” of belief and extols every religion except Christianity? My answer is not new, but hopefully it can encourage you to hold fast to the truth and set aside any doubts that may arise from constant anti-Christian messaging in our culture. Consider the following:

1. Know what the Bible says, and what Jesus taught. By your own study and learning of God’s Word, you can avoid and refute incorrect ideas and charges made against Christians. Did Adam and Eve eat an apple? No, the Bible just says, fruit. Is the Christian faith racist? No; Jesus commanded preaching the Gospel to all nations (Matthew 28:19-20) and Revelation tells us that heaven will have a multitude that no one can count, “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages.” That’s as inclusive as you can get! Know the true Gospel, of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ apart from any works or righteousness we can personally achieve.

2. Don’t believe the movie and television trope that Christianity is a prudish, guilt-ridden group of hypocrites. Notice how many shows make Christians (especially preachers and priests!) the villains. Gangsters wear crosses and serial killers have crosses on their walls and mumble phrases like “Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord!” before doing their evil deeds. Learn what Christians have done to benefit society and alleviate the natural states of poverty and suffering. It’s no accident that so many hospitals have the word “Saint” as part of their name. There’s not enough room here to even list all the blessings Christians have brought about because of their faith, such as written languages, literacy, hospitals, orphanages, disaster relief, nursing, sports (including basketball and volleyball), adult night schools, Braille and American Sign Language, the abolition of slavery, and the recognition of human worth and dignity. As Christians we have nothing to be ashamed about when we bear the name of Christ.* Paul proclaimed, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. . . ” (Romans 1:16).

3. Remember that the Christian faith is not a fortress faith, living on an isolated island, trying to keep people out. While we are commanded to defend the faith (1 Peter 3:15 says, “. . . always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you;”), our faith is not essentially a defensive one. On the contrary, it is meant to be an assertive faith, one which seeks to reach out and proclaim the good news of what God has done for us in Christ. After all, Jesus didn’t say the gates of heaven would shield us, but that the gates of hell would not prevail against the Church (Matthew 16:18). When Jesus came, he didn’t set up a secret monastery where he and his disciples could hide while he taught them exclusive truths; instead, he went among the people and proclaimed the truth openly. As a result, sinners repented, Pharisees such as Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea converted, and even Romans believed (Acts 10). Jesus pushed back against the devil’s territory by establishing and expanding the kingdom of God, which he proclaimed had now come in him. As Christians, we must not be content in just “holding our own,” but in working to expand the kingdom into which Jesus called us, through our personal witness, evangelism and missions.

4. Remember the twin Greatest Commandment, affirmed by Jesus himself: “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” (Matthew 22:37-39). This means we must love, honor, and worship the true God and hold fast to his teachings, yet at the same time love others as much as we love ourselves – even if those neighbors don’t love us or God. This means we owe every person respect, even if we don’t think he or she deserves it. In the context of cross-faith relations, it means we respect the other person and their attempt to do what is right. We look for non-religious ways in which to cooperate, such as on sports teams, at work, or in school. We help our literal neighbors when they have a need, letting God work in their hearts and minds through our kindly witness. And we explain the true faith in loving and patient ways, so the other person knows clearly who Christ is and what he accomplished for the world. Remember Peter’s words which followed his command to defend the faith: “. . . do it with gentleness and respect.”

One day a Sikh man with bloody bare feet came to my church office, asking to see Jesus. I spent several hours with him, talking about Christ and taking him to a church where he could see a large crucifix in the sanctuary. After that, I drove him to a nearby Sikh Temple, where he could get food and perform one of his religion’s rites. In all those things, I was bearing witness and showing him personal respect and brotherly love. I even went into his temple and met one of his fellow Sikhs near their altar. But when they offered me what was their equivalent of communion (a ball of sweet wafer material), I declined, explaining that my God is a jealous God, and would not allow me to participate in another religion’s ceremony. Years later, the man showed up again at my office, thanking me for caring for him as I did.

5. Finally, when it comes to prayer, we must absolutely pray for all people, and work for their health, well-being, and their salvation. We should never rejoice in their failures, hurts, or demise. We should never assume a haughty air of religious superiority, for that is what Jesus condemned in the Pharisees, the religious “stars” of their day. They did all the right things, said all the right words, and knew all the right Scriptures, but had no love, so they were like the “noisy gong or clanging cymbal” which Paul decried in 1 Corinthians 13:1. We must remember that it is by God’s grace alone that we have salvation in Christ. We are no less sinful than anyone else, but we are beneficiaries of God’s love and mercy through his only Son, Jesus Christ, and not by our own righteousness or membership in any group. Only because we are in Christ are we saved, and therefore we are compelled to love all for whom Christ bled and died – which is the entire world.

We must love everyone just as they are, but we must love them enough not to leave them where they are, but to show them Jesus in word and deed, that they too may rejoice in the salvation which he alone has brought the world.

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

Read: John 14:1-14; Acts 4:1-22; 10:34-43; 1 Corinthians 13; Galatians 1:6-10.

*The book, What if Jesus Had Never Been Born? by D. James Kennedy and Jerry Newcombe, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 1994, has 275 pages telling the many ways which Christianity has benefitted the world.

Jesus and Belial

This week I was invited to a prayer session. Actually, everyone was. The newspaper display ad read, “In service to the Elk Grove community, invites you to a virtual Prayer Devotional . . .” The fact that this was not a complete sentence is not what caught my attention; what the ad said next, was: “. . . demonstrating kinship of all Faiths through prayer.”

This ad was placed by the Interfaith Council of Elk Grove, whose members state their purpose as, “Working together – building a just and caring society.” Those are noble goals, even if not everyone seeking justice these days is very caring toward those they oppose. People of every faith, or none, should seek to pursue such goals in both their own lives and that of the societies in which they live. But does such striving indicate the “kinship of all Faiths”? If I invented a religion in which I was the high priest of toad worship, would my religion be part of that kinship? (Don’t laugh – ancient Chinese venerated toads as symbols of wealth and longevity!)

Does a common desire to have a peaceful society where people respect and care for each other mean that all religions and personal faiths are the same? What do the many religions and faiths around us actually believe? Do we indeed share “kinship” with any and all other religions, aside from certain almost-universal moral tenets such as the Golden Rule?

Specifically, considering the newspaper invitation, should Christians pray with non-Christians? To whom are we praying when we pray in unity with believers in other religions?

1. With Hindus, to which god are we to pray: Ganesha (pot-bellied elephant god), Shiva, Krishna, Rama, Vishnu, or Kali, the goddess of death?

2. With Muslims, to Allah, the moon-god? Or Allah the only god, who has no son? Or to Issa (Jesus) who escaped the cross and had Judas die there in his place?

3. With Buddhists, to devas and brahmas that exist in five-layered heavens, or nagas that live in snake form on earth? Or to the impersonal sea to which we return when we die from this illusionary world, like droplets of water?

4. With Mormons, to Jesus, the brother of Lucifer (Satan) who was physically begotten by Adam-god, and was on earth in his journey to godhood, which we can all attain?

5. With Native American devotees, to Bluejay, trickster god of the Chinook; or to White Buffalo Woman of the Sioux; to Taronhiawagon of the Iroquois; to Old Man Coyote of the Crow; or to another of the dozens of nature gods and goddesses worshipped by the many indigenous tribes of North America?*

6. With Atheists? To matter and energy? Or to material processes that exclude any divine purpose, entity, or intervention?

I could go on, but you get the picture. How can people who have such widely-divergent beliefs pray together? Or as the Bible says, “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3 KJV). Now, you may say that praying together is okay as long as you have in your own mind the biblical Trinity, but in public prayer, no one can tell what you’re thinking; to others, your participation in such interfaith prayers conveys the message that you are in agreement. Your participation validates their religions as being on an equal footing with Christianity.

This is not an issue of praying for non-Christians; I have done this and will do this at any time. We once lived next-door to a Mormon family that had a meltdown one evening. When the teen daughter broke off part of the railing on the staircase, the father came and got me to “be a witness” to what was going on. After hearing them speak (yell) at each other, I asked that we pray for God’s peace for them and the situation. I certainly did not pray to any Mormon god or concept of god, but called on the true God to bring peace to the family, which he did.

Praying for others is appropriate, but praying with them as if we were one in faith or had just different shades of the same faith, is not. Some may view this as narrow sectarianism, or egotistical pride (“I’m right but you’re not!”), or even racism, since some religions are held predominantly by certain ethnic groups, such as Sikhism among the Sikhs of the Punjab and Fiji. But this is not about personal preferences or arrogance. Christianity is the most universal religion of all, with two billion adherents from “every nation, tribe, and language.” No, this is a statement of obedience to God’s own commands, to come out from the world and be separate from them, worshiping the true God and him only (Matthew 4:10, Luke 4:9).

This division between faith in the true God and other so-called gods was commanded in both Testaments and was the basis of the kosher regulations of the Law. Kosher food rules against consuming meat and dairy products in the same meal, are based on passages such as Deuteronomy 14:21 “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk,” which forbids the mixing of two forms of food. Likewise, Deuteronomy 22:10-11 prohibited wearing a mixture of wool and linen, and plowing with both “an ox and a donkey together” Many have wondered why the Torah prohibits such mixtures, concluding it is a mystery. Personally, I agree with many Christian commentators who believe these were reminders of Israel being apart from the other nations. Not only would they eat and dress differently, they would avoid mixing with other religions.

As Christians, these kosher requirements of food and clothing are no longer binding. Christ has set us free, and as Paul (a very kosher Jew!) taught us, all things are lawful to us in Christ. Whether we eat certain foods or not is not regulated, apart from the effect our public eating or drinking may have on others.

But the principle behind the Old Testament food and clothing regulations still applies, that there be separation between those who follow Christ and those who do not.

When the people of Ephesus became believers, they burned their old magic books (which were very valuable) in order to follow Christ. They didn’t just add Jesus to their pantheon of other gods, so as to cover their bases. They recognized the incompatibility of belief in Christ with any other religion. Theirs was no “interfaith” religion.

“And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.” (Acts 19:17-19)

In 2 Corinthians 6:14-16, Paul wrote: “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? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols?” The point is that you can’t mix Christianity with other religions in the name of “getting along” or seeking fellowship.

So how do we deal with other religions and the people who practice them? Do we attack them, insult them, or just shun them, refusing to talk or work with them in order to remain separate from untruth? Or should we befriend, associate, and cooperate with them in every area except worship and prayer?

I believer the Bible gives us a clear answer to that dilemma, which I will address in the next blog! (Cliffhanger!) So 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 lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Acts 17:16-34; Acts 19; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18;

* To be fair, many tribes believe(d) in the Great Spirit, one overall god, to whom Christians have pointed as representing the true God in their evangelism. The missionaries have quoted Paul in Acts 17:23 “‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.”