First Things First

I thought I had been caught in some kind of time warp this morning. The headlines read “Paris Liberated!” Had the news people picked up a World War II headline bouncing around in hyperspace or something? It is not exactly news that Paris was liberated by the allies on August 25, 1944. So why would all the news sources now want us to know about the liberation of Paris? Of course, what they were talking about was the releasing from jail of Paris Hilton after serving 23 days of a 45 day sentence for driving after her license was suspended following a DUI. Paris is our of jail, so stop the presses!

It seems to me that there may have been a few more significant things going on in the world yesterday. Like a key Republican senator and supporter of the President urging him to make a complete change in the entire course of the Iraq War. Or the eleven Americans killed in Iraq on Monday. Or a dangerous, drug-resistant staphylococcus germ that may be infecting as many as 5 percent of hospital patients. Or any number of other stories. Evidently all of that pales in comparison to the big news that Paris Hilton is free. There are some priorities mixed up here somewhere, don't you think?

But then, we all have our priories mixed up, don't we? We all have a problem separating the really important things from the more pressing urgent things in our lives. I spent 30 minutes yesterday on the web finding the very best deal for a wireless network adapter for Tressa's computer. Was that important? Not even a little bit. But then it did seem urgent... to get her computer working so that she would get off of mine! Urgent, but not important. It seems these are the kinds of things we so often spend out time doing. Urgent, perhaps, but not important.

Jesus said, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness…” (Matt 6:33). We believe that, don't we? We do know that eternal things are the most important because they are eternal-- they will last forever. Paul tells us to focus on spiritual things because “what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor 4:18). We agree with that… and then we spend the bulk of our time pursing the urgent things that won’t last. Someone has their priorities mixed up. Is that someone us?

Both... and Neither!

Ann Holmes Redding has been an Episcopal priest for 20 years, and this fall she will teach as visiting professor of New Testament at Seattle University. Fifteen months ago, she also converted to Isalm. Today she claims to be both a Christian and a practicing Muslim. There is no real conflict in this to her. Sure, some minor details have to be worked out, but then people in every religion disagree over some of the details. “So why would I spend time to try to reconcile all of Christian belief with all of Islam.” She goes on to say this—

At the most basic level, I understand the two religions to be compatible. That's all I need. ... It wasn't about intellect. All I know is the calling of my heart to Islam was very much something about my identity and who I am supposed to be. I could not not be a Muslim.

Both Christian and Muslim leaders puzzle over her affirmation that she is both Christian and Muslim. One Muslim professor said, "The theological beliefs are irreconcilable… for Muslims to say Jesus is God would be blasphemy." A Christian professor says, "I think you have to give up what is essential to Christianity to make the moves that she has done.”

What Redding has given up is Jesus. Christianity stands or falls with the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus told his followers, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me… Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:6,9). Christianity is built on the foundation that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matt 16:16). He is the ^“radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” who is today “sustaining all things by his powerful word” (Heb 1:3). Jesus is the eternal word of God who was with God at the beginning and who is Himself God (John 1:1).

Either Jesus is who he said he was or Christianity is false. Either faith stands on the foundation of God’s action in history in the person of Jesus or it does not. Either Jesus was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and who was raised as the firstfruits of the dead or He was not. Either Jesus is Lord or he is not. One really does have to choose. And to try to accept both Jesus and Mohammad is to choose against Christ.

What do we think about Jesus?

Experts vs the Collective?

Andrew Keen has a new book entitled The Cult of the Amateur: How Today’s Internet is Killing Our Culture. In his book, he points to some of the dangers created by the internet and things like blogoshpere and Wikipedia. Of course, I didn’t read the book; I read a review of the book by Michael Rogers on MSNBC’s website, which probably proves Keen’s thesis about the dumbing-down of our culture!

Think about Wikipedia here. As you likely know, Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia that is written, edited and rewritten by its users. The information is “peer-reviewed” in the sense that anyone can correct and add to information in its articles. It is “the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit” according to its homepage. The “collective” provides its own checks and balances for accuracy, so there is no need an “expert” to edit the information. Keen worries that a “cult of amateurs” becomes the authority on information, and then points to its own work as authoritative. So like American Idol becomes the authority on music, so the collective becomes the authority on information.

What Keen is worried about is things like the loss of objectivity in reporting on news. Of course, as I was reading this, I was translating his points to church? Who provides checks and balances on what the church teaches and practices? We would say, of course, that God and His word is the authority for the church, and that is true enough. But who decides what God means and what the Bible says when there are disagreements in teaching and application? You may have noticed that people and groups equally committed to God and scripture sometimes disagree. So who is the “editor” of what the Bible means?

• Is it the “collective?” Is the church a kind of Wikipedia in which every member constantly writes and rewrites an understanding of how we are to live scripture? Are we not all accountable for what we believe and how we live? Is not theology an ongoing process in which all Christians participate?
  

• Is it local leaders? Does God not God gift each church with leaders that are called to feed, shepherd and protect the flock of God? Are elders called to pastor? Aren’t preacher’s called to teach? Is there not a leadership that goes on in every church where “the collective” is instructed, taught and guided by those called as leaders?
  

• It is “the experts?” Doesn’t God also gift the church with scholars who are themselves gifted in areas of language, church history, theology and the like? Should the church not listen to those who have expertise in ways that local leaders never will?

The answer has to be “all of the above?” The church is “a Christian collective” that writes and rewrites our story in the world and to the world. But God has given us local church leaders to teach and shepherd us. And God has given us “experts” and scholars that serve as resources to the church. What God hasn’t done is left us alone as individuals to figure all of this out for ourselves.

Another Night with the Frogs

The pool at Camp Idlewild was always one of the most popular places for campers, but one year it was the place to be if you were a frog. Hundreds (thousands?) of little green frogs descended on the pool, many finding their into the pool skimmers. It was a huge mess. The camp director issued the edict that our athletic director would also be given the job of frog wrangler; it was now his job to remove all the frogs from the pool area. Well, he couldn’t just blow his whistle and say, “OK, everybody out of the pool!” (Come to think about it, that didn’t work with the kids either). So the athletic director spent much of one night capturing hundreds (thousands?) of frogs and placing them into five gallon buckets... which he then placed outside the camp director's door! I could not stifle a laugh the next morning at breakfast when the director said, "Boy, those frogs sure made a lot of noise last night!"

The plague of frogs on Egypt in Exodus 8 was far worse that the one that we had at Camp Idlewild. God showed his sovereignty over the nature deities of Egypt in dramatic ways— the sacred Nile River turned into blood, the sun (god Ra) was hidden by darkness, etc. The people of Egypt suffered because of Pharaoh's stubborn refusal to release his Israelite slaves. One of these plagues was a horde of frogs that found their way into every nook and cranny of Egyptian life. It was so awful that Pharaoh sent for Moses and begged him to remove the frogs. Moses told Pharaoh that he could pick the time that the frogs would be removed, and Pharaoh said, "Tomorrow." In essence, he chose one more night with the frogs.

So why do we choose one more night with frogs? We often make the decision to go on a diet or start a exercise program or do something else to improve our lives... and we always decide to do it “tomorrow” (or "next Monday"). Sometimes our resolution is more spiritual— we will start reading the Bible daily or attending church more faithfully or get involved in a small group or get some help in overcoming a recurring sin. But again it seems that our favorite time for starting is always TOMORROW. We chose another night with the frogs. But tomorrow often never seems to come. This Monday always seems to slip into the next Monday. We always seem to choose another night with the frogs. And we never seem to get rid of them.

What is it that you need to do for the glory of God? Don't put it off! Get rid of the frogs today!

Til I Entered

H. G. Wells once described God as “an ever absent help in time of trouble.” While we may be annoyed by the accusations of the agnostics, most of us have felt that way ay some point or another. We believe God is there and in control, but what we see going on in our lives doesn't really seem to match up.

That is exactly what Asaph struggles with in Psalm 73 (my daily reading for today). What Asaph sees in the world does not correspond with what his faith taught him. Faith said that God was good to Israel and to those who are pure in heart. But what Asaph saw around him was that the wicked prospered and the righteous often did not. He says in verse 3, "For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." Then he describes the prosperous wicked in verses 4-12, ending with “This is what the wicked are like-- always carefree, they increase in wealth” (v. 12).

But as Asaph struggles with this view of the world, he gets another and fresher perspective. And that perspective comes to him in a surprising place. He enters the sanctuary of God, the place of worship and praise, and then everything becomes clear to him (Psalm 73:16-17)

When I tried to understand all this,
it was oppressive to me
till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.

As long as Asaph was isolated from the people of God, from the community of faith, then he struggled with his doubt. But when he goes back to the sanctuary, when he reenters the community of believers in worship, then his faith is renewed and refreshed. His faith in God is restored as his participation in worship with the community of faith is restored.

And within the house of God Asaph gets a whole new perspective of the wicked. He begins to see their prosperity as a house of cards, vulnerable to every wind of chance (73:18-20). This new assessment led to the strong conviction that God does not forsake His own! God is present in the valley of darkness, even in the valley of the shadow of death. He offers comfort in times of distress, counsel in times of perplexity, and strength in times of weakness. So the psalm that began as a bitter cry of disillusionment and lost faith ends with one of the strongest statements of faith and confidence that we find in scripture (Psalm 73:25-28)

Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.

Being a Bit Conservative*

* I am being a bit conservative today... in the sense that the entry below was part of yesterday's sermon that was cut out because of time considerations. (When I recognize in advance that I'm being long-winded, then I am being long-winded indeed). But why waste a whole page of type, especially given how slow I type? So here are my recycled thoughts that I present in interest of conserving work.

Sigmund Freud would have said that people with poor impulse control have “weak ego boundaries.” Freud’s theory of personality saw the id as the pleasure principle, the superego as the morality principle, and the ego as the reality principle. The ego’s job is to satisfy the needs of the id while respecting the superego and the needs of other people. So Freud would have said that people who don’t seem to be able to delay gratification have an unbalanced id that the ego can’t control, this weak ego boundaries.

Freud was no friend of Christianity, and he indeed saw this whole process a as purely psychological phenomenon. But several years ago, Joe Beam (in his book Seeing the Unseen) suggested that Freud may have been on to something here. Not that this process is merely a psychological issue; Beam argues just the opposite. But he suggests that there is a indeed a three-fold battle that rages within.

• What Freud calls the “id” the Bible calls the “sinful nature” or literally “the flesh.” This is the part of us that wants what it wants when it wants it. It is inherently selfish, and it cares nothing for delayed gratification or the needs of others.
  

• What Freud calls “the superego,” the Bible calls “the conscience.” This is the part of us that tells us to do what is right, moral and good. It is the “sense of oughtness” placed inside each of us by God that spurs us to do what it is that we ought to do, even if that is not what we want to do
  

• What Freud calls “the ego” the Bible calls “the mind.” It is the rational part of us that makes choices and decides what we will do. Our minds get messages from both our “flesh” and our “conscience,” from our “sinful nature” and from our “higher nature.”

This is the battle that rages within us, but there is more involved than just what is within us. Our sinful nature wants what it wants when it wants it, and it is precisely here that Satan tempts us, prompting us to do evil. While our conscience prompts us to do what is right, Christians receive promptings from the Spirit of God within us. So this struggle between good and evil within us is really a spiritual battle. But we have the final choice-- our minds decide what it is that we are going to do.

Is all of that clear? Sure it is! Well, maybe my explanation isn’t all that clear, but we are surely clear in the way that this works in our lives. Each human heart is a spiritual battlefield that Paul describes so vividly in Romans 7:18-23—

I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.

There is an ongoing spiritual battle between flesh (our sinful nature plus Satan’s temptation) and the Spirit (our conscience plus the prompting of the Spirit within). We always receive mixed signals. But we remain key players because our minds (our conscience selves) make the choice as to which voice we are going to hear and which action we are going to take. Our inner being (conscience) delights in God's law, but there is also a law at war within us (sinful nature) that wars against our minds. And the war goes on.

Extraordinarily Tragic

Angelynn decided Monday night at 8:30 that she could not survive another day without getting to Target to buy some make-up. I think she looks fine without all that stuff, but surprisingly she wasn’t open to that suggestion. She HAD to go to Target that night right then, and she needed someone to go with her. Neither Mom or big sister were able to go, so of course I was the next choice… and last resort. Great chance for a little father-daughter quality time, right? Yeah, well I had a headache from working all day scrapping up 40 year old carpet padding that is welded onto our floors (in preparation for getting the floors refinished). I was in no mood to make a run to Target to buy makeup (as opposed to most days when I would jump at the chance to do so). So Angelynn went to Target alone late at night, grumbling to herself about her family.

The next day, the national news started carrying the story of Kelsey Smith, an 18 year old woman from Kansas City who was abducted from a Target parking lot on Saturday night seconds after coming out of the store. Security video from the store shows her leaving the store with the gift she had bought for her boyfriend; another security tape shows her forced into a truck and driven away. Her body was found yesterday afternoon in a wooded area about 20 miles away from the store. Today police arrested a suspect in her abduction and murder.

I wasn’t a bit concerned about Angelynn going to Target Monday night. But then Greg Smith (Kelsey's Dad) probably wasn’t a bit concerned about his daughter going to Target two nights before. This world is filled with evil, and we never know when that evil will cross our paths, when the ordinary will be shattered by the extraordinarily tragic. Greg Smith would give anything today if he would have made that Target run with Kelsey on Sunday evening. To tell you the truth, I’m feeling guilty for not going with Angelynn on Monday night. We always think that those things we see on TV happen to someone else; I’m sure that’s what the Smith’s thought too.

I’ll pray for the Smith family as they deal with their loss. I’ll also pray that nothing like that ever happens close to home... or close to anyone's home. And I’ll pray that Tressa and Angelynn’s Daddy does a better joy of enjoying them and not taking them being here for granted.

From the Land of Fruits and Nuts

All Leo Serrano thought that he was doing was renewing his driver's license. Evidently in California, part of that process us having your fingerprints scanned into a database, and that just struck Serrano the wrong way. He made an offhand comment to the DMV agent, "I'm against their mark of the beast system." He thought no more about the incident until he discovered last week that his new driver's license had been suspended.

He was told by the California DMV that his comment about the “mark of the beast” had raised red flags. This reference from Revelation refers (in one interpretation anyway) to the end of the word, and that evidently flagged Serrano as being suspicious. He was given a medical form to fill out and was told to call a driver's safety official in Fresno. In other words, referring to the book of Revelation was enough to call into question his mental health! I know how he feels; I once preached a sermon series on Revelation and several people thought I was nuts! When the DMV was asked to clarify their position, they declined to comment because the case involved medical confidentiality! Isn’t that cute!

Now, I don’t believe that scanned fingerprints are “the mark of the beast” of the Apocalypse. In fact, I have a totally different take on the book than the one evidently espoused by Mr. Serrano. But to have one’s mental health questioned because one makes a passing reference to the Bible is itself crazy, even given the "Continental Shift Theory." That's the one where the continent shifted and all the fruits and nuts rolled over to California!

At any rate, we can no longer assume appreciation for the Bible is a mainstream view in our culture. To take the Bible seriously as a spiritual guide in the 21^st century will be viewed as quaint (at best) and as crazy (as with Mr. Serrano). The time when most people recognized the Bible as the “Good Book” has long sense past. To follow God in our world will more and more take us out of step with the culture around us. So what are we to do? Peter tells us to live such good lives before the world that their insults pack no punch—

Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. (1 Peter 2:12)

Feel the Love

I have always been amazed and amused by churches who regularly have a “love offering” for their minister. I know of churches who have a contribution each week just for the preacher -- “separate and apart” from the regular offering for the church. And if the preacher doesn’t “feel the love” and believes the people can give more, they send the baskets around again! Wow! I feel guilty sometimes just cashing my paycheck, let alone having a special contribution just for me.

But then I may give that love offering deal a try. For years several years, Lynn has really wanted to rip up our 40-year old carpet (exaggeration, it’s only 38 years old) and have the hardwood floors underneath refinished. Just as we decided to splurge and have that done (and ripped up the old carpet, making a huge mess) our upstairs AC unit died a horrible death… and needs to be replaced. The air handler is fairly new, but the upgrade from 10 to 13 SEER means the air handler also needs to be done. The old bank account is beginning to hemorrhage… so if we have a love offering next week, you’ll understand why.

This has been a rather interesting lesson in priorities. There was absolutely no question about whether or not to get the AC replaced. My first question when we got estimates was not “how much” but rather “how fast?” We can go without food, but we really have to have AC! Actually, God has blessed us with some fairly cool nights (while doesn't the AC ever go out on February?). And Dan’s Heating and AC has promised to put in a temporary unit tomorrow so that we’ll have air while we are waiting to have the new system installed.

As near as I can figure it, by the time the new AC is installed and has things cooled down, they will just be getting started on refinishing the floors. So between the heat and toxic fumes, the old homestead is not going to be a pleasant place to live for awhile!

A Powerful Testimony

We know that we are to take every opportunity to share our faith story whenever we have the opportunity. We also know that most of us don’t do that often enough when we have the opportunity... or look for ways to create opportunities. Lauren McCain is still taking the opportunity to share her faith more than a month after she died in the Virginia Tech massacre. Lauren was videotaped on February 22 on the Tech campus as part of a Campus Crusade for Christ project to compile interviews of students discussing their faith. Her interview is an enthusiastic and profound testimony to her relationship with God. You can watch the video on the Daily Press website.

Perhaps the most powerful moment comes when Lauren describes a moment of longing for God when she was particularly down and depressed, and she asked God during a time of worship to show her His presence. She said, “As human beings, we're not going to see his face until we're in Heaven, but I was like, ‘Oh man, just let me die then, and let me see your face.’” Little could she have that less than two months after her testimony was filmed that she would see God face.

What a powerful testimony to a living faith.

An Atheist Goes to Church

Jim Henderson runs Off The Map, a church growth ministry and the website ChurchRater.com. His group created a stir several years ago when they hired atheist Hemant Mehta (actually bidding for his services in an eBay auction) to visit churches and give observations as an unbeliever. Well, he is at it again with a new book, Jim and Casper Go to Church: Frank Conversation about Faith, Churches, and Well-Meaning Christians. Matt Casper is a marketing copywriter and singer… and he is an atheist. He was hired to travel with Henderson to visit megachurches around the country like Saddleback (Rick Warren), Willow Creek (Bill Hybells), Lakewood (Joel Osteen), Potter’s House (T.D. Jakes) and others. This book seeks to be an insight for churches into how they are seen by outsiders.

I’m not completely sure that the exercise is completely fair. Casper is not a seeker—he is an unbeliever who is 100% sure that there is not God. He likely would have never stumbled into any of these churches looking for God, so maybe his observations aren't all that reliable. But it is certainly true that the church’s view of itself is almost always different from how it is perceived by non-believers. This is especially the case even the church prides itself on being “user-friendly” to outsiders like these megachurches.

What exercises like can this help us see is this-- the things we might think are important to outsiders may not be all that important. Henderson suggests that things like worship style, church size, the charisma of the preacher, or presentation of the preaching are largely “culturally determined.” Henderson suggests that the most significant factors of a church on non-churched visitors are their outward friendliness, their bias toward action (doing things that serve others) and what he calls “grace/tolerance” (a willingness to accept people “just as I am.”) This grace/tolerance is the reason why AA is safer for struggling people than church.

One thing these three have in common is that they are not easily manipulated. It’s fairly easy to sing peppy songs and preach upbeat sermons. But it's hard to be friendly and accepting without really being friendly and accepting. Studies show that most churches that rate themselves as “very friendly” do so because they are very friendly to each other; outsiders often feel that these “friendly” churches aren’t very friendly at all! It is easy to say that we accept and show grace to everyone… while we actually expect them to basically look and act just like us. And it is extremely hard look like you’ve involved in the lifestyle of Jesus without actually living like it. In other words, the kinds of things that may actually attract outsiders are those things that cannot be manipulated or rearranged to make us more attractive to outsiders.

Someone observed that a stagnant church that changes its worship style in an effort to grow will most often end up a stagnant church with better worship. Outward changes to make us more “user-friendly” to those outside are necessary and important; sometimes we have to get ourselves out of the way so others can better see God. But these external changes are helpful only if they reflect changes on the inside, changes that reflect the power and presence of God Himself.

He Is Risen Indeed

We had a great weekend with Tommy South leading us in a study of “What Can We Know About Jesus?” Tommy pointed us past the recent attempts to undermine faith in the reliability of the New Testament— things like The Jesus Seminar, The DaVinci Code, The Lost Tomb of Jesus, and the Gospel of Judas. He pointed us back to the historical sources that affirm the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and assured us that our faith is founded on a foundation of history. Accepting Jesus will also be a decision of faith, but it is a decision to accept historical truth claims about the person of Christ.

Paul L. Meir’s novel “A Skeleton in God’s Closet” anticipated much of The DaVinci Code hoopla back in 1994… with a twist. In fact, one reviewer of the re-leased 2004 edition calls it "The DaVinci Code in reverse." In the book, a tomb is found in Palestine that is proven to be that of Joseph of Arimathea… and the tomb has a skeleton in it that isn’t that of Joseph. The body is rather that of a thirty year old Jewish male who had been crucified. Evidence is piled upon evidence, and the conclusion that is reached is that this is the body of Jesus! A world-wide panic ensues as skeptics now finally have the smoking gun that disproves the central claim of Christianity.

The hero of the story is Dr. Jonathan Webber, and Biblical archeologist who is also something of a skeptic. He slowly pieces together the evidence and puts the clues together. In the process he is almost murdered, but he finally proves that the supposed body of Jesus as a diabolical forgery. The tomb really was empty, just as the Bible writers suggest.

The Story ends on Easter morning as Webber worships at his home church. His adventure has reconnected him to his faith. At the critical part of the worship service, the minister proclaims, “He is risen.” And the church responds with renewed faith, “He is risen indeed!” Webber’s eyes mist… because he knows it is all true.

And it is all true! There are a dozen sites in the holy land that some point to as the historical tomb of Jesus. It is doubtful if any of them truly are. But if archeologists ever do find the borrowed tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, I am absolutely confident of one thing. It will be empty! I know because I've read the book!

Strange Bedfellows?

The death of Jerry Falwell last week underscores a change taking place among conservative Christians and their involvement in politics. Falwell convinced evangelicals that they could exercise influence through political action when he founded “The Moral Majority” in 1978. This organization was made up of conservative Christian political action groups campaigning against things like abortion and homosexuality and for things like school prayer and the traditional family. During the heyday of the Moral Majority, the “religious right” was seen as a single political group with a single agenda, and it indeed exerted its political influence. History will judge how far-reaching and long-lasting was that influence.

But times have changed. Conservative Christians still vote, but the “religious right” is no longer one voice with one religious leader. Christians are still very concerned with social issues, but they aren't all focusing on the same social issues. Witness the emphasis of men like Rick Warren and Bill Hybels, for example, on the AIDS epidemic in Africa. No one can honestly accuse these guys of not emphasizing evangelism for the sake of social issues.

Joel Hunter is another example. Hunter works with several evangelical organizations, and he was selected as the president of the Christian Coalition, the conservative group that inherited the mantle of the Moral Majority. But Hunter declined the job because he wanted to focus on social issues other than abortion and same-sex marriage… issues like poverty and environmental protection. So Hunter represents the “greening of the religious right,” saying “Our first order in the Garden was to take care of the Earth.”

Poverty is a social issue. So is health care. So is the AIDS epidemic. For many of the so-called “new evangelicals,” it is just as clear as where Jesus would stand on these issues as on those staked out in the 70’s by the Moral Majority. Conservative theology and more moderate and liberal politics can exist consistently within the same value system. We must be very careful not to assume that agreement on the gospel means we must stand in the same place politically.

Religious Conversations

Are you familiar with http://www.wikihow.com? It is a web site that gives “How-to” instructions for anything from “How to Swat a Fly without a Flyswatter” to “How to Roast a Turkey.” It is you basic How-To guide for just about anything. Including “How to Avoid Uncomfortable Conversations About Religion.” The process is fairly straightforward; here is simplified version—

• Don’t argue. It's difficult to overlook a statement that seems ignorant and ungrounded, and you'll likely have the urge to correct the person. Instead, just smile and say "Interesting..."
  
  
• Redirect the conversation. Ask about their children, health, or job or make a joke like, “Religion? No, I haven't seen that movie."
  
  
• Delay. Suggest a better time to have the conversation; this will allow you to control the environment, length of discussion, etc.
  
  
• Excuse yourself. Take bathroom break, greet someone who just arrived or even take out your cell phone.
  
  
• Bring in another conversationalist. When you can't avoid a person who wants to talk about religion, look for another person who has strong opinions about religion introduce the two, and leave them to split theological hairs together.
  
  
• Be straightforward. Tell them that this is the wrong time for this discussion.

We’ve all known people who press their theological point of view in polemic debate at any and every moment they have opportunity. You know, the guy or gal who can’t tell that nobody wants to hear them argue for the umpteenth time that day about why the Bible teaches that Bill Gates is the antichrist (the number of glitches in Windows 666). We have all gotten roped into conversations or debates that we could have done without.

Understanding that there is a time and place for everything, our real problem is not getting out of unwanted religious discussions… it is getting into them. We need to do a better job of initiating discussions about our God because we are His ambassadors. That is not always an easy—or safe—thing to do. But if God is the great truth at the center of our value system, then that should come out more than it does, should it not. The reason that we can have certainty and hope in a world so short on both is that we have faith in God who is in all and above all. Some trust in horses and chariots, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God!

When we are drawn into discussions of the war in Iraq, the shootings at Tech or myriad of other events and topics, maybe we can honestly and naturally point to the reason we believe that eventually everything will be all right.

Fear of Molestation

When I was growing up, I remember one of the prayer phrases often used in church prayers was “We thank Thee that we can assemble for worship without fear of molestation.” As I got older, the term “molestation” came to have a more technical meaning (as in "good touch, bad touch"), and that prayer seemed a little strange. But it also seemed strange because the persecution of the church was something from the distant past, taken away by Constantine at the twilight of the Roman empire. Of course, even as we prayed that prayer, Christians were being arrested, tortured and killed in the U.S.S.R and Red China. It is often pointed out that more Christians died for their faith in the 20^th century than in the first three centuries combined. Stalin and Mao could teach Decius and Diocletian a thing or two about persecution.

Today faith flourishes in China and many of the former Soviet republics. It is now radical Islam that poses the greatest threat to believers in the world. That was emphasized again today by an article Brian Brown sent me from the Fox News website. Pakistani Christians in Charsadda, a town bordering Afghanistan, have received letters from the Taliban demanding that they close their churches and convert to Islam or they will be targeted for bombings. Many Christians have fled town and others live in fear. All believe that the authorities are failing to take this threat seriously.

Christians (along with Hindus and minorities) make up only about 3% of Pakistan's 160 million residents. Until very recently, most Christians have been able to live peacefully with the Muslim majority. But attacks and threats against Christians have increased greatly after the September 11 attacks and Pakistan’s cooperation with the United States in the war against the Taliban. Like their brothers and sisters in the Roman Empire of the first three centuries, Christians in Pakistan are powerless and easy targets for the growing “Talibanization” of Pakistan. Keep our brothers and sisters in these dangerous areas of the world your prayers.

Big Days / Family Weekend

This was a church family weekend for us. On Saturday, David and Jasmine (Costen) Feliciano were married at the chapel at Ft. Eustis. There is always a ton of stuff to do to get ready for a wedding, but we all got through it. The highlight of the whole thing for me was Angelynn and Tressa fighting over the bridal bouquet. I'm glad Tressa gave up easily; I was afraid someone was gonna get hurt in that tussle! Congratulations to David and Jasmine... and to Josh and Sylvia for getting through the ordeal. It really was a big day.

Sunday was a big day as well. I thought worship was particularly uplifting, but it was Melissa and Julie Foster coming forward to be baptized that made it super special day. And then Thomas' emotional table-talk before communion... well, it was a great day.

Last night, our small group had a party to welcome Glenn Sweatt back home after 6 months in Afghanistan. We had a great time. It was a great family weekend. BTW, special credit goes to Bill Foster who pointed out that yesterday we sang the song "Wake Up O Sleeper" right after my sermon, which everyone found appropriate!

Mother's Day is always a special day, but many probably noticed that we didn't do a lot of special stuff (like we sometimes have in the past). No slide shows or special songs... or even a sermon on mothers. What is with that? Those things are fine, and we'll likely do them again in the future. But Mother's Day is a very hard day for some people-- like those who have lost mothers, mothers who have lost children, and those who cannot have children. Sometimes I think it is good to understate the whole Mother's Day thing for that reason.

God's Plans and Our Plans

I have been using “The Grace for the Moment Daily Bible” for my daily Bible reading. It is one of those Bibles that has 365 Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs readings, one for each day of the calendar year. I bought it for two reasons— first, it was the New Century Version, and I wanted to use an unfamiliar translation rather than the original language (the NIV). Second, it only cost me only $11.00 at Sam’s Club. I was going to use the NLT, but it is hard to beat $11 .00!

I am sure that all these Bibles do is to parse the Bible into 365 readings more or less by size, but it is interesting how often the days readings from the different sections of the Bible seem to have a related theme. I guess that shouldn’t be a shock since all parts share a common Author. Notice today’s reading, for example.

• The Old Testament reading is 1 Samuel 22-23 where David is on the run from Saul. Saul kills a whole town because one priest helps David by giving him food and a weapon, and then Saul “was making evil plans” (23:9) to trap David in the city of Keliah. David prays to God who leads David to leave the city one step ahead of the posse. Saul was under the illusion that God was helping him in his evil schemes (23:7), but God has other plans.

• The Psalm reading is Psalm 59 which the superscription ascribes to this same phase in David’s life. David talks about evil men with evil plans, and yet God has plans of His own. “But, Lord, you laugh at them; you make fun of all of them” (59:8). David faith allows him to turn this time on the run into an opportunity of praise. “God, my strength, I will sing praises to you. God, my defender, you are the God who loves me” (59:17).

• The proverb for today was Proverbs 16:1- “People may make plans in their minds, but only the Lord can make them come true.” We may think we have plans, but ultimately everything works out according to God’s Day-Timer.
  

• The New Testament reading is the prologue of John, that amazing word about the Word that became flesh and lived among us. The ultimate plan of God was worked out among human beings. The world had other plans— it lived in darkness, but the plan of God was for His Light to come into our world.

God’s plans and our plans. We may want to boldly proclaim with Invictus, “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.” But then, we know better, don’t we? We live our lives at times like we are large-and-in-charge with all kinds of plans and preparations, and we are really in charge of very little. Ultimately, the only lasting power that we have is the power to put our faith and trust our lives to the Sovereign God has control over all things.

And Thought of Me Above All

I read an article the other day entitled “Good Lines and Questionable Lines in Worship Songs.” The author points to some lines in songs that he finds extremely powerful and some that he thinks are questionable. That is a good idea—there are some songs that aren’t that strong in the theology department (like "Drop Kick Me Jesus Through the Goal Posts of Life"). But I think the author totally misses it when he uses Michael W. Smith’s “Above All” as one of his examples. The line that he objects to is “He thought of me above all.” The author sees this as an example of over-personalizing and “navel-gazing” when it comes to the gospel. He writes—

Michael W. Smith’s song paints a nicely personal picture, but “thought of me above all.” I can’t read Jesus’ mind any better than Michael W. Smith, but from the story it seems Jesus was thinking of his mother, John, the thief, forgiving Gentiles and Jews for what they knew not, his disciples, his Father, so perhaps the line could be, “And thought of me, among other things” but had that un-poetic line been written, I don’t think we’d have even heard of the song.

I’ll be the first to admit that Jesus was not thinking about me personally to the exclusion of thinking about Mary, John, the thief beside Him… or even you. But then, that is not even close to what the song says. Notice the lyrics—

Above all powers, above all kings,
Above all nature and all created things
Above all wisdom and all the ways of man,
You were here before the world began

Above all kingdoms, above all thrones
Above all wonders the world has ever known
Above all wealth and treasures of the earth
There's no way to measure what you're worth

Crucified. Laid behind a stone
You lived to die, rejected and alone
Like a rose trampled on the ground
You took the fall and thought of me above all

Jesus did think of me above all… above all powers, kings, thrones, wonders, etc. The song expresses the profound thought that Jesus was above all but though of you and I above all of that. While I do believe that we can over-personalize the gospel and navel-gaze and focus on ourselves while forgetting that “red, and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight.” But I don’t believe this song does that... not at all. Rather it expresses for me in a profound way the fact that Jesus set aside the throne of the heavens to live and die among us because he loved us above all.

Facing the Giants

Several years ago, the giant toy company Mattel sued a man named Gopi Mattel. It seems that this Indian immigrant registered the domain name “mattel.org” and Mattel Incorporated brought domain name arbitration proceedings against him claiming copyright infringement. The arbitration ruled against the toy-maker, concluding that Gopi Mattel had the rights in his own surname. So if you visit www.mattel.org, you can read Mr. Mattel’s resume and some articles on brokerage sales—but you cannot order Barbie dolls or Matchbox cars. The title of an article in USA Today about the incident is “David Beats Goliath in Domain-Name Dispute.”

The metaphor of David and Goliath is routinely rolled out anytime the little guy wins out despite tremendous odds in business or sports or politics. And the metaphor makes sense… if you look at the Biblical story from the viewpoint of the Philistines. When the warrior hero Goliath saw David come out to fight him, he said, Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” (1 Samuel 17:43, my daily reading for today). Looking at the battle through the eyes of the world, it was dead solid certain that David had no chance. But David saw things a bit differently—

David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. (1 Samuel 17:45)

The difference in Goliath and David take on the battle was not that David believed that sometimes the little guy does have a chance. No, they disagreed on who was really the little guy. The giant pointed to his size and strength and experience... and David pointed to God. David knew that the living God was mightiest of all warriors, and thus poor little Goliath never stood a chance.

May God give us the faith of David as we go out to face the giants of our world. May we always remember that battle belongs to the Lord! May God give us the absolute certainty of Paul’s declaration, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31). At the end of the day, Goliath always wins... but the true Goliath is God! Everything that the world throws at us, as intimidating and overwhelming as they seem at times, become pretty puny when compared to the awesome power and majesty of our Goliath God.

Oh what I would do to have the kind of strength it takes to
stand before a giant with just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand
But the giant's calling out my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me time and time again.
"Boy you can never win! You can never win!"
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth
© 2003 by Casting Crowns

New Comment Policy

I've changed the setting for comments to this blog. With all the "anonymous" postings, I had a hard time following who was saying what. Anyone can still post comments, but you have to register (and log in) with blogger first. Hope this isn't too much of a inconvenience.