Articles

WAITING FOR AN AD

Following the US Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriages in all fifty states, this past Sunday nineteen churches and synagogues, “Communities of Faith,” took out a full page ad in the Dayton Daily News. Its heading was “WE DO Support Marriage Equality.” Without delving in to the misconstrued, contorted use of “equality,” my first response was, “No. You don’t support marriage equality. You support what the Torah and the rest of the Bible labels sin, an affront to Creator God.” Convoluted hermeneutics and faulty exegesis aside, the Bible clearly reveals that God considers homosexuality as sin and a violation of His creative design. Millennia of Scripture readers drew no other conclusion. In the past any who chose to believe that such practice was acceptable left the faith or disregarded Scripture. Now, many claim to remain in the faith and redact, redefined and reassign the meaning of Scripture. These “communities of faith” do so under the guise of modeling “the spiritual values of justice, equality, hospitality, and peace,” a proof of their and “the Sacred”’s love. There is so much wrong with all that gobbledygook both rationally and theologically that there is no space here for response. I did wonder about something: Why do these “communities of faith” not take out full page ads headed with “We Do Support Adultery,” “We Do Support Thievery,” We Do Support Drunkenness.” Why not? All of these and more are classified and often listed together with homosexuality in Scripture as sins. Why support only one practice and not all? While they are paying for ads, why not one that says “We Do Support People’s First Amendment Rights To Voice Their Religious Beliefs.” No. These Churches are not for equality. Nor do they truly love. The ad audaciously included in its last line: “Where there is love, the Sacred is in our midst.” These churches appealed to their corrupt, misconceived idea of love to claim God’s approval of same-sex marriage. Do they really love? Not if they condone this the Bible says is sin. It was God’s love rooted in His holiness that compelled His prohibitions in Scripture against any sexual activity outside the bounds of a marriage of a man and a woman. As Creator, He knew what such activity as homosexuality would destructively do to the practicing individuals, family, children, and society. Supporters of same-sex marriage boast that they show love while claiming any who disagree are haters. I would venture that, if there were a hate meter and it were brought to the debate and protests, that it would register exponentially more hate coming from supporters than from opponents of homosexuality. It is dangerous to assign motives, but I could not keep from asking and surmising why bother? Why did these churches/synagogues bother to purchase the ad? Was it to appear superiorly enlightened compared with backwoods, primitive, antiquated churches that believe in the authority of the literal interpretation of Scripture? Was it to distant themselves from orthodox Christianity/Judaism in order to appeal to the supporters of same-sex marriage? No, I cannot accept the motive was love. If it truly is, I await an ad touting their love for same-sex opponents and support of their first amendment rights to declare their opposition.

THE CONFEDERATE FLAG AND ABORTION

The call to take down the confederate flag in South Carolina in the aftermath of the awful shootings of nine African Americans by a racist white, young male have extended to an attack on our nation’s founders. Calls are also being made to get rid of the Jefferson memorial and to expunge other statues of various slave-owning founders and early leaders. I defend neither slavery nor the need for a state government to fly the confederate flag. I certainly do not seek to minimize the tragic loss of lives or in any way justify the shooter. But, once again this culture’s response reveals, not only a profound lack of historical accuracy, but a deep hypocrisy. The drum-beat from liberalism is always that we need to accept things like homosexuality and abortion because times have changed and what was once considered wrong is now considered right. That is the point: Times have changed. Sadly, in the time of our founders, many did not see slavery as wrong. That times change never means that something wrong is ever right. It does mean that people faced issues in the context of their times. To expect our founders to have responded the same to slavery as we would today is anachronistic. It also ignores the fact that many of the founders did see slavery as wrong but simply did not know how to end it. Just as slavery being viewed as acceptable in the past does not make it acceptable, neither does viewing abortion acceptable in the present make it acceptable. We cannot appeal to the norms of the age to determine right and wrong. We must appeal to something that transcends the time and culture—something; I say the Bible. Indefensibly, many are so indoctrinated by and enmeshed in our times they just do not concede the wrong of abortion and homosexuality. With slavery we started wrong but got it right. With abortion and homosexuality we started right but now have gotten it wrong. Our culture, rising with rightful indignation over the show of the blatant racism of the shooter, reveals its hypocrisy in both its condemnation of that racism and projecting its blame all the way back to the founders. It is not comparing apples with oranges to say our culture is hypocritical in condemning the slavery of the founders while accepting and defending abortion—both have to do with the valuing of the individual and human life. I would submit that slave owners would not have supported abortion. Their condemning abortion would not have justified their slavery, no more than contemporary society’s condemning racism justifies its support of abortion. Our society wants to blame the confederate flag and its past for the recent shootings. It wants to blame the founders. It needs to be noted that it was not the culture of the founders nor of the confederacy that “produced” the shooter. It was this present culture that “produced” him. Our abortion supporting culture.

DON'T SHOOT GOD IN THE BACK

The campaign against ownership of guns doesn't need another anecdote to exploit for their convoluted arguments, but on this Father's Day, I want to tell a story. I have rarely told this story, and, when you hear it, you will know why. You won't understand if you weren't raised in a culture similar to the one I was in Oklahoma, but I started hunting with a shotgun at age ten. My dad (and grandfather) were not careless in allowing me to use the 20 gauge. They started me off with a sling shot. Then, I carried a pellet gun as they taught me safety. Later, I was taught to hunt squirrels with a .22. When I was ten, I began using a shotgun to hunt rabbit. There is a day I will never forget. We were working our way through a large bramble and brush pile. Much of what I was doing was right. I had the safety on. I was pointing the barrel towards the ground. But, in my eager anticipation of jumping a rabbit, I did some things wrong: I had my thumb on the safety (which is on top on my double barrel), and my index finger curled around the trigger. Dad was slightly ahead of me on my right. I stumbled. When I did, in one motion my thumb pushed the safety forward and I reflexively, trying to catch my balance pulled the trigger. The shot viciously swooshed through the brush waist high just barely to the left of my dad. Had he been a few steps farther away, the widening pattern of the #8 shot would have pulverized his back. Other hunters were with us, and I shivered with a rush of shame for having been so careless. Yet, that was nothing compared to the weight of a question that settled upon me: What if I had shot my own dad in the back and killed him? I have rarely told the story but have often asked myself that question. It would have been horribly tragic to shoot anyone. But, my own dad? In my torment that day, although not articulately formed in my mind, I realized the unique place a dad has in a child's life. Dad is almost godlike in the sphere of the home. He is the strong one. He is the protector. He is the provider. He is the dispenser of wisdom. And, I had almost eliminated mine from my and my siblings' lives. It would have been my fault. To their own eternal and present detriment by willful choices people are eliminating the heavenly Father from their lives. One can't shoot and kill God. But, choices in life, choices of sin, selfishness, and rebellion separate the Father from so many people's lives. Speaking analogously in the terms of my story, by their willful sinning they have shot their Heavenly Father in the back.

TAKING A BREAK

Although I have only hiked a tiny fraction of the 2,180 mile long AT (Appalachian Trail), I am intrigued by the personal accounts of through-hikers. Recently, listening to the audio of "AWOL on the Appalachian Trail," I had to pause and reflect on something that had just been said. I paraphrase: "Even though the trail is marked and the hikers are veterans, some get lost. Almost always a hiker becomes lost after taking a break. After the break the hiker mistakenly just starts walking in the wrong direction." If the hiker had not taken a break, he would not have gotten off trail and become lost. Suddenly I was bombarded by memories of real life pastoral experiences: After she had missed several services, I called a sister that had served God faithfully for years. She responded, "Oh, I am just going to take a sabbatical from church for a while." It has been around fifteen years, and she is still on sabbatical. I think she is genuinely lost. Another responded with an email: "I am taking a break from church-any church." Others have informed me. "I want to take a break from choir." "I want to take a break from being so involved." "I want to take a break from mid-week services." There may be some extenuating circumstances that mandate a believer's taking a break from some kinds of involvement. But, one should never take a break from serving God or from the basic holy habits of serving God--gathering with the saints, Bible reading, personal prayer, worship, ministering, etc. Folks get lost during these breaks. In specifics the AT analogy (as any analogy) soon ceases to apply. The grueling physical exertion of hiking demands a break. Sometimes the beauty of the vista requires a stop. Even though the analogy soon falters, the lesson and warning of taking a break remain: Most who get lost on the trail do so after taking a break. On this Christian walk there is no time or place to be stopping. There is no moment we can lower the shield of faith or lay down the sword. There is no looking back from the plow. There is no backwards turning of the head to see Sodom. There can be no pausing to sigh reluctantly over having left the pleasures of this present world. Don't take a break. Don't leave the trail. Don't get lost. Walk on.

THERE IS NO MEMORIAL DAY FOR...

I cannot think of Memorial Day, a holiday evolving from a day set aside after the Civil War to commemorate those who died in defense of our country, without thinking of a line from the Gettysburg address: “we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.” Around 50,000 from both sides were killed, wounded, or missing after the battle of Gettysburg. Many of the wounded ended up dying. Many of the missing had died. That is a lot of blood shed, soaking into, and consecrating those grounds. Interestingly, the song that followed the president’s two minute speech was “Oh! It Is Great For Our Country To Die.” (To die for our country, that is.). Thoughts of this song, the president’s dedicatory address, and the soldiers that had died—on both sides—reinforced in my mind the truth that people of the past lived and died for a purpose bigger than themselves. Today the encouraged and practiced world view is that each should live for himself. If one lives for himself, would he ever be willing to die for a purpose greater than himself, for others? Gettysburg’s ground was soaked and saturated with the blood of tens of thousands that we might be free. Those thousands paid the colloquially expressed “ultimate sacrifice.” Calvary’s ground was soaked with the blood of one Man. He gave His life for the freedom of all who will believe. This weekend we remember, we memorialize, all those who gave their lives in defense of our country, thus of our freedoms. We also remember the One who gave His life for our soul’s freedom. The soldiers and the Savior all died for a purpose other than, greater than, themselves. There is no memorial day for the one who dies after living only to seek pleasure and prosperity for himself. None.

A REAL FRIEND

All of us can relate to times when we didn't have it all together as far as our personal appearance was concerned. Perhaps, something wasn't fastened or zipped. Something was out of place. Something foreign was attached to us. (Once, when I arose from a pew to go to the platform to preach, some joker attached a clothespin to the bottom of the back of my suit jacket. People were laughing as it bounced up and down during my trek to the pulpit.) Well, I've given enough hints of what I'm talking about for you to get the idea, but let's use the example of my shirt tail hanging out in back. (There are many much more embarrassing examples one could use--examples of things that do happen.) So, here I am, thinking I have it all together in my appearance, getting ready to go up on the platform. Suddenly, some one grabs my arm and whispers into my ear, "Your shirt tail is hanging out." Then, I realize why people have been whispering or laughing behind my back all evening. I don't get angry at the one who just told me something was out of place. No. In fact, I have something I like to say in replying back to such a one: "Thank you. You are a real friend to let me know." Others were afraid to tell me not wanting to embarrass me. Others were enjoying the laugh. Others didn't want to get involved. Some were waiting for some one else to tell me. Some reasoned that I would figure it out sooner or later on my own. But, it was a real friend that gave me the heads up. Of course, once being told, I quickly rectified the problem. It is a real friend that will tell you that you are doing wrong in your life. It is a real friend that would tell you that you are not prepared for eternity. It is a real friend that would warn you of the need to surrender to God. It is a real friend that would tell you that you need to come to church. That's a real friend. If you have a friend like that, be thankful and take heed to what he/she is telling you. Get it right just as you would something wrong with your clothing. Then, go thank your real friend.

A CORD NOT SEVERED

The emotional umbilical cord never gets cut. At birth, the literal umbilical cord is severed, and mother and baby are for the first time separated. Emotionally, that mother is still connected. One of the greatest hurts I have seen my wife as a mother experience is when one of our children is hurt. She feels that keenly. When they were young, it may have been their finding out they were not invited to another child’s birthday party. As teens, it may have been betrayal or abandonment by a boy/girlfriend. As adults, it may be just the struggles of existence—dashed dreams, financial troubles, sick children, etc. Whatever the cause, however old the child, whenever in life it happens, if the child hurts, the mother hurts. That is why I believe that one of the most selfish acts of a child is to do something calculatedly, knowingly, and intentionally that would hurt his mother. She has already hurt in so many ways for that child—including giving birth. Then, to be hurt by that child? What uncaring selfishness. Perhaps, the greatest hurt of all for a mother concerning her child, is for her, as a Christian mother to know that her child refuses to surrender his/her life to Jesus. The Christian mother fully believes that all who fail to take Christ as their Savior and Lord will perish, will spend eternity in a misery without God. This thought alone is such a great pain to that mother. This hurt of a mother is so very great because she has given life to that child. She carried that child in her body, attached to her body. She birthed that child. She nursed that child from her own body. Emotionally, the cord is still there. Can this hurt be unlike the hurt God must feel? Creator God has given each of us life. He hurts when we hurt. He also hurts because of us. Perhaps, if one is aware of the hurt his unsurrendered heart, his waywardness from God, causes his mother, he will also have a sense of the hurt he causes God. It doesn’t work only with hurt. It works for joy also. What joy a child can bring to a mother (and God) by choosing Christ. This effect is because of the cord not severed.

FOR THE PENDING DAYS

Last Sunday's a.m. and p.m. sermons were, at first thought, two totally disconnected messages; yet, the morning's message on The Second Coming of Christ and the evening's on the Power of The Spirit converged with the use of the phrase, "Last Days." In both I quoted from Peter's preaching on the day of Pentecost, "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: ...:" (Act 2:17 KJV). How can 2,000 years since Christ's ascension, how can such a long period, all be called "The Last Days"? Simply, because there is nothing else on God's calendar since the outpour of the Holy Spirit until the Second Coming of Christ. For 2,000 years, the Second Coming has been the next thing God will do. Go down to the bank and make a deposit. Then check your online account. That deposit will be listed as "pending." It has not yet been added to your account. But, soon, it will. The Last Days are the days when the Second Coming of Christ is pending. The Spirit came at the start of the pending days, the Last Days. God poured out His Spirit for the duration of the pending days, for each of these Last Days. When Peter applied Joel's prophecy of the promise of God, "In the Last Days, I will pour out of my Spirit," he was not just noting WHEN the Spirit would be poured out--in the Last Days; he was noting WHY the Spirit was poured out. The Spirit was poured out for the Last Days. Jesus told his disciples to do nothing (go tarry)--do not go back to everyday living, do not attempt to fulfill the commission, until they had received this power from on high. The days would be evil; thus, they needed to be filled with the Spirit. The Good News was to be shared with power; thus, they needed to be filled with the Spirit. One can contend that he does not live in the Last Days and thus does not need the Holy Spirit. But one cannot concede he lives in the Last Days without it being an admission, knowingly or unknowingly, he needs the Holy Spirit. The Last Days are not just when the Spirit has come. The Last Days are why the Spirit has come. The Spirit is for these pending days.

PROXY WAR

The recent invasion of Yemen by Houthi rebels bent on overthrowing that country’s government provides a revealing analogy of spiritual warfare. In particular, the war in Yemen is described as a “proxy war” between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The Houthi rebels are supplied weapons and ammunition and supplies by largely Shiite Iran. Sunni Saudi Arabia has provided air strikes and ground forces to assist the weak and tottering Yemen government and its military forces in pushing back against the Houthis. The real battle, whatever is happening in Yemen, is between Saudi Arabia and Iran—Sunni and Shiite. As a believer, it is always consternating and confusing when a real, live, flesh and blood human is the biggest problem in your life, an apparent impediment in your walk with God, and then someone quotes, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities…, against spiritual wickedness.” The truth is, people—flesh and blood--are often our problem, our enemy, our battle. This isn’t a contradiction of Scripture. It is only an admission we often miss the point of the Scripture. The point of the Scripture is that there is a spiritual battle going on behind the visible, physical, human strata with which we interact. People are just the proxy for the spiritual forces at work. (This is not to say that people are involuntary puppets of spiritual forces or that people cannot generate their own evil without any assistance of evil spirits.). Often, evil spirits find willing accomplices in people. Many people have selfish, sinful, evil, hateful designs, and the evil spiritual realm needs only to support, encourage, and congratulate such people in their attacks on others. The sad thing is, often even good people unwittingly allow evil forces to use them . Deacon Bob is a good man. He thinks he is only insisting on his preference of carpet color. Yet, Satan uses the faction that coalesces around his dissenting drumbeat to cause real division in a church. There is a positive side to this proxy war: As certainly as some people are but proxies for evil forces and schemes, some people are proxies for good forces and designs. The Holy Spirit uses people for good as certainly as evil spirits use people for bad. I must realize, if I am not vigilant, evil can use me. But, the good news is, the Holy Spirit can use me as well. Thinking about proxy war, we can truly rest assured that the battle is not ours but the Lord’s.