PeaceMAKER

Joe Stowell, author and President of Cornerstone University, spoke recently at a chapel service. While musing over the statement by the angels to the shepherds, he paused over "peace on earth." 

We don't see peace on earth. Did the angels lie or where is the peace they promised?

Is this the peace the shepherds would have imagined? Is this the peace you would have imagined?

The answer over what peace the angels shouted for joy (the adult) Jesus explains privately to His disciples:

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. ~John 14:27

Why should their hearts be threatened with fear when they have His peace? Because He does not give the peace for which the world looks. No treaties will be signed, because of this "peace on earth." Wars won't cease (as you have seen). Persecution and famine may touch your family. What good then is this peace?

So much of what we think of as good has to do with outward comfort, universal peace, physical health, financial wealth... If we've grown up with this, we assume it is our right. If we have been deprived, we make it our aim. But God turns our purpose on its head.

The Apostle Paul in Romans uses Abraham as an example for us. He assumes our familiarity with the patriarch's life and the promise (covenant) God gave to him that He would bless the world through his unborn offspring. As Abraham and his wife Sarah passed childbearing age, he still believed God's promise of a son...

being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. ~Romans 4:21b-25

THIS is the Source of peace. When the angels sang, they knew without doubt that this Baby would fulfill the mission for which He came to earth. They too believed their Master would keep His word.

I wonder if they knew then that the peace they proclaimed would cost His life. This is the hope of Christmas!

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. ~Romans 5:1-5

This Baby born—God with us—lived for thirty years in obscurity, rose in momentary fame, died a criminal's death, buried in a stranger's tomb, rose to complete our peace with God. 

Because of this peace, we now can live beyond our physical comforts. In fact, we can suffer and be glad! We can have sorrow and feel joy! Why? Because peace with God is greater than our understanding of peace, greater than our hope for comfort, greater than our longing for belonging.

Now what?

 

Peacemakers! We are called to be peacemakers. 

A colleague of mine is filming a documentary on the early church in the days of the Roman Empire. Interestingly, although some emperors accused the Christians of bad conduct, the citizens of Rome knew this was false. 

It was the Christians who adopted the babies the Romans piled in heaps to let die. It is the Christians who stayed behind during a plague to nurse the sick and dying (many of them dying as a result). Sound like today? No, it doesn't really, does it?

Today, we protest homosexuality at military funerals! Today, we mimic the Muslims and burn their "sacred" book. Today, we think that pursuing social justice is compromising the Gospel. Today, our divorce statistics rival the rest of the world.

Doesn't it move you to tears to see the name of Jesus run through the mud by our actions, our compromising? I'm sure it moves Him to tears. What a blaspheme of His name!

Matthew 5:9 may be more accurately applied to some Christians (as Dr. Stowell pointed out) as—"Blessed are the troublemakers." Other Christians may live it as—"Blessed are the compromisers."

But Jesus said—

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

If you have accepted the gift of rebirth offered because of Jesus' sacrifice for you, you know the peace of God—the peace with God. If you know it, share it. 

Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. ~James 3:18

This doesn't mean you don't speak up for what is right. Quite the contrary! Yet, in pursuing justice, remember to be motivated by mercy (compassion with love) and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8)

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1867

Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all! (2 Thessalonians 3:16)

Merry Christmas! His peace to you!

Hallelu Yah!

I recently received a link to this video of a "Random Act of Culture," as they called it, that happened at Macy's in Pennsylvania. 

Besides the many voices joining spontaneously in song (a small glimpse of heaven), I love the frame where the people stood as the Hallelujah chorus began. 

History states that at the first performance of Handel's Messiah in London (1743), King George II rose to his feet when the Hallelujah chorus was sung and, of course, the whole audience joined him. Since then, it is tradition for an audience to stand during this chorus. 

Scholars speculate as to why the King stood. Regardless of his motivation, his act is a illustration of Truth—Yeshua (Jesus) is King of kings and Lord of lords. One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Yeshua  as Lord. Those who choose to do so now are filled with joy. Those unwilling to submit now will one day do so trembling with fear at the wonder of His presence and the judgment they have earned.

Hallelujah literally means "Praise Yah" or "Praise Yahweh." The song is a quote from Revelation 11:15, 19:6 and 19:16. 

Hallelujah: for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever. King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, Hallelujah!

This Christmas remember—although His birth was humble, He is great and His return will be fearful for those who reject Him. 

Religion is useless. Only a relationship with God our Creator, through Yeshua our Saviour, will mean anything when this world passes away.

Praise Yeshua with your words, with your life, in your relationships, and in the small details of the mundane day or the busy holiday. Share Him with your family and friends. He is the only gift worth giving.

JOY to the World

Tis the season of "Joy to the world the Lord has come."

The Bible repeatedly mentions joy. When the angel appeared to the shepherds, he announced the Messiah's birth to be "good news of great joy."

Joy, in Scripture, is frequently tied to one contradictory sounding circumstance—suffering—and one unique source—the Holy Spirit.

I've seen two extremes in Christians' lives. Both deflect the joy that should be their inheritance from the King.

One, is a seemingly fake joy (or at least one I could never relate to) where the person fails to express any suffering. Since God is good, their life is fine...nothing of which to complain...no heart aches, no doubts, no worry, no fear. 

While I have memorized the verses telling us to "cast your cares on the Lord," "trust the Lord with all your heart," not "worry about your life," etc, these are all lessons of growth. They only come naturally to a perfect person. For everyone else, it is something we must battle against—put up the Sword of Truth to parry the Sword of Doubt. 

If someone does not struggle, I question if they are really alive. The battle strengthens the warrior and makes him or her realize our dependence on God for righteousness and growth. 

Joy is a fruit of the Spirit that is produced in the midst of trouble and is most illuminated by the dark background of life. To struggle with the realities every human faces—the sorrows, the losses—yet to still have an abiding joy is the sign of the residence of the Holy Spirit.

The second extreme example I have seen in Christians is someone who lives continually on the "poor me" side of the street. Rarely is there a reason to rejoice, because there is too much suffering to bear. You know the person. It's the one you hate to be cornered by and of whom you thank the Lord you're not married.

Both—those without human struggles and those with more than their fair share—steal the glory from God and refuse the work of the Holy Spirit. 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote:

Since ancient times, acidia—sorrowfulness of the heart, "resignation"—has been one of the deadly sins. "Serve the Lord with gladness" (Ps. 100:2) summons us to the Scriptures. This is what our life has been given to us for, what it has been preserved for up till now. Joy belongs, not only to those who have been called home, but also to the living, and no one shall take it from us.

Joy is not reflective of surroundings or even of a positive mental state. Instead, it flows from the Spirit that lives within a Christian.

Persecution can't kill it, sorrow can't crush it, and happiness cannot replace it.

As the Spirit is the seal in the heart of a true follower of Yeshua, marking us as His for eternity, so the fruit which He yields also cannot be stolen from us.

Bonhoeffer continues:

It [Joy] does not deny the distress where it is, but finds God in the midst of it, indeed precisely there; it does not contest the most grievous sin, but finds forgiveness in just this way; it looks death in the face, yet finds life in death itself.

Years after he wrote this, Bonhoeffer exemplified this truth in his own imprisonment and death.

Honesty in suffering is important not only for the one going through it, but also for those around who may be in a similar dark valley. God's glory is seen not in a perfect life, but in a life that He is perfecting.

Although happiness may shy away in the shadows, joy will accompany us through the night.

How Much Does God Know?

Does anything surprise God? Are there things that even He doesn't know?

These are some of the questions raised in a book published some years back, which came up in a discussion this week. I have never read the book, but the one telling me about it summarized the thesis as something like this: If God has allowed humans free will, then there must be a time when He does not know what we will do. If you create something that can think for itself, how can you know what it will think or do?

I strongly believe you cannot hold the Bible as the inerrant Word of God and also consider this to be true. Why? Because the Bible consistently contradicts this view.

Over and over, the writers of Scripture declare that God knows their thoughts...

Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O Yahweh. ~Psalm 139:4

You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men ~1Kings 8:39c

Yahweh knows the thoughts of man; He knows that they are futile. ~Psalm 94:11

You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. ~Psalm 139:2

Then the Spirit of the Yahweh came upon me, and he told me to say: "This is what the Yahweh says: That is what you are saying, O house of Israel, but I know what is going through your mind." ~Ezekiel 11:5

If He did not know all the details of a person's heart, actions, thoughts, and will, He certainly could never determine how long they would live. Yet the Psalmist states that God knew the exact day of his death before he was even born.

All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be. ~Psalm 139:16b

Not only does He know the day of our death, but at creation He already had written in His book of life all who would be saved.

The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come. ~Revelation 17:8

Yahweh determined exactly what it would take and how long for Nebuchadnezzar to humble himself before Him.

Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone He wishes. ~Daniel 4:25

Similarly, He planned Pharaoh's part in the Israelite's exodus from Egypt, long before he was born.

It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” ~Romans 9:16-17

He knew which of Jesse's sons would not only serve as king, but be the man of God that He desired.

"Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Yahweh looks at the heart." ~1 Samuel 16:7c

Even Jesus, God and perfect man, though limited in His human capacity to know the times set by His Father for His return, knew what those around Him were thinking, what the state of their hearts were, and exactly what they would do to Him.

Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? ~Matthew 9:4

"Did not Moses give you the Law, and yet none of you carries out the Law? Why do you seek to kill Me?"  ~John 7:19

I know you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are ready to kill Me, because you have no room for My word. ~John 8:37  

The author (of the book mentioned at the start) could argue that many of these are just Yahweh examining people's thoughts and actions as they happened. But there is hardly a book in the Old Testament where Yahweh does not predict how a person or a nation will act. 

As early as Genesis 3, God foretold of the actions of mankind and their need for a Messiah. In chapter 15, He told Abraham about the slavery that his children would be under for four hundred years.  

This does not even scratch the surface of His messages through the prophets. For example, His prediction that a specific ruler, Cyrus, would be the one to free His people from foreign lands and allow them to return home. 

If you believe the older dating of Isaiah, this was written over two hundred years before Cyrus' birth. Even if you date the latter part of Isaiah during the lifetime of Cyrus, He still was describing Cyrus actions to people who would never have looked to him for salvation. 

Yet Yahweh is the One—

Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, 'My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure' ~Isaiah 46:10

The purposes of Yahweh will not be thwarted. He knew before creation all that would take place.

I'm so thankful for a King and Father who cannot be taken by surprise by our lives or by the world.

Wearied for What...or Whom?

What excites you? For what are you willing to exhaust yourself? Sports? Entertainment? Shopping? Work? Vacation? Family? Friends?

Lately I've been reading the book of Isaiah. Every time I read chapter 43, I'm struck by verses 20 through 25.

In this passage, God points out that the wild animals praise Him because He provides for them. He contrasts this with His people, who He also provides for their daily needs, yet they ignore Him.

I have not burdened you with grain offerings

nor wearied you with demands for incense. (v. 23b)

But you have burdened Me with your sins
and wearied Me with your offenses.(v. 24b)

This passage is one of many in the Old Testament in which Yahweh "wears His heart on His sleeve." Can't you see it?

It's like a wife's question of "how do I look?" when she really means, "do you still find me attractive?" or, more to the point, "do you still love me best?"

Yahweh's heart has never been in laws or demanding obedience. He longs for us to obey out of love (which is true love).

One of the scariest things about Christianity is that it isn't based on a list of dos and don'ts (as we have previously looked at), but it is built on Christ.

If His Spirit lives inside of you, you will want to spend time with Him. As you spend time with Him, you will love Him with a greater fervor. As your love increases, you will do and delight in doing what you know brings a smile to His face. And, as you obey, your character looks increasingly like its Creator.

Spiritual life, like all other aspects of life and leadership, requires a rigorous commitment to learning and growing. When we stop growing, our momentum quickly fades, and we start the process of atrophy. . . . Soaking up sustenance never stops, and even in times of drought, we find sources of strength if we've gone deep enough. ~Zig Ziglar (The One Year Daily Insights with Zig Ziglar and Dr. Ike Reighard)

When I read of the lives of personal heroes such as Oswald Chambers, read how his life burnt out like a firecracker, whose glow is seen long after it is dead, I look in shame at my own lack of passionate pursuit of God.

I'm not there. Are you?

I wrote this poem 30 August 2002. Sadly, it is still applicable.

Father,

I know what it’s like

   to thirst for a voice,

   to hunger for a face,

   to ache for a touch.

I want to feel it for You.

I thirst for the desire,

   hunger for the passion,

   ache for the knowledge

   of You for whom I so often

      am not stirred.

Far from desiring to leave you with a despairing note, I want to leave you with a praise for God's grace and a renewed goal of seeking Him passionately.

One thing I've learned in my relationship with God is how good it feels to confess my lack of passion. When I tell God of my deficiency of feeling, yet my longing to love Him as I should, I am set free from guilt and filled with love for my Father, who is so gracious with His foolish child.

Let's begin again today, this moment, to not only pursue Him passionately, but to egg one another on towards the same goal.

Look Around

In case you didn't know, this week is Thanksgiving holiday in the States. I suppose it's sadly predictable then that I would mull over this season.

One question this topic brings to mind is—where am I on the gratitude scale? Where are you?

I went through a particularly hard time the end of last year and beginning of 2010. A friend also felt weighed down in this wonderful-world-of-woe-is-me. We recognized our need to focus on our blessings instead of our problems, so we began to e-mail each other each weekday sharing praises. Sometimes we wrote paragraphs; sometimes only a couple of words. Somehow those praise began to lift us out of the slough of despondency, freeing us to look around at all the wonders from God.

Cultivating a thankful heart takes work, but there is little joy that rivals it. 

With gratitude comes clear vision to see, truly see, a sunrise or sunset and whisper, "Thank You, Father!" With it comes the thrill of longing for someone you love who is close enough to touch or a phone call away, realizing that it is a blessing today and not a guarantee for tomorrow. 

Your sense of touch, of smell is heightened to the peak of appreciation. Distant laughter brings a smile to your face. You notice the small answers to prayer that shows just how intimately God's cares for you.

Thanksgiving isn't a time of year. Yet, if you celebrate it as special holiday, may it be the start of a new attitude of gratitude. Wherever we are on the scale, let's concentrate on becoming more thankful people.

And true gratitude is sharing. So, what are you thankful for? 

(If you are now in the mood, you can go to Cyber Hymnal and sing along to "Count Your Blessings.")

Freedom's Foundation

Have you ever considered that rules come naturally to humans? Each person consciously or subconsciously constructs rules for themselves. The most savage nations have rules. Rules provide security.

A man may have the rule to give in to his lusts wherever they lead. A woman may have the rule to spend on whatever she sees.

Rules basically are a pattern on which our life is run. We have a code of acceptability. When someone else breaks the code that we keep, he or she is beneath us.

Non-Christians often scoff at religion because of the rules which it enforces, little realizing they have rules which they strictly follow.

The term addiction may be more accurate. When you think you are free from rules, you are most often bound by addictions, habits, compulsions. Self-gratification becomes your driving force.

In the book of Isaiah chapters 27-28, God contrasts two types of peace and security. The first is found in Him.

...let them come to Me for refuge;
let them make peace with Me,
yes, let them make peace with Me. (27:5)

But Israel neither fully rejected Him nor sought Him as their refuge and peace. Instead, they mocked the prophet. They said the same as people today, "God only binds us with rules."

But God reminds them that He had said to them, "'This is the resting place, let the weary rest'; and 'this is the place of repose'—but they would not listen." 

Because they would not find their rest in Him, God promised He would say, "Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule" (v. 13). Resting in God would have freed them from disobedience. Seeking their own way, bound them in sin.

Instead of seeking God as their refuge, they created their own.

Therefore hear the word of 
Yahweh, you scoffers . . .
You boast, "We have entered into a 
covenant with death,
with the grave we have made an agreement.
When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,
it cannot touch us,
for we have made a lie our refuge
and falsehood our hiding 
place. (28:12)

In contrast to the lie in which they seek security, God promises a Cornerstone, tested and precious, that will make a solid foundation. Those who build on this foundation will "never be dismayed." Those who trust in the lie, "hail will sweep away."

The apostles (1 Peter 2:6) recognized Jesus as the promised Cornerstone. He did not change from old covenant rules to only grace and love in the new covenant. He loves us enough to tell us how our life should should be lived.

Jesus said, 

If anyone loves Me, he will obey my teaching. (John 14:23a)

Drudgery comes in obeying rules, God's or those of the flesh, in our own strength and understanding. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are free to obey.

The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26)

As a manufacturer clearly states the car only runs on gasoline, so our lives will not prosper on disobedience.

As a game has no beginning or end without rules, so our life must be guided by something. Only following the right rules will win you the game.

As an eagle is not bound in flight, so obedience gives wings to live the life God created for us.

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. (Galatians 5:13)

A Ringbearer

Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.

Gandolf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. 

There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil.

Bilbo was meant to find the ring. In which case you also were meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.

Have you ever felt like Frodo? You've been dealt a hand of circumstances, and you'd rather fold than play the game.

I believe we all enter this cave of Moria at least once in our lives. Sometime it's God's own words that meet us in that dark place; sometimes they come through a friend.

We all need to be reminded. Our sovereign God has a purpose for the mission He's given you. There is a reason you are here at this time in history, in the country you are living, in the family you were born into, in the state of health or sickness with which you live.

Unlike Frodo, however, you don't depend on a wizard who can be hindered or killed nor a creature, once like yourself, who now is both your guide and threat. No. You have a High Priest that is risen and sitting at the right hand of Yahweh of Hosts interceding for you, if you belong to Him. If you are His child, you have His Spirit inside of you directing you on the path that is good to take and pleading with the Father for all your needs (needs of which you yourself may not be aware).

This doesn't mean the path is any easier than the path Tolkien imagined for Frodo. It doesn't mean you won't have friends desert you, disappoint you, try to discourage you. It doesn't mean you won't lose your life or the life of one you hold dear.

It does mean, you will never walk alone. And everything that happens to you is in the control of your Creator, who has a bigger plan than just for your life or mine, but who loves us more than we can comprehend.

The world may look dark. We may see grief and defeat all around us, and may wish to return to "the good old days" of our imagined world. That is not for us to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.

Be faithful to the mission in which God had you embark. He is the Author of the story, so it will end well.

Here's the church, here's the steeple, open the doors and...

One definition of community is a gathering of people who have a common goal and a sense of belonging.

Why is it in a church that sense of belonging doesn't seem to last or to meet the real issues people have? Do we need more programs, more teachers, more counselors, more activism?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer analyzes some of these aspects in Life Together. What was true in the 30s and 40s is no less true today.

Many persons seek community because they are afraid of loneliness...Christians, too, who cannot cope on their own, and who in their own lives have had some bad experiences, hope to experience help with this in the company of other people. More often than not, they are disappointed. They then blame the community for what is really their own fault. The Christian community is not a spiritual sanatorium. Those who take refuge in community while fleeing from themselves are misusing it to indulge in empty talk and distraction, no matter how spiritual this idle talk and distraction may appear. In reality they are not seeking community at all, but only a thrill that will allow them to forget their isolation for a short time. It is precisely such misuse of community that creates the deadly isolation of human beings.

I've heard it said that if a person enters marriage in order to avoid being lonely, they will be a lonely married person. Another person may be the ingredient for fellowship, but not a cure for loneliness. 

Bonhoeffer views this, and I think rightly so, as trying to avoid coming face-to-face with who one is before God. Until we are willing to sit in isolation and have the reality of ourselves fully revealed over time, we will never allow God to cleanse us of our sins. 

Our sins can never be realized to their full extent at conversion. I don't believe we would be able to bear the weight of the knowledge of them in detail. That is something only the sinless Son of God could bear (and it took Him to death). Our sins, such as pride, wear so many disguises and so often appear so pious in their Sunday best.

Daily digging into the Word, daily seeking the heart of God in conversation with Him, daily and consciously humbling ourselves before God and acknowledging His wisdom when our own understanding would rise up against it. . . this is the solitude, the preparation that must be ongoing in order for one to be a healthy part of community.

What does that mean? Do we lock ourselves away from church until we are fit to enter? If we did that, every church door would close till the end of time.

In case this emphasis on solitude confirms any one's desire to pull out of church, Bonhoeffer continues with the other side of the coin:

Whoever cannot stand being in community should beware of being alone. You are called into the community of faith; the call was not meant for you alone. You carry your cross, you struggle, and you pray in the community of faith, the community of those who are called. You are not alone even when you die, and on the day of judgment you will be only one member of the great community of faith in Jesus Christ. If you neglect the community of other Christians, you reject the call of Jesus Christ, and thus your being alone can only become harmful for you.

There is an equal call in Biblical Christianity to individuals and to people. 

Individually, if you have been born again, God called you. No one else could have made that decision for you. It didn't matter whether you were in the "right church," had a good education. . . nothing else mattered. God's grace bent down and breathed life in your heart and you opened your eyes and believed.

Collectively, your new birth is not a matter just between you and God. When God lifted you from the spiritually dead, He placed you as part of His Body comprised of Christians like and unlike you from around the world. When a part of the Body is hurt, the whole Body is impacted. You cannot sin and not affect the Church. You are a part of a whole.

Why is this important to keep this balanced? 

On the one hand, we are responsible for our spiritual walk. Just as a heart is responsible for pumping blood and can't rely on the hand to help it, so we cannot rely on another person to make us strong spiritually. Another can use their gifts to encourage us, but it is up to us to make it real. That is where our solitude before God is crucial. 

On the other hand, if we lock ourselves away, if we begin to notice every weakness in our brothers and sisters at church and pull away, we are being led astray by pride. This pride is able to make our quiet time with God nothing but our own imagined piety patting us on the back. Instead of realizing we are one of many and are responsible in aiding the other parts of the body, we think of ourselves as essential to God and a unit unto ourselves.

Bonhoeffer summarizes:

Those who want community without solitude plunge into the void of words and feelings, and those who seek solitude without community perish in the bottomless pit of vanity, self-infatuation, and despair.

When we are listening regularly to God, we are more sensitive to our own failings and can humbly accept God's tools of change. We also receive of God's fullness and can therefore reach out in love to those in community. 

Thus, God provides our sense of belonging, whether or not others treat us as they should, and towards others we can share love unreservedly, strengthening their sense of belonging too.

This Week

I rarely get sick. This past week, however, I've been run over with a flu/cold bug that's been going around. I'm postponing my usual post to avoid the necessity for you to decode my ramblings. I'll either write later this week or next weekend. Thank you for your patience.

With Liberty and Justice for All

There are approximately 6.5 Billion people in the world

27 Million of them are slaves.

     80% of these are women.

     50% are under the age of 16.

Whether it is by kidnapping, selling children to pay off family debts, or falling for false job promises—nearly 1 million people every year are sold into slavery. This is not just happening in far off countries. This could be down the street from you.

“It happens here,” Theresa Flores says, “to white, middle-class teens who live in the suburbs. It’s easy to think that because you live in a nice neighborhood, you’re safe. Well, you’re not. We’ve let our guard down.”

Theresa was just 15 years old when she was blackmailed into the sexual slave trade in my own state of Michigan. The men threatened that they would harm her family. Her parents had no idea that every night she was picked up and forced into this life.

In other countries, parents do know, but have debts that cannot be paid. Selling a child to heavy labour or into sexual slavery is their only way to repay it.

In India, girls from the lower castes are taken as soon as they have their first period. In some places, they are taken as young as 9 or 10 years old.

In Afghanistan, powerful men openly have Bacha Bazis. This "is a practice recognized as sexual slavery and child prostitution^[1] in which prepubescent children and adolescents are sold to wealthy or powerful men for entertainment and sexual activities. This business thrives in northern Afghanistan, where many men keep them as status symbols."

Lest men get pictured as the brutes, a representative from Women at Risk International said it is not just men pimping women. Many times women oversee the enslaving other women. No one can point the finger at one gender.

I hope this makes you mad. It should!

God has told His people to be the agents to extend mercy to those in need.

He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does Yahweh require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

The authors of the Psalms were less naive than we are today. They knew the injustices around them. They knew the children offered up to Molech. They heard of the young girls and boys raped in temple prostitution.

Arise, Yahweh! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless. (Psalm 10:12)

Over and over in the Pentateuch and through the prophets, God tells His people to watch out for the helpless, to treat the refugees and foreigners with dignity and justice, to speak out for those unable to speak for themselves.

It is through us that God wants to work. We are His hands and feet in the world. We are the face of Christ to the dying. We must reach out with His love and show mercy. We will be held accountable for what we did with what we knew.

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,

   for the rights of all who are destitute.

Speak up and judge fairly;

   defend the rights of the poor and needy. (Proverbs 31:8-9)

The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern. (Proverbs 29:7)

Why them and not us? We have a responsibility for the very reason that we are not the oppressed, so we have a platform from which to help those who are. You and I have been spared for a reason.

What can we do?

First, pray.

Boaz Johnson, professor from North Park University in Chicago, explained at a recent conference that prayer is our first step and our most powerful weapon. If you want to do something without praying, this urge may originate from pride. Instead, begin by seeking God on behalf of the slaves, pleading with Him to save them, to send people to physically rescue them, to send people to share the Good News that will set their souls free, and to send people to mentor and love them as their wounds begin to heal.

At the same conference, Andrew Kooman (see below for information) reminded us that we need to keep focusing on Jesus or we will act out of hatred or just out of activism. We need to go back to the Source of love "to act justly" and righteously. Even the oppressors need God's saving grace.

Second, do what God shows you to do to help.

Why her and not you? Why him and not you? If it was your child, would you help? Don't wait till it is!

Get mad and do something! Know what's going on and pray!

People in Action:

International Justice Mission is a human rights agency that secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression. IJM lawyers, investigators and aftercare professionals work with local governments to ensure victim rescue, to prosecute perpetrators and to strengthen the community and civic factors that promote functioning public justice systems.

Born to Fly International "does three great things: It shows our kids a wider world, raises support for kids who have too little, and gives the first contact for our kids to touch those who have so little.” ~Dr. Clive Calver, president, World Relief

Women at Risk International unites and educates women to create circles of protection and hope around women at risk through culturally sensitive, value-added intervention projects.
 

Andrew Kooman is a gifted writer and a compassionate faith-in-action Christian. Using the gifts God has given him, Andrew educates others on the truth of trafficking and goes to other countries to help those in need. His emphasis on re-focusing on Jesus and obeying gives Andrew a activism stemming from love.

Fitcher's Bird

For the first time in my life, I am reading through the Grimm Brother's Fairy Tales (I have to do some intellectual reading like this occasionally). I never realized how very gory some of their stories are. For example: Fitcher's Bird.

There once was a wizard, Fitcher, who would dress as a beggar. When a young woman would come to her door to give him bread, he had the power to touch her and she would leap into his bag. Once home, he would give her anything she wanted, but warned her she would die if she lost the egg he gave her or went into the forbidden room.

A family of three girls, one by one, got taken. The first two were caught having peeked into the room. The wizard sawed them into pieces and left them in the secret blood-soaked chamber with all the other murdered girls.

The third sister managed to enter the room, but avoided being caught. The wizard was then under her control. She managed to piece her sisters together and trick the wizard into carrying them, now alive, back to her parents. She escaped while he was gone by dressing in feathers like a bird. Then her brothers and friends trapped the wizard and his friends in the house and burned them alive.

Reading in the book of Proverbs, I am struck by the similarity of this story with the illustrations Solomon gave to his sons to entreat them to follow wisdom.

The adulterous wife and the lady fool are synonymous (fool in Hebrew means morally deficient...of course, this goes way beyond just adultery, but adultery is the pictures the teacher uses).

Wisdom too is pictured as a lady. This female imagery, I can only guess, is also an illustration. Each boy will grow up and pursue either one "lady" or the other. As natural as the pursuit of a woman to be his wife, so these personified women...Lady Wisdom and Lady Fool...will one or the other be the quest of his life.

Here is where the parallel to the fairy tale is striking.

Speaking of the adulterous or Lady Fool, he teaches...

Do not let your heart turn to her ways
   or stray into her paths.
Many are the victims she has brought down;
   her slain are a mighty throng.
Her house is a highway to the grave,
   leading down to the chambers of death. . . . .
   ...she says to those who lack judgment
'Stolen water is sweet;
   food eaten in secret is delicious!
But little do they know that the dead
      are there,
   that her guests are in the depths of
      the grave. (Proverbs 7:25-27; 9:17-18)

The resemblance between the fairy tale and the teachings of Solomon split here. In the story, the girls had no way to resist the path of wickedness. Their only hope was to outsmart him.

Solomon warns that action must be taken before the temptation comes knocking. DO NOT even step foot in her path, he warns his children. Stay away from her neighborhood. If you go near, you will be caught, outwitted, and destroyed. There is no way to escape unscathed.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. (Ephesians 6:10-11, cf 1 Corinthians 6:18 and 2 Timothy 2:22)

We are not helpless slaves of fate unless we are still slaves of sin. If this is where you are, you were born in the wizard's bloody chamber and have no hope to excape from dying there...except one.

Red, Yellow, Black, and White

One thing I love about our pastor is his love of internationals. Almost nothing excites him more than to worship with Christians from other countries. So, as one church closed its doors, he gladly welcomed to our church the African members, from Burundi, and the couple that ministered to them. This morning, Africans from various countries, now living in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and other parts of Michigan, visited our church to participate in singing, preaching, and interpreting what was said into other languages.

Oswald Chambers said: "The missionary of the Cross is not first a British or an American subject, but a Christian."

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could see ourselves this way? If we felt a greater alliance to our brothers and sisters in Christ than we do to our national politics? If we viewed our cultural differences with loving humour as we would a sibling's quirks; we may laugh at our differences, but will stand together for our family honour, to respect our Father's name?

In reality, we have eternal commonality with Christians of every skin tone and language, but only fleeting acquaintance with our countrymen and women who are unbelievers.

As the strange congregation gathered around Yeshua in Revelation 5 sang:

"Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation." (v 9)

That's us! What a beautiful rainbow of colours worshiping around the throne of God.

Let's focus on the big picture. Yes, it's important to take our obligations seriously as citizens of the nations God has placed us. But let's not forget, this is temporal. The souls of those saved and those who will be saved as we share the Good News are eternal.

And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:13b-16)

The best investment is the one that will last forever.

Russian Roulette

Does life ever seem to you like a game of Russian Roulette? Especially when it comes to tragedy?

At times it has for me. Just emotionally, of course; my brain doesn't buy it. There have been times when it feels a gun is placed to all our heads. Click. Nothing, so you go on living. Bang. Someone near you dies or is hurt.

Thankfully, I know that life isn't random events. It's this knowledge that reigns in my feelings.

I read this morning the well-quoted and loved passage of Psalm 139. There David goes into great detail on God's care of him, of His watch over who he is today, of His creation of him in the womb, and of His knowledge of exactly how many days he has and how they will play out.

All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

What are you going through today? Sickness? Worry? Grief?

[Yahweh], You know when I sit and when I rise;
You perceive my thoughts from afar...
You are familiar with all my ways...
You hem me in—behind and before;
You have laid Your hand upon me...
Where can I flee from Your presence?
...even the darkness will not be dark to You; 

He knows. He is there. The darkness may hide Him from our perception, but you were in His plan before the earth was formed. He has not forgotten you. There is no chance He will forget you.

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)

Yahweh who planned your existence, formed your body and designed your mind, personality, and gifts, will hold on tightly to you. Hold tightly to Him.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

(Psalm 139:23-24)

9-1-1

Who can forget where one was September 1, 2001? Terror struck New York and Washington, and its ripples shot through the rest of the States.

The smallest child is taught to call 9-1-1 in an emergency. Whether intentional or accidental, the date called out this emergency.

Yet out of horror, beauty sprung up as we saw the bravery of men and women risking their lives before and after the towers fell. We truly wept with those who wept.



For a minute, all of America came together. People flooded into churches to find something greater than themselves. And in many parts of the world, nations looked on us with compassion and friendship instead of distant mocking.

It is strange to look at what has happened these past nine years. Steering away from the political realm, it grieves me to see the misrepresentation of Christianity by pastors burning the Koran. Bigger plans for this were thankfully abandoned. Yet, I think of the Bible's blatant command:

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, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. (1 Peter 3:15-16)

Being known by love and reaching out in forgiveness to their enemies is what Jesus and His followers modeled. The great irony in Emperor Nero's reign was his maligning Christians for burning Rome, cannibalism, etc., yet they reacted in love and died gallantly.

Today, I fear that many pastors, more or less their congregations, do not know the God of the Bible or what He taught. We have embraced the god of our own understanding and religiously clung to him, split churches over the colour of his carpets, slammed shut the hearts of the searching by our selfishness and pride. Some have made patriotism, politics or a political party a religion, and they are more devoted to preaching their good opinion than to sharing the Good News.

If we don't know Yahweh, how can we make Him known to a world that is empty and aching? We slander Him by our very eagerness to serve Him without knowing Him, Oswald Chambers so rightly said.

What will it take to awaken us again? Will a third world war have to happen? Will we lose religious freedom before we realize how much we've lost? Will we bring on persecution by our flaunting of our rights before those who hate us?

If you know the God of the Bible, make Him known. But honour Him with your gentle love and respect for all those He died to save.

Developing Prayer Power

Last weekend I had the chance to hear my father preach (something I always enjoy). He spoke on Romans 8:26-27—"Developing Prayer Power."

One of my earliest memories of my father was finding him on the coach reading his Bible or down on his knees praying. He chose an hour when the house was quiet, and he did it every day. I believe this left a deep impression on all my siblings as well as myself. His example spoke more to me about the importance of daily time with God than numerous sermons could have. So, when he admitted in his sermon that he doesn't fully understand prayer, one listens.

What can we know about prayer?

I. Understanding Our Need to Pray

A. Our Weakness (v. 26a): "the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness"

We are not only totally unable to do anything good in the flesh, but we also don't know how to ask for what is good. The Holy Spirit then helps us "in our weakness."

Divine participation: the Spirit brings us to salvation, guides us to all Truth, shows us our need to be dependent on Him, gives us hope in the midst of trials—not doing everything for us, but working in us so that we do what fulfills God's purpose.

B. Our Prayerlessness (v. 26b): "we do not know what to pray for"

Cross-reference this passage with Matthew 7:7-11 where Jesus tells His disciples what our intercession should look like:

     1) Ask and keep on asking—Simplicity. Our prayers do not need to be flowery or complex, but rather should be simple, asking our Father in heaven for what we need and desire.

     2) Seek and keep on seeking—Intensity. Our prayers shouldn't be trite or out of habit/tradition, but should be honest, heart-felt, intense.

     3) Knock and keep on knocking—Persistency. If God says "wait," He has a purpose. Keep seeking His will until He tells you "yes" or "no."

C. Our Groaning (vv. 22, 23, 26c) "creation groans, we grown, the Spirit groans"

The Greek word here for "groan" is to "utter a deep sound expressing grief, disapproval, etc."

Can you relate? Have you felt the groan in your heart when you've seen pictures of disasters, heard of the horrors of injustice, witnessed the twisting of truth, felt the pain of loss? We all have.

We know creation groans too. We've all seen the oil-covered birds and sea creatures in the Gulf. We've known of species that have gone extinct. We've known the waste and destruction of once beautiful land. It groans.

In this passage we also hear that the Spirit groans. His groans, however, change circumstances and hearts. Although we do not know what to ask for, the Spirit asks for what is good and harmonious with the will of God.

All that is good and bad in life are different colours on God's canvas. We do not see the whole design now, but one day we will see these colours formed the perfect picture under the control of the Artist's hand.

II. Understanding God's Resources in Prayer (v. 27)

A. Knowing the Mind of God: "He who searches the hearts knows"

The Holy Spirit knows our heart and our motives, and He also knows the mind of God. We must cooperate with the Divine. We need too accept what we don't understand. However God answers our prayer or works in our life, He is fulfilling a good purpose.

B. Yielding to the Will of God: "the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God"

The Spirit helps us to pray; our part is to yield to Him for what we don't understand.

C. Fulfilling the Purpose of God: "intercedes with groans that words cannot express"

God knows what is best and has promised the best for those who love Him.

Conclusion: To be effective in our Christian lives, we need to develop a growing prayer life. Paul reminds us in Philippians 4:6-7 that through prayer we can replace anxiety with peace. We must begin by praying and intensify our prayer life; interceding for others and not just ourselves.
 
Prayer is a journey that takes us throughout life and ends when we speak face-to-face with Yahweh.

Seeing in a Different Light

"Every possible statement that can be made about God expresses some possession or virtue of God, rather than God Himself. The conception of God as He is can only be grasped in one way—by thinking of Him as a Being whose attributes and greatness are beyond our powers of understanding, or even of thought." ~Novatian

When the sun rises or sets we get a glimpse of light and colour as its rays filter through the clouds and atmosphere. We would say we "saw the sun set." But we didn't. We saw aspects of the sun, not the sun itself. We all know that if we saw the sun, we would never see again.

One of the snares most common to humankind is pride. It shows itself blatantly through bragging, belittling retorts, or physical snubs. It shows itself subtly through false-humility, refusal to accept a kindness or gift, or avoidance of a certain person or people.

Pride also subtly creeps in puffing us up with our own knowledge. This is perhaps the most dangerous rearing of pride's ugly head.

Satan's downfall was pride. He said: "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."

Where did Satan go wrong? He assumed he knew the Most High. He who masquerades as an angel of light thought that the light equaled the sun. If he had truly known Yahweh, he would have also known he could not compete.

What about our pride? Do we think, as Christians especially, that we can describe God? Do we feel the necessity to defend His reputation to one who's grieving or hurt?

It may seem so easy to enlighten others until our own world falls apart. Then, lest we cling to Him, we may fall away because He no longer fits our understanding of a "loving God." Tragedy is personal.

One parent who lost a daughter eight years ago shares it this way:

If the whole thing comes crashing down because my daughter died? That makes me the center of the universe. This is something that happened in our lives, and it’s hard, but it’s still part of God’s plan.

Being able to accept the mystery of God is a maturing process. Our desire to be able to explain God is not necessarily good. To long to know God and pursue knowing Him is commendable. To want to define God, however, is a desire to defang the Lion of Judah, render Him helpless to harm us or those we love, make Him safe.

Mrs Beaver: "[I]f there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking they're either braver than most or else just silly."

"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.

"Safe?" said Mr Beaver; "don't you hear what Mrs Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you." (The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Chapter 8)

Yahweh is so much bigger than we can comprehend. When we believe we "know God," in the complete sense of knowing Him, we enter the danger of pride. God is always surprising. We need to foster that sense of wonder and discovery. We must always be learning about Him, talking to Him, reading His Word.

"Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." (1 Corinthians 13:12)

The more we grow in our faith, the more we will realize how much there is to know about God. He becomes like the "Lover" in the Song of Solomon. Our hearts ache for Him, and we delight to pursue and be pursued by the One we love; ever seeking a glimpse of His shadow.

The immature see one aspect of God and think He's complete. The mature realize that three pounds of brain is not capable of knowing God. We grasp whatever "possession or virtue of God" we can understand and surrender in trust what is beyond us; ever pursuing the sweet mystery of His love.

Honest to Goodness

I think Christians are some of the most dishonest people in the world. No, I don't believe we mean to be. I think we've bought into the world's myth that we're to be perfect.

For some, this dishonesty gives birth to hypocrisy. They put on a mask to protect themselves. Disguising their true self. 

They're convinced that to follow Christ means one does everything one should in every way, all the time. When that Christian sees where he/she is failing, it must be hidden. This effort to cover up, eventually is exposed and, for those watching, Christianity as a whole is thrown out with the baptismal water.

Other Christians trust humans to be kind. But God? He's perfect, right? He can't know that I harbour hatred or bitterness. He mustn't know that I feel lust or envy. We must spare Him at all costs.

Oh, I know. We don't think of it in such black-and-white terms. It's the little preacher inside our heads. The one that when emotion stirs, says: "You know that isn't right." Yes, we know. Instead of bringing it to God, however, we quickly say a half-hearted "sorry" and change the subject.

Because we have this problem concealing our own sins, we dare not excuse a fellow believer who is honest. Are you kidding?

Someone comes forward saying he's into pornography—She's had an affair. We hold out our weapon to stab first. We quote Scripture at them. We tell them what dirty-rotten-sinners they are. Do they know what bad examples they are to the youth?

We kick them while they're down.

In case you suspect this is an exaggeration, when Southern Gospel singer Kirk Talley confessed his struggle with homosexuality, he received so many condemning e-mails from angry Christians, he had to close down his website.

What should we do then—with ourselves and with other people? Do we turn a blind eye to our sin? Do we accept it as part of life in this fallen world and give up trying to fight? Do we tell everyone every struggle we ever face?

No. No. No.

We must first deal with ourselves. In the case of sin, it is important to put ourselves first. If you realize an area in which you are struggling or have given in, tell God. Confess every detail.

Have you ever noticed how cringingly honest David and the other Psalm writers were? Psalms such as 137 make us cringe with their blatant hatred and seeming cruelty. Habakkuk provides a less ugly example. But all these men pour out sincere feelings to the Lord. Instead of acting in cruelty, they bring their cruel thoughts or, like Habakkuk, their concerns about the horrors of unpunished sin. In the latter's case, we have a written answer from Yahweh explaining His plans.

Multitudes of passages interwoven throughout Scripture prove, plead, and provide reasons for humans to confess everything. Yahweh can handle it.

In Psalm 50 Yahweh declares the opposite scenario to be the problem. Those who go through the rituals of worship, but hide their sins—those are the lives He detests. Those are the lives that anger Him.

Instead, what does He prefer?

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. (Psalm 51:17)

Even if you don't feel contrite, confessing your sins openly before God gives Him entrance into your conscience and heart. Praying, even if it's wrestling in prayer, plugs you into the source for power, for freedom. It allows you to aim your weapons at your real opponent, within and without.

And your fellow Christian?

Interestingly, just below the passage in Matthew 18 where Jesus explains what to do with a brother who has wronged you is the parable of the unjust servant. The master forgave a great debt of the servant's. But, when a fellow servant asked that servant to forgive a lesser debt, the former had him thrown into prison. The master heard about it and in anger demanded full payment from the unjust one.

When someone admits guilt, that one is vulnerable. He or she has exposed an ugly truth. The world publishes these disclosures in Star, People, the latest talk shows and blogs.

But how should the Christian respond?

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins. (James 5:16, 19-20)

It is the job of the family of Christ to bring love and healing to each other.

Therefore encourage one another and build up one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

Encouragement is the preventative. Love and prayer are the healing. If your brother or sister has sinned and has confessed it, in love with encouragement and prayer, build up (champion, defend, guard, support, go to battle for, back) your neighbor against the enemy inside and outside.

As God forgives and frees us from our sins, may we actively fight for and not against our brothers and sisters.

Pursue God and advocate the spiritual success of others, and God will give you victory in your battles.