Armed and Dangerous

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I don’t want to be overly dramatic. We’re so used to hearing exaggerated speech these days that I think most of us tune it out. And in a world full of violence, to equate mere words with flying bullets seems like just more over-the-top hyperbole trying and failing by its very nature to make the point. Yet if more of us took the same care with our words as we would with a loaded gun, much pain and suffering could be avoided. We all bear the wounds. Time can heal them, but they always leave scars. As you can never put the bullet back into the gun once it has been fired, you can never recall a word once spoken.

When it comes to guns, we get it. Some of us are unduly afraid of them, but we all do well to treat them with appropriate caution. We take care to keep children from getting hurt with them. We don’t point them at things or people we don’t want to shoot. We make sure that people who want to carry them know how to use them safely. They are weapons with which people can be killed. No sane individual believes they should be used and handled carelessly.

When it comes to words, we don’t get it. They fly out so easily. They don’t require thought or preparation. We learn to use them as children, and some of us never get beyond using them as children do. We are prepared for war, and we shoot at the slightest provocation. We treat words cheaply. We play with dangerous weapons like a child who believes he has a toy when in fact he has the real thing. There are a few of us with enough power to kill the body, by proxy, with the spoken word. All of us have the power to kill the spirit. I speak metaphorically of course in the latter sense. Only God has that power in reality.

Please don’t be careless with your words. You may never know how they affect those around you. Not to mention your own life. Look at what James writes in the Bible.

2 For we all stumble in many ways If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. 3 Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. 4 Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. 5 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. (James 3:2-6)

I hate to see anything taken out of its context, so I feel compelled to know that this chapter begins, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.” This is an admonishment specifically directed at those of us who are drawn or called to teach others. We especially must guard what we say, because we have been given a greater sphere of influence. Nevertheless, the teaching is true for everyone. Take care how you use your words.

Ice Water in Our Veins: How Should We Respond to Popular Donation Campaigns that Violate Our Values?

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The latest donation sensation if the Ice Bucket Challenge, an effort by the ALS Association to raise money for research to cure the disease. However, some Christian and prolife groups have raised a concern. The association supports embryonic stem cell research. For details, check out this article from Live Action News. Because of this, we are advised that we should not donate to this organization.

I agree. For similar reasons, I do not support the Susan G. Komen Foundation or the Foundation Fighting Blindness. In fact I found myself in an uncomfortable situation at work a couple of years ago because of it. There is a disability related group of employees that chooses a charitable organization each year to get behind. I had just become aware of the group and was excited to be a part of it. They were happy to tell me that The Foundation Fighting blindness was the focus that year. I went home and looked it up. I learned that they too support embryonic stem cell research. Neither to the murder of children in the womb by Planned Parenthood, supported by Komen, nor the murder of the embryo in a test tube perpetrated in the name of science, will I be an accomplice.

So then, if we are sympathetic to these causes, what should we do? How do we look to the world when we rail against these organizations that are seen as and in fact may be largely forces for good? I think we need to take it a step further. We should warn people against contributing to these organizations if they will not cease to fund these atrocities, but we should do a little leg work and provide alternative ways that people can help the cause. Charities like these are aggregators. They take donations and forward them, less varying degrees of administrative costs, to efforts they deem worthy of support. They can perform a useful service, having the knowledge and resources that we as individuals typically do not have. The cut they take may be seen as a reasonable cost to leverage that knowledge. However, when they fail in their mission, supporting death in the name of life, then the duty returns to us. We must either find similar organizations that do the same thing with integrity or seek out the people who actually do the work.

Regarding the Ice Bucket Challenge, I just ran across an article from the Baptist Press that lists some organizations that support only adult stem cell research, which is the only kind that has yielded any benefit. They are: the Midwest Stem Cell Therapy Center, the Adult Stem Cell Technology Center, LLC and Dr. Anthony Windebank’s team at the Mayo Clinic. I’m sure there are others. Let us not only be responsible in our own giving, but also when we stand against something, provide an alternative that gives people and avenue for doing the good they want to do. Otherwise, we are sending the wrong message.

Polls Show People Leaning Republican; Is that Good?

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Folks who know me might be surprised by this title. “I thought you were a Republican,” they might say. Yes, though I am not at all happy with some of the decisions coming out of the party or the things some of our leadership have done, I still call myself a Republican. I believe throwing support behind a third party is ignoring the reality in which we live. I think the best shot we have at affecting the political landscape is to join the party that is closest to our beliefs and work within it to bring about the changes we want.

So why would I ask if it’s a good thing that we may pick up more voters this November? Because first of all I am a Christian. I’m concerned with hearts. I know that when we make the right decisions for the wrong reasons, it’s only a matter of time before we go back to making bad ones. Being certain that Republicans have the better prescription for getting our country back to what it should be, I am glad to hear that more people may vote Republican. However, sooner or later the wind will shift. It may be brought on by another economic downturn, a terrorist attack, or something no one yet foresees, but it will happen.

So yes, it’s a good thing for now, but it will be a hollow victory if we don’t see a fundamental change in the character of our people. There was a time when the differences between us were those of policy and method with a generally held set of moral principles held by all parties. Now, when one party boldly stands behind sexual perversion and the murder of the unborn, the choice seems clear at least who anyone calling themselves followers of Jesus.

After my essay on not giving needless offense I should probably moderate my words, but it is difficult for me to understand how any Christian, having been educated in what the Democrats stand for, can retain that affiliation. Remain independent if you must, but don’t stand with evil.

Well-meaning people can have disagreements on social and economic policy, but I would ask you to consider this. If you know a person to be immoral, is it reasonable to think that this character flaw will not affect other areas of his life? If an ideology is morally bankrupt, might we reasonably second guess those parts that seem on the service to be good? We can’t separate morality from policy. Policy is based on moral principles.

But I’ve gone now well beyond the point at which I fear we find ourselves. Most voters aren’t concerning themselves with issues of morality or good policy. They’re voting in the emotion of the moment. If they feel good and their wallets are full then the incumbents win the day. If things aren’t going so well the challengers prevail. This selfish mindset comes naturally to us. It is only overruled by the transforming work of the Holy spirit. I consider leaning Republican to be good in the short run, but if we don’t start leaning on Jesus, we’re going to fall hard.

Needless offense

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It has been a while since I’ve written anything of substance here. I can offer several reasons, but maybe I just needed time for the thoughts I’m about to express to come together into a code of conduct that I hope to honor from this point forward. I hope that before I’m done you’ll make the same kinds of choices in the future.

I’m talking about offending people to no purpose. There is no way we can go through life without giving offense. That goes especially for Christians. Jesus told us as much. Some people will be offended by the truth. That must not keep us from speaking the truth. We are to do so lovingly, but we must do it.

There are also times when we ought to be angry. God gets angry. Jesus got angry. If we are angry about the same things, we can be said to have a righteous anger. Abuse, deception, and injustice are a few examples.

The problem is that our motivations are usually not so pure. We usually recognize selfish or mean behavior for what it is, but we’ll give it a pass if it’s directed at someone we don’t like or with whom we disagree. We might even indulge in it ourselves. I confess that I’ve been guilty.

Other times we’re rightfully angry about something, but we choose to express it in ways that do more harm than good. When we call names, cast aspersions upon, or otherwise belittle those who we disagree with, we have lost the high ground. We may still be right, but we will not be heard by anyone that doesn’t already agree with what we’re saying. It’s a great way to build a fan club, but not very effective at winning converts to our point of view. Even if the object of our scorn is entirely deserving thereof, we gain little by expressing it in ways that alienate those we would hope to convince.

I don’t mean to say that we should not point out evil when we see it. We should. In fact we have a duty to do so. Jesus Himself used some very harsh language at times. We would do well to know when and to whom. We would also do well to recognize that we lack His level of discernment and prayerfully consider everything that we say when we feel the need to speak out.

To anyone that I have offended, Please accept my apology for things I said that should have been left unsaid. We may still disagree and I of course still believe I’m right. 🙂 But my first duty is to love you. That love may compel me to try to convince you, but if it is not done respectfully, it is not love and you have a right to be offended and to call me out.

A Good Church

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I have the honor of speaking again this week at Bartimaeus Baptist Temple, where as I have opportunity I’ve been speaking on the deliverers who picture Jesus in the Old Testament. But this week I was reading in Revelation 2:1-7. Jesus is speaking to the church at Ephesus. He has several good things to say about it, but then one bad thing that cancels out all the rest.

I bet if we went to that church, we would think it was a pretty good one. They believed in pure doctrine and wouldn’t tolerate false teachers. Its members worked hard and kept their faith in the face of persecution. If it were here today, it would probably have a good preacher who stayed true to the Bible and lots of ministry opportunities.

But Jesus didn’t seem to think so. For all the good things, He had one thing against them, and it was so serious that He would not allow them to remain a church unless they repented. They left their first love. He says, “remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place–unless you repent.” (2:5) All of those things that Jesus Himself said were good about that church didn’t matter, because they forgot the reason for their existence, to be the bride of Christ.

It doesn’t matter how big we grow. It doesn’t matter how nice our building looks. It doesn’t matter how many good things we do. It doesn’t matter if we are doing good things that no one else is doing. It only matters if He is our first love and everything we do is motivated by that love. He did say, “”If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15) Notice that the love comes first. When we do what we do out of love, we are not just a good church, we’re a great church! Come and let’s take a closer look at the Ephesian church and what Jesus had to say to it. I’m getting this out rather late, but there’s still time to get there. We meet at 2:30 in the afternoon. If you miss it, keep an eye on the web site for the podcast. I’m excited about this one.

Without Defect

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Any man from Aaron the priest’s offspring in whom is a physical defect shall not come near to present offerings made by fire to Yahweh; a physical defect is in him; he shall not come near to present his God’s food. (Leviticus 21:21 Lexham English Bible)

How is one who has a disability to deal with this law? It’s hard not to take exception to it, and many have. Even a devout believer may feel hurt by it. I confess that I have. Even though I am aware that this was a regulation specifically for the priesthood, meant to emphasize the necessity of perfection we cannot obtain, it stings. Combine that with a lifetime of always having in the back of my mind that somehow if I could only have enough faith or find some missing piece I could be healed and you have a toxic concoction of perceived inadequacy and failure.

Snippets of scripture taken from their context are usually not properly applied. This one is no different. Taken outside of the regulations for the priesthood it seems harsh indeed. Yet there’s another little bit of text from the New Testament that really spoke to me recently and took out some of the sting of the Levitical stricture.

And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. (Matthew 21:14 NASB)

It’s almost an aside. Nothing much is made of it. Jesus just did that sort of thing everywhere He went. But in the context of the law and who He is, you can find the whole of the Gospel story right there. Our sins, our defects if you will, keep us from approaching a holy God. Anything less than perfection dies in the presence of His holiness. At that time only the high priest could come into the Holy of Holies once a year to offer the blood of the sacrifice. If he hadn’t done everything just so, if he was impure in any way, he would die. He had bells on his robe and a rope tied around his ankle so that if he died while in there he could be dragged out without anyone else having to go in.

Now look at this situation again. Yahweh in the person of Jesus has come out of the Holy of Holies and is with the common people in the temple. Those who could not serve as priests whether they were of Aaron’s line or not were coming to Him, and He was healing them. We could not go to Him, but He came to us and removed that which prevented us. Thus he would do for all of humankind not long after this episode as he died on the cross and rose again.

Rejoice in what He has done for you. From now on, if He so wills, I will happily serve as a living example of those who could not be in His presence except for His power to make all things new. After all, that is true for any of us. Without His cleansing sacrifice, we are all defective.

Your Disability is No Excuse

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If you grew up in Sunday School, you probably know the story of Moses at the burning bush. You can look it up in Exodus, chapters 3 and 4. It would seem from the way it reads that Moses had, or at least felt that he had, some level of speech impediment.  God’s response seems to support this.  It has also been suggested that he simply refers to the fact that he had not used the Egyptian language in forty years.  The message is the same in either case.  No kind of impediment can stand in the way of Yahweh.

When God has overcome each of his prior objections, he comes to this one. Was it the root of his fear all along? We are not told. What we are told is that God finally becomes angry with Moses.

10 And Moses said to Yahweh, “Please, Lord, I am not a man of words, neither recently nor in the past nor since your speaking to your servant, because I am heavy of mouth and of tongue.” 11 And Yahweh said to him, “Who gave a mouth to humankind, or who makes mute or deaf or sighted or blind? Is it not I, Yahweh? 12 So then go, and I myself will be with your mouth, and I will teach you what you must speak.” 13 And he said, “Please, Lord, do send anyone else whom you wish to send.” 14 And Yahweh was angry with Moses and said, “Is there not Aaron your brother the Levite? I know that he certainly can speak, and also there he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will rejoice in his heart. 15 And you will speak to him, and you will put words in his mouth, and I myself will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you must do. 16 And he will speak for you to the people, and then he will be to you as a mouth, and you will be to him as a god. (Ex 4:10-16 Lexham English Bible)

This is pure speculation, but I wonder if Yahweh would have established the Levitical priesthood through Moses rather than Aaron if it had not been for Moses’ reluctance to do what He asked. What we can definitely learn from this is that when God calls us, we should answer without hesitation. Whatever the challenge you are facing, He is able to overcome it. If He has given you a mission, don’t delay in carrying it out.

You might say that He has never spoken to you in a burning bush or in any discernible way for that matter. I do believe that we should be in the kind of relationship with Yahweh that involves some level of discernible communication. I believe that we cannot be very effective without it. Having said that, we already have His written word. Start there, and as you meditate on His word , you will find His Holy Spirit guiding you. Act on what you find there. Don’t let your perceived shortcomings get in the way. God says to Paul, “”My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.“ (2 Corinthians 12:9 NASB)

Are You Ready to Hear His Voice

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This Sunday, I have the honor of speaking at Bartimaeus Baptist Temple. I will be asking a question that was asked of me once as a teenager. I had gone through a time of questioning, thinking that serving God was just more than I could handle, but I came back and repented at the altar. I told God and the man who was praying with me that I just wanted to hear His voice. I may never know whether the man truly spoke for God or not, but I think he did. He asked, “Are you ready to hear My voice?”

What a question! How many of us have said to the Lord, “Just tell me what You want and I will do it?” Would we? Are we truly ready to hear from Him? He said, “… From everyone who has been given much, much will be required…” (Luke 12:48) Are we ready for the cost, the responsibility and the reward that comes from that kind of relationship with Him? If we’re really followers of Him, do we have a choice?

27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. (John 10:27-28 NASB)

If you’re in the area, join us this Sunday! We meet at 2:30, so you can probably even come if you normally attend another church service.

Sovereignty, Justice, and Mercy

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23 “And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. 24 “Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.” (Matt 11:23-24)

In the past, the reading of this passage has been accompanied either by a sense of the weight of the judgment being pronounced, or by a sort of self-righteous agreement with what Jesus is saying. Today it struck me differently. Sodom has become a symbol for us of perversion and wickedness, yet Jesus says that if he had come to them and done the same miracles there that He did at Capernaum, they would have repented! Now I see here the sovereignty, justice, and mercy of God.

When we read the story of Sodom and Gomorrah from Genesis 19, most of us will correctly conclude that they got what they deserved. Yet Jesus says here that He could have saved them. So, couldn’t He have done something to save them then? If not coming in person, couldn’t the Angels have accomplished similar wonders through the power of God and turned the city around? I suppose He could have, but He didn’t. He was under no obligation to do so. He was just in exacting punishment for their wickedness.

From this I am reminded of two things. God is under no obligation to extend to us mercy instead of judgment, but He has chosen mercy. And no one to whom He has chosen to show mercy is beyond His reach.

In Remembrance of Me

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Last Sunday I conducted my first communion service. As I was preparing for it, practicing over and over the verses from Luke 22:19-20 that we traditionally read as we take the elements together, I reflected on that phrase, “do this in remembrance of me.” What was Jesus saying? I think it is much more than what we might read today in light of our traditions. The context of this passage in which Jesus instituted what we call depending on our backgrounds The Lord’s Supper, communion, or the Eucharist, expresses the whole of who He is and what He came to do.

After all that rehearsal in preparation for being in a setting where I wouldn’t have a free hand to read a Braille page with, I still didn’t get it quite right. I think I mixed in a different version or maybe even a different passage as I repeated those verses. I was so worried about messing up that I messed up. How often we do that in our walk with the Lord. We try to remember everything we’re supposed to do and we try so hard to do it, yet in the process we miss the point. It is the communion with Himself that Jesus wants from us. It is the fellowship and sharing together that should mark our walk with Him.

In our modern society, we seem more than ever to be slaves to our calendars. There have always been special days, but now with the help of our technology we can schedule our lives down to the minute. I’ve never quite understood it. We’ve turned a tool for marking time into a taskmaster that dictates when we rest, when we rejoice, and when we remember. As the arbitrary New Year approaches, we typically take time to remember. We evaluate the year past and make resolutions about what we want to do in the year to come. That’s not a bad thing. It is good to evaluate where we’ve been and where we want to go from time to time. It is good to resolve to do those things we know we ought to do. I would say that if you know there’s something you need to do, don’t wait on the calendar. Make that resolution today!

But let us not forget that it is relationship that our Lord seeks. When we learn the meaning of communion with Him and thereby with one another, we will find joy, life, peace, and love. I hope you will join us this Sunday at Bartimaeus Baptist Temple as we explore communion together. We meet at 2:30, so you don’t even have to miss your regular service.