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AUTOCOMPLETE: "What did..."

Google has become the immediate resort for those who have questions. Have a question? Begin to type what you think is a very specific question, and, after typing a few words, the whole question suddenly appears in the search bar. Google search didn't read your mind. What happened was autocomplete. From your beginning words, the autocomplete function predicts what you are going to type and anticipates the remaining words. When you suddenly have your question autocompleted, it occurs to you, "Someone else has already Googled my question." After just typing the previous sentence, I stopped to try it. I thought, "Suppose I have a question about my child's behavior." So, I began typing, What do I do when my child..." suddenly there were a list of possible completions. But, let's say what I wanted to ask was, "What do I do when my child throws a temper tantrum?" The autocomplete had listed thatquestion in the drop down box. Strangely, I have taken comfort from autocomplete; it has taught me something about questions. 1. There is not something wrong with me for having this question, for not knowing the answer. Others have had the same question. 2. If others have had the same question, not only am I not weirdly unique, I am not alone. Others are going through the same thing, have the same question, are in the same place I am. Others are having the same trouble, struggling with the same problems, wondering about the same thing. 3. There must be answers. Is it even conceivable that a question is going to be asked on the internet with at least there being opinions offered as answers? Oh, yes, if autocomplete predicts my question, someone has asked it; and, if someone has asked it, there will be, correct or not, helpful or not, responses to my question. Someone, very probably has found a solution to my problem, an answer to my question. When I take my questions of life to the Bible, the results may not be as immediate as Google, but I find somewhere in the Bible someone has already asked my question. Or, the Bible has anticipated I'd ask that question. I take my questions to Psalms and realize I am not weirdly unique. I am not alone. Someone has found an answer to or at least a peace about my question. People of faith have questions. I find real comfort in searching the Bible for answers. One more thing: Sometimes, I find the autocomplete predicts my question, not necessarily because someone else has already asked it, but because, although I had forgotten, I had previously Googled that question. This reminds me of the need of grace. I don't always get things the first time. I forget. I often have to relearn. Sometimes I forget the answer and must read the answers again.

FAITH, FAVOR, AND FRUSTRATION

"Many Christians today want a faith that brings favor without frustration." This is something very close to what I heard a preacher say this week. He attributed it to Dietrich Bonhoeffer; but, I couldn't remember this quote from my reading of Bonhoeffer, nor could I find it in a search of the author's writings. Perhaps, it is a summation of something Bonhoeffer taught. Be all that as it may, I believe it is a correct observation. Today, an aberrant Gospel is preached that, if one has the right kind of faith, God will respond with a favor that precludes anything negative, bad, hurtful-anything frustrating-from happening in that person's life. In other words, favor without frustration. The truth is God's favor will bring frustration. I am using "frustration" with a simple meaning of being upset because things don't seem to be working out the way one desires, thought, anticipated, expected. I hear this often today: "Pastor, I thought when I got saved that things would get better in my life. Things are getting worse." Then these disillusioned proceed to share with me their frustration. "My husband won't get saved and is fighting me at home." Or, "I lost my job." Or, "I continue to struggle with discouragement."--all legitimate concerns. Instead of thinking, that God's favor must not be working because frustration has set in, one could look at the frustration as proof that he has received God's favor. Simply put, God's favor is going to result in Satan's disfavor.Instead of God's favor preventing frustration in our lives, God's favor often precipitates frustration. Joseph found that out. His father's favor resulted in his brothers' attack and led to frustration--a pit, sale as a slave, lies told about him, a prison sentence, and being forgotten by Pharaoh's butler. Ultimately, frustration isn't the reason to abandon faith. It is the reason we need it. Life is frustrating without faith. Life is frustrating with faith. However, faith informs us that however frustrating life is, God has a plan. God is in control. God is at work. However frustrating life has become, God is working something for our good. We will overcome. We will be triumphant. We will see a wonderful conclusion to the matter. Again, think of Joseph. As frustrating as life must have been, look where he ended up-second in command of all of Egypt with power and wealth and esteemed reputation and with the tables turned on his betraying brothers. Even without knowing what God has in spite of, through, by means of, and on the other side of our frustrating circumstances, regardless that God's favor often leads to frustration, it should be enough that we have His favor. We need not be frustrated with our faith-maybe because of it, but never with it.

Shotgun Shells, Soldiers, and Control of the Spirit

Hopefully it's not a premonition I'm going to die soon but only something that happens when one becomes a grandfather and starts getting a little old. Recently, distant memories from my childhood have spontaneously ambushed me with such vivid detail they have startled me. One such was playing army on a distant cousin's grandmother's back porch. Through our backyard on the next block lived my grandparents. Next door, my cousin. On the side of his grandmother's house was a concrete porch, roofless, but surrounded with half-wall height rock walls. Knelt down inside, we could play unnoticed and undisturbed. Though it's well over forty years ago, I can, not only, in my mind's eye see us there right now, but also, hear the bumble bees buzz about the blooms on the Rose of Sharon trees that separated the properties between our grandparents' yards. We played war. When we had lost, broken, or simply worn out our sets of little green G.I.s, or blue and brown cavalry and Indians, we substituted with spent 12, 20 and 4-10 gauged shot gun shells brought home from my grandfather's and dad's rabbit and squirrel hunts. We would spend lots of time just arranging our lines of battle on opposite sides of the porch. Hours would pass with our being lost in the intrigue. Not one thing on the porch was electronic. Young boys today would think, "How absolutely boring. Thank God for Xbox." "Not so fast," I imaginatively argue with these video gaming pros. "Don't you see the difference?" "We controlled our game." "Your game controls you." We did control the game: We chose, altering from day to day, who our armies would be--Nazis and Americans, Confederates and Yankees, Cowboys and Indians, and so on. We controlled which size shells would be the privates, which the captains, and which the generals. We decided what would be the artillery we would launch against each's troops: Would it be dirt clods, rocks, sticks, or even the dead soldiers? (A shotgun shell that stood in rank as a soldier, once knocked down was dead, but could still be utilized as a great missile.) We could decide if soldiers could be resurrected or not. We made all the decisions. We were in control. What fun. We could even declare the war over, when calls came for us to come in, or to be continued the next day. Today, all those decisions are predetermined by the parameters, design, and programming of the video game. Yes, we, not the game, were in control. It is true with so much of this life. The question is simply, do I control "it" or does "it" control me. One thing I learn as a believer is that I cannot control "it" unless I have allowed the Spirit to control me. With the Spirit in control, I need not be controlled by anything else. Well, I guess, being old and having flashbacks of a distant childhood of the past isn't so bad if it can teach one how to live better and closer to God today and into the future.

GLOAT: ROBIN WILLIAMS

The word that came to my mind when I read a preacher's FB post on the suicide of comedian Robin Williams was, "gloat." Perhaps, I got it wrong, but it was hard for me not to sense from the tone of the post, intended or not, actual delight in proclaiming the actor's death and suffering in hell's flames. Yes, in my mind, "gloat" is the word: Gloat - to observe with a malicious satisfaction and delight over another's misfortune. I offer no argument for the comedian being in heaven or any defense for his sinful lifestyle. Yet, it seems contradictory to me that a professed rescuer or healer would gloat over the loss and death and suffering of one whom it is the expressed mission of that rescuer or healer to seek to save. Suppose a fireman is active on the scene when a resident of a burning house succumbs to smoke and fire in spite of the firemen's attempts to rescue him. Suppose, that the fire was the fault of the victim for wrongfully smoking in bed. Would the fireman gloat over the victim's death with the justification, "He deserved it for smoking in bed."? Doesn't that smack of contradiction of a fireman's mission and goal? Suppose a doctor has told a patient repeatedly that she must stop drinking alcohol. She will not quit. She develops cirrhosis of the liver which eventually becomes cancer. The doctor does all he can to treat her, but the woman dies. Does the doctor gloat over her death with a "Well, she should have quit drinking."? In both cases, if their motives were congruent with the mission of their professions, I think the fireman and doctor would have been grieved--frustrated, perhaps, but, no doubt, self-evaluating over whether they had done all they could have to save those who had suffered and died. Jesus reserved His harshest criticism, not for rank sinners, but for those whose religious spirit could also be characterized as a self-righteousness that gloats over those deemed unrighteous sinners. What is God's attitude about the death of Robin Williams? "Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and li..." (Eze 33:11). And, "The Lord...is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2Pe 3:9). Admittedly, Scripture records, as in Revelation, rejoicing at the judgment of the godless, the rebellious, the enemies of the people of God. Yet, that rejoicing is for the rightness of God. It is a rejoicing that justice has been done, right has triumphed over evil, the godly have been vindicated. If the writer of the post's mission is to win souls to Christ, what impression would the post leave on the actor's family and friends? What impression would they gather from it of Christians? What impression of Christ? Of the Gospel itself? How can I gloat over the death of the lost and ever hope to win their surviving loved ones? It is true that the unredeemed spend eternity in hell. But may we speak that truth in love not gloat. The doctor can name the patient's liver disease and condemn the drinking of the liquor that is causing it. He still need not gloat when she dies.

WHAT DOES "WORLDLY" LOOK LIKE TO YOU?

Although I had made a rough draft, my Pastor’s Pen article for this week just wasn’t coming together like it ought, and it was getting close to Sunday. In my office on a shelf a notebook from a class I’d once taught on “Spiritual Warfare,” caught my eye. I rummaged through it and what grabbed my attention were not the typed notes but something I had scrawled in my awful handwriting on the back of a page. Scribbled was the word “worldly” with a list underneath of my attempting to define or describe it. What followed was not the results of a Biblical study or a systemized theology; it was simply my musings on worldliness—musings, I trust that surfaced from many Bible studies, experiences, observations, and impressions forged in prayer. Some things are awfully hard to put your finger on and adequately define or describe. “Love” is another such word. “Spiritual” and “worldly” are two others. Yet, in each case of each word, we still recognize “love,” “worldly,” and “spiritual” when we see them. Below, without comment is my list as I jotted it years ago. I typed it so it would be readable. Worldly Sensitive to its opinions Enchanted by its nature Envious of its ways Governed by its trends Adopting of its values It is a rough, imprecise, incomplete list, I know. However, I am convinced that any honest person knows worldly when he sees it. What does it look like to you? What would you take from or add to the list? Perhaps, after contemplating “worldly” one could muse on how to describe "spiritual." What does that look like?

"God Doesn't Have A Brain"

I know. When you read that, your knee-jerk reaction was that God was being blasphemed or demeaned. When I read that statement recently, it was a speed bump in my reading that cause me to hit my head on the roof. As I stopped to metaphorically rub my head, in a rush it came to me that the statement, "God doesn't have a brain" explains so much. The author didn't elaborate, but the truth and ramifications of it flooded me. It isn't blasphemous: To say God doesn't have a brain is no different than saying God doesn't have lungs or a gall bladder or an appendix. A brain is an organ of a natural body. The brain is gray matter. Matter is just that. It is a part of the material universe. God is not matter. God is spirit. A spirit, Scripture notes, doesn't have flesh and bone, nor, we could add, gray matter. No, God doesn't have a brain, but He does have a mind. First, this impressed me with the truth that the mind and the brain must be two different things. Man created in the image of God has a mind. Man, as a mammal with a natural body, has a brain. Man has a mind and a brain. A brain is a physical organ in the head that controls the body. A mind is the self-conscious thinking, feeling, and choosing part of a person that makes him a person. Second, this is what distinguishes man from animal. Both have a brain, but an animal has no mind. Third, the import and implications of this--the brain and mind being two different things--are huge. An animal basically does what its brain is wired to do. A human has a mind that can inform and affect the brain. The mind can change the workings of the brain. Frighteningly, recent scientific studies have show that viewing of pornography actually changes the circuitry of the brain. It rewires the brain--and not for the good. The brain didn't choose pornography. The mind did. The person did. Choosing pornography, the mind caused the brain to be rewired, reprogrammed. The changed circuitry of the brain establishes a habit, a bad habit, in the viewer's life. The neural activity, the chemistry of serotonin and other hormones didn't cause the choice. The choice of the mind caused the neural activity, the chemistry, to literally change the brain. The changed brain then controls that person accordingly. That is the bad news. The good news is that if the mind's making wrong choices can rewire the brain to create a bad circuitry in the brain that leads to bad behavior, then the mind's making right choices can rewire the brain to create a good circuitry that leads to good behavior. Put another way: Pornography rewires the brain. But, so does prayer. When we are born-again, we are forgiven. Our sins are gone. But, the habits of sin, the motions of sin, the bad circuits of sin our still a part of our brain. God, sanctifies our mind. He changes the way we think, the way we feel, the way we choose. A sanctified mind rewires the brain. Our unholy habits become holy habits. No, God doesn't have a brain. He has a mind. And, the Apostle said, "Let this mind be in you." That mind will rewire the brain.

WHERE ON YOUR SOUL ARE YOUR EYES?

WHERE ON YOUR SOUL ARE YOUR EYES? The appearance of an animal reveals the life it was created to live. The very placement of its eyes says so much about its life. Animals which are prey have their eyes on the side of their head. This allows them to see danger coming from most any direction. Think rabbit. Animals which are predators have their eyes positioned on the very front of their face. This allows them to target and focus on the prey they pursue. Think coyote. The writer of Hebrews informs us where we Christians should have our eyes. As we run this race of life, we are to have our eyes latched upon Jesus who has proceeded us on this path (“looking unto Jesus,” Hebrews 12:2). The eyes of our soul should be positioned forward facing. A Christian gets in trouble when his eyes get on the back of his soul. He then is always looking backwards—backwards to Egypt, backwards to the world, backwards to hurts, betrayals, and failures. Looking backwards, he soon trips trying to go forward. Likewise, a Christian gets in trouble when his eyes are positioned on the side of his soul. He then is constantly looking around him. He notices what others are doing. He sees one failing and thinks, “If he can’t make it I can’t either.” Another is seen participating in this world but seemingly blessed and anointed of God. The Christian with eyes on the side says, “If it is o.k. for him, it’s ok for me,” and ends up entrapped in a pitfall. Eyes on the side of the soul see every hypocrite, every gossiper, every hurter. Soon that Christian just sits and watches, going nowhere, or worse, he flounders. When Peter walked on water, he had eyes on the front of his soul seeing only Jesus. When he sank, his eyes had moved to the side seeing only wind and wave. Yes, the placement of a Christian’s eyes on his soul says much of the life he is living. If your soul could be photographed, where would your eyes appear on your soul? Front, side, or back?

GOD, FOG, AND FREEDOM

Here's but one example why I believe God had His intervening hand involved in the founding of our nation: It was the first great battle of the Revolutionary War, the largest to that time fought on our continent and a crushing defeat for the rag-tag Continental army. General Washington and his army had retreated and now were in a dire predicament: Trapped with Brooklyn and the British army in front of them and the East River to their backs, all were waiting for the wind to change from the northeast, at which change the British warships would sail up the river and bombard the Continental soldiers into oblivion or total surrender. There would have been no United States today. But, the wind would not stop blowing. The conditions worsened with the skies growing ever darker, the temperature plunging, and the rains falling. An assessment of the situation concluded that in staying put defeat was inevitable, and, besides surrender, the only possible but improbable option for the Continental army was retreat over the East River to New York. If the storm lifted, the British army on its front would notice the retreat and immediately attack, destroying the army as the British ships moved up behind ending any attempt of escape. The colonies would return to the rule of Tyranny. But, as the next day dawned, the storm continued as arrangements were made for escape and boats collected. Time came to begin the retreat across the river. At that time, the rain stopped. In the darkness of night at eleven, the winds died making possible ferrying over the river the many soldiers on small, overloaded boats . The boatmen worked feverishly all night, but there were just so many soldiers. By day break, when inevitably the British would observe the retreat and attack, a huge part of the army was still stranded on the Brooklyn shore. But, just as the night that had concealed them was lifting, a heavy fog fell upon them. It was as difficult to see in the morning as it had been in the night. Even as the sun climbed higher and higher and should have burned off the fog, the fog held on, covering the retreat. Amazingly, just a short distance on the other side of the East River where the Continental troops were disembarking on the New York bank, there was no fog. The sun was brightly shining. Just minutes after the last of America's troops had escaped from Brooklyn and marched onto New York, the fog lifted. The red-coated enemy could be clearly seen on the opposite shore surprised and disappointed that all the Continentals had escaped to fight another day. Nine thousand troops escaped without the loss of even one life. It is very hard not see a Providential orchestration of their escape, and, consequently, the freedom of the United States. It wouldn't have happened without Divine intervention. Likewise, none by their own ability or efforts walks away from the bondage of sin, Satan, and this world. God, through Christ's work, orchestrates the escape.

YOU'VE READ IT, RIGHT?

A recent post on social media asked for thumb's up applause for making the statement that the "U.S. Constitution is ___________"(An expletive I won't write.) and "needs to be revised." I thought one response to the post poignantly precise: "You've read it, right?" Often, I've wanted to ask critics of the Bible that: "You've read it, right?" I have heard folks from news commentators, talk show hosts, college students, university professors, politicians make derogatory, demeaning, doubtful, dismissive claims about the Bible. Their claims are often so outrageously erroneous that it cannot be they have actually read the Bible. They may have cherry picked some phrases out of context, but they have never really read the Bible to understand it. People make outlandish charges and criticisms about so many things. To make such rash judgment on the Bible or other things, as did the post on the constitution, presupposes some things: The maker of the judgment has knowledge and understanding of which he criticizes. Honest criticism has been qualified by an effort to absorb, understand, and process what is being maligned. "You've read it, right?" The maker of the judgment is in a position qualifying him to make it. The men who drafted the constitution, primarily James Madison, and, more accurately, the men who contributed to the ideas embodied in the Constitution knew what living in tyranny was all about. They made great sacrifices and paid a great price to arrive at a place where they could actually have a country and adopt a constitution. Beyond that, these were men who were real scholars, greatly knowledgeable of their times, of history, of philosophy, and of theology. Their work should be understood before judged. The maker of the judgment is superior to those who crafted what is criticized or has an alternative that is superior to it. Those who sit in judgment of the Bible should realize that the Bible is actually sitting in judgment of them. There is the story of two men standing on the sidewalk looking into a taxidermist's shop at an owl in the window. They harshly castigated the appearance of the owl and how poorly the taxidermist had stuffed it to make it look so badly. After several minutes of their arrogant appraisal, the owl turned its head and blinked its eyes. One better watch criticizing the Bible as a dead book written by dead men. It is alive. It is really doing the critiquing. One would discover that if he would read it. By the way, You've read it, right?