It’s Complicated

I’m reading a book about climate change, by a scientist. And his over-arching theme is: it’s complicated. We have societal ills, one of which is a growing number of persons with mental illness living on the streets. How do you fix it? Give them housing they can’t take care of; give them medications they don’t want to take; give them money to buy what? It’s complicated.

A few years back a mega-church chose to get involved in Africa, to solve some of the humanitarian problems and in so doing, to share the Gospel. But their fixes created more problems, because they didn’t understand the problems well to begin with. Why? Because it’s complicated. 

But the Gospel isn’t complicated. Oh, it’s involved. It involves a long story. But the story isn’t that complicated, and the gist of the Gospel, the Good News, is simple enough for a child to understand.

God does not ask us to build a ladder by which we can climb to His level (through doing good works, or learning the right verses). It would take a ladder tall enough to reach all the way to a holy heaven where God lives. There is no such ladder. If we try to get to God by climbing a “righteous” ladder, we will find in the end that the ladder is leaning against the wrong structure.

Instead, God lowered a ladder from heaven, on which Jesus came down to our level. He became like us, so that He could bear our sins, so that He could give us, freely (called “grace”) His righteousness. By faith, not in my own ladder-climbing skills, but in what Jesus has done for me, based on His faithfulness, not mine - I can receive salvation as a gift. It’s the reverse of what we would expect. But it’s not complicated.

Now, trying to live a good life in they world, and at the same time living for Jesus - well, that’s complicated. It’s like standing in two rowboats in the water, the left leg in one boat, the right let in the other. Someone’s going to get wet. Or, as Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters.” It’s complicated.

Or, trying to belong to a church where everybody wants to serve, but also always be happy. That’s complicated. Service takes sacrifice, and sacrifice is hard, like dying to self, and we find it difficult to die to self (like Jesus did for us), so, it’s complicated.

Sheryl Jo

When I made an entrance into this world (through no help on my part) my sister had already been pioneering a path for me for a year and a half. She was the first-born of my young parents, and so with Sheryl, there was a lot of “what do we do now?” questions. By the time I came along, it was more, “we’ve done this before.” 

Of the four children born to my parents (2 sisters after me), I don’t know if Sheryl was the prettiest (I don’t want to offend the others), but she certainly had the best smile. She was good with people, and easy to make friends with. She cared too much (in my opinion) with being popular, betraying, I think, an insecurity that didn’t really need to be there. 

Mom and Dad had all of us involved in music (a great gift to us, by the way). Sheryl and I sang duets occasionally in church. Our Sunday night services always made lots of time for special music, especially from the younger ones. I remember singing with her “A soldier in the army of the King of kings am I; He called me to His colors and for Him I’d live or die.” I don’t feel much like a soldier these days, nor do we tend to sing those kinds of songs. But Sheryl’s soldiering days are over. I don’t believe her mind remembers where she’s been, or where she’s going. 

Sheryl will turn 65 this week, on July 27. She won’t know it. At this “young” age, she has no idea how old she is. She’s got Alzheimer’s. She no longer walks, or talks. She does not feed herself. As I fed her lunch this past week, she did not respond to questions like, “do you want more?” or “would you like some pie?” She might open her mouth if you held the fork close, or just turn her face away. She can’t seem to focus on a picture on one’s mobile phone, but just looks off in the distance at nothing in particular. It’s as if she’s not there, though her body is. 

“To be absent from the body” is “to be present with the Lord,” Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:8. I wonder if it’s possible that Sheryl, in a sense, is already with Jesus. I don’t know. I do know that, though Sheryl’s diseased brain may not be able to hold thoughts of God, God holds on to her, this child of His and sister of mine. 

My visit with Sheryl was shorter than the drive. There was no conversation. Just me saying dumb things that came to mind, trying to jog a memory not there. But as I left, I hugged her, and received the best smile. A really nice gift. 

It Only Takes a Spark

It Only Takes a Spark

Sunday, July 11, 2021

We were sitting down to dinner in the quietness of our home when someone came pounding on the front door. “Your garbage is on fire,” she shouted, pointing to my leaf bags out at the street. “Drat,” I said to myself. “Not again."

It happened to me once before, in the back yard. I had cleaned some ashes out of our little, raised fire pit and put them, along with some weeds, in a leaf bag. The fire had gone out the night before. Some time later, I saw my leaf bag smoking and had to tear it apart in order to douse the ashes. The second time, I had waited longer. There had been a little rain. No signs of life. And this time, the leaf bag of weeds and a dash of ash made it out to the front curb.

There’s an old ’70’s song from church youth groups that went, “It only takes a spark to get a fire going; And soon those all around can warm up in its glowing.” That’s the song that came to mind when the people came to the front door.

The song goes on to say, “That’s how it is with God’s love.” It only takes a spark, and then it spreads. The story of the Ethiopian eunuch traveling home to Africa from Jerusalem is a great, Biblical example of this. We don’t know why he was in Jerusalem at the time of Pentecost. He could have been a God-fearer, as Gentile worshippers were called, visiting during one of the great feasts. Perhaps he was there on king’s business. But he was going home with a portion of Scripture open in his lap - the book of Isaiah.

Philip, one of the Jerusalem church’s early deacons, was transported by the Spirit to visit the eunuch. He explained the Scriptures, showing that Jesus would be the One who would fulfill the sin-bearing described in Isaiah 53. And the eunuch placed faith in Jesus.

A eunuch is one who has been castrated, oftentimes in relation to service in a royal household. He had no hope of having children, a family, or a heritage. Except that God said: “Don’t let the eunuchs say, ‘I’m a dried-up tree with no children and no future.’ For this is what the LORD says: .. I will give them—within the walls of my house—a memorial and a name far greater than sons and daughters could give. For the name I give them is an everlasting one. It will never disappear!” (Isa. 56:3–5 NLT).

And so the Gospel came to Africa. It only takes a spark. 

Serenity and Tenacity

David Augsburger has written a book called “Dissident Discipleship,” an Anabaptist view of what it means to walk with Jesus in this world, following the way of Jesus. In his chapter called “The Practice of - Tenacious Serenity,” he begins with the story of Annie Funk on the Titanic, who, having been given a seat on a lifeboat, saw a mom and children left behind on deck. She immediately stood up and traded places.

Serenity is a settled commitment to do the right thing. It avoids crises and consternations, because the decision has already been made. In Annie’s case, she knew the right thing to do, and so the decision was rather simple. A determination to do the right thing, no matter what.

And it’s the “no matter what” that brings in the tenacity. Because sometimes doing the right thing is hard, or costly. It involves sacrifice. But in the “way of Jesus” described in “Dissident Discipleship,” sacrifice is not an exceptional experience for the Christian. It is the normal experience. It takes seriously the very serious phrase in the famous verse, Romans 12:1 - “I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice..” Serenity is not easy, but it’s simple. Tenacity is the willingness to do the hard things, if they are the right things.

One of the gentlemen in my philosopher’s group observed that I was experiencing “misplaced anxiety.” In a sense, what he was detecting was a lack of serenity. He wasn’t seeing a settled commitment. He saw rattled thoughts and emotions. Yes, life is spinning around us. But we can’t control those things. We can be calmly determined to do the right thing, no matter what.

Here are a couple of quotes from Augsburger as he tries to help us understand this counter-cultural concept; this “Jesus” concept:

• It is the willing yieldedness of the stubbornly faithful yet incorrigibly nonconformist radical disciple.

• Serene tenacity is the quality of yielded fortitude, of surrendered steadfastness that stays the course, commits the soul, and relinquishes the self to what is truly good, what is ultimately priced, what is the will of God.

It is not passive, but engaged with God as we seek to walk the way of Jesus, like Jesus, refusing to follow the cues of the world.

You Can’t Cure ‘Stupid’

You Can’t Cure ‘Stupid’

Sunday, June 27, 2021

I have a friend who says this often: “You can’t cure stupid.” He worked in a field where he was in regular contact with people who did dumb (and illegal) things, and this maxim was supported time and again. I think he’s right. I think the Bible agrees.

I’ve been studying in Jeremiah, and one of the key themes is “repentance.” “Repentance” means “turning,” and so it can refer to turning to God, but it can also refer to turning away from God. The turnings multiply, and it proves the line from “Come, Thou Fount,” where it says, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; Prone to leave the God I love.” We have a pronation problem, a turning problem, and, we can’t cure this ourselves.

In fact, there are no natural solutions to our stupidity problems, or our wandering problems, or stubbornness (could we say, “you can’t cure stubborn”?). The health store doesn’t sell a product that cures arrogance; the hospital can’t surgically remove a nasty attitude; mental health providers won’t make you thoughtful and aware. They might help. They cannot heal our deepest problems.

Gilead, across the Jordan river to the east, was a source of balm, a medicine (probably from the word balsam, as in balsamic). God says to the world, “Go up to Gilead and seek balm.. You search out remedies in vain, for (but) your disease is incurable” (Jer 46:11 CEB). You can’t cure stupid, nor will you find in a destination like Gilead anything that comes close to healing the sickness of the soul.

But, there is a God who heals. We cannot fix ourselves, but He has promised healing. He does it in surprising ways, with surprising people (think Naaman, the Syrian general, the enemy of Israel). He cures the incurable. He raises the dead. Listen to these verses:

Jer. 30:17  ‘For I will restore you to health And I will heal you of your wounds,’ declares the LORD, 

Jer. 33:6 ‘Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth.

Perhaps you have found yourself to be incurable. You’ve tried every remedy that you could find in the self-help sources, and they have all failed. You keep doing the same stupid thing, or experiencing the same chronic condition, over and over. And still, there remains that weeping wound of whatever sort, and you are ready to give up. My friend is right, you can’t cure stupid, but God can, and will.

Open-Minded?

 Open-Minded?

Sunday, June 20, 2021

Are you open-minded? Or closed-minded? It’s a trick question, since our culture tells us to be open-minded, unless, of course, “they” disagree with me, then they don’t seem so open-minded themselves. But it’s a cultural virtue. Is it a Biblical virtue? I got to thinking about this during last week’s Sunday School class (attending Sunday School can get you thinking about things - you should try it!) - Bob has been working his way through 2 Corinthians, and the elite in that church were comparing Paul, unfavorably, to false prophets. The Corinthians were open-minded toward these popular, successful, fast-talking preachers (and they probably had really good hair). Paul, on the other hand, was closed-minded. That is, he had been grabbed hold of by God, convinced of the truth of the Gospel, and committed to making Christ known instead of himself. He was close-minded in that he had settled on this Truth, and built his life and ministry on that foundation.

Is it better to be agreeable, or disagreeable? That also is a trick question, and of a little different flavor. To agree means that we concur with a particular point of view. To be agreeable seems to have more to do with how we concur (or object). The Corinthians found Paul to be disagreeable, and the world finds Christians to be disagreeable, because we - you know what’s coming - because we disagree. Can we disagree without being disagreeable? You know by now, it’s a trick question.

In our world these days, you are disagreeable if someone finds you disagreeable, and many people find anyone that disagrees with them disagreeable. Paul could have been as gracious as apostles can be, and yet be charged with being disagreeable, just because many people cannot handle objections. 

And further, the subjects being debated were not insignificant (like whether a person should part their hair on the right or left) (for those that have an option). No, these statements have to do with the truth of God and His Son Jesus, and the truth of the Gospel. These truths have eternal significance, and these false apostles were trying to lead people away from heaven and straight to hell. Just exactly how “agreeable” or even “gracious” should Paul be in those cases (not a trick question)? A firm, impossible-to-be-misinterpreted statement of objection was definitely in order. 

Open-mindedness can lead to apostasy. Apostasy is bad, very bad.

Everybody Worships Something

When God created us, He created us as worshippers. We were designed to worship Him. Because of sin, much of humanity does not worship the one, true God. But they still worship something.

“They” say we now live in a secular society. That is, faith and religion in traditional forms are not so central as they once were. But even though church attendance may be in decline, still, everybody worships something.

It seems that people, when not devoted to worshipping God, will worship something in the realm of pleasure, or position, or power. An example of pleasure might be worshipping a sports team. And it would be hard to deny that a good segment of our society worships sports. A worship of position is illustrated by how job or salary makes one feel good about oneself. Many people worship their job title or portfolio. A worship of power is illustrated by a devotion to politics, living and dying with polls, pontificators, and elections.

Passionate worshippers of politics have grown more numerous of late. Their “preachers” are well-paid opinion-sharers on cable TV. Congregations of people sit in rapt attention, and are anxious to share their best quotes. Rallies are substitute church services. There is an understanding of how good worshippers in this “religion” should show their loyalty, how they should talk about certain issues, and how to determine who is “in” and “out”. It is no less worship than Israel at Passover, or Christians at Lord’s Table. Oh, the content is completely different. One is true; others are false. But the frameworks of the diverse manifestations of worship are similar.

A point that Christians must face is that, just as it was possible in the OT to sacrifice to God at the Temple and at the same time to sacrifice to Baal at the high places, so we can be guilty of professing to worship God in Christ with a whole heart, and yet be caught up with other activities of worship/ idolatry. And it’s wrong. God hates it. As John says at the end of  1 John, “little children, keep yourself from idols.”

Those who live and die with Jesus (as depicted in one’s baptism), are not to live and die with a sports team, with the stock market, or with a politician, a party, or an election. God designed us to worship Him, and to worship Him alone. In this area, God is not willing to share. He wants and expects all of our worship.

Perspective Takes Time

Gaining a proper perspective takes time. This struck me when I read about 1968, on its 50th anniversary, in 2018. We can now see seeds sown then that are bearing fruit (some pretty bad fruit) now.

We’ve just experienced a year or so of pandemic. There have been previous pandemics, and a Wall Street Journal article helps to put them in perspective. The “Spanish Flu” (which, by the way, started in Kansas) is dated as 1918, while COVID is dated as 2019. The increased death rates associated with those two events are compared, and we have a lot to be thankful for. Yes, the death rate in the US jumped 16% in 2020 after 90 years of improvement. The most recent time the death rate jumped more than that was 1918, and it was worse (1929, by the way, was much less).

That’s part of the perspective. It could have been much worse. Deaths in that time took place largely in younger people, and the way that they died was often marked by bloody eruptions. This is not to discount the sadness of death in older people, or to discount dying because of lung failure, as happened so many times this past year. Death is of the enemy, no matter how happens, or at what age. But as a part of the national psychology, 1918 was more horrific.

One thing that works against this perspective is that we now live in the information age. We receive more blasts of (or, “blasted”) information that our brains can process. We spout facts without context, or, that aren’t facts at all. The media is less a dispenser of truth than a generator of hysteria. And, we lose perspective.

We’ve been through a tough time, and the 100 year lesson teaches us that we have much to be thankful for. But there are even more important perspectives: Biblical, and eternal.

First, Biblically, our God as been faithful to His purposes and to His people for generation after generation. He has provided deliverance from countless, seemingly impossible predicaments, none greater than providing salvation so that we could be reconciled with Him. 

Second, eternally, we look forward to a future in which there will be pandemics, and no death. This present time will be regarded as a moment in time, and the sorrows of these days will be remembered no more. In that day, the “old” will be regarded as young - forever young, always in fellowship, eternally blessed. Perspective. We need more it, but it takes time.

A Little Less Gravity would be Nice

I’ve never dunked a basketball. I’m not sure I ever jumped and touched the rim of the basket. Maybe once. At this point, I’ve as good a chance to dunk as I do of landing on Mars. I suspect many of us are gravitationally challenged.

I also thought that there should be a restaurant downtown across from Gravity called Levity - you know, a cheap place, where you can go in and not take yourself too seriously. A little more balance would be nice.

I’m not sure about the etymology, but “gravity” seems related to “grave”, which reminds me of a tomb. A little less gravity would be nice. A little less earth-bound-ness. A little less discouragement and depression. A lot less filthiness. But you don’t take these things away and replace them with nothing. They need to be replaced with their opposites.

So an opposite of earthiness would be heavenliness. “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:1–2 NAS95) I couldn’t have said it better myself.

An opposite of discouragement and depression is hope. It involves a vision of a better and brighter future, unbound from the constraints of this world. “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.” (1 John 3:2 NAS95). Do you get the idea? Looking up. Looking forward. A little less gravity would be nice.

And an opposite of filthiness is purity. As we will see tomorrow with the 6th Beatitude, this is not just a call to Biblical morality (though it involves that, and we desperately need that). The call to purity is not a “try-harder” endeavor. It involves a different vision which we cannot have when captivated and consumed with things foolish, things corrupt and corrupting, things that rust and decay. Purity and joy (a better word than levity) are found when we live with Christ in view, at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us, preparing for us, protecting and providing for us.

I’m not sure which side of the street you prefer, but the promise of heaven vs. this worn-out world seems to be no-contest.

How Long?

The question occurs many times in the Bible, especially in the OT. Up until the psalms, it asks how long? men and nations will be stubborn and disobedient. But in Psalms, it is often referring to God and His timing, with regard to our enemies and adversities. Perhaps the classic example is from Habakkuk 1:2 - How long, O LORD, will I call for help, And You will not hear? 

We know, don’t we, that God is never in a hurry, and, He is never late. Think about that for a moment. Never in a hurry. Never late. He is not like us. Much of our upset is over our conflict with the clock, and our lack of success in getting it to speed up or slow down, since we find it almost impossible to match its pace.

Israel’s slavery in Egypt lasted 430 years - exactly the right time to accomplish God’s purposes, and yet it lasted generations. Israel’s wandering in the wilderness lasted 40 years, and Israel’s captivity in Babylon lasted 70 years. How long, O Lord? And yet it fit God’s timing, even if it did not fit the people’s prayers. After Malachi, there were 400 silent years before the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem - “In the fullness of time” says Galatians 4:4 - at just the right time, though to God’s people, it seemed as though they had been forgotten and their prayer unanswered.

We need to remember that we live in a so-called “instant” age, whether it applies to projects or problems or pudding. We want “instant” answers and results. Just Google it. Need cash? Go to the ATM, day or night. And when life isn’t instant, we are frustrated. Need to make a quick trip through town? Be prepared to stop at every stoplight, even though there are no other cars at the intersection. What a waste of precious time?

It might be easy to understand how we can think that God is slow. How long, O Lord? But, as Peter says, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness” (2 Pet 3:9). The Lord is not slow. He is never late, and He will not be hurried. There is a mystery to the madness, a purpose in the need for patience. He is accomplishing what we know little about, whether in our own lives, or in the lives of others. And we can trust Him.

So yes, I am preaching to myself. And yes, I am preaching to you.  As servants of God, we follow the dictates of the Master. We do not dictate to the Master the days or the years or even one’s lifetime. How long, O Lord? In His time. In His perfect time.

Don’t Get Upset

 “Don’t get fighting mad at evil people; don’t be envious of the wicked. Indeed, there is no future for the evil; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.” (Proverbs 24:19–20 CEB)

Older translations say “Don’t fret.” You probably don’t use the word “fret” often. “Don’t get upset” makes more sense. The trouble is, we find ourselves all too upset too much of the time. The Bible says we should settle down and focus on other things.

The phrase occurs 9 times in the Hebrew OT, and 3 of those are in Psalm 37. Further, Proverbs 24:19 replicates Psalm 37:1 (almost) word for word (see above). So here in these texts we have a good base to understand and apply a direction from the Lord that we tend not to consider: “Don’t get upset.”

Why? Why should we not get all agitated about the plans and prosperings of the wicked? Well, the Bible gives us some answers. Isn’t that a wonderful thing? The Bible actually gives good reasons for what God asks/commands us to do.

The first reason is stated often in Psalm 37, and is a regular theme throughout the Bible. We should not get upset about the wicked, because they will not last. They will “fade fast, like grass,” and “wither” (v.2); “Evildoers will be eliminated” (v.9). A longer section  describes it like this: “I myself have seen wicked powerful people, exalting themselves like a stately cedar. But when I came back, they were gone! I looked all over for them, but they couldn’t be found!” (vv. 35-36). Don’t get upset over vanishing threats.

Further, we should not get upset because it reveals that our focus has moved off from God and we have become fixated on something else - the evildoers. We cannot be “spiritually-minded” (thank you, John Owen) and at the same time be preoccupied with evildoers. What we need, for the nourishment and satisfaction of our souls, is to feed upon God. “Don’t get upset” is the 2nd phrase in verse 7. The first phrase reads like this: “Be still before the Lord, and wait for him.” It is tough, no impossible, to commune with God when we are all astir about other things.

The 3rd reason that we should obey the admonition from the Lord, “Don’t get upset,” is because it does bad stuff to us and in us. Verse 8 reads: “Let go of anger and leave rage behind! Don’t get upset - it will only lead to evil.” Now isn’t that something - that in our outrage, we are actually contributing to something that we object to. But that’s what happens when we adopt the world’s methods and attitudes. Let the world rage and outrage. But let the followers of Jesus rest in Him and in His promise.

Freedom and Autonomy are Not the Same Thing

Freedom is a difficult subject. We can be free from certain things, but we can never be free from everything (e.g., gravity; the need to breathe). We can be free to do certain things, but we cannot be free to do things contrary to our nature (e.g., fly like a bird). It is relative freedom, not absolute freedom. And we can have freedom from certain things that will allow us then freedom for certain things (e.g., giving up being single so one can be married).

Autonomy is something else. In different fields of study, these words, freedom and autonomy, can be defined differently. But thinking Biblically, what I’ve said about freedom fits. And while the word “autonomy” doesn’t occur in the Bible, it is communicated by the phrase, “every man did what was right in his own eyes” (Deut 12:8; Jdg 17:6; 21:25).

In our current society, freedom is being re-defined as autonomy. People think they should be able to to choose whatever they want, and, they expect the government to back up their rights to choose whatever. They believe they should answer to no one but their own feelings. And, the Christian community has not been immune. Many people now believe that the Body of Christ should bend to their beliefs, whether they are right or wrong; whether they are Biblical or not. And, in our current setting, we have not sufficiently developed the skill of clearly and kindly saying, “You are wrong, and this will not be tolerated.”

Now, coming back to freedom, the Bible gives some context about what it means to be free. One important point is that our freedom is found within the framework of a covenant. That is, by grace, God bestows favors (e.g., forgiveness) and privileges (e.g., service) upon those who find freedom in Christ. But that covenant does not give autonomy. It binds Christians in a web of wonderful relationships which carry special privileges.

Because it is a gracious covenant, Christians have the freedom to be gracious. But they are also bound to be gracious. An un-gracious, un-kind Christian is oxymoronic. Also, Christians find themselves loved with an infinite and everlasting love, initiated by God, which they did not earn or deserve; and that freedom carries with it not only the security of being loved but also the obligation to love even people who are most difficult to love. This is not autonomy. It is Christian freedom, according to the Bible.

Negligence and Diligence are not Alike

 They sound alike, but their meanings are polar opposites. Generally speaking, negligence will come back and bite you. On the other hand, diligence will contribute over time to good ends.

In Daniel’s most famous story, Daniel’s adversaries were zealous to find any dirt on him that they could. But here is their result: “they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him” (Dan 6:4). And so, as the text continues, they have to alter their method: 5 “Then these men said, “We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God.””

Now why did they think the could count on finding an accusation against Daniel with regard to the practice of his faith? It was because he was diligent in these things. “Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously” (Dan 6:10). Daniel’s opponents had convinced the king to adopt a deviously conceived law protected by a dumb custom (the law of the Meds and Persians cannot be altered). But Daniel’s diligence, practiced before, continued on.

The more common word “neglect” is used three times in Hebrews, with warnings against it:

Heb. 2:3 how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard,
Heb. 13:2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.
Heb. 13:16 And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

I’ll close with the passage we have been studying in these 50 days leading up to Easter: “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.” (2 Peter 1:5–7 NAS95)

Bearing Fruit on Barren Ground

In Kenya, a drought used to occur every five years or so. Recently, it has quickened to roughly every two years. How can you bear fruit on barren ground? Clean Leap is an NGO that helps struggling farmers in Africa and Asia find solutions. They have introduced the Melia volkensii tree. It’s “fruit” is really it’s wood, akin to mahogany, and it allows grasses to grow in it’s shade, which is an added benefit. The point? Yes, one can bear fruit on barren ground.

We have endured a year of pandemic and a spate of unsettling medical diagnoses as a local church. We have had to restrict our schedules and our ministries. We have lost skilled and helpful leaders. And it would make sense to think that this is not a season for fruit-bearing - not in a botanical sense, but in a spiritual and ministry sense.

The truth is that most valuable and necessary spiritual fruit actually grows not out of prosperity, but out of adversity. And God knows the fruit that He desires, and what is called for at any particular point in time. God designs/allows the situations in which that fruit can be forged by the testing and improvement of our faith (the Bible often mixes metaphors, such as farming and foundry work).

The most valuable and necessary fruit is often the most basic. In prosperity, Christians have less urgency to pray. In good health, we tend to take things for granted. When the church is full, we can often value each individual less. These things are not right, but they are common. God changes the lay of the land in order to address these things. This is not be wasted time for fruit-bearing.

Our Adult Sunday school class used a book a summer or so ago, called Evangelism as Exiles, by Elliot Clark. Here is a quote that I saved from that book:

“If we continue the pattern of waiting for perfect opportunities, they may never come. And our fate will be that of the wary farmer who observes the wind and doesn’t sow, who considers the clouds and never reaps (Eccles. 11:4). Such farmers have empty barns in winter. We too, if we’re too busy trying to discern the times, raising a moistened finger to the wind to see if someone is ready to respond to the gospel, will likely never see a harvest of souls. We’ll never open our mouths to speak, because we’ll be waiting for a better day. But better days don’t seem to be on the horizon.” 

Honoring the Lord’s Table

We come this week to the first Sunday of the month. We plan to again observe Lord’s Table as a part of our Morning Worship. And, as we gather for worship in this way, we want honor, not profane, the Lord’s Table.

In the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, the people were charged by the Lord with the offense of profaning the Lord’s table, or altar. Jesus, of course, had not yet instituted the ordinance of the Lord’s table, and yet the Old Testament community had been taught the standards by which they could approach the table/altar - only with acceptable sacrifices. They had been bringing blemished sacrifices, and the Lord was not pleased (Malachi 1:6-14).

Is this same offense possible for us today? Yes, in a sense. We come to the Lord’s table, and it is “the Lord’s” for two reasons: 1) because He is the Lord of the table; at the head of the table, so to speak; and 2) because He is the One who gave of Himself, so that the emblems of the table point directly to Him.

I would suggest that we can be guilty of profaning the Lord’s table if we make it more about us than about Him. How would we do that? By celebrating our goodness rather than our sinfulness. By coming proudly and arrogantly, as though we were saved in some other way than the abundant mercies of our Savior. By elevating ourselves in our minds over others who may not be present.

One of the amazing things about Malachi’s audience is that they were not even aware of their sin. Whenever God would bring a charge against them, they would say, “How have we profaned the Lord’s table?” They could not even see their sin when they were confronted with it! We must not think that we are naturally more perceptive than they. We need to take this warning to heart, and embrace the Lord of the table; the Savior who mercifully saves sinners, like us.

One further note: these “worshippers” in Malachi were also guilty of regarding their sacrificial offering as “tiresome.” Over and over again, they would come to offer sacrifices, and some were doing it on the cheap. And, over and over we come to the Lord’s table, “in remembrance of Me (Jesus).” If it becomes tiresome to us, then we are not grasping the wonder of Christ’s sacrifice for us. Let us come prepared, to set self aside, and to present our hearts open to Him.

The State of our Temples

Temples are places where people meet with their god(s). There are temples of all sorts, through the ages and all over the world. I am suggesting that in America, we should look where people have congregated, and notice what is happening.

One of the most remarkable of our secular temples is the shopping mall. People come from all over to see what is offered; to get what they want. The god? Materialism. We leave with our shopping bags, and we are fulfilled.

Now, caveats. Not everyone who goes to a mall is involved in idolatrous worship. But many are, though they don’t know it. Hear what they say: “It’s been so long since I’ve been to a mall;” or, “I just feel refreshed when I shop at the mall.”

But as we know, the mall is in decline. And if I am right, that this is one facet of our society’s secular worship, we should have expected its decline, since only God can truly satisfy.

Our stadiums also serve as places of secular worship. Fans are extremely passionate about their “god,” their local team in this form of entertainment. They spend a lot of time thinking about what they worship (e.g., all day sports radio). And the amount of money spent for tickets and paid to players and coaches shows that there is something more than “market forces” going on here. People sacrifice a great deal to be a part of the “team.” And while malls may be in decline, sports are getting on just fine. Their religion is growing.

It is interesting that churches have looked to shopping mall and sports stadiums to find “what works” for church growth. If they can get that many people, perhaps we can do the same. Fly a drone overhead, and you might have a hard time telling the difference between Twelve Oaks and Kensington Church. Or how about renting out a sports stadium, as Lakewood Church in Texas has done? And, one could wonder if there isn’t elements of materialism and entertainment that draws people, who should be gathering to worship, not out of hunger for those things, but rather, hunger for God.

But we know our Temple, right? Jesus is the cornerstone; believers as the “living stones.” It is not church buildings, and it is not what churches have to offer. It’s not the Place (or Program); it’s the Person, along with those related to Him by faith in who He is and what He has done.

This is the Way; Walk In It

Our men’s breakfast speaker has emphasized “simple” approaches in the face of complicated lives. He has applied this to prayer and Bible reading. Scripture applies it to all of life. Here it is: “This is the way; walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21).

This simple instruction appears in a complicated chapter. But it is not God who does the complicating. It is us. It is us when we rebel; it is us when we listen and follow the world. It is us when we clog up our lives with too many other things. It is us when we re-shape our religion to suit and serve ourselves rather than to do things God’s way. 

So what does God do? He sends us a Teacher. Some of our English translations capitalize this word: Teacher. We know what that means. Our Teacher is Jesus, whom the Father has sent to us, to Save us and to Teach us - who says to us: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by Me” (John 14:6). 

So what is He saying? Simply, He says this: “Follow Me.” “This is the Way; Walk in it.”

We may object and say that it’s not that simple. But be careful. “Simple” and “easy” are not the same things (I told you it was a complicated chapter). Along with the simple statement, “This is the way; walk in it,” is also this statement: “Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction..” (Is 30:20). That’s not easy. But the instruction is still simple: “This is the way; walk in it.”

You notice that I didn’t finish the sentence above. Following the “though” phrase, there is a “yet” phrase: “Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity or the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore.” That is, the more tested we are; the more our concerns mount; the more our fears increase - the more there will be sense of the presence of our Savior as we seek to follow the instruction: “this is the way; walk in it.” That is, as we seek to walk in Jesus’ shadow, aware of His gentle love, praying to display His gracious character, begging Him for His shepherding care and supernatural healing of our minds and our bodies; our churches and our families; our hearts and our souls.

When life is hard, don’t make it complicated. It’s a call to that which is simple. Talk to Jesus. He knows. He cares. “This is the way; walk in it.” 

I Didn’t Win the Lottery

 I didn’t win the lottery. I suppose my chances would have been better had I bought a ticket, but not all that much.

There’s been a lot of attention drawn to the winning ticket sold at the Beck Rd. Kroger store this past week. Someone (or, a group of persons) are in line to collect a billion dollars, or, after taxes, half that. There has been a rumor that a group of Novi teachers won. A principal wrote a post that said he won the lottery, not in $$, but in life’s riches and blessings. It was a good post. A nice response.

But as I have thought about how I might respond, I concluded it would be better to publicly declare that I didn’t win the lottery. I really don’t care if you buy a ticket or not, but I’ve never bought one. There are better risks to take. I disagree with the state promoting a system that encourages those who are already in a financial hole to dig even deeper, perhaps out of desperation, because they see no reasonable way out, except to win “the big one.” I don’t like what has been reported about the after-effects of winning a huge prize - wholesale change of lifestyle and friends, and often divorce. It’s an entertaining system, and provokes interesting discussions (what would we do with all that money?). But it is not healthy. And the Bible tells us as much.

Prov. 28:22 A man with an evil eye hastens after wealth 

And does not know that (poverty) will come upon him.

1Tim. 6:9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.

I’m not sure that every person who buys a ticket has “an evil eye,” but I am pretty sure he’s focused on the the wrong thing. I don’t think that every person will do every wrong thing with their winnings, if they are among the infinitesimally small percentage who win - but I am sure that their winnings will cause more problems than they know.

And I think the whole subject obscures the wonderful truth concerning the tremendous riches that belong to the children of God through Christ - a wealth of a different order.

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9 NAS95)

OverLords and Underlings

Mankind is to “rule” creation. Creation is not to rule mankind. This “rule” is to be representative of God’s rule, since He was, and is, and always will be the ultimate Maker and Ruler of all of creation. Our rule should be reflective of His character and priorities, honoring such things as righteousness and justice; things like compassion and mercy.

But the point of this article is the one already made, that whatever authority we have to rule, it is always an under-authority.

The kings of Israel were called “sons of God” in that they, in a special way, were anointed to represent and rule God’s people as God would. They ruled best when they remembered this fact, and they ruled oh-so-poorly when they forgot. There were always, at most, under-kings. Not super-kings. Under-kings.

It is not unusual to hear humans talk about their creativity. We were created with an aptitude for creativity, (some more than others) whether the benefits would be practical or aesthetic. You might hear someone say, “Oh, you are so creative.” But our creativity is always derived. We are at best manipulators of God’s creation. We certainly don’t create ex nihilo, out of nothing, as the Great Creator does. Those creatives around us that we admire, they are under-creators. It’s not bad. It’s not nothing. But there is a difference.

We are often impressed by athletes: their strength, coordination, discipline, and commitment. We marvel at their physiques and their mental toughness. And we can aspire to these things (though, face it, most of us are rather ordinary). But we should be careful in making heroes of these individuals. It is not wrong to celebrate their accomplishments, and to admire their dedication. But God gives to each person gifts and aptitudes, as He wills and wishes, and many of us were not cut out to run fast or jump high. But the strongest, fastest and toughest should remember that God is stronger, faster, and tougher.

Perhaps the best Biblical statement on this subject is from Jesus Himself: “you know that the Gentiles are over-lords; .. “not so you.” .. “For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” (Mark 10:42-45)

So even when we serve, and serve well, we are but under-servants. We are only able to serve because He first served us.

The Dark Precedes the Bright

The life of the Christian is framed by triumph and overcoming. That is because it is not so much about our daily experience, but by the triumph of Christ over sin and death; by His overcoming that is shared with His followers. But that does not tell the whole story of our daily experience, does it?

Psalm 102 admits to this truth, that though we are overcomers, we are still beset by many problems and trials. It is one of the reasons that we are compelled to cry out to God. The pains are real pains. The fears are real fears. The sorrows are real sorrows.

Psalm 102, in its “dark” portion, uses several similes to describe our condition: “my days pass away like smoke”; “my bones burn like a furnace”; My heart is stricken and withered like grass” (vv. 3,4). These are not “just” poetic descriptions. The psalmist struggles to find word-pictures to express the distress of his soul at this particular point of his life. And you may be able to relate.

The psalmist is not done yet: “I am like a lonely bird on a housetop” (v.6); “I eat ashes like bread” (v.9); “My days are like an evening shadow” (v.11).  No one makes plans for a “lonely bird” experience, feeding on “ashes” and passing like “an evening shadow.” And yet, these are real, and common, experiences for many, many people at unsuspecting times in their lives. 

The turning point comes mid-psalm, reflecting the reality that we find in these familiar words from Romans 8:18 -  “that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” 

And so we move from the “dark” side of the psalm to the “bright” side - to the side where God is on the throne, and He has everything in hand. He is not unaware of the distresses of His children, and He hears their prayers, though it may seem at times as though He does not. He is of such a heart to help the downcast and oppressed, and He will do so, at just the right time, in just the right way.

Here are words to a verse of an old hymn:

Come, every soul by sin oppressed 

There's mercy with the Lord

And He will surely give you rest 

By trusting in His Word