There’s a place I know. It’s a place I go
when I’ve nowhere else.
Shades of gray help me stay within the walls of sanity.
All is vanity.
Leave it for the rest.
Emotion, such a troublesome notion;
I prefer devotion to something I can understand.
A chip in the hand
is better than the shoulder
crushed beneath a boulder.
Let it roll away.
Retreat into the gray.
Survive another day.
LOOP
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'” (Matt 7:21-23)
I don’t know about you, but when I read that, I can’t help feeling just a little uncomfortable. After all, don’t’ the people Jesus is talking about here sound like pretty amazing Christians? How many people do you know who go around casting out demons and performing miracles in the name of Jesus? How many of them are sane? Don’t misunderstand me. Jesus gave us the power to do those things when they fall within His plan, but I don’t think He has much to do with some of the things we see.
Yet it would seem these folks are really committed. If Jesus would say to them, “I never knew you,” what would He say to me? Never mind the showy stuff. I wonder if I even get the basics right. Do I pray enough? Do I study the Bible enough? How many have I helped to come to Jesus?
I’m so thankful that He is love. He needs all those attributes that Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 13 just to put up with me. The amazing thing is that He doesn’t see it that way. He doesn’t have to try to love us. That is who He is.
I have the pleasure of speaking at our church this week as we’re wrapping up a six week study designed to help us move from being merely fans of Jesus to being true followers. I hope we have come to see that it means we will have to make some changes in our lives. Why? It’s not because we didn’t’ check off all the to-dos in our holy day planner. It’s not that we missed church last Sunday or didn’t put anything in the offering plate. It’s that we haven’t paid enough attention to what He really wants. He may want us to do those other things, but He wants our love first.
When we love someone, we do everything we can to please them. We don’t do it because we’re afraid of what will happen if we don’t. We do it because it brings us joy to make them happy. We sacrifice willingly, and their pleasure is our reward. Jesus loved us so much that He gave His life for us. Are we willing to love Him back that much? It’s a choice we will have to make every day of our lives.
I hope you will join us as we wrap up our study. Even if you have never been there before, I know that God has a message just for you this Sunday. See you there!
Bartimaeus Baptist Temple
6929 Day St.
Dallas, TX 75227
Earlier this week, lifenews.com published the story of an elderly woman in The Netherlands who died by assisted suicide, the primary reason being that she was going blind due to macular degeneration. She was also experiencing other age related problems. This hit a little close to home and made me both angry and sad.
I am saddened because I happen to know that blindness is not a fatal illness. It needn’t have prevented her from doing any of the things she liked to do provided she made appropriate accommodation. This woman was in her 80s, but where does it stop? Did the fact of her advanced age make her life less valuable than someone who is half her age? Some would say it does. If there is any life worth more than another I think they have it backwards. The wisdom and experience that should accumulate with age make the elderly a precious resource from whom we should be learning, not discarding with the trash!
It’s bad enough that this can happen anywhere in the world, but it could have just as easily been here. Oregon, Montana and Washington have assisted suicide laws. It should not surprise us. Once we decided that the life of the unborn could be forfeit in the name of our convenience, why not anyone who becomes in our estimation more trouble than their worth? It pains me to know that many of the precious members of our church might not be here if some had their way.
Life is precious! Life belongs to Yahweh, the giver of life (Gen 2:7; Deut 32:39; John 5:24.) We have no right to take it on our own initiative, whether it is the life of someone else or our own (Gen 9:6). I for one choose to agree with God and encourage those who are struggling to find the value that He places on their lives; I will not agree with Satan, who comes to kill, steal, and destroy.
This is a cautionary tale for anyone with a job to do. It happens to be about a technical issue, but the same thing could apply to whatever profession occupies your working day. Apply it to any situation where you’re work represents the interests of others, whether you are paid or not. Obviously if you are identified with the mistake it reflects poorly on you, but it may be that no one can identify the culprit. It doesn’t matter. There is still a cost.
It happened yesterday morning. One of the companies we do business with presented me with an offer to get an app for interacting with them on my smart phone. In general I am not afraid to do business online, but I’m a little tentative when it comes to doing it over a wireless connection. However, I suspect the risk is not significant as long as the security is done right, so I decided to try it. After all, this company takes great care with security and my experience with their online services overall has been exceptional. They also do a good job with accessibility so I was curious if the Android offering would be useable.
This time the experience was not so great. First of all, it took too many steps. The Android market can be accessed directly from the computer and apps sent to the phone. There was no need to send me a text message which I had to then access from my phone and click the link. Whether they considered that an additional security measure or just wanted to collect my cell number I can’t say. Had they not added this step, things probably would have worked out. As it was, the process broke down. The link I got in the text message didn’t work. I tried two different browsers just to be sure. Could this be a problem with needing to craft the link differently based on the carrier? Maybe, but that is why developers do testing before they implement. I’m on a major carrier. That’s no excuse.
I never tried the app. I probably could have hunted it down myself in the market, but now my already shaky confidence in the safety of online transactions by wireless is eroded further. At least in the case of this institution, I don’t trust their code. If they can’t even get the download process right, how much care did they take with the app itself? It might be the best app ever, but it might also be full of security holes just waiting for a hacker to exploit, and it would be a tempting target.
That error alone isn’t sufficient to make me consider moving my business elsewhere, but combined with other degradation of service I am seeing, I am wondering if it might be time to move on. I suppose that statement weakens my point. It isn’t just this one problem that may prompt me to terminate my relationship with this company, but it may be the proverbial last straw. So, a simple typo may cost this company a loyal customer of many years. If you are in IT, THIS IS WHY WE NEED TO TEST EVERY PART OF THE PROCESS!
I think I will mostly be repeating things I’ve already written here, but the reality of what I will say is fresh in my mind because of a book I finished reading a couple of weeks ago. I won’t mention the author, because I have a lot of respect for him and don’t want to diminish the value of his other work for someone who may choose to read him.
This particular book was on the subject of worship. It contained a lot of useful information about how to work well with a worship team and conduct a smooth service with opportunity for the Holy Spirit to lead. I have never been a worship leader, so my opinion isn’t worth much, but it appeared to me to contain much good advice. If you are a worship leader in the Charismatic tradition, it would probably help you. That is, if I would identify it.
Here’s the problem. The author made a lot of assumptions about how worship should be conducted based more on the tradition of which he is a part than on scriptural foundation. A smattering of Biblical references is to be found, but the underlying assumptions are not really supported. They cannot be, because in fact they are nothing more than embellishment of our own traditions salted with a few pinches of scripture to legitimize them. I am sure this is not an intentional deception. We are all influenced to some degree by our culture and upbringing. I think it likely that I will learn over time that some of my beliefs have no better foundation.
God is gracious and merciful. When people genuinely to see to connect with Him, He often responds. Sometimes He does something entirely new. The danger for us is that when this happens we set about trying to reproduce the conditions as they were the first time and try to get a repeat performance. We shift from seeking a genuine experience with God to seeking whatever particular manifestation we saw before. Though we may do it in ignorance, I am not sure how much better we are than dabblers in the occult who perform rituals in the hope that they will elicit a parlor trick from some unseen force.
I am not bashing the charismatic or Pentecostal worship experience. In fact I believe that other traditions could benefit from the freedom it offers. Over the years some of that has slowly leaked across denominational boundaries. I have been in some beautiful worship services where the presence of God was evident. On the other hand, I have been in services where at best the participants were emotionally charged and at worse the spirit in evidence had nothing holy about it.
As we seek to know and worship Yahweh, let us turn away from our templates and formulas from whatever tradition they may come. Let us allow Him to guide us into an intimacy free of false expectation so that we may learn to worship Him as He ought to be worshiped. This will take us beyond the mere singing of songs and holding our hands in the air. Worship is a lifestyle of which that may be a beautiful part, but there is so much more.
Isn’t that usually what we mean when we use the term “righteous indignation?” We’re offended at something that has been done that is so outside our moral code that we can’t imagine anyone doing it. At least that’s what we want people to think when we spout off about it. Maybe we even believe it ourselves. Maybe in a particular case it’s even true.
Even people outside the church are familiar with Jesus’ admonition not to judge lest we be judged. We misuse that little snippet of scripture in an attempt to justify ourselves or at least to forestall criticism of our actions. We don’t read the other scriptures that clarify what He’s saying. The standard you use will be applied to you, so it better be His standard.
His standard is much different than ours. His judgment is truly righteous. He looks at what is in our hearts, and that is where we are in trouble. All sin creates a separation between us and God. Though there is Biblical foundation for degrees of sin, it’s all sufficient to destroy our relationship with a pure and holy God. That’s why He had to come and save us.
Are we then not to confront sin? That’s not at all what Jesus is saying. He confronted sin, most often that of the most religious people of His day. Also read Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (1 Co. 5.) Where we get in trouble is imagining ourselves to be superior to the one who has been caught in sin. We know we aren’t without sin, but we convince ourselves that ours are not as bad as someone else’s. We are all lost unless we fall upon the mercy of Jesus, giving ourselves to Him as He gave Himself to us.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. ” (Matthew 5:7)
I’m going to admit to one of my own prejudices here. If you want to make a Biblical argument to me, don’t pull out the King James Bible. The minute the thees and thous start flying, I’ve tuned out. It is not disrespect for the KJV. It served for centuries as the Bible everyone read. I don’t really even want to get into an argument over the pros and cons of the various texts that were used in creating the translation. Some feel that the texts from which it was translated represent God’s promise to preserve His word through the ages and that the older texts we have found are not necessarily more accurate. Okay. Try the New King James version. At least people will understand you when you share from it.
For reasons I cannot understand, some people have ordained King James English as somehow holy. I’ve heard the claim that when we speak of the things of God we should use special language to emphasize His holiness. Okay. Where’s that in scripture? Furthermore, the King James Version you read today is not the exact transcription of the version produced in 1611. Changes were made to it over time to keep it contemporary until this relatively recent glorification of the language itself. Some seem to believe Jesus Himself spoke old English. We call it the King’s English, but that’s the wrong king.
So, when I hear quotes from the good ol’ KJV I immediately think, “This person probably doesn’t understand what he’s reading.” “His comprehension is hampered by archaic language with words that don’t mean the same thing as they did when they were written.” I picture someone in the grip of some wacky would-be prophet building a religion from snippets of arcane pros, or at least someone who is probably not very smart.
I freely admit that isn’t fair. That attitude has probably caused me to miss some profound wisdom over the years. I think God speaks to people any way they are able to hear Him. The only time I can say with any confidence that I heard Him speak in words to me, He spoke Southern English. So I’ll try to listen, but if you are one of those who believe the King James is the only real version of the bible, I suggest you do some investigation. You may find that both your understanding of God’s word and your ability to communicate it to others is greatly improved by using words that make sense to the modern ear. Enjoy the KJV for its beauty of language, but study something that will help you understand what is being said.
Last week, a near tragedy in the family of a pastor friend of mine started me wondering if preachers’ kids really deserve their reputation. I first did a quick search to see if I could find any hard data on the behavioral and psychological health of the children of ministers versus other children. I hoped I might find some kind of clinical study, though I suspect that if I had found it the bias would have been extreme.
I found some blogs and forum posts by preachers’ kids. I wasn’t that impressed. I read their stories of how they felt pressure to be especially good and how it made life harder for them among their friends. Some of them used that as an excuse for their rebellious behavior. I don’t doubt that those pressures and feelings exist. I don’t remember feeling particularly put upon because I was a preachers’ kid, but my siblings may see things differently. My final impression was of a bunch of psychobabble that allowed them to justify in their own minds the way they felt or what they did.
I found a couple of ministries devoted to preachers’ kids. They didn’t move me either. They seemed designed to affirm the kids’ feelings, treating them as if they really had a hard life. We do face some atypical challenges. There is a higher expectation of us. So what! High expectations are good! Did we sometimes get neglected in favor of church or ministry activities? Maybe, but how is that different than children of working parents in any profession? Some are more demanding than others, but that aspect of the life of a preacher’s kid isn’t unique. I’ll grant that few if any other professions so involve the family in the work. This isn’t just any job though. It is work that all Christians are called to in one way or another.
I didn’t find what I was looking for, so I’ll offer my own opinion. Someone wrote that preachers’ kids have a reputation for being really bad or really good. I suppose I would concur, but I am not sure the reputation is deserved in either case. More often we hear about the really bad. I think that is because there is a higher expectation of a minister’s children. When they don’t meet that expectation, it sticks out. I remain unconvinced that in reality preachers’ kids are any worse than others. In fact, I suspect that in terms of behavior, morality, and responsibility, they beat the averages. I didn’t say they were better or even good. We may have had better training, but ultimately we all must confront the sinful nature that defines us until we are redeemed by His blood. “There is none righteous, not even one.” We like everyone else must make a choice whether we will serve Jesus or serve ourselves, thereby serving Satan and receiving Satan’s punishment. “As for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.”
I am thankful that I was raised by a preacher. I thank God regularly for the strong foundation upon which I base my life today. My father taught me to love Jesus, love people, and live with integrity. He taught me to pray, to feed on God’s Word, and to do what God tells me. I’m proud to be a preacher’s kid, and I wish everyone else had the same blessing.
There are some interesting statistics here. The part I’ve reprinted says it all.
Social Pressure to Marry Is Dead – Opinion – PatriotPost.US
The failure to marry on the part of the lower and lower-middle classes, not the tax code, Wall Street or competition from China, is what is aggravating inequality in America.
The toll is incalculable. In every way that social science can measure — school performance, drug abuse, unemployment, suicide, poverty, depression, dependence on government handouts, mental illness, violence, and far more — children raised by single parents (especially when their parents never married) are at a severe disadvantage. The failure to form families is devastating our schools, exacerbating inequality and diminishing happiness on a grand scale.
I’m not really going to go into sects and cults today. That’s a topic for another post. I just like the title. I haven’t checked, but I suspect the conspiracy theorists are all abuzz with speculation about our ever narrowing field of choices for the Republican presidential nomination. We’ve run out of choices that might have brought some real reform to Washington.
I’m sure Ron Paul supporters would beg to differ. They may do so with good reason. Paul does say some things that need to be said. I believe he is dangerously wrong about the Middle East, but he’s right that we should not be going to war without a declaration of war as directed by our Constitution. His message of spending reform is desperately needed. He would champion limited government, and I would not be opposed to his having a roll in the new administration. However, when I think of Paul as president, I imagine living in Amsterdam. That’s not where I want to live. I suppose one could argue that if you’re high when you die by a terrorist bomb at least you’ll die happy. Some of his supporters aren’t doing him any favors either. They behave just like those on the radical left, the only difference perhaps being they’re not stupid enough to think socialist economic policies actually can work. That’s what corrupted moral standards lead to.
That leaves us with the other three, who all seem to have discrepancies between record and rhetoric. The same was true of Perry, but his professed loyalty to the Constitution with emphasis on states’ rights had my support. Now I’m not sure who to get behind. I’ve never seriously considered Romney. That hasn’t changed. If he wins, I’ll be voting against Obama rather than for him.
Santorum’s staunch support of life and family are very attractive, but I have seen nothing that convinces me that he will push for the radical changes we need to get government spending and overreach under control. However, character counts for a lot. He has no skeletons in his closet, despite the media’s despicable efforts to invent one. I think he would follow his conscience, and it seems to be in the right place. Could he hold his own against Obama? That question worries me.
Finally there’s Newt Gingrich. He’s Intelligent, knowledgeable, articulate and bold; and he’s mopping the floor with the other candidates in recent debates and buffing it with the media for good measure. The champion of the original Contract with America in 1994, he’s already proven he can get big things done. It’s too bad about the personal life. If the stories of his conversion are true maybe we can now believe that he will conduct himself with integrity, but his past is not going away. In our microwave culture, it’s easy to get caught up in the moment. Gingrich is riding high on his recent performance. I’ll admit to being swayed. He sounds like the man who can get the job done. Yet I also know that his solutions don’t reduce government enough. They just reorganize it in a more palatable mixture. Pragmatism suggests that his approach is the more reasonable, the better ideas from other candidates gone by being impossible to implement in our current environment. My questions are these. Are they truly Constitutional, and are they enough to keep us from collapsing? The latter answer may be that there is no longer anything to prevent that. It may be that we can only delay it.
I say again that our problems are not political but spiritual. I struggle to make the best choice among the available options, but I also realize that without change in our hearts, we will keep tilting toward evil. Driven by self-interest over all, we will make whatever choice seems to net us the best personal result. If we can overcome the deficiencies in our inadequate and liberalized educational system we may come to understand that we won’t ultimately get that by soaking the rich, but conservative economics wont’ save our souls. Far greater is the destruction wrought by declining morals than that by a declining economy, though the former will often lead to the latter. So do your civic duty and make the best and most informed choice you can, but above all preach Jesus. He is the only one who can save us.