If You Can't Say Something Nice...

“God said it. I believe it. That settles it.” I remember that being pounded into me when I was a college student being taught to take the words of scripture both literally and seriously. The Bible and the Bible alone was the rule of faith and practice for Christians. To be faithful to God, one had to “read and study and then obey the B-I-B-L-E.” as the old children’s song declares. And, by the way, I still believe that.

The problem is that we tend to be pretty selective of the part of the Bible where “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.” Jesus said a lot of things that makes us pretty nervous, and we tend to come up with explanations as to why what He said really wasn't what He said. Surely he doesn't expect us to sell all that we have and give it to the poor… like he said to the Rich Young Ruler. Surely he doesn't want us to give away our jacket when someone tries to take away our shirt… like Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. And when Jesus tells us to love our enemies, surely He doesn't expect us to take that literally.

So maybe when God says it, that doesn't always settle it? I was reading an article by Catholic priest James Martin who suggests that Christians today really need to take Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:22 much more seriously. To refresh your memory, this verse reads--

But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

When I was a kid calling a playmate “Dummy!” was OK; I got into only slight trouble if I called them an “Idiot!” But if I called them a “Fool,” then all the vengeance of heaven would come down upon me (in the person of my parents) because “Fool” was the very thing that Jesus said not to say. Personally, I was never tempted to say “Raca” to someone, but sometimes “Fool” seemed particularly like a relevant commentary on someone’s comments or behavior.  What is Jesus saying here?

The word “Raca” is generally explained in the footnotes of our Bibles as “an Aramiac expression of contempt.” The word literally meant “empty headed” or “fool.” Well of “Raca” meant “fool” when why did Jesus use the Greek word for "fool" in his very next line? Maybe it's not the particular words we choose that Jesus is trying to get us to change; maybe Jesus just doesn't want us using words of contempt in our speech at all. In fact that is EXACTLY what Jesus is saying. The question is, “Do we believe it and does that settle it?”

Communication in what is supposedly the “communication age” has gotten progressively less and less polite and more and more disrespectful. I don’t listen to cable news or talk radio anymore because I've grown so tired of supposed “pundits” shouting at each other and calling each other names. (OK, I also don’t watch cable news anymore because we don’t have cable, but that is beside the point). Is it possible to disagree with someone and be respectful at the same time? What is more, isn’t that exactly what Jesus tells us to do? Let me just end my tirade against tirades by quoting a section from Martin’s piece--

It's especially important to hear Jesus's words in our digital age, when snarky blogs, terrible texting, snotty Facebook posts and mean-spirited Tweets zip around the Web and cause serious harm. And it's essential to hear in our 24/7-radio-shockjock-TV-talkshow-endless-gabfest age, when the easiest way to get people to tune into your show is to call someone else a jerk, or worse. "Fool," raca, is probably the mildest of imprecations that you've heard lately.

That goes for Christians speaking about other Christians, believers speaking about other believers, and anyone else with whom we disagree on religious matters. Take a look at any opinionated religious blog, on the right and the left, and you'll see all manner of terrible name-calling -- again, much worse than raca.

We ignore the invitation to practice personal charity, to treat one another with respect, to give people the benefit of the doubt, to avoid name-calling, to curb our tongues and to simply be kind, at our peril. And this is not simply feel-good religion. It's not simply wishy-washy niceness. It's not an excuse to avoid tough conversations. It is at the heart of the Christian life.

Speaking charitably about others is a simple thing, but hard to do. Trust me, I've engaged in this kind of trash talk myself from time to time. I gossip. I may even call people names, like "fool," behind their backs. It's a terrible thing to do.

How do we know this? Jesus tells us in no uncertain terms. So don't overlook this overlooked passage, which contains a word that we can be certain comes to us directly from the lips of Jesus. Listen to his words and allow them to change yours.

My New Bible

For the first time since 1982, I am switching Bibles. Actually, I staying with the Holy Bible; I am just changing English translations.  Two years into my preaching career I noticed that I spent a lot of my sermon time explaining the various nuances and personality quirks of the KJV, so I started preaching and teaching from the NIV.  I still used the KJV (actually I still thought in KJV) and the NASB in my study, but the Bible I read from in class and the pulpit was the NIV. I took some flack from my KJV-only preaching buddies, and one area preacher wrote us off as an unfaithful church when we bought a case of NIV pew Bibles. (This was the same guy that kept a tally of every time the speaker at our men’s retreat “perverted the word of God” by reading from a non-KJV Bible. When I told him that the speaker was teaching from a Greek text and translating on the fly, he said, “Well if he’s smart enough to do that, he should be smart enough to use the KJV.” You think I’m making that up, but I'm not!)

The NIV was updated and revised in 1984, which meant the little pocket NT I used in preaching was slightly different in places from the whole Bible I used in study and class. (Fortunately, our pew Bibles were bought after the revision and that saved some trouble). Today I use multiple translations in my computer study Bible— the NIV, NASB, ESV, NET, NLT, and KJV all open automatically and I have 15 or so more I can open if I need them. But the NIV has been my main teaching and preaching text for almost 30 years.

But this Sunday all that will change. My new main English version is (cue the trumpet blast)… the NIV!!! (cue the applause). OK, perhaps some explanation is needed here. A new revision of the NIV was released online at Biblegateway.com last October and is now available in print form.  I received my pre-ordered $14 thinline bonded-leather NIV (2011) from Amazon yesterday... too bad the print is so small that I can’t actually read it. Logos Bible Research (my computer Bible folks) sent me a free update to my computer Bible this morning, so my total expense for the upgrade to the new NIV is $14! Not bad. (Of course, to get the  links to all the Greek and Hebrew tools in the new version, I have to pay $289.75… which is 3/4 of the iPad. I still haven’t bought. Those links work just fine in the ESV.)

So what do I get for $14? I don’t want to do a full review of the NIV(2011) because it’s Wednesday, and I really need to be working on my class for tonight. Patrick Mead did a good job introducing the NIV(2011) in his Tentpegs blog last week, (To steal a line from Jim McQuiggen, “Everyone should be forced to read Patrick’s blog… if they want to.”) Also, here are the translator’s notes on the NIV revision.

In my computer Bible anyway, new version of the NIV is known as “NIV” and the old NIV is now NIV1984. So when I quote from the NIV and it sounds different from your NIV, that’s because you are hopeless out of date and I am way cool.

Just Fine

“Just fine.” How many times do you hear that on Sunday mornings? You ask, “So, how you doing?” And (almost) everyone answers, “Just fine.” OK, there is the occasional person who looks at you, raises an eyebrow and asks, “You really want to know?” (And do we?).  But most people are “Just fine.” You may personally greet 50 different people (you can’t really talk to everyone) and everyone is “Just fine.” What are the chances of that? Just about zero!  No one is doing “just fine” all the time, and that means that no one is always “just fine” every Sunday morning. Now we might answer the question “How you doing?” with “Compared to what?” Compared to the homeless person with no teeth that I met begging in the Wal-Mart parking lot yesterday, I really am doing "Just fine."  But we all struggle with things, right? Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble…” And we do.  And sometimes, we're not doing "Just fine: at all!

Barbara Crafton tells of meeting a Christian young man at a restaurant who was very obliviously not doing just fine. He was struggling with some deep emotional and psychological issues, but when she suggested he see a therapist, he said, “I could never witness to anybody again if I were in therapy. I'd feel like a fraud.” Faith should make all of our problems go away, right? The joy of the Lord should overwhelm all depression and emotional issues right? Crafton suggests that many think that the gospel is “supposed to be a happy tale.”

Although you're allowed many trials along the way, it must end up with your accepting Christ, and then things are supposed to be all right with you. You're not supposed to be hopeless and want to die. There's not a lot of room in this narrative for despair, so people committed to it who find themselves staring despair in the face tend to keep that fact to themselves.

Is there any room in the life of a Christian for depression? Isn’t the struggle with depression sign that one’s faith is defective, ineffective or at the very least weak? Is the believer who prays to and worships God but who also struggles with depression or emotional issues really, like this young man assumed, a fraud and hypocrite?

No! Most of us will go through difficult situations and struggles that will lead to “situational depression.” Others will suffer through chemical imbalances that (unless God chooses to work a healing miracle) that will not be praised or prayed away, no matter how genuine a person’s faith may be. Pick up the Bible and read the laments in Psalms and the words of Jeremiah (one of his books is entitled “Lamentations?”). Read the story of Elijah and his dark cave of despair (1 Kings 19). Read the book of Revelation and ask yourself how “happy-clappy” the first readers of this book must have been. Faith helps us “walk through the valley of the shadow of death” (“Even though I walk through the darkest valley,” NIV2011). But there will be dark valleys. And we should not suppose that faith has failed because I don’t feel just fine at the moment!

Church should be a safe place for those struggling with feelings of loneliness, depression and despair. But sometimes we make such people feel worse because of the implication that if people had the right faith, they wouldn’t feel that way—they would be “Just fine” like the rest of us! Well, Isaiah said that the Messiah would be “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” It just seems to me that it should be OK for His followers to feel the same way at times as well.

It's Good to Have Things Like This...

I remember the first time I used PowerPoint in making a presentation to an area preacher’s meeting years ago (it must have been years ago because we haven’t one in years). After my presentation, one of my (alleged and so-called) friends said, “Well, I guess if you can’t preach, it’s good to have something like that.” That was an accusation of the worst kind… a true one! Yesterday I used not one but two YouTube clips in my sermon (if you can't preach, it's good to have things like that). And most of the comments I received were about the clips and not about the sermon. Since people asked about them, I thought I’d post them here to make them easier to find.

The first clip is of “excessive celebration” during a ping pong competition. (Notice carefully the zoom-in on the scorer’s table at the end of the match.) The point of the clip is that most of us don’t have to worry about being flagged for excessive celebration during our worship before God. Getting carried away in the joy of the Lord isn’t really our biggest problem. You can watch the clip here (the embed code was disabled for this one).

The second clip come from the Tyler Perry feel good flick “Daddy’s Little Girls.” (Tressa brought it over for me to watch while I was recovering after my surgery). This is the story of a hard-working guy named Monty who tried hard to do right thing raising his three girls alone and dreaming of owning his own auto repair shop. His life comes apart when he loses custody of his girls to his ex-wife, who is the mistress of a drug-dealer and a truly horrible influence on the girls. The harder he tries to do the right thing, the more his life falls apart. He is about to give up when he goes to church and hears a word from God. OK, I know the actor who plays the preacher here is “Bishop” Eddie Long who has become just a bit controversial as of late, and I certainly don’t recommend everything he preaches. (Hey, I don’t even recommend everything that I have preached). But what he says in this movie sermon spoke to me and I think it spoke to some of our folks as well. (Again, I showed a much shorter version of this clip).



We sang twice as many songs yesterday as usual (most of them only one verse) and they all had to do with the joy of the Lord.  Sometimes we sing those songs because our hearts are bursting with the joy of the Lord. But sometimes we sing those songs because we desperately want to be reminded of the joy of the Lord that seems to be temporarily overshadowed by struggles and hardships and pain. Sometimes we rejoice because we know God’s joy; sometimes we must rejoice because we know that we will know it again if we hold on to our hope and refuse to give up or give in.  Either way, we need to sings those songs of joy!

Reflections on Joy

I'm preaching this Sunday morning on joy. A couple of things struck me as I was reading some of the many texts in the Bible that stress joy. First, joy is never really and encouraged suggested like, "You just need to try to be more joyful." Joy is COMMANDED. Paul says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" You can almost see Paul here as a drill sergeant barking orders, "Rejoice in Lord always; I'll say it again, 'Get some joy!'" That's a command. That sounds way too much like my Dad saying, "You will eat your Brussels sprouts and you will like them." (I ate them, and they weren't bad!). Can you really command someone to be joyful. God evidently things so!

Second, joy is often spoken of along side times of pain, struggle and loss. Jesus promised that the apostles that despite the difficulty of the coming cross, their joy would restored in Him, "So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy" (John 16:22). The example Jesus uses is that of having a baby (John 16:21). There is great pain in childbirth, but then that pain is overwhelmed by joy when the baby is held in the mother's arms. So sometimes we must go through great sorrow, but that sorrow cannot overwhelm our joy. Jesus says, "Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete" (John 16:24).

Jesus wants us to know that joy and sorrow are never completely incompatible. Our faith that God is working in our struggle in ways that we don't understand at the moment means that we can know His joy even in the middle of the storm. He doesn't always stop the rain, but He always assures us that He is there with us. Because He is with us and assures us that He will make our joy complete, we can praise Him in the storm.

If You Can Read This... It Doesn't Apply to You

I just read an interesting blog post by Greg Boyd at his Christus Victor site entitled "Baby Universalism and Reasonable Infanticide."  I have filed this in my "Things I Have Never Really Thought About and Am Now Confused About" file... which is a huge file indeed.  His basic question is that if our free will choice to accept God's love and grace is so important (or else why didn't God create us incapable of not loving and obeying Him), then why do we assume that those who die before they can make that choice (i.e. infants) go straight to God without ever having to choose Him?  Boyd suggests that while this view is assumed by most people today, it has not been the common view held throughout much of church history.  He furthers asks if all babies go to heaven, then why not just kill them before they have a chance to reject God and go to hell?  (Some have evidently argued that point at some point in the past; we call such people "nuts").  Read his blog and tell me what you think.  Boyd wonders if infants or children who die before they can choose God in this life are not given some chance to choose in the next life.  The Bible is silent here, and that may be our best response as well.

But the point for you is (as my title here suggests), if you can read this, then you can make your choice and are held responsible for it.

The Force That's With Us

I must admit that my Super Bowl Party this year was a bit quieter than usual. I was worn out after my first day back at church after my surgery, and just didn't feel up to being at the church building for our annual Denbigh Super Bowl blow-out. (I assume that a local news crew did not cover us this year like they did the last time the Steelers were at the Big Dance because they thought Mike Tomlin had attended Denbigh Church of Christ as a kid rather than Denbigh High School next door). I did doze through parts of the first half (sorta like the Steelers seemed to) but then thoroughly enjoyed the game and even was pleased with the outcome.

 But the game was the only good part of the game... IMHO. The commercials were just not all that funny, and some were just totally inappropriate. Why don't advertisers remember that the Super Bowl is a family thing? (Lynn assumed that GoDaddy.com is a porn site rather than a web-hosting sight because of their advertising!)  And I chose to miss the half-time show, which from what I've read was a good decision.  And frankly, I wasn't nearly as upset at Christina Aguilera flubbing the national anthem as I was impressed that she got back on track so quickly!

There was one great commercial that was both funny AND came with a great spiritual reminder. It starred a pint-sized Darth Vader trying to use the power of the force to no avail until...



The pint-sized Darth Vader thought that his own power had caused the Passat the start. Of course, the real force that started it was his father (with his cool new VW autostart remote). And that is so much like us, isn't it? We think that our accomplishments, successes and possessions come because of our own abilities, talents and nose-to-the-grindstone work ethic. Sure, God does very often seem to help those who help themselves. He wants us to work hard, not just to bless ourselves and our families, but to be able to share with others in need (Eph. 4:28). We are to work hard at our work as if we were serving God and not just men... or ourselves (Col. 3:23-24).

But the force that allows us to work and succeed and bless others is from God himself. We may think the force is us, but our Father is behind us with the real power to bless us. Every good thing we have is a gift from our Father of lights (James 1:17). When we throw a light switch, the lights come on, but the real power is generated somewhere else. When we work to provide for our family, the power to earn and be blessed really comes from somewhere and Someone else. And we should always give thanks to Him. Moses gave Israel this warning as she prepared to enter into the Promised Land (Duet 7:17-18)--

You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

Ecclesiastes further tells us that not only does God give us possessions, He also gives us the ability to enjoy both our work and the possessions we have, "Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God." (Eccl 5:19).

We are the little kid pretending to be Darth Vader thinking we have the power. Thank God that we have a Father behind us who is holding the remote!

More on Forgiveness

Yesterday I completed a short sermon series on our responsibility as disciples of Jesus to forgive others who sin against us.  I started the sermon with the following video and quote from Mary Karen Read, one of the victims of the Virgina Tech Massacre.

This struggle of forgiveness was made even more poignant when a sister and good friend came forward asking for prayers in dealing with the struggle for forgiveness for an act ever bit as heinous as that committed in Blacksburg, only smaller in scope.  The message of Matthew 18 is clear-- in order for us to be forgiven, we must be willing to forgive.  To refuse to forgive others is to fail to recognize all that God has forgiven in us.

Forgiveness like this makes no earthly sense, because it comes from above.  Corrie ten Boom was confronted with being asked to forgive one of the guards that had tormented her while in a Nazi death camp.  She tried to take his hand, but her arm would not move; her heart was filled with such anger, resentment and hatred for this man that represented what had killed her family. She writes this--

Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him. I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness.

As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me.

And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.

You Da Man!

The story of David and Bathsheba is one of the saddest stories in scripture. The great king and spiritual leader gave into his baser nature and committed adultery with Bathsheba. When he found out that she was pregnant, he began an elaborate cover-up to hide his personal guilt. When the integrity and loyalty of Bathsheba's husband Uriah continued to thwart David's cover-up, David set up Uriah to be killed in battle. To justify this action to his commander Joab, David responds rather coldly, "Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another.” (2 Sam 11:25). David then married the widowed Bathsheba, and his sins were hidden... from everyone except God.

Then Nathan the prophet came to David with a sad story about a poor man whose little pet lamb was butchered and served as brunch by a wealthy man who had many flocks and herds. David was outraged and wanted justice... until Nathan pointed his long, bony finger at David and says, "You are the man!" In modern vernacular, that is a compliment. Make a long put, close a big deal, or complete a critical project, and someone may slap you on the back and say, "You da man!" David was the man... and it was no compliment. He could only stare Nathan and then at the blood on his hands. Guilt. Shame. The entire weight of heaven and earth crushed down upon him. And this was the critical moment of his life.

David responds, "I have sinned against the Lord" (2 Sam 12:13). And he meant it! He faced the utter brokenness of his guilt, and he could do nothing but humbly confess his sin, repent and plead for God's mercy. Psalm 51 captures the depths of his horror over his sin and his struggles with guilt. The words "I have sinned" are spoken in scripture by men like Pharaoh, Balaam, Achan and Saul... when they are caught and are sorry they were caught. But David feels the full weight of his sin and is driven to his knees in humility and repentance. It is in this moment of repentance that David shows the character that makes him "the man after God's own heart."

For the last three weeks, we have been looking at the subject of interpersonal forgiveness in our Sunday lessons. Our scripture reading for today is Colossians 3 which includes the following:

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

“Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Scripture consistently reminds us that we are to forgive others because God has forgiven us. Nathan points his long, bony finger at each of us and says, “You da man” (or “you da woman” as the case may be). We are all as guilty as sin, and yet we have been forgiven our blood debt through the blood of the cross. So how can we possibly refuse to forgive someone else? How can we refuse to forgive another sinner when we have ourselves been forgiven of so much so so gracious a God?

More on Baptism

If you have the time, listen to the sermon I posted last week on repentance, baptism and the Holy Spirit by Francis Chan and then contrast what Chan says about repentance and baptism with the change to the baptismal liturgy considered by bishops of the Church of England.

 According to this Daily Mail news article, the Anglican baptismal service “may be re-written to remove some references to Christianity.” The article characterizes this change as ‘baptism lite.’ The purpose of this liturgy re-write is “to make christenings more interesting to non-churchgoers” and to make the service more appropriate and accessible to “non-theologically versed Britons.” In other words, they are “dumbing down” the baptismal service. If I tended toward sarcasm, I might say something like, “They are baptizing babies; how much dumber can they make it?” But I’m not, so I won’t.

OK, I get it. Many people who aren’t Christians will visit churches to see the christening of the babies of family and friends. Many people in secular Europe attend church for three reasons—to be hatched, matched and dispatched (christening, weddings and funerals). So if non-Christians are going to be in church for the baptism of babies, then why not use language that will communicate the gospel in an understandable, non-overly-theologically-obtuse way. I get it. I really do think that’s a wonderful idea.

Except for HOW they do it. One of the sections they want to change is the challenge to parents and godparents to “reject the devil and all rebellion against God” and to renounce “the deceit and corruption of evil” and the challenge to “submit to Christ as Lord.” OK maybe the “deceit and corruption of evil” language could be modernized a bit, but if you remove the idea of turning away from sin (repentance) and acceptance of Jesus as Lord, then what is the point of baptism? Baptism is a picture of the cross. Take away rejection of sin and acceptance of Christ and there is nothing left… except the snacks afterwards.

Francis Chan on Baptism

Ran across this sermon by Francis Chan on Bobby Valentine's blog "Stoned-Campbell Disciple." Francis Chan is the author of the best-selling book Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God. He was the founding pastor of 4000 member Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, CA, where this sermon was preached. Not long ago, Chan resigned from Cornerstone and is travelling throughout Asia, preaching and strengthening churches. This brother certainly has a pretty good handle on baptism... for someone who isn't a member of our religious tribe!


Francis Chan - Baptism & The Holy Spirit from Wes Woodell on Vimeo.

You Are God Alone

In our scripture reading for today, David proclaims that praise awaits God in Zion—“Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled” (Psa 65:1). It is as if all the worshippers have gathered at the Temple and they are waiting God to get there. (This obviously isn’t Denbigh where no one shows up early!). As David gives promise of the worship to come, he also proclaims who God is to be worshiped:

• God is a God of GRACE (Psalm 65:2-4). God hears our prayers and forgives us when we cry out to him, even when we are overwhelmed by our transgressions. Not only does God forgive us; he also calls us near and allows us to live in His very presence.
  
• God is a God of GREATNESS (Psalm 65:5-8). God’s power and might called the mountains into existence and commanded the seas to be still. Even those who live far away see those wonders which fill our world from dawn until dusk. It is not that God once did powerful things; God continues to do awesome things, sometimes things that we do not expect (Isa 64:3).
  
• God is a God of GIFTS (Psalm 65:9-13). God takes care of his people by providing our watering our fields with rain, filling our carts with crops, and filling our fields with flocks. God gives good gifts to his people and cares for our needs, so how can we fail to worship (65:13)?

The point of worship is not for us to tell God that He is gracious, great and giving. God already knows that, and he doesn't need us stroking His ego. The point of worship is to remind the worshipper that God is God, and they He Is God alone. It is so easy for us to go do focused on ourselves that we forget who is God alone.

• We focus on how we have been offended by the mistakes others and forget how horribly we have offended God and how He has forgiven us time after time.
  
• We focus so much on ourselves and what we have done that we forget it that God not only created everything (including us) but He also gives us the ability to provide for ourselves and for the needs of others.
  
• We focus so much on what we want and do not have yet that we forget to acknowledge all that God has given us and continues to give us.

Worship forces us to take our eyes off of ourselves and focus back on God—His grace, His greatness and His gifts. Worship does not tell God how great he is; it reminds us that God is God… and that He is God alone.

Your Sins Are Forgiven

In Matthew 9 (one of our scripture readings for today), Jesus is in the middle of a tussle with the Jewish religious leaders. He is in the middle of doing some things that bothered the buttoned-down, letter-of-the-law (even if it’s the one we wrote) rabbis and Pharisees. He had just exorcised some demons… while visiting a Gentile land… and he sent the demons into pigs. That's gotta break a few laws someplace, right? In the next verses, Jesus will call a tax collector of all people as one of his apostles. So just about everything Jesus does at this point is rubbing the rabbis the wrong way.

But it is Jesus' healing of a paralytic that pegs their “you gotta be kidding” meter. He had just done several miracles, so his power to heal one paralyzed should not have been a shock. What was a shock was the language that Jesus used, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” If you stop right there, you might get the impression that Jesus is baling the man for his paralysis; he had sinned in some way and was being punished with paralysis (don’t walk with God and you won’t walk at all). But what follows makes it clear that Jesus’ words here are for the benefit of the Pharisees who are spoiling for a fight. They respond, “This fellow is blaspheming!” (v. 3). To claim the power to forgive sin is to claim the power of God Himself.

4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” 7 Then the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man. (Matt. 9:4-8, NIV2011)

So is it easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven” or “Get up and walk?” The point is that only God has the power to both forgive sins and to heal. The fact that Jesus really did have the power to heal was  demonstrated dramatically when the man got up and toted his mat back home, But Jesus power over this disease also dramatically demonstrated that He also has the power to forgive sin. Anyone can say, “Your sins are forgiven” but Jesus demonstrates his power to forgive with this mighty act of healing.

Each Sunday we proclaim both Christ’s power to give and his power to heal in the Lord’s Supper. When participate in this memorial, we both bow before God's authority over all things spiritual and physical. In the death, burial and resurrection of His Son, God proves His authority over spiritual death ("Your sins are forgiven") and His authority over physical death ("Get up and walk"). Our God is a God who forgives and who heals. He tells each of us “your sins are forgiven” so now we can then “get up and walk” as we live and serve Him daily.

Abomination of Desolation

OK, so what is with all the mysterious deaths of birds dropping out of the sky in Arkansas? Thousands upon thousands of red-winged blackbirds fell from the sky, littering the ground around Beebe with dead bird carcasses. And officials (how does one get to be a red-winged blackbird official anyway) aren't completely sure what has caused all the deaths. Was it someone shooting off fireworks that caused the birds to get confused and fly into the ground? Was it a sonic boom that confused their navigation instincts and sent them plummeting to earth. Or was this a sign of the gathering hoof-beats of the four horseman of the Apocalypse?

It was done of those. Those Arkansas blackbirds were just so devastated that the Razorbacks lost the Sugar Bowl that they had nothing left for which to live. I mean, it took all these years for Arkansas to finally get to a BCS bowl game (so long that most clear-thinking people have already reached the conclusion that the BCS is an idea who time has come and gone). But they finally get there… and then give up a 28-7 first half lead to Ohio State (which is when I went to bed, by the way). Then they crawl back into the game and then have a chance to actually win it at the end… only to throw it away (literally). That’s why the birds crashed into the ground in Arkansas—they were just so distraught over the Hogs. Of course, if Mallet hadn’t have thrown that last interception and the Hogs would have won the game, the birds would have still crashed into the ground… out of shock of Arkansas actually winning a bowl game.

I miss the old days when all the major bowls were on New Year’s Day. I miss switching channels back and forth between the Cotton Bowl and Sugar Bowl which were on at the same time. I miss being so bleary-eyed by the time the Orange Bowl came on that I could hardly focus my eyes. I miss the fact that at least 2 or 3 of the major bowls could have an impact on the national championship.

A War on Christmas?

I’ve been reading a lot lately about the “War on Christmas.” You know the issue.  It is now politically correct to say “Happy Holidays” (aren't most holidays are happy?) or “Season’s Greetings” (aren't winter, spring, summer and fall all seasons?) rather than “Merry Christmas” (which has somehow become offensive to some). Calendars all label December 25 as Christmas, and most folks aren’t so offended by that that they refuse to take the day off.  Is that consistent?

That reminds me of Eric Vann, a guy who used to work for my Dad years ago. Eric was a Jehovah’s Witness and didn't believe in celebrating Christmas. So he always politely refused to contribute to boss’ Christmas present fund-- that was against his religion.  But Eric always politely accepted the Christmas bonus that Dad always gave his employees. Consistency is indeed a rare jewel indeed.

I've been intentionally listening and taking note this year while in stores, the bank, doctor’s offices (I’m seeing a lot of those lately) and the like.  Frankly, I've been hearing as many or more greetings of “Merry Christmas” as its more politically correct cousins. So what's all the hoopla?  So maybe Newport News isn’t much of a battlefield in the war on Christmas.

Is the "War on Christmas" one battlefield in a growing "War on Christianity?" Is our culture slowly but surely seeking to chip away at our faith and make being Christian unacceptable? I think the answer to that question is "Yes" and "No."  I think that Christianity's favored status as part of our historical heritage is indeed being chipped away. Remember the "Blue Laws" where they used to (by law) close all stores on Sundays.  When I was a kid, they didn't have school activities on Wednesday nights (so that kids could go to church). Those tips of the culture’s hat to Christianity are gone, and others may follow. More and more, we can longer display Christian symbols (crosses, nativity scenes, etc.) on public buildings. But then, neither can display a menorah or Star of David. That’s not a war on Christianity but a diverse culture seeking to treat all religions the same. It is likely that one day, churches will have to pay property and sales taxes on like everyone else.  I’m not happy about that, but that doesn't really strike me as an attack on my faith.

I think Christians need to get more and more comfortable in recognizing what has really always been true. When the Christian faith is consistently and persistently lived, it is never at the center of the culture; it is always a counter-culture. We live as people follow Jesus in this world but never part of this world (John 17:15-17). We follow Jesus outside the gate of respectability as we bear the scandal of the cross which He bore for us (Heb. 13:12-13). When we live by Christian principles, we will seem different from the world around us and people who are differently are routinely mistreated.

13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.” 15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. (1 Peter 3:13-16)

The way to combat anti-Christian sentiment and behavior is to live so thoroughly and completely like Jesus that the slanders are silenced. We are to respond to the opponents of our faith with gentleness and respect. We are to be ready to give an answer to those who ask us about our faith, but we must not run recklessly into the midst of the culture wars. It is still true what G. K. Chesterton a generation ago, “It is not that Christianity has been tried and found wanting; it is rather that Christianity has been left untried.” If we show people a Christianity that looks and feels more like Jesus, we won’t have to defend ourselves nearly as much.

The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse

For the second year in a row, my sermon on Sunday came from Revelation. This year we looked at "It's a Long Way from a Manger to the Throne" and the picture of Christ reigning in Revelation 5. He is before the throne as all creation worships, "Worthy is the Lamb." He alone can open the scroll of the future, and when he does, the drama of the book begins. As the first four of the seals of the scroll are opened, the four living creatures before the throne cry out and in response appear the "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse."

• A rider on a white horse appears with a bow and wearing a crown; he is a conqueror who has come in conquest.
• A rider on a red horse comes carrying a sword; he is given power to take peace from the earth.
• A rider on the black horse comes uses scales to measure grain sold for excessive prices indicating a time of famine.
• The last rider comes on a pale horse. This rider is named Death, and Hades follows behind him. He is given power to kill by sword, famine and plague.

These four riders represent the all too familiar progression—the conqueror brings war, war brings famine and famine brings death. This is what has happened throughout human history when man gives in to the lust for power.

What is the meaning of the vision? Have the four horsemen come to persecute the church? Do these thundering hooves begin judgment on Rome for her persecutions of Christians? Or do the four horsemen simply represent the ongoing consequences of man’s thirst for power? The precise details don’t matter as long as we understand—

• God’s people were being hurt by conquest, war, famine and death.
• Yet God reigns despite conquest and war and famine and death.

The church at the end of the first century was suffering tremendous pressure from Roman persecution. People were dying. Faith did not insulate them from the evil that existed in the world. There is no way for the "Health-and-Wealth" theology that is so popular today to reconcile itself with the fact that sometimes faithful people suffer despite their faith. Sometimes because of their faith.

But the story is not complete until we see the Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse. Later in the book another rider thunders across John’s canvass, "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True." (Revelation 19:11). This rider brings justice and destroys the enemies of God with a sharp sword that comes out of His mouth. On his robe and thigh appear the name "King of Kings and Lord of Lords." The story of Revelation is not over until Jesus comes to bring justice. We may suffer because of the evil choices of others, but ultimate victory belongs to those who give themselves to serve the One who is Faithful and True.

It's Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Andy Williams croons that “It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” And he's right. If you watched our family videos (which I can’t because we no longer own a working VHS player), you’d think that Christmas was the only time of the year; most of our videos are of Christmas morning. I have a lot of memories wrapped up in this season. December 30 will mark the 33rd anniversary of our wedding. January 1 is the 45th anniversary of Arkansas’ Cotton Bowl win over Nebraska that gave them national championship. And December 25th 29th anniversary of the birth of my oldest daughter... and I think also that 29th anniversary of the last time we had a white Christmas.

For the record, Christmas is very different when you have had a Christmas baby. The Christmas she was born sure was different (she was delivered to "Jingle Bells" playing in the background).  Of course, being a Christmas  baby born in a Catholic hospital gets you some special perks!  Celebrating Christmas birthdays is a lot of trouble as you must make sure that you separate the two celebrations. For example, fruit cake cannot be used as a birthday cake! Also, you can’t combine the gifts; birthday presents must stay “separate and apart.” And under no circumstances may you wrap a birthday present in Christmas paper! That would be the worst form of bad form!

Christmas birthdays are complicated.  But then, Jesus’ birthday was complicated as well. Sure, I know that Jesus was likely not born on December 25. It was only several accidents of history that selected this date as the day set aside to remember Jesus’ birth. But like many who were born on December 25, there was little about Jesus’ birth that was ordinary.

• He was conceived by God and born of a virgin—that’s pretty rare
• He was born in a barn and laid in a feed trough—that’s rare as well
• And what other baby gets gold, frankincense and myrrh at their shower?

And then there was the unusual manner of how the birth announcement was handled. Usually, new mothers send out birth announcements. After all, new mothers don’t have anything else to do. But this time, the Father handled the birth announcement (see Luke 2:8-14).

Angels brought to the shepherds "good news of great joy." That is an interesting choice of words. In fact, the angels use one of the most familiar words in all the Bible— the word "euagglelizo." Or as that word is generally translated-- "gospel." What the angel literally said to the shepherds was, "I preach to you a gospel of great joy." The birth of Jesus is gospel! God had come into the world. That little baby in the manger was Immanuel, "God with us." In all the hype and hustle and hoopla of this season, don’t forget the gospel that God is with us.  He came to be with us then; He remains with us today.  That is good news indeed.

Free Speech... Except on an iPhone?

The Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience was issued in 2009 by leaders in Catholic and Orthodox and Evangelical church to affirm support for “the sanctity of life, traditional marriage, and religious liberty.” The drafting committee included Chuck Colson,  Princeton law professor Robert P. George and Beeson Divinity School dean Timothy George. The document (according to a recent article by Colson) has been signed by more than half a million Christians. The document is a respectful and well-written proclamation of the commitment of the signers to promote the sanctity of all human life, to uphold marriage as holy matrimony between a man and a woman, and to strive preserve the liberty of Christians who seek to live their religious convictions.

Read the document carefully. I don't believe there is anything in this that is different from the views held by believers in Christ from the time of the first century onward—life is to be revered, marriage is to be upheld as sacred, and faith is to be lived out in the lives of the faithful. At the end of the document there is something of all call to “civil disobedience,” but the scope of that call is the commitment not to allow Christians institutions (hospitals, schools, churches) to be forced “to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia, or any other anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriages or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth.”

So why bring this up? An article by Chuck Colson in the San Francisco Chronicle on Tuesday reported that Apple had pulled the Manhattan Declaration app from its app store for the iPhone and iPad. The app had received a 4-plus rating from Apple (meaning it was free from objectionable content), but some advocates of same-sex marriage complained to Apple, saying that the Manhattan Declaration promoted hate speech and homophobia. Well, we can’t have that, and so Apple pulled the app from the app store. Colson writes, “It was a triumph of political correctness and ad hominem attack over civil discourse. And I am saddened - and very concerned - that a pioneering company like Apple, whose products are used by untold millions to interact and communicate, chose to shut down the dialogue over one of the defining cultural issues of our time.”

In case you didn't catch the code here, let me refresh your memory. When I disagree with someone’s views on health care reform, campaign finance reform, or the BCS championship, we simply just disagree. But if I disagree with homosexual marriage, then I am a hate-mongering homophobic. And that is not much of an exaggeration. To simply say that you are opposed to homosexual practice and marriage is, in the eyes of some, hate speech.  Here is the paragraph from the Manhattan Declaration that was accused of hate speech and homophobia—

We acknowledge that there are those who are disposed towards homosexual and polyamorous conduct and relationships, just as there are those who are disposed towards other forms of immoral conduct. We have compassion for those so disposed; we respect them as human beings possessing profound, inherent, and equal dignity; and we pay tribute to the men and women who strive, often with little assistance, to resist the temptation to yield to desires that they, no less than we, regard as wayward. We stand with them, even when they falter. We, no less than they, are sinners who have fallen short of God's intention for our lives. We, no less than they, are in constant need of God's patience, love and forgiveness. We call on the entire Christian community to resist sexual immorality, and at the same time refrain from disdainful condemnation of those who yield to it. Our rejection of sin, though resolute, must never become the rejection of sinners. For every sinner, regardless of the sin, is loved by God, who seeks not our destruction but rather the conversion of our hearts. Jesus calls all who wander from the path of virtue to "a more excellent way." As his disciples we will reach out in love to assist all who hear the call and wish to answer it.

That's hateful stuff, isn't it!  By the way, the word “polyamorous” is defined as “ the practice, desire, or acceptance of having more than one intimate relationship at a time."  So if stating that Christians are opposed to homosexuality is hate speech, then it is also hate speech to suggest that we are opposed to sleeping around. We just hate everybody, don’t we?

The secular culture doesn’t have a problem with our Christian beliefs… and long as those beliefs are neither seen not heard. That means you can’t put the Manhattan Declaration in an app so you can you can choose to read it on your iPhone. Of course, the issue isn't the Apple app store. Apple has a long whimsical history of approving, disapproving and re-approving apps The issue isn’t even whether or not minority views can be expressed or expounded in the public arena. The issue is whether or not the majority view (most Americans do oppose homosexual marriage) can be expressed in the public arena in a respectful and reserved matter when those views are opposed to the wishes of the thought police. Colson ends his article—

There is something more at stake here than whether Apple hosts a particular app; whether or not we are capable as a society of maintaining the free marketplace of ideas. Because the open and civil exchange of ideas is essential to democracy and a free society. The kind of society that has produced entrepreneurial geniuses like Jobs.

It's Not the Sermon, Stupid

Last week I blogged about a Gallop Poll study that suggested that religious Americans have a higher level of feeling of overall well-being. To quote the poll, “Americans who are very religious have higher wellbeing than those who are less religious, a relationship that holds even after controlling for several related demographic and geographic variables.” You can read my blog here and the Gallop article here.

Well, today MSNBC reports on another study, this one published in the professional journal American Sociological Review, suggests that “religious people gain life satisfaction thanks to social networks they build by attending religious services.” The article noted that studies like the Gallop one I mentioned always suffered from a chicken-and-egg type problem. Religious people do seem to be more happy and have a greater sense of well-being, but does religion make people happy or do happy people become religious? And, as one person posted on my blog, is this well-being “a psychological result rather than a spiritual reward?”

According to the article today, what makes people happier and gives them a higher sense of well-being is the social connection between people who are linked by a common identity and a sense of community within something they feel is important. Here’s the quote-

We think it has something to do with the fact that you meet a group of close friends on a regular basis, together as a group, and participate in certain activities that are meaningful to the group… At the same time, they share a certain social identity, a sense of belonging to a moral faith community. The sense of belonging seems to be the key to the relationship between church attendance and life satisfaction.

What gives church people this sense of well-being is social interactions within a community that matters. The title of the article is “Church-Goers Tend to be Happier People.” The tagline is “It's not the sermon — it's the socializing that's the key, new study shows.” (I guess I should be thankful it wasn't, "It's not the sermon, stupid.") I would argue that the sermon and worship gives the Christian gathering its identity as “a moral faith community.” But fellowship within the community of faith is a powerful force. It was meant to be. The Hebrew writer reminds that the power of the Christian assembly is the assembly—

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. (Heb 10:24–25, NLT).

Actually there is very little said about exactly what we are to do when we come together. Yes, there are those “five acts of worship” I grew up hearing about, but no text discusses them as such or tells us exactly how to go about them. Paul discuss some things the church at Corinth did-- “When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said.” (1 Cor 14:26, NLT). But that verse ends with his main point in context, “But everything that is done must strengthen all of you.” The point of coming together is coming together to be strengthened together. Can’t we worship God alone? Of course!  Not only CAN we do so, you SHOULD be doing so. But the point of the assembly is the assembly, the power of mutual edification and encouragement.

I’m glad this study confirms that religious people have a higher sense of well-being and thet it comes from them meeting together in a community of faith. But then, I already knew that.

A Day of Infamy

On December 7, 1941 at 7:53 a.m., Japanese warplanes launched a surprise attack on the U.S. feet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The battle lasted slightly longer than two hours, and after it was over, 2,403 Americans were dead, 8 American battleships were damaged or destroyed, and the Pacific Fleet was crippled. The next day, President Roosevelt asked congress to declare war and proclaimed that December 7, 1941 would be a day that would live in infamy.

Next year will mark the seventieth anniversary of this day that shall live in of infamy. But as the years roll by, that day becomes more and more of a distant memory. The world that existed then no longer exists today. The only threat that Japan represents is in terms of trade imbalances. As the world of 1941 fades into history, it would be so easy to forget the horror, the sacrifice and the bravery of December 7, 1941. I checked most of the main news websites this morning—CNN, MSNBC, ABC, FOXNEWS. While all the news sites reported that the date was December 7, none of them mentioned the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. (Google News did have several articles). I guess there have been so many more days of infamy in the intervening 69 years that we don’t focus on one day 69 years ago.

If you visit Pearl Harbor today, you will see an imposing and impressive memorial that is there to ensure that we never forget. There the U.S.S. Arizona still lies in its final resting-place at the bottom of Pearl Harbor where it has been since December 7, 1941. And there 1,102 of the men who died on the Arizona still lie; their ship has become their tomb. Spanning, but never touching, the mid-section of the sunken battleship is a 184 foot-long memorial. All of the names of all of the men who died on the Arizona are engraved there on the ship. I visited the memorial once and stood there as Dad videotaped each and every name inscribed on the memorial. My Aunt Laverne’s fiancé, a man who would have become my uncle were it not for that day of infamy, is one of those 1,102 names. That memorial is there to make sure visitors to Pearl Harbor never forget the horror and the sacrifice of that day so long ago.

Each Sunday, the church gathers today to remember another day that lives in infamy. At the center of Christianity is a story of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is easy to forget that this is the part of our faith that is “of first importance” (1 Cor 15:3). The sacrifice of Jesus took place so long ago; there have been so many other days of infamy that have taking place between that time and today—infamy in our world and in our own lives. We have heard the story of the cross so many times that we can become dumbed to its power and importance. We can forget that this story is the very heart of our Christian faith. It is still the greatest story ever told. And it is our story.

It is a story we must never forget. So on the night before the story, Jesus created a memorial to himself. The Christ memorial is not nearly as imposing as the one in Pearl Harbor, but it is a memorial which has endured for two thousand years… and it will endure until Jesus returns again. By eating bread and drinking wine/ juice, we remember a day that lives not only in infamy, but in hope and in salvation. Each week we are called to gather around the table to remember Jesus cross and recommit to living in the way of the cross throughout the week and throughout our lives.

He's the Lion, no Lyin'

OK, let me get this out of the way first. I am on the record as being totally opposed to the travesty that is the BCS system for deciding the national championship of college football. OK, I'm not as against it now as I would be if I were a TCU fan.  But seriously, there needs to be a playoff system in which a real champion is crowned. There needs to be a system in which every team at the beginning of the season has a chance to win.  The BCS really is a BC-Mess. HOWEVER, how cool is it that my Razorbacks headed to the BCS party at the Sugar Bowl.  Of course NOW the problem is that all the BCS games are on ESPN and we don’t have cable.  So I guess I’m going to have to work on inviting myself over to someone’s house on January 4 to watch the Hogs crush the Buckeyes.

OK, now for the real blog.  We’ll be heading to the movies sometime this weekend to see The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. We go to movies regularly… if you count twice a year regularly. Lynn and I both loved The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and I liked Prince Caspian well enough. And we have been looking forward to Dawn Treader. The last movie we saw in a theater was this obscure little flick called Avatar.

I notice this morning that Liam Neeson, who provides the voice of Aslan the Lion in the movie, decided to be politically correct and multicultural by suggesting that Aslan does not simply represent Christ in Narnia (which was the impression C. S. Lewis had when he wrote the books) but also represented other religious leaders as well--

Aslan symbolizes a Christlike figure, but he also symbolizes for me Mohammed, Buddha and all the great spiritual leaders and prophets over the centuries.

How nice.  Obviously, you can read anything into anything you like. I remember someone telling Arthur C. Clarke that a cross-like pattern of stars above the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey was sending an obvious message about Jesus and the cross. Clarke, an atheist, replied, “Hey, if I really want to send a message, I’ll call Western Union.” C. S.Lewis was not just a Christian writer, he was the most influential Christian writer of the twentieth century. And Lewis definitely intended Aslan as a representation of Jesus. He wrote, “He is an invention giving an imaginary answer to the question: ‘What might Christ become like if there really were a world like Narnia?’”

Lewis did not believe that Jesus was simply one among many other religious leaders. He did not believe Jesus was a representation of all religious leaders. In fact, Lewis argued that Jesus intended for us to decide whether to accept Him as the Son of God or to reject him completely. He wrote:

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic -- on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg -- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. (Mere Christianity, pages 40-41.)

Jesus was not just one of many Lions of Judah. He was and is THE Lion of Judah. You can accept that or not. What you can’t do is make Jesus multicultural and politically correct!

Religion and Well-Being

Why should you come to church every week? Why should you find more ways to get more involved with the activities and the people at church? Well, one good reason may be that it will make you more physically, mentally and emotionally well. A recent Gallop Poll indicates that Americans who are highly religious have a higher level of overall "well-being."

The study defined "highly religious" people as those for whom "religion is an important part of daily life and church/synagogue/mosque attendance occurs at least every week or almost every week." There were two other groups in the study-- the moderately religious and the nonreligious. There was a "statistically significant relationship between religiousness and wellbeing" and this difference "holds up after controlling for numerous demographic variables." This level of "well-being" was caused by things like "healthy behaviors, life evaluation, work environment perceptions, and emotional health."

The article can be found at the Gallop website.  It not only gives the results study, but there is also an overview of how the study was conducted.  Here is the section of the article subtitled "Implications"

Americans who are very religious have higher wellbeing than those who are less religious, a relationship that holds even after controlling for several related demographic and geographic variables.

This study does not allow for a precise determination of why this might be the case. It is possible that Americans who have higher wellbeing may be more likely to choose to be religious than those with lower wellbeing. It is also possible that some third variable could be driving certain segments of the U.S. population to be more religious and to have higher wellbeing.

It is also possible that the relationship is straightforward, that something about religiosity, defined as a personal importance placed on religion and frequent religious service attendance, in turn leads to a higher level of personal wellbeing. Religious service attendance promotes social interaction and friendship with others, and Gallup analysis has clearly shown that time spent socially and social networks themselves are positively associated with wellbeing. Religion generally involves more meditative states and faith in a higher power, both of which have been widely used as methods to lower stress, reduce depression, and promote happiness. Religion provides mechanisms for coping with setbacks and life's problems, which in turn may reduce stress, worry, and anger. Many religions, including Christianity, which is by far the dominant religion in the U.S., embody tenets of positive relationships with one's neighbors and charitable acts, which may lead to a more positive mental outlook.

Highly religious Americans' healthier behaviors may have multiple causes, including for example culturally negative norms against such behaviors as smoking and alcohol consumption in a number of religions. It may also be possible that the lower emotional wellbeing of less religious Americans puts them in a state in which they are more susceptible to non-healthy behaviors.

By the way, there was no statistically significant difference between the well-being of those who were only moderately religious and those who are totally nonreligious.  So if you are going to be religious, you might as well go whole hog and do it right.  This will also promote your spiritual well-being as well.

Always Be Prepared

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. (1 Peter 3:15)

When we hear the word "evangelism," we often think of things like knocking doors, gospel meetings, filmstrip lessons, and other evangelism tools. Michael Green, author of the book Evangelism Through the Local Church, suggests that the early church grew because its members "gossiped the gospel." Jesus was the topic of their daily conversations with people because they were convinced that everyone needed to know Jesus. Whatever tool the church uses in evangelism, there is no replacement for "regular Christians" who simply talk to people about Jesus.

Peter tells us in today's reading to "always be prepared to give an answer." The word "answer" or "defense" (NASB) is the Greek word apología from which we get the word "apologetics." Paul used this word when he made his defense before the Jews in Jerusalem (Acts 22:1) and King Agrippa in Caesarea (Acts 25:16). To give an apologı́a means simply to give reasons why you believe in Jesus and live your life for Him. In the text above, Peter says that the first step in this process is to "in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord." Before you can share why Christ is the center of your life, He must be the center of your life.

But I have quoted only part of the text. The missing key in evangelism may be what follows in verses 16 and 17-

But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

How we share our faith ("gentleness and respect") is important; so is how we live our lives. We must speak a good word for Jesus; evangelism always gets around to words. But the context of our words is a joyful and holy life that affirms that what we believe works. The Christian who is bitter, negative, fault-finding and joyless will not be evangelistic. Neither will the negative, joyless, fault-finding church. May God help us to set apart Christ in our hearts and live joyful and hopeful lives for Him. And may He help us be better "gossips of the gospel."

The Reason in the Season

Atheists have become evangelistic as of late. The group "American Atheists" has launched an advertising campaign that seeks to take back the holidays from Christians. They have paid for billboards to be erected that claim that "You Know It's a Myth: This Season, Celebrate Reason." The group claims that the ads are designed to embolden "closet atheists" who "go along to get along, to "attack the myth that Christianity owns the solstice season" and to raise awareness (and one presumes money) of its group.



What should be our response to people who go out of their way to ridicule our faith, even at a time of the year when that faith is the most visible? Well, there is on old saying that "Living well is the best revenge." The very best way we can defend our faith is to treat its detractors and opponents with respect as we live out our faith in positive and proactive ways. The very worst thing we can do when someone belittles our faith is to respond in a way that is beneath our faith. We need to show everyone that faith works, and that means we must live it in positive and loving ways. That is exactly the point that Peter makes in todays reading from 1 Peter 2:15-17 when he says--

For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

Show proper respect to everyone. Silence ignorant talk by the way that we live. Show the world that faith works, that it makes us mature, whole people of integrity and joy. When we live right before the world, these kinds of criticism just loose their punch

Happy Thanksgiving

Most of our Thanksgiving Day traditions seem to come from those Massachusetts Pilgrims and 1622. That’s always been annoying to me; the first Thanksgiving was at Berkeley Plantation, Virginia, in 1619. I had Virginia history 3 times in my elementary and high school years, and they taught us this stuff. In fact, all US history is really Virginia history since the original claim for the Virginia Colony was from sea to sea and pole to pole! Those pesky Pilgrims of Plymouth simply had a better press agent!

You know the story; 103 of 158 of the original Massachusetts colonists died the very first winter. The Pilgrims managed to survive (good ol' Squanto) and the bountiful harvest that next fall ensured the continued survival of the colony. So Gov. William Bradford declared that a festival of thanksgiving be observed to God. This Thanksgiving festival became an annual event in Massachusetts by 1690, but it didn’t become the recurring national Thanksgiving Day holiday until Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it so in 1863.

And perhaps this is the trouble with Thanksgiving for many of us today. The first Thanksgivings took place following tremendous struggle after a devastating winter almost destroyed the colony. The first national Thanksgiving Day was proclaimed in the middle of the devastating tragedy of the Civil War. Our Thanksgiving Day today retains many of the forms and traditions, but few have to do with same struggle! Thanksgiving is our day to eat ourselves silly and then complain how terrible we feel afterward. Thanksgiving for us is a day off from work, with family, and to nap in front of football until all the sales begin on Black Friday. That’s the problem with Thanksgiving—we have one day to reflect on our stuff and then we go get more stuff!

Thanksgiving was born in struggle and from struggle. Is it possible that we are too blessed to really be too thankful? Will Rogers drew this contrast between thanksgiving then and now:

In the days of our founders, people were willing to give thanks for mighty little, for mighty little was all that they expected. But now neither government nor nature can give enough but what we think is too little. In the fall of the year, if the founders could gather in a few pumpkins, some potatoes, and some corn for the winter, they were in a thanking mood. But if we can’t gather in a new car, a new radio...and some government relief, why we feel that the world is against us.

We have too much, and therefore we expect too much, to really be truly thankful. We are so focused on our stuff that we fail to see the God who gives. May God forgive us and cause us to refocus on the things that really matter. And may we be thankful.

How Not to Invite a Co-Worker to Your Church

It's almost time to start thinking about our New Year's resolutions for 2011.  I don't know how it happened that 2010 is now almost gone, but it is.  Once we get past Thanksgiving on Thursday, the rest of the year will fly by in a blur.  So we need to get to work right away on our resolutions.  And I know that many of us will resolve to be better at evangelism this next year.  So you help us get started on our resolution to be more evangelistic, I post this video on "How Not to Invite a Co-Worker to Church."



We do need to be inviting people to church and church activities. We don't need the preacher to be cool (thank goodness). But what we do need is the conviction that people need God and that they can find Him where we find Him.

Let No Debt Remain Outstanding

I had Lynn's car inspected several weeks ago (it passed, hooray!). When I paid Guy the $16 for the inspection, he noticed that the lamination was peeling off my credit card. I am literally wearing my credit card out! So you think that maybe I'm using it too much? Credit cards are a real convenience, and we do pay off our balance each month. But the problem with credit cards is that they are a convenience; they make it very convenient to buy things you don't need with money that you don't have. The average family carries about $8000 in credit card debt.

Paul told the Romans, "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another" (Rom 12:8). We are called by God to be faithful stewards of the blessings that he has entrusted to us and to share with those in need. Timothy is told to tell those who have money "to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life" (1 Tim 6:18-19).

Too many if us have compromised our ability to do good works and share with others because we have over-obligated ourselves with debt buying things that we can't really afford. Think about it-- if you are carrying $8000 in revolving credit card debt, then you bought $8000 worth of things that you couldn't afford. That is so simple that its not even funny... well, maybe it is funny. Watch this Hulu clip.



We call the Friday after Thanksgiving "Black Friday" because this is the number #1 shopping day when retailers recoup losses and get in the black. Maybe we should call it "Red Friday" because it is when many shoppers begin their overspending and running up balances on their credit cards. Maybe we should implement this policy of "if you don't have money, then don't buy things." It seems pretty simple really. It also seems pretty Biblical.

The Blood of the Cross

The accounts of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in the gospels share very few details about the actual crucifixion itself. Oh, we are told several of the things that Jesus said from the cross. We are told some of what the Jewish religious leaders said and did there. But as far as the actual details of the crucifixion, there isn’t a lot of information. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John say little except “When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.” (Lk 23:33). The actual historical documents that tell of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus don’t give us many details about exactly what Jesus suffered on the cross.

Of course, the writers didn’t have to give a lot of the brutal details of the crucifixion because their readers knew those details all too well. Crucifixion was not just a manner of execution, it was a form of torture and terror designed to keep the subjugated citizenry in their place. First century people knew exactly what happened when someone was crucified. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John did not have to give a detailed explanation of the horror of crucifixion; all they had to do was to say that Jesus was crucified.

One of the criticisms of the movie The Passion of the Christ was the over-the-top portrayal (in super-slow motion) of the bloody gore and violence associated with the crucifixion. I read somewhere that Gibson used many times more fake blood in The Passion than he did in Braveheart (another movie not for the squeamish), and that is probably about right. Roger Ebert (in a very positive review of the movie), said this—

“The movie is 126 minutes long, and I would guess that at least 100 of those minutes, maybe more, are concerned specifically and graphically with the details of the torture and death of Jesus. This is the most violent film I have ever seen.”

The Passion focused on the violence of the crucifixion, and that is not really the emphasis in the Biblical story at all. Despite the mega-gallons of stage blood used in the movie, the gospel writers mention blood only once in their account, “One of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water” (Jn 19:34). (Actually, the word "blood" is also used in Matt 27:25 when the mob protested to Pilate, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!" Gibson chose not to include that line in the movie due to suggestions of antisemitism.)

So did the movie use too much stage blood and make too much out of the blood of the crucifixion? I'll leave that question up to the movie critics.  What I will say is that while the gospels don’t really stress the blood spilled at the crucifixion, the rest of the New Testament does the blood of the cross quite a bit.  Our reading today from Hebrews 9 uses the word “blood” 11 times (Hebrews 10 uses it another 6 times). The writer points his Jewish readers to the Old Testament purification rituals and reminds them that everything was purified by blood, “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood” (9:22a). Jesus purifies us by offering his own blood (9:12). His point is that the blood that Jesus offered on the cross is far superior to the blood that purified in the Old Testament rituals--

How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! (9:13-14).

It is still true that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (9:22b).  Jesus went through the agony of the cross to pay the price for our sin and to purify us through the shedding of His own blood.

Is the imagery of blood repulsive to our modern sensitivities? Well, it should be. It shouldn’t be repulsive because our constitutions are so delicate that we are easily offended by such things. The imagery of blood should repulse us because it represents our sinfulness and rebellion and the high price it cost Jesus to love us. The gospel is soaked in the blood of Jesus.

What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

A Little Bit More

Leo Tolstoy once wrote a story about a successful peasant farmer who was not satisfied with his lot. One day he received a novel offer. For 1000 rubles, he could buy all the land he could walk around in a day. The only catch was that he had to be back at his starting point by sundown. Early the next morning he started out walking at a fast pace. By midday he was very tired, but he kept going, covering more and more ground. Well into the afternoon he realized that his greed had taken him far from the starting point. He quickened his pace and as the sun began to sink low in the sky, he began to run, knowing that if he did not make it back by sundown the opportunity to become an even bigger landholder would be lost. As the sun began to sink below the horizon he came within sight of the finish line. Gasping for breath, he staggered across the finish line just before the sun disappeared. He immediately collapsed, and in a few minutes he was dead. Afterwards, his servants dug his grave; so his final land grab was six feet long and three feet wide. The title of Tolstoy's story was How Much Land Does a Man Need?

In Proverbs 30, we are given insight into Jesus' instruction for us to pray, "Give us today our daily bread." Here the writer sees both wealth and poverty, success and failure as enemies to be avoided. He prays that God will give him just enough in Proverbs 30:7-9--

7 “Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die: 

8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches,

    but give me only my daily bread.

9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say,‘Who is the Lord?’

    Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

If we have too much, then we will be tempted to have pride in ourselves and decide that we don't need God. If we have too little, then we may be tempted to steal and dishonor God. So the prayer is that God will give him just enough-- his daily bread.

Who is it that you are like. Are you like Tolstoy's farmer who constantly wants more and more... and thus can't enjoy what it is that you have.   Or have you learned the secret expressed by the writer of Proverbs-- satisfied with what you have because it is just enough? The difference here is the difference between us owning able to our things and us letting our things come to own us!

From Philemon to Eternity

Our reading for today is the little book of Philemon. This is an intensely private letter written from Paul to Philemon, a member of the church at Colossae. The book concerns Onesimus, a runaway slave that belonged to Philemon whom Paul had met in Rome and converted to Christ. Because Onesimus is Philemon’s property, Paul sends him back to Philemon. But because Onesimus is so dear to Paul and such a help in his ministry, Paul drops not so subtle hints that Philemon should free Onesimus and so that he could return to Rome.

I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced. (Philemon 12-14)

Paul offers to pay any expenses that Philemon has incurred because of Onesimus’ absence… but only after pointing out the huge debt that Philemon already owed Paul (v. 19). Why didn’t Paul just come out and TELL Philemon what to do? He wanted Philemon to do the right thing for the right reason. And he recognizes that given the socioeconomic reality under which both Philemon and Onesimus lived, Philemon had property rights that Paul was unwilling to violate. Philemon had to come to see on his own that the right thing was to free Onesimus.

That raises a much bigger question. Why didn’t Paul just blast the institution of slavery itself? I believe that slavery is evil. Not only that, I believe God thinks it is evil. My problem is that God never said it was evil; in fact, He permits and regulates it in the Old Testament and includes lengthy section on how slaves and their owners are to behave in the church (Eph. 6:5-9, Col. 3:22-4:1)

• Slaves were to obey and respect their masters, even if the master wasn’t watching. They were to serve them as if they were serving God.
• Masters were to treat their slaves fairly and justly, not with threats or violence, recognizing that they had a Master in heaven.

The New Testament never condemns the institution of slavery. It tells slaves to accept their lot, even if mistreated by abusive owners (1 Peter 2:18ff). Even Jesus assumes the institution of slavery (Lk 17:7) and never condemns it as sin!

Churchmen of the 1800’s pointed to these verses as justification of slavery. Even those who did not actively support the practice of slavery taught that the Bible at least affirmed its morality. Alexander Campbell said, “There is not one verse in the Bible inhibiting slavery, but many regulating it. It is not then, we conclude, immoral.” Well, Campbell right… and completely and absolutely wrong! Slavery, both in first century Rome and nineteenth century America, was a reprehensible affront to our Holy God. The whole witness of the Bible speaks out against slavery even though you’ll never find the subject directly addressed.

Why didn’t Paul condemn slavery? There wasn’t anything directly he could do. The Roman economy and social order was based on slavery. If Paul directly condemned slavery, the world would have rejected the gospel. Slavery was a systemic evil; it had to be dealt with systemically. Paul struck at slavery in Galatians 3:28— in Christ, there is neither slave nor free. Yes, he commanded slaves to obey and respect their masters, but he also demanded masters relate to their slaves based upon mutual brotherhood in Christ. That led to slavery’s fall; as Christianity spread, then slavery ceased to exist in Rome!

William Webb in his book Slaves, Women and Homosexuals: Exploring the Hermeneutics of Cultural Analysis, calls this a “redemptive hermeneutic.” In the chart, X is the original culture that the Bible’s words (Y) were meant to inform. First century masters were taught not to treat slaves as property, and this moved them closer to God’s heart (Z). But the Bible didn’t end with the first century; it was written for all times and all cultures. It’s words are redemptive, carrying us beyond that was written to Ephesus and Colossae and Philemon. Everything scripture says about the golden rule, equality and love demands that we go beyond its specific words on slavery. Our world is closer to God’s heart on the subject of slavery; we know that it’s wrong to own people. So the words of scripture continue to speak to us and move us closer to the heart of God in how we treat people. To use Bible’s words as our pattern on slavery would move us further from God. And yet we have much further in order to reach God’s will on full love and unity.

In other words, the whole Bible does for us the same thing Paul did for Philemon. Paul could have demanded Philemon to free Onesimus; he didn't, but he did make demands that would ensure Philemon did free Onesimus.  The Bible could have demanded that all slave owners free their slaves (and throw the entire Roman world into utter chaos). What God did is call slave owners closer to His heart and gave them principles that, when conscientiously applied, would lead to the conclusion that the entire institution of slavery was evil and should be dismantled. And that’s precisely what happened.

Now what is the application we should make to women and their full inclusion into church ministry and leadership? Oh my, would you look at the time!