Is It Time For A Third Crusade?

Following is a link to a very disturbing but informative article regarding the Satanic cult known as Islam and how it it stealing, killing, and destroying Christians worldwide. (John 10:10) Muslim Attacks On Christians Leave it to the devil to devise a scheme to try to conceal a political system bent on world domination and destruction of infidels (Jews and Christians primarily) behind the disguise of a “religion of peace”! The spirit of anti-christ has blinded the minds of the unbelieving (II Cor. 4:4), as well as other earthly governmental authorities and also even many who profess to believe in God in order to promulgate the deception that to oppose these demonic forces is not the loving Christian thing to do, that capitulation and surrender to political correctness (translated: oppose Islamophobia in all its forms) is the correct course of action. We need to take a strong stand against such dangerous attitudes and rather oppose, with the truth and power of the Gospel, the purveyors of this thinking at every turn. ALL authority has been given to Christ and we have been commissioned to go make disciples of ALL nations under the auspices of His authority. (Matt 28:18-20) Did not Our Lord Himself “bind the strongman” and cast out the demonic by the Spirit of God? (Matt 12:28-29) Isn’t it time that we, as in the hymn:

Rise up O men of God,
The Church for you doth wait.
Send forth to serve the needs of men
In Christ our strength is great,
In Christ our strength is great.

The Church (our brethren worldwide) is indeed needing, yes waiting for us to be strong and courageous men (and women) in the face of this great evil to oppose such evil in the strength of our Mighty God!

A repost and update of “A Few Thoughts on the Immigration Crisis in Europe”

Though it has been almost 2 years now since I first posted this on this blog, I am afraid that the Muslim immigration crisis in Europe has deepened during that time. My prior post was brought to mind after I just read two disturbing articles on the subject today, one of which said:

“New data from Sweden shows how immigration and refugees from Islamic countries puts especially women in danger. 92 percent of all severe rapes (violent rapes) are committed by migrants and refugees. 100 percent of all attack rapes (in which the victim and the attacker had no previous contact) are committed by that same group. In other words, thousands of Swedish women would not have been raped and thereby traumatized for life had it not been for the influx from Islamic countries.” (Source: jihadwatch.org)

and the other:

“Italy says that it is unable to cope with this year’s expected flood of refugees, and is demanding help from the European Union, or else it will close all its ports to ships carrying migrants

Italy’s migrant welcome centers are in a state of “collapse” as huge waves of African migrants take advantage of the temperate climate to make the crossing from Libya to the Italian peninsula.

On Tuesday, 8,500 African migrants are reaching Italian shores aboard 14 different ships, adding to the 5,000 who arrived on Monday. The massive arrivals have led local media as well as politicians to speak of an authentic immigrant “invasion” exceeding the country’s capacity of assimilation.

Officials reported on June 15 that more than 65,000 migrants had arrived since the beginning of the year, but that was prior to the latest influx. Figures for the year now stand at 73,380 migrants into Italy, or a rise of 14.42 percent over the same period in 2016, when then-record arrivals had reached 64,133.

The exodus from Libya to the Italian coast has continued unabated with no visible action on the part of the Italian government or the European Union to halt it.”… (Source: Breitbart.com)

So, more than ever, brethren, it is time to pray for the Spirit’s enlightenment for those in authority, that they will heed the warning signs and stop the immigration madness before it is too late for the West!

A Few Thoughts on the Immigration Crisis In Europe
Originally Posted on September 20, 2015 by theupwardcallofgod
In the ongoing dialogue looking at the massive Muslim immigration problem (approximately 95% of the new refugees are Muslim) going on worldwide it has been helpful to see this from various perspectives. Here is another one I had not considered: the safety and well-being of our families, especially our wives and children. Please see this link: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6527/migrants-rape-germany

Though it seems a very pious Christian sentiment to suggest that God may be sending these people to us to evangelize ( I believe that the Great Commission is for us to go into all the nations, not for unbelievers to come to us), there is inherent danger in allowing, as Germany has, such a mass migration of single Muslim men into the heartland of their country (80% are males, most are under 35 and single-which translates into 640,000 Muslim men “invading” this small European country in 2015). I would fear for the safety of my wife and daughter if over a half million Muslim men were released on our streets in the U.S. And yet that is the desire of many Liberal Progressives in this nation (John Kerry just yesterday-September 19th-upped the requested number of Syrians the U.S. should take in to 85,000).
I unapologetically oppose any being allowed in until such time as a thorough vetting procedure is put in place (there is legislation in Congress currently that would place a moratorium on this UN sponsored placement fiasco called the Resettlement Accountability National Security Act (H.R. 3314): https://mccaul.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/mccaul-introduces-bill-to-give-congress-oversight-of-syrian-refugee). We are already the most accommodating country for refugees and immigrants in the history of the World. But, we have the Rule of Law in our country. Let those who want to come get in line and apply. Perhaps we bump up the numbers of asylum-seekers allowed to apply in light of these extraordinary circumstances. But in no way do we open the borders as many liberals would like to see!

This is serious, brethren, as I have been espousing for over 5 months now! Please support the bill in Congress with an email or call to your Congressman this week. Yes, God is in control. But, as Os Guinness has said in his book “The Call”, the perspective that everything that happens must be God’s will is really an Islamic viewpoint (Allah’s will be done), not a traditional Christian perspective. He sets up the governments of men and the Rule of Law. Without it we are left with chaos, anarchy, and rampant unlawlessness–or else despotism sets in. We are bound as Christians to do our duty under our current governmental structure, because we were born “for such a time as this”!

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

-Martin Niemoller, a German Protestant Pastor During Adolf Hitler’s Regime

A Few Thoughts on the Immigration Crisis In Europe

In the ongoing dialogue looking at the massive Muslim immigration problem (approximately 95% of the new refugees are Muslim)  going on worldwide it has been helpful to see this from various perspectives. Here is another one I had not considered: the safety and well-being of our families, especially our wives and children. Please see this link:

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6527/migrants-rape-germany

Though it seems a very pious Christian sentiment to suggest that God may be sending these people to us to evangelize ( I believe that the Great Commission is for us to go into all the nations, not for unbelievers to come to us), there is inherent danger in allowing, as Germany has, such a mass migration of single Muslim men into the heartland of their country (80% are males, most are under 35 and single-which translates into 640,000 Muslim men “invading” this small European country in 2015). I would fear for the safety of my wife and daughter if over a half million Muslim men were released on our streets in the U.S. And yet that is the desire of many Liberal Progressives in this nation (John Kerry just yesterday-September 19th-upped the requested number of Syrians the U.S. should take in to 85,000).
I unapologetically oppose any being allowed in until such time as a thorough vetting procedure is put in place (there is legislation in Congress currently that would place a moratorium on this UN sponsored placement fiasco called the Resettlement Accountability National Security Act (H.R. 3314): https://mccaul.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/mccaul-introduces-bill-to-give-congress-oversight-of-syrian-refugee). We are already the most accommodating country for refugees and immigrants in the history of the World. But, we have the Rule of Law in our country. Let those who want to come get in line and apply. Perhaps we bump up the numbers of asylum-seekers allowed to apply in light of these extraordinary circumstances. But in no way do we open the borders as many liberals would like to see!

This is serious, brethren, as I have been espousing for over 5 months now! Please support the bill in Congress with an email or call to your Congressman this week. Yes, God is in control. But, as Os Guinness has said in his book “The Call”, the perspective that everything that happens must be God’s will is really an Islamic viewpoint (Allah’s will be done), not a traditional Christian perspective. He sets up the governments of men and the Rule of Law. Without it we are left with chaos, anarchy, and rampant unlawlessness–or else despotism sets in. We are bound as Christians to do our duty under our current governmental structure, because we were born “for such a time as this”!

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

Martin Niemoller –German Protestant Pastor During Adolf Hitler’s Regime

What If Jesus Were A Baker?

I just read the post of another Christian blogger today entitled “Bake for Them Two”. She approached the current controversy raging across America (highlighted by the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act passed by their state legislature back on March 26, 2015 and signed into law by Governor Mike Pence) over the issue of freedom of conscience versus the right to non-discrimination based on sexual preference. Most everyone has already heard of this loud, ongoing debate that is raging in our culture, so I won’t restate it here. What I would like to do is offer a different Christian perspective than that which was promulgated by the author of the above referenced blog spot, Jessica Kantrowitz. (See the post at: TENTHOUSANDPLACES.ORG )

The headline caption on this blog post is a pointedly biased paraphrase by the author of Matthew 5:41 where Jesus said, “Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.” Her mis-appropriation and mis-interpretation of this Scripture by paraphrase as it applies to supporting the premise of the argument made in her blog post is: “If someone forces you to bake a cake for a gay wedding, bake for them two.” So let’s see if we can’t break down her premises one at a time in light of what the Bible really says.

But, before we delve into that, let me first take a moment to sort cursorily through the judicial arguments at play here and establish a simple legal hierarchy which to follow. I do this primarily because the blog’s author begins by setting up her position of persuasion from the standpoint of Jesus being under Roman rule and Roman law at the time of His earthly ministry. Since, according to her blog, a Roman soldier could compel you to carry his equipment a mile, that the Christian response Jesus advocated in His Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew Chapters 5-7, was to “go the extra mile” and carry it two. This is a straw man argument!

A key point to make is we are not under Roman law as the Jews were at that time in history. They were conquered people forced to live under the laws of their conquerors, the Romans. Hence Jesus says, “If anyone forces you to go one mile”. Thankfully, because of the founding of this great country of ours by wise and godly men based upon the principles of free religious expression, a Biblical worldview, and upon the heritage of English Common Law, we do not (at present at least) have to be compelled to do something (whether carry a soldiers gun or bake a gay couples cake) that goes against our wishes. You may say, “yes, but if you are open for business to the public then you must give equal protection under the law and not discriminate against those who seek your services.” I agree, as far as that goes. But let’s look a little deeper into the issues.

Herein is the crux of the dispute: Do anti discrimination statutes trump a person’s First Amendment right to “the free exercise thereof” of their religious views guaranteed by the First Amendment? This is part of the legal hierarchy I mentioned where I believe that a law found in the Bill of Rights to the Constitution trumps a state or federal statute against discrimination. And, I would take this a step further up the mentioned hierarchical chain; God’s Moral Law trumps all of our laws, even the U.S. Constitution when it comes to issues of conscience. For example, though abortion has been upheld by the highest court in our land as a protected act, if I believe (rightly) that this practice violates God’s Moral Law then I have a duty to my conscience to oppose this barbaric practice at every turn, and most certainly when it comes down to being forced to be complicit in this practice, even if only passively. I will obey a Higher Law as it trumps the lower laws. So the hierarchy is this: God’s Moral Law (as revealed in His Holy Word), The Bill of Rights (Constitutional rights), then local, state and Federal laws. We are blessed to live in a country under such a system where not only are most of our laws fair and just, but we also have a right to free exercise of our religion, and a God-given right to dissent when these laws violate our understanding of His Moral Law. What a great country we live in!

So, it is reasonable for one to conclude (as I understand the baker in question at the Indiana pizzeria did) that though they would serve any customer who came into their place of business, they could not provide food (cake, pizza, hors d’ oeuvres, photographs) for a ceremony that had significant religious meaning for them without violating their conscience. This I also agree with. I will not here get into why “gay marriage” is a misnomer applied to a Biblical covenant between a man and a woman and is not marriage at all, but rather save that subject for another post on another day. The beauty of our free enterprise economy is that there are other places to take your business if a merchant does not want yours. There are plenty of other butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers who would have no “conscientious objection” to catering a gay event.

This raises another free enterprise question that perhaps the writer of the blog post did not consider. She says that if the law (anti-discrimination law I suppose) says you should bake the cake, then bake two. How would a customer, any customer, react to ordering a cake and then getting two and being charged twice for them? OK, you say. Give them the second at no charge. So now, the baker is not only expected to violate their conscience, but at the same time lose money in the deal? Astounding!

She further goes on to equate a Christian’s living by their dictates of conscience as “digging our heels in and insisting on our right to discriminate”, and as such this attitude and action “sends hundreds and thousands of people fleeing churches and Christianity entirely”. If it is done hatefully, I cannot disagree. But we are called to be winsome in our message of love, though not compromising, as I will discuss now.

So, what does Scripture say to us that might help us know the right way to respond in this situation? Let me first start by agreeing with Jessica about the real point of this portion of the Sermon on the Mount, which is “The Law of Love”. That because God loves all people, the righteous and unrighteous (sinners; and such we were), so we too are to love all men, even those who do not love us and may even be our enemies. That is transformational love. That is God’s supernatural love in action!

However, her conclusion that the right thing for Christians to do is to violate their consciences and their understanding of God’s Moral Law in the hopes of being loving and conciliatory and not hurting and driving people away is wrong-headed and a misunderstanding of the Scriptural principal. Lost people do not need to see capitulation, appeasement and compromise from Christians! It is sadly too often made by those who    (she made a point of saying that she does not believe gay marriage is immoral) often use it to try to promote a tolerance that leads to a loss of the distinctiveness of God’s Holiness as expressed in His Moral Law. This is a true disservice that we do to our brothers and sisters, whether gay or straight, I believe.

So, what is the correct Christ-like response? I believe that it can be found in Paul’s admonition to the Ephesian church to grow in Christ-likeness by “speaking the truth in love”. Ephesians 4:14-16 It can also be found in Jesus’ example with the woman at the well in John 4:17-19, as well as in his response to the woman caught in adultery in John 8:10-12  (both of which, by the way, were violations of the religious moral laws and the civil laws of the land).

To the woman at the well he spoke truth (“sir, I perceive you to be a prophet”), and did not dance around her immoral history, but rather met her where she was at through  honest and truthful dialogue and in a non-judgmental manner, with the ultimate goal of helping her find her true need met (of which the multiple sexual dalliances had only been her way of seeking to satisfy this true need), which was and is the “Living Water” borne out of a relationship with Christ!

To the woman caught in adultery who was about to be stoned (as the law required), He simply said to her (after the accusers had all left) “neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more.” He spoke the truth in love and yet held to God’s Moral Law without capitulating to the circumstances of the situation of that person and compromising on moral truth.

This is living by the Law of Love; God’s highest Moral Law. This is what we as believers are called to do; to love God first and to love our neighbors as ourselves. It is what Jesus said in Matthew 22:35-40: “One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

As to the rhetorical question in the title of this post, I would say this: We all know Jesus was not a baker, he was actually the bread itself. He is the Bread of Life to all who will come and eat!

Rise Up O Men Of God-A Father’s Day Call for Revival

William Merrill, in 1911, penned these lyrics to the well-known hymn, challenging men to live godly lives and influence their world:

Rise up, O men of God!
Have done with lesser things.
Give heart and mind and soul and strength
To serve the King of kings.

Never has the need been greater than in our time for men with the courage and conviction to live lives of personal holiness and strong Christian conviction in order to be influencers for Jesus in our rapidly-degnerating society. Without strong fathers families fail. Without strong Christian fathers, families, our culture and the world fail!

Peter said in 1 Peter 2:9-12 (NIV):

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.¹¹ Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. ¹² Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. 

As I pray for revival to come to America, I must first pray that it will come to my life, that I will choose to break free from a luke-warm brand of Christianity and live a life of supreme obedience to my Lord. As a father on this Father’s Day, this is my challenge to all fathers who make the claim of being a Christian. Are you living your faith out to such an extent that you are an influencer for the kingdom amongst your children, your wife, your work associates, your community? Are you presenting a true picture of Jesus to those around you? If not, then revival cannot and will not come to our churches, and the world will continue to see Christianity as only an anemic, poverty-stricken faith.

Consider these convicting words of George MacDonald as expressed through the namesake character in his novel “Thomas Wingfold, Curate” first published back in the late 1870’s:

“The waves of infidelity are coming in with a strong wind and a flowing tide. Who is to blame? God it cannot be, and for unbelievers, they are as they were. It is the Christians who are to blame. I do not mean those who are called Christians, but those who call and count themselves Christians. I tell you, and I speak to each one of whom it is true, that you hold and present such a withered, starved, miserable, death’s-head idea of Christianity; that you are yourself such poverty-stricken believers, if believers you are at all; that the notion that you present to the world as your ideal, is so common-place, so false to the grand, gracious, might-hearted Jesus-that you are the cause why the truth hangs it head in patience, and rides not forth on the white horse, conquering and to conquer. Until you repent and believe afresh, believe in a nobler Christ, namely the Christ revealed by Himself, and not the muffled form of something vaguely human and certainly not divine, which the false interpretations of men have substituted for Him, you will be as, I repeat you are, the main reason why faith is so scanty in the earth, and the enemy comes in like a flood.”

Rise up then, O fathers. Have done with lesser things! We have a soberingly serious duty to present a true Jesus to a dying world if ever a revival in the Church and a spiritual awakening of our culture is to come.

Happy Father’s Day!

Does God Care Who Wins The NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship?

Originally Posted on April 8, 2011 by theupwardcallofgod

The topic of today’s blog is actually a shortened repost from 5 years ago:

Does God really care who wins the NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship? And further, by extension, does He care who wins the Super Bowl, the gold medals given out at the Olympic Games, the BCS Bowl games, Johnie’s Little League game or any other sport venue of your choice for that matter? And what about the Women’s Basketball Championship, where Texas A&M just minutes ago knocked off “God’s Team” (or so say some of my devout and well-meaning Catholic friends)? The answer (my answer, of course, as this is my blog)? Unequivocally, yes!

So what team does God root for? And don’t you think that if he had a favorite team He would certainly have the “pull” to make sure they won every time? Would it be Notre Dame or someone else?  Would it be the team with the most Christians on it or with a Christian coach or the one with the most noble motives (good guys don’t always finish last)? There are certainly plenty of folks on both benches and in the home and visitor stands desperately and fervently praying to the same God at the same time asking for the same outcome; a victory. Whose prayers will He hear? If we all knew the answer then the odds makers in Las Vegas would have to close up shop and go home!

Pay attention here. I said that I believe that God “cares” who wins, not because of individual or team favoritism (Scripture says there is no partiality with God), but because of a higher purpose-to shape the character of those playing the game (and watching it too sometimes-over-zealous team parents!). He wants to create more Christ-like character in those players that are His children, and use these players and the circumstances of the game and its outcome to testify that His ways are higher than our ways, even to those who do not have a relationship with Him yet. The trophies of this world all tarnish and are forgotten. Many end up in garage sales or landfills. No one can recall (except sports trivia junkies perhaps) who was Champion 5 years ago, 10 years ago, was MVP in 1998, etc., etc. Not surprisingly, a majority of people when asked can’t even tell you who played in the Super Bowl last year, much less who won!

So God cares who wins not for the reasons most of us care who wins. Not because it is our alma mater playing. And most assuredly not because we have a substantial bet on the outcome, or think the coach is a good man, or the underdog (David versus Goliath) deserves a little favoritism. No, rather it is for His higher purposes; that those who are His or will become His begin to take on the character of His only begotten Son, Jesus. That’s it? Really? That’s it!

Sometimes that process is very public and readily apparent and comes through magnificent victories and at other times it comes through defeat and is realized and internalized only by the individual competitors in the privacy of their own soul searching moments. I remember Kurt Warner, while playing for the St. Louis Rams, giving glory to God on national television after winning the Super Bowl trophy and Super Bowl MVP trophy in what was arguably the greatest Super Bowl of all time against the Tennessee Titans (where the game was decided on the last play of the game by literally the length of the football!). I also vividly remember backup quarterback Frank Reich’s wonderful testimony following his leading of the Houston Oilers to the greatest come from behind victory in NFL history against the New York Giants. (He also holds the record for the greatest come from behind victory in college football as well). But, I am impressed with a different recollection of a post-game interview of an injured and humbled Colt McCoy, having been knocked out of his last game as a Texas Longhorn early in the first quarter of the BCS National Championship game in 2010, giving God the glory and seemingly understanding the higher purposes at work in his life, even though his team had just lost and he was unable to contribute and play which would have undoubtedly made a difference in the ultimate outcome of the game.

So, we need as Christians to look beyond the outward success, see into the inward process, and measure the results by our upward progress. It’s all about the upward call of God in Christ Jesus, the living Word of God!

“Because all flesh [mankind] is like grass and all its glory [honor] like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower drops off. But the Word of the Lord [divine instruction, the Gospel] endures forever.” I Peter 1:24,25 (Amplified Version)

We All Stumble In Many Ways!

“For we all often stumble and fall and offend in many things.”  James 3:2 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Truer words regarding the day-to-day condition of the believer have not been spoken! We all stumble. We all fall. We all offend. And we do so often! Furthermore, our frequent stumbles are not limited to one area of our lives or one singular type of offense, but rather occur “in many things”.

I don’t know about you, but this verse encourages my heart. Why? Because it informs me and reassures me that I am not alone in my failings. We are all familiar with the verse in Romans Chapter 3, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (v.23) We usually read this verse in the context of the unregenerate sinner as it pertains to salvation. And so it does aptly apply. But, it also contains the same principle found in our key verse in James 3:2, that we all fall short. None of us is perfect. Nor even close to achieving perfection. And our imperfections come out often and in many varied and sundry ways.

Similarly, a well-known and oft quoted passage, I Corinthians 10:13, says,”No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man…” (NASB), or in the Amplified Version, “For no temptation-no trial regarded as enticing to sin (no matter how it comes or where it leads)-has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man…” Do you see the parallel? We are all tempted to sin in various forms and unto various outcomes. The rest of the verse promises God’s faithfulness in not allowing us to be tempted beyond that which He is able to render aid and make us able to bear up under it, escape it, or endure it. In other words, He is the giver of the power to stand under trial and prevail! Just as Hebrews 4:15 tells us,”For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses (liability to the assaults of temptation), but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” So, we know that positionally we have the same power to resist temptation that Jesus had and with the same success of outcomes, yet experientially we know that success is not always the case. We do fail the test, we do fall short, we do often stumble and fall! Which is why I Cor. 10:12 is antecedent to verse 13. It warns us,”Let any one who thinks he stands-who feels sure that he has a steadfast mind and is standing firm-take heed lest he fall into sin.” (Amp.)

The Apostle Peter also speaks about “knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.” (I Peter 5:9 NASB) The Greek word used here for accomplished is “epiteleo” and means to finish, complete that which has been appointed (yes our trials are designed by God for our good!), and be perfected, so that strong encouragement is to be found in the successful passing of these tests to sin that others have endured and come through, passing with flying colors or sometimes just by the skin of their teeth! This same verse gives us an important clue into the nature of this testing as well; that there is an adversary (the devil, prowling about as a roaring lion) who longs to trip us up and see us fail.

So what is to be our posture in times of temptation? I Peter 5:6-12 tells us:

• Be humble (vs.6)
• Cast onto God our anxieties about our suffering (vs.7)
• Be sober-minded, self-controlled and alert (vs.8)
• Resist the devil (vs.9)
• Stand firm in the faith (vs.9)

And what are the promises He gives in this same passage?

• He will exalt and lift us up at the proper time (vs.6)
• He cares for us (vs.7)
• The testing is but for a little while (vs.10)
• He Himself will perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish us, grounding us and settling us and completing us to make us what we ought to be (vs.10)

But the most important promise? His grace! He is called the God of all grace in verse 10. Peter himself then testifies in verse 12,”that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!” It is by grace we have been saved unto salvation. It is also by grace that we are brought through our various trials and testings, both when we have endured and passed these testings and also when we fail them and stumble and fall and offend in many things! Grace would not be grace if it were earned by our behavior would it? We, having begun our relationship by faith through His grace (Ephesian 2:8,9) are “being perfected” in our faith in the context of that same grace. A grace that is greater than all of my sin!

Now, aren’t you encouraged? I know I sure am!

 

A Simple Discussion on the Sovereignty of God

 A brother in Christ recently sent me this quote in an email to which I include my reply:

Men choose their course by what seems to them a free will and they glory in the fact that they are wise enough to adjust themselves to circumstances, but God is the Author of circumstances.

He may give latitude to men, but their sphere of freedom is never outside the larger sphere of His eternal purpose.

The failure at this point with high Calvinists [hard determinism] arises from the fact that, in their zeal to defend the doctrine of divine sovereignty, they do not recognize how the very sovereignty of God in its out working utilizes the human will as its instrument, not, however, by any form of coercion, but by that form of persuasion which enlightens and engenders holy desires to which the will may respond and by which it may be motivated.

Only tragic misconceptions have been the fruit of an extreme Calvinism which conceives of the human will as overpowered by God, and of a fallacious Arminianism which makes no place in its reckoning for the inherent, constitutional necessity of immediate divine action upon the human will before the right choice can be made at all.

Lewis Sperry Chafer, American Theologian (1871-1952)

Thanks for sending this along! Can you give me the source for Chafer’s quote? I would have to say that I agree closely with this position. I have long-held to the dangers of categorizing oneself as being in the Arminian camp or the Calvinist camp. We should never define a Christianity and a faith, which supersedes by 1500 years these two well-respected men and their writings, with these anemic labels. I refuse to do it if for no other reason than the fact that a single label can conjure up all kinds of pre-conceived ideas and opinions about that moniker, whether real or imagined. 

 

When I see Scripture as presenting two obvious truths in multiple places in the Bible, and good, God-fearing men of the Word in disagreement as to the conclusion that must be drawn from these truths, I then am apt to conclude that perhaps both are true. Such is the case with Jesus‘ humanity and divinity. He is fully human and fully God. How can that be? It is difficult to understand this paradox, but it is nonetheless true and something we all agree upon as a basic tenet of Orthodox Christianity. Jesus could not have pulled this off if he were not fully God first (from eternity past) but were only a man (at the incarnation) trying to be God. 

 

Another example is the Trinity. Is God one God or is He three? The truth is that He is both, another paradox that challenges our ability to grasp fully intellectually. And so it is with the whole Sovereignty /Free Will debate about our salvation. Does God choose who will be His or do we have a part in the process with our own God-given free will? It is a difficult paradox to reconcile, but both are true I believe. And just as Jesus could never have become fully man, at the same time as being fully God, without first being fully God from eternity past, so too our salvation flows from God first as an act of His sovereign will. He, in His sovereignty granted us a will to choose to respond in faith to the conviction and “persuasion which enlightens and engenders holy desires to which the will may respond and by which it may be motivated”. It is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone! Make no mistake, only God saves us, not we ourselves. He gives us an opportunity as creatures created in His image to respond to His free gift of grace. 

 

Just as a husband chooses to woo and court his bride-to be and then proffer a proposal, she must accept his proposal or they cannot be legally wed. So too, no matter how much this woman may want to become the wife of a man she may love and admire, until he proposes and carries through with his intent by choosing and then consummating union with her as his bride, there is nothing she can do to become his, though she may desperately seek it even at great lengths and with many tortured tears. Unless, of course, one believes in coerced or arranged marriage. But I think that we all see the Biblical picture painted of marriage as being one of mutual love and submission, where both husband and wife choose to spend the rest of their lives together, not out of coercion or duty, but out of love and desire and commitment. God (Our Husband-Jesus) initiates this relationship (and without this initiation it could not exist) and we (His Bride-The Church) respond willingly and joyfully and fully. 

 

This to me is a much higher, more beatific view of God’s sovereignty than that of the “hard determinism” of high Calvinists and elevates His sovereignty to something more than just a “big stick”. His sovereignty rather becomes a marvelous and yet mysterious expression and out-working of His good and loving heart, the kind intention of His will! It also explains the paradox of scripture, which to any honest inquirer, reveals multiple verses which speak both of the primacy of God’s initiation and gracious gift being first necessary to bring about our salvation (and extended to the world at large-which it is said He “loved”) as well as of the exercise of our power to respond and choose, to see and believe the unseen (faith), and to enter into an eternally lasting relationship with our Creator. 

 

This is a wondrous relationship based in spirit and truth. And such the Father seeks to be His worshippers; to be His children forever!

A Lesson Learned From Tom White

Today, I was deeply saddened to learn that a man I admired for his passionate involvement in a Christian organization I whole-heartedly support passed away last week. That such a man would pass from this life at the relatively young age of 64 and leave a void in the leadership at the top of this important ministry is reason enough for grief. That he died at his own hand, after having allegedly been involved in the sexual molestation of a 10-year-old girl, is beyond the pale! It is one of those heart-numbing bits of news that come at you from out of the blue that is so shocking in its telling that you are literally floored after hearing the report. I must admit that I wept bitterly several times today, when first hearing the news very early this morning (after a fitful night’s sleep), and later in the day as I thought further of the tragedy of what had transpired. Disbelief, heavy sadness, anger, questioning, and a heart breaking not only for Tom White’s family but also for his staff at Voice of the Martyrs, and, of course, for the little girl who was allegedly molested and her family.

I greatly admired Tom for his adept leadership of this important ministry started by Richard Wurmbrand several decades ago. I have a special place in my heart for Wurmbrand as he was a Romanian Christian who suffered persecution for his faith, having been a prisoner for 17 years in Ceaucescu’s brutal Romanian penal system. I have served in Romania with several Christian organizations over the years and my wonderful son, Christopher, was adopted by my wife and I almost 22 years ago from a city in northwest Romania. Tom himself was held captive in a Cuban jail for nearly a year and a half back in 1979 for distributing the Gospel. He knew first hand the rigors of persecution. His insightful and passionate commentary on behalf of the millions of persecuted Christians around the world given in his column each month on the inside cover of the VOM magazine was inspirational and will be sorely missed. The value and impact of his frequent and oftentimes clandestine trips inside of dangerous countries to minister to the persecuted church cannot be overestimated. The World-wide Church owes him a great debt, and it is his dedicated service to these down-trodden and oft-times forgotten believers that I choose to remember about Tom. I hope that this will be his legacy remembered by others as well.

I do not minimize in the least the depravity of his sin, whatever the details of it are. Whether this had been an ongoing problem or a one-time evil choice I do not know. I will not judge him by a single act of evil, but rather by his years of faithful service. But, I am devastated that he would think that, in spite of the seriousness of the allegations, that he had nowhere to turn and no recourse but to take his own life. In reading once again in recent days C.S. Lewis’ classic “The Problem of Pain“, I am reminded of his comments about good and evil. That there is “simple good” in this world, acts of charity and kindness and such as well as “simple evil”, words and actions (such as he is accused of for example) that are evil in their intent and outcome. Yet God, in His sovereignty, is able to “exploit” these acts of simple evil and turn them into a “complex good”. We may not see it initially, especially when in the pits of despondency, how that God can work all things for good. Romans 8:28 But He can, and furthermore promises, that He will. I think that Tom knew this, but could not see his way to believe and trust it in the midst of the spiritual darkness he found himself in. That is the real tragedy, that he would turn his back on God when he needed Him and His light most in his life. Lord forgive him!

I found myself asking, “God, what in the world is going on here?” This type of behavior (and worse) is becoming more and more the norm, a common occurrence in the world we live in today. It is shocking! The effects are devastating to all involved and impacted by it. The severity of the repercussions are inestimable. So why is it happening more frequently (we read of such stories on an almost daily basis)? Besides being a result of a moral and spiritual decline that has been gaining momentum over the past 20 years in our country (Has America Become A Pornographic Society?: A future blog post on this site), I believe that Satan himself is orchestrating these kinds of “take downs” of high-profile spiritual leaders. There are too many examples to elaborate on here. It is no coincidence, in my opinion, that this would occur now, given the dramatically increased levels of persecution of Christians around the world, especially in Muslim countries. Fine organizations such as VOM, Open Doors, and others are serving a huge need in the body of Christ ministering to these persecuted saints and their families, bringing attention to their plight, something that the mainstream media rarely does. To shame and discredit the Executive Director of this vital ministry for the past 20 years (and by association the organization itself) is a masterful tactic by one whose stated goal in Scripture is to “steal, kill, and destroy” John 10:10  Or, as Martin Luther wrote in his famous hymn A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, “For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; his craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal.”

We must all remember that we too have an ancient foe and that he can find the “chink in our armor” just as he did with our brother Tom White. So shore up your armor Saints! Difficult times are here. But, take courage and remember to hold fast to the rest of the words from Luther’s hymn as well:

        A mighty fortress is our God, 
	a bulwark never failing; 
	our helper he amid the flood 
	of mortal ills prevaling.  
	For still our ancient foe 
	doth seek to work us woe; 
	his craft and power are great, 
	and armed with cruel hate, 
	on earth is not his equal.

	Did we in our own strength confide, 
	our striving would be losing, 
	were not the right man on our side, 
	the man of God's own choosing.
	Dost ask who that may be?  
	Christ Jesus, it is he; 
	Lord Sabaoth, his name, 
	from age to age the same, 
	and he must win the battle.

        And though this world, with devils filled, 
	should threaten to undo us, 
	we will not fear, for God hath willed 
	his truth to triumph through us.  
	The Prince of Darkness grim, 
	we tremble not for him; 
	his rage we can endure, 
	for lo, his doom is sure; 
	one little word shall fell him.

Please be in prayer for the families affected, the White family, the VOM family, the victim’s family, and the Family of God around the world. Jesus will be victorious. Count on it. And Satan? One little Word shall fell him. From the mouth of He who is Faithful and True! Revelation 19:11

Does It Matter When We Celebrate Easter? ( a re-post from April 2011)

It seems as if every Easter someone comes out of the woodwork to challenge the Christian tradition of Easter. In years past it has been Time magazine or some other liberal, anti-Christian rag who tries to stir up the faithful by challenging scripture (remember Satan’s taunt to Eve: “Did God really say?”). Leave it to liberal MSNBC to  instigate things this year. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/42643674?GT1=43001
The date of Jesus’ birth is generally thought to be between 4-6 BC and his crucifixion between 29 and 33 AD. As to the exact date, there are many opinions on which we are unlikely to ever come to universal agreement. As to whether He had the last supper on a Wednesday or Thursday is really irrelevant. In reading the gospels, it appears to me that he took passover supper with His disciples on Thursday, was crucified on Good Friday, laid in the tomb Friday afternoon, remained entombed all day Saturday (the Sabbath) and rose early on Sunday morning (the Third Day) before sunrise. That is in line with the traditional view, but is not universal in its acceptance.

What matters is that a historical Jesus really was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died an ignominious death on a cross to save us from our sins and give us peace and reconciliation with God, and rose triumphantly from the grave to conquer death and sin. He then proved He was alive to many eyewitnesses, commissioned His disciples to take this Good News to the uttermost parts of the earth, and ascended to Heaven to join the Father, sending His Holy Spirit to indwell all who believe and put their faith in Him-as our Helper and as a down payment for what is to come. That is what we celebrate at Easter; our victorious risen Savior and King! Someone always seems to want to complicate the issues of simple faith…

A Love Letter Just In TIme For Valentines!

Have you ever written a love letter to someone you really care about? There is a deep well of emotional energy in us that causes us to want to express, in no uncertain terms, the depth of our undying love stirring within toward the beloved. There has sprung up in recent years, both in this country and around the world, a whole multi-million dollar cottage industry revolving around February 14th and the need to vent our pent-up love on Valentine’s Day. However, it is certainly not limited to a single day out of the year when we feel this profound need to express our deepest emotions toward our hoped-for “soul mate”. Many of us do this early in the relationship and then never, ever again once the beloved gives in to our eloquences and concedes to become ours alone. There is a term that refers to this emotional impetus. It is called “limerence” and it is a strong and intense emotional drive to envelope oneself in the person who “has your heart”, to think of them every waking minute, to long for them romantically night and day, to wrap yourself up in everything about them. Who of us hasn’t at some point in their life felt a deep-seated need to express our intense romantic longings, either through poetry or prose, to the object of our highest affections? My son, who recently became engaged, just informed me that he wrote a “love letter” to his betrothed last week as a verbal expression of the depth of his love toward his fiancée’. This coming from a college athlete, a jock with little sentimentality and an aversion to writing anything at all!

Unfortunately, most of us “outgrow” this phase of courtship and move on to less frequent, less intense verbal expressions of our romantic devotion. In many cases, especially after years of marriage, these expressions may disappear altogether. Once we have wooed the object of our esteem, we no longer feel the same need to maintain that high-octane level of sentimentality. Freud had much to say about this, and perhaps he was not totally off base with his psycho-sexual explanation of this phenomenon. But I believe that it goes much deeper than the interaction of the ID and the libido. This need for intense expression and verbal declaration of our love is a really just a poor reflection of the grandiloquent words of love expressed by the very God who made us in His image.

God’s love and desire for His beloved are expressed in many places throughout the Bible. Perhaps none more graphically and metaphorically than in the Song of Solomon in the Old Testament, or more powerfully and explosively than in the 19th and 21st chapters of Revelation in the New Testament. But I believe that the ultimate “love letter from God” is found in the First Epistle of John. Consider that this small book of the Bible contains over 46 mentions of the word love, loves, or loved. It is also filled with flowery prose, grand visions of love’s highest virtues, and an unparralled hope and future promised to the object of His love.

The book of I John uses the Word of Life as the self-described authentication of its content. Life, fellowship, and joy are attributes of the relationship it describes. Light, walking in light, righteousness, truth and purity are held up as benefits arising out of this paragon  relationship. Forgiveness of sins, freedom from judgment, punishment and fear, and a certainty of eternal hope in an everlasting life are all held up as the ultimate outcome of the promises of this heavenly “Valentine Card”.

But most notably it is about love, God’s love for us and our love in return for Him and for those around us. It is an active love of which He speaks, one that is based in intentionality and giving and not in emotionality and taking. For you see, God is a giver through and through. As George MacDonald puts it in his Unspoken Sermons, “The God and Father of Jesus Christ could never possibly be satisfied with less than giving Himself to His own! Man finds it hard to get what he wants, because he does not want the best; God finds it hard to give, because He would give the best and man will not take it.”

And then these astounding words: God is love! (I John 4:8, 16) We love Him because He first loved us! (I John 4:10, 19) When we are born of His love (I John 3:1,2; 4:7; 5:1) we then become the recipients of the blessings of His love, the hope and future that brings. We also are able to love Him in return because we abide (live and breathe) in His love. We are thus then empowered to love one another even as He has loved us, because we now understand for the first time something of the grandeur of His love for us. And it is this love that enables us to overcome the world! (I John 5:4,5)

“What the world needs now is love, sweet love” wrote Hal David and Burt Bacharach back in the mid-60’s. They were right, but were looking for love in all the wrong places. Instead of making that same mistake, why not take a few minutes to read God’s “love letter” to you this Valentine’s Day? And then share it as a personal love letter by reading it with that special person in your life. Nothing you have said, can say, or ever will say can have as much significance in communicating the essence of true love as these Words of Life this Valentines Day!

The Baby Jesus: I AM Legend

Many of the unbelieving multitudes will be asking this time of year, either out loud or silently to themselves, why such a big deal is being made over Christmas and the birth of a baby in a middle-eastern manger over 2000 years ago. There are also those of the faith who themselves do not fully appreciate and comprehend the magnitude of the scope and significance of the First Advent.

Every other religion in the world, those before the birth of the Christ Child in Bethlehem and every one since then, seeks to find God and gain His acceptance and blessing, usually through performing various and sundry rites, rituals, ceremonies, works of merit or participation in the offering some sort of sacrifice on their own behalf or that of others. Like some obscure primitive South Pacific island tribal culture, many modern religionists metaphorically throw their human sacrifices into the cauldron of the volcano in an effort to appease an unknowable, angry god and win, albeit temporarily, his favor.

The chosen race of the Jewish people, the Israelites, do the same as well. For though they had entrusted to them “the oracles of God” (Romans 3:1,2) they have repeatedly tried and failed to secure a right relationship with the Living God, Jehovah, by attempting to diligently keep the Law of Moses. Judaism (and all other religions) are merely man’s futile, though at times noble and well-intentioned, attempt to reach God. Not so much in order to have an intimate relationship with a good and loving Heavenly Father, as to stave off His wrath, while perhaps earning a modicum of His favor.

Jesus, however, invaded our human condition which was infected with the disease of sin, in order to make provision for us having a healthy, genuine, lasting relationship with the Father, one based on grace through faith which comes wholly as a gift undeserved and without us being able to earn it or forfeit it. (Ephesians 2:8,9) Jesus is God, the great I AM, in love reaching down to us in our fallen, sin-diseased condition to bring healing, a restoration of His original design of a healthy, vibrant, living relationship with our very relation-centric Creator. (John 3:14-16)

We are all, every last one of us humankind, infected with the insidious disease of the corrupted self which is euphemistically known as sin. Sin is endemic to the race. It is systemic to the individual. Sin is incurable and inevitably terminal 100% of the time. All of humanity throughout the ages has died or will die, many in a slow, agonizing fashion in a myriad of ways which can defy even the most morbid of imaginations. There is no cure for this malady, this pandemic of the populace. Or, should I say there was no cure, until the appearance of a tiny, helpless baby on “that endress night” so long ago.

Medical researchers and epidemiologists, in order to find  a cure for an heretofore incurable disease, need to locate a host who is naturally immune to the pathogen and who has the necessary antibodies in themselves to stop the disease and kill it. One could accurately say “the cure is in the blood!”

A few years ago a movie came out which uses intentional typology to beautifully illustrate this truth. This science fiction film was called “I Am Legend” and starred Will Smith as the intrepid military physician, Col. Robert Neville, who as one of the few remaining survivors of a mutant virus responsible for the death of millions of human beings around the globe (but not before they turned into savage, grotesque, and vile creatures), tries to singlehandedly find a cure for the earth-wide epidemic. He spends years fruitlessly trying to develop an antidote, working tirelessly in his secure underground bunker-lab. In spite of injecting and testing thousands of laboratory rats with the virus (and several of the deformed, infected human creatures too) he could not find a cure. Not until he infected himself that is, and found out that he was immune. He found the cure and the cure was “in his blood”.

This film had strong Christology woven into its message, with the disease representing sin, the deformed and dying creatures representing fallen mankind under the deadly effects of sin, and Smith’s lead character representing a type of Savior. He even lays down his life willingly in the last scene of the movie in order to assure that his blood makes it out of the lab and gets distributed and dispersed to humankind as the only cure for the disease.

That was Hollywood fantasy. But we are under an even more serious curse then the fictional creatures were in this compelling film. We suffer from a terminal, flesh-eating disease that we cannot control. Some may be able to mask its symptoms for a while (even covering them up with religiosity, proper behavior, and church related activity in some cases), but we all must succumb at last to its deforming and ultimately deadly effects. Except for the blood…You see, God knew that the only cure for our sin-sick condition was to send a host who had immunity to sin and was able to resist it, and thus pass this immunity on to all who would receive this cure “in His blood”. (Numbers 21:6-9; II Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 9:13,14)

But, another crucial requirement for a lasting cure is that the host be of the same species as those infected. So, God in His infinite wisdom, came to earth, invading the human race with the God-child. His name is “Immanuel” meaning “God with us” (or “one of us”, Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). He is the Perfect Host in whose blood alone is contained the cure for sin. He came along in lowly fashion, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin girl in a lowly manager so long ago. Only to be found in Jesus’ blood is the melding of the Spirit given DNA with the human DNA of His earthly mother necessary for our eternal and lasting antidote for sin.

Because He had to enter the human race and experience the human condition in its totality to effect a cure, it was necessary for him to come into the world crying and needy and messy just like any other baby would. But this baby was certainly unlike any other. His name was called Jesus “because it is He who will save the people from their sins”. (Matthew 1:21)

Only Jesus could do it! Only God could come up with such a remarkably effective plan as this: a little babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes, birthed and lying in a lowly manger entering our world. A baby born to die that we might live (Hebrews 9:16). Bethlehem was the beginning, but Calvary’s cross was the destination. It was the only way for a loving Father to reconcile His children to Himself, removing the effect of the disease that infects them and separates us from Him; to cure our malignancy in order to enjoy a love relationship with Him forever. Jesus, I Am, is legendary. O, come let us adore Him!

The Love Of Jesus Above All Things

We are well into the holiday season and the multitudinous holiday gatherings and gift shopping excursions are shifting into high gear. It is easy in the hustle and bustle of Christmastime, in the midst of the focus upon materialism and even the good cheer of friends and family, to forget that Christmas is really about Jesus. It is easy to lose sight of the Love that sent Him to invade our humanity and redeem us all those many, many years ago. And because He loved us first, we can love Him. In fact, He tells us to love Him above all others, above all things, whether material or relational. (Matthew 10:37; Luke 14:26) So, this is a good time of the year to reevaluate our relationship with Jesus, to look deep into our own hearts and answer the question our Lord poignantly posed to Peter after His resurrection; “do you love Me?” (John 21:17)

A Reading:

How truly blessed is the man or woman who has a real understanding of what it is experientially to love Jesus. And what it means to hate and despise himself for Jesus’ sake. It is the most demonstratively valuable act a lover can do, to forsake all things, whether material or relational, for their Beloved. He alone is to be loved without condition or reservation above all things. The love of things, especially material possessions, is deceptive and soon brings emptiness to our soul. Materialism over-promises and under-delivers!

The love of Jesus, however, is true and endures for a lifetime and on into eternity. And if you try to find your consolation in your fellow man then you are guaranteed to be disappointed. You will fall when they fall. It is inevitable! But he that fully embraces Jesus Christ will be made to stand steadfast forever. Love Him and keep Him for your best friend. Then, when all other so called friends have deserted you and are gone, He won’t leave you or turn against you. Nor will He, when you are at death’s door, allow you to perish , but will stay with you unto eternal life. You will be eventually separated from everyone else you know-friends, family, associates-whether you want to be or not. So hold fast to Jesus in life and in death and put your trust in His faithfulness. He is the one who alone can help you when all others fail or abandon you.

The nature of the Beloved is such that He will admit no rival; He alone must abide in your heart of hearts and reign there as King upon His throne. Empty your heart of all other persons, hating them by comparison to your love for Jesus, and He will gladly make His home there within you. No matter what it is that you depend upon in others, if you don’t have Jesus it amounts in the end to nothing. Don’t put your trust in “wind-blown reeds”, for “all flesh is like grass and the glory of man like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word (the living and abiding Word of God) lasts forever.” (I Peter 1:24)

If you trust in outward appearances in your dealings with others you will quickly be taken in and deceived. If you seek comfort, approval, and validation or to profitably gain from your associations with others, you will in the end suffer painful loss. Seek Jesus first and only in all things and you will surely find Him and keep Him; or rather He will keep you. If you seek after your own self-interests you will find that it is to your own ruin. The man or woman who does not seek Jesus in his life, who ignores Him in his or her heart and turns Him away, causes more injury to himself than as if the entire world made itself his worst enemy!

My Paraphrase of “The Imitation of Christ” Book 2, Chapter 7, published in 1418 A.D. by Thomas A Kempis.

Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

Longingly Awaiting Our Adoption

I don’t know about you, but whenever I sin, I mean when I really blow it, that is the time when I feel my utter sinfulness within me. It causes me to groan. To become weary. To get discouraged. To lose heart. And at times to even doubt that He could possibly love me or that He will ever come for me and deliver me from myself and sin’s quandary.

The Apostle Paul had similar experiences, as chronicled for our benefit in Romans 7 and 8. “For the good that I wish, I do not do” Romans 7:19; “O unhappy and pitiable and wretched man that I am! Who will release and deliver me from the shackles of this body of death?” Romans 7:24 Amplified Bible; and again, “And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.” Romans 8:23

Isn’t it interesting that just a few verses earlier in Romans 8, verses 14-16, it says that we are sons of God, that we have received a spirit of adoption. So why do we still wait eagerly for our adoption? The best way to illustrate this is to draw upon my own experiences as an adoptive father, and as someone who has worked extensively with overseas orphans. When my wife and I adopted our precious daughter from abroad, we first chose her as the one we felt God was leading us to adopt and make our own. He subsequently confirmed this as we waited and prayed and sought His will in the matter. Then we went through the arduous application process, with what seemed to be endless filings and re-filings of paperwork, both with our agency and government as well as with the child’s foreign government. This took many months, hundreds of hours, and thousands of dollars. But at last, all legal requirements were completed and we were ready to adopt her. She had been set aside for us and, had she been old enough to understand at the time, was “positionally” our child. She was merely waiting for us to come for her, to swoop down from the sky (in our commercial airliner of course) and receive her to ourselves to confer upon her the full rights and privileges of being a part of our family forever, along with citizenship in the new, far-away country she could only have hoped and dreamed of. So, I believe that this is a picture of what God has done, and is doing, for us as his adopted children. (See Ephesians 1:4-14)

We were chosen long before the formal process was completed. He predestined us (made the necessary legal arrangements) to adopt us, because He planned in love, with a purpose of His will, out of kindness of intent, to make us His own that we might share in His glory and participate in The Inheritance along with all His other adopted children, to live forever with Him as heirs in His marvelous, far-away kingdom. The first part of this adoption has been completed, but not the last part of it, the consummation and conference of son-ship. We have been given the Spirit as a pledge and guarantee, a down payment if you will,  of our coming full and complete possession of this inheritance. So it is this Spirit of adoption that we now have, that groans within us, longing for the completion of the adoption process, to go home and be with our new family forever. In the meantime, this body still is subject to sin and its myriad sufferings. Our daughter, even up until the very day we arrived to take her from the arms of the nurse at the children’s hospital (she was running a fever and was sick and dirty and malnourished) suffered up until the moment of her adoption, when she became ours completely. We then washed her, administered medicines and tender care to restore her body, and then brought her home to be with us where she has since received all the gifts of love and grace afforded to her as our child, along with all the many benefits of her new home (including a beautifully appointed room of her own filled with toys and stuffed animals and many lovely things such as  she never even knew existed). And all as part of her inheritance as our daughter.

So, whenever I groan, suffering the effects of sin in my life and longing for my full redemption, I need only remind myself that it is coming, just around the bend. I hold on to the promise that my heavenly Father will soon swoop down from the sky and whisk me off to His heavenly home, my new and forever home, of which I can only imagine! (I Corinthians 2:9-12) Then I will be able to leave behind this body of sin and death once and for all and exchange it for my new, incorruptible body, full of life and light and the glory of God!!!

Create In Me A Clean Heart

“Create in me a clean heart, O God. And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)

I woke up  in a sweat with crushing chest pain at 4 AM last Sunday morning and was taken by my wife straight to our small town ER only a mile or so away. They ran some tests and then transported me via ambulance to a well known, well respected  Heart Hospital, 75 miles away. The cardiologist did an angiogram and discovered that I had multiple blockages in my coronary arteries, including a 97% blockage in the Left Artery Descending, which could have resulted in a fatal heart attack. Amazingly, there was no heart muscle damage at all and my heart was still by his account quite strong. Because of that, they thought that I was a good candidate for a quintuple bypass. We talked it over (my wife and I and God) and decided that a bypass was not the best option for us. We asked the cardiologist  to do the angioplasty with stenting and he agreed, though he recommended the surgery. It was discovered that I was not sensitive to Plavix, an anti-platelet drug that is imperative to be on for the first year after stenting to keep the stents from clotting shut (re-stenosis). So they once again recommended a CABG (Coronary Artery Bypass Graft) procedure (crack the chest, harvest the veins, 8 week recovery, scarring, and a 5% chance of death). We prayed and felt God telling us “no”, to insist on the angioplasty and stents. But in order to even be able to do this they then had to try another anti-coagulant on me (Effient) because of my resistance to Plavix. If I was not sensitive to this drug there were no other options and I could not get a stent, but had to have the surgery. I was started on the drug and blood was drawn and sent for analysis about 3 hours later. It was an anxious 3 hours I can tell you! The results came back and showed I was 95% sensitive to Effi. Praise the Lord! So they made arrangements to get me in the cath lab as soon as they were able that evening. Family had driven down to be with me and it was so good to have my brothers there as I was wheeled off to the Cath Lab. The procedure took well over 2 hours. The cardiologist came out and told my waiting family that the procedure was a complete success and that I was 100% re-vascularized with no heart muscle damage! Honestly, I think he was about as surprised as anyone. He said the results were as good as if I had had the surgery. So on Tuesday around lunch time I was released from the hospital to come home and begin the recovery period-which is only just a few days, really. I should be more energetic and able to exercise better than before, and we have all made a commitment to living a healthier lifestyle and to living as long as God has for me. “My times are in Thy hand” (Psalm 31:15)

I believe that God has given me another chance at life and I aim to live it to its fullest. He is like that you know, a God of second chances. I believe that He is allowing all who know me (or read this) to participate in that lesson as well. And through the miracle of modern medicine and God’s marvelous Providence, I plan on passionately serving Him with a clean (and healthy) heart and a renewed, steadfast spirit all the remaining days of my life, until He calls me Home. “O Lord my God, I cried to Thee for help, and Thou didst heal me” (Psalm 30:2)

Under the Omnipotence,

theupwardcallofgod

The Beatitudes of Jesus (#8 1/2)

Beatitude #8 1/2- “Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (From  Matthew 5:11-12)

In this, the second part of the final Beatitude, Jesus does something that up until now He has not done in His teachings on blessedness: He personalizes the beatitude, changing the tense and subject in order to make it specific and personal. He goes from the general audience previously addressed, “those who have been persecuted”, those who mourn”, “the merciful”, “the pure in heart”, etc., to the pointedly specific “blessed are you“. This is to emphasize and underscore that much of our persecution as believers will be personally directed at us, and it will be primarily verbal in nature.

Furthermore, the Apostle Paul says to his protegé Timothy in II Timothy 3:12, “And indeed all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” The Greek word used in the original text here is “dioko” meaning “to put to flight”, “to pursue,” and by implication, “to persecute.” This is largely expressed as a verbal assault, a barrage of unkindly spoken words and venomous accusations founded in untruth brought by the ungodly against God’s children. It is usually precipitated by “godly living in Christ Jesus”-for this persecution comes “on account of Me” [Jesus]. We should expect this verbal “pursuit” and in fact, it is a certain and reliable indicator that we are having a godly Christian witness.

This is not to say that we will be persecuted and slandered at all times by all men. For just a few verses down in the text (Matthew 5:16) Jesus says, “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven”. Paul also encourages us to “if possible, so far as depends upon you, be at peace with all men.” (Romans 12:18) Similarly, the writer of Hebrews (probably Paul as well) says in Hebrews 12:14 to “pursue peace with all men”. And guess what the Greek word for “pursue” used here in this verse is? Yes, it is “dioko”, the same word for “persecute” used in the Beatitudes.

So, we are in a sense to be “persecutors” as well, persecutors of peace with all men. And the source of that peace is Jesus, of course! “For He Himself is our peace” (Ephesians 2:14) To the extent that we “persecute” or pursue men with the peace of Christ, we can expect to be persecuted in return with their slander, revilings, and falsehoods on account of the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, and the author of the Gospel of Peace. (I Peter 4:6) In fact, part of putting on the full armor of God to withstand the onslaught of our enemy, the devil, is “having shod your feet with the preparation (readiness to stand) of the gospel of peace”. (Ephesians 6:15)

And lastly, we are to “bless those who persecute you”. (Romans 12:14) But more than that, “Rejoice and be glad” as Jesus says in verse 12 of our Matthew 5 text. Why? “For your reward (wages earned for enduring persecution) in Heaven is great”. Peace be with you all!

What’s In a Name Anyway?

Two days ago, an organization that I am very familiar with, announced that it is changing its name. The organization: Campus Crusade for Christ. The new name: Cru.

Before I begin this discussion on the significance of this name change, let me just say that I have high regard for the ministry that Bill Bright started back in the 1950’s to help fulfill “The Great Commission” (Matthew 28:18-20) in the U.S. and around the world. I was intimately involved in this ministry in both high school and college, and to a more limited extent, after college. Campus Crusade for Christ had a very deep and positive impact on solidifying and growing my relationship with Jesus Christ. Or perhaps more accurately, the people involved in this ministry had, and continue to have, a lasting impact on my life.

So how did I feel when I heard the news of the name change this morning? Honestly, my reaction was, “Really? You have got to be kidding!” And the more I researched the change and the reasons behind the change, the more I became convinced that this is nothing more than another crest in the new wave of political correctness and cultural relevance which is infiltrating and diminishing the distinctiveness of the Church of Jesus Christ.

Being a wine aficionado, my first thought was one of wine, and wondering if the name was in some esoteric way connected with the “New Wine” of Christ and the New Covenant. “Cru” is a French term associated with vineyard classification. “Grand Cru Classs’ ” is a wine term designating a top-rated vineyard in Bordeaux, one of the “great growths” or the best of the best. A Cru Bourgeois is a wine of more common origin and character. So you can understand, perhaps, my initial confusion. Probably the leaders of Campus Crusade are not as versed on wine as I am (which in my opinion is to miss out on a great many spiritual lessons to be gained from wine which are replete in scripture. But that is a post for another day). And as if that is not enough, CRU also stands for Climatic Research Unit, that ignominious organization out of the University of East Anglia who gained world-wide attention last year for the emails sent out to encourage the falsifying of climate data in order to support the whole Global Warming hoax. By the way, I do believe in ultimate global warming, but as outlined in II Peter 3:10!

Now, for the crux of the matter. Why the name change? According to CCC’s press release, it is to “increase relevance” and “overcome existing barriers and perceptions”. OK. So a name change may be in order. Nothing new here. Organizations and companies do that all the time (though usually after a merger or buyout). But let’s examine what is behind this a little more closely. The most obvious deletion from the current name is the word “Christ”. An organization whose stated purpose is to help fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus Christ is afraid that mentioning His name may be a hindrance to fulfilling it? That is like the President recalling all of our overseas ambassadors and diplomatic corps of the United States State Department and telling them, along with the Secretary of State, that from now on (due to ongoing threats and misconceptions and so as not to give offense) they will no longer be known as representatives of the United States of America, but rather, “The U”. Not to try to make such a big deal out of the obvious omission of the name “Christ” from the org name after over 50 years, but I heartily disagree with the U.S. Vice-President of Campus Crusade for Christ, Steve Sellers, when he said, “Our name is really for the benefit of others” and “Ultimately, it’s not about our name, but how we live out our mission everyday.” Or, in other words, what’s in a name anyway? By the way, in our next modern translation of the Bible, why not let’s all agree to change Jesus’ title to CEO and His disciples to Vice-presidents. Peter could be Vice-President of Jewish Relations. Paul could be the Vice-president of World Mission Outreach. We could even make Thomas the new VP of Apologetics, now that he has finally been straightened out and learned his lesson as to who Christ really is!

Scripture has much to say about the importance of a name. The first and most crucially important being that a name represents the person; who they are and what they are. Many of our family names were, in fact, derived from who the persons were and what they did. For example, names like Shoemaker, Armstrong, Brightman, Foreman, Goodman, Abramson, and Johnson were derived from compound words which described a trade or trait of the person named, or who they were descended from. Just so, Scripture tells us that God is the source “from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name”. (Ephesians 3:15) Jesus Himself was given His name because “you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21) And then again just two verses down, “and they shall call His name Immanuel, which means “God with us”.” In fact there are over 700 references in Scripture to God’s name and the name of His Son-the importance of this name and what it means- that it stand and not be profaned. Jesus was given a name above all names, “God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11) Jesus Christ is, “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come” (Ephesian 1:21) Is this really the same Christ whose name this organization wants to drop because it is “an obstacle to people hearing”? Do they not remember the words of the Master in the context of His instructions to His disciples who were going out to fulfill the Great Commission, “And you will be hated by all on account of My Name” (Matthew 10:16-23) The Apostle Peter echoed this in I Peter 4:12-19 where he says in verse 14: “If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed”, and in verse 16: “but if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not feel ashamed, but in that name let him glorify God”. But perhaps that is it. We want to all “just get along” as Rodney King famously said. We don’t want to “offend” anyone, but rather be approachable and likable. We want to avoid being “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense” even though Jesus is. (Romans 9:33; I Peter 2:8 ) If that is what we have come to, then how can we truly represent Him?

The dropping of the “Campus” portion of the name is understandable to me since their ministry has indeed expanded well beyond just school campuses. I traveled overseas on a mission trip to Russia in the early 90’s to minister to orphans with a Campus Crusade for Christ team, so I am well aware that the work of this organization extends far beyond high school and college campuses. The dropping of the portion of the name “Crusade” however, is another story. It is a kowtow to political correctness, and self-admittedly done so so as not to “offend Muslims”. As if Muslims in America really understand or even remember the Crusades. And why do we need to make a de facto apology for something that occurred nearly 1000 years ago on another continent? Besides, the name change to “Cru” is only for the United States, a historically Christian nation with a small minority Muslim population of only about  7 million in a country of 310 million; less than 3%!

That CCC would enlist paid consultants to help “re-brand” the ministry is a testimony to how much the American Church has bought into the whole corporate marketing model. (I come from a Fortune 500 corporate background!) I still distinctly remember the gifted Bible teacher, Crawford Loritts (a former CCC staff member and now Senior Pastor at Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell, Georgia) bringing a message in which he said, “The Greeks turned Christianity into a philosophy, the Romans turned it into a religion, but we (Americans) have turned it into a business.” Space does not permit further discussion of the slick marketing campaigns, high pressure fund-raising tactics, and worldly-wise, corporate style approaches of which I am well aware have been used extensively by Campus Crusade for Christ in recent years. I got so fed up with it that I asked to be excluded from their mailing list. That the leadership unanimously approved the name change shows just how far group-think can go in decision-making, even in Christian organizations.

This whole affair underscores, in my opinion, the larger problem which is occurring more and more often in churches and para-church organizations across our land: an attempt to make culturally relevant the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and in so doing, to lose the power and distinctiveness that go along with being called by His name, and calling others to the name of Christ.

The Beatitudes of Jesus (#8)

Beatitude #8- “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (from Matthew 5:10)

This is the only two-part beatitude from the Sermon on the Mount, and the first where Jesus uses the past tense verb in ascribing blessedness, which He does in the first half of this beatitude in verse 10. (The second part of the beatitude comes in the following verse, 11) But here in verse 10 he speaks of those who “have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness”, perhaps to even have suffered to the point of death and martyrdom. These held fast to righteousness in the very face of severe persecution and the pressures, physical, emotional, and spiritual, to utterly forsake righteousness for unrighteousness and unrighteous responses. But they stood fast for righteousness’ sake! This blessedness is echoed by the Apostle Peter in I Peter 3:13-17 where he says,”if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed.” (v.14) So how is a follower of Christ to respond to persecution? Certainly not in anger or with vitriolic retaliation toward the persecutors, as James says “for the anger of man does not achieve (work, promote, bring about) the righteousness of God”. (James 1:20) Rather, as Peter put it in the previously referenced passage from his first epistle, “sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence, courteously and respectfully” (v.15) This is to be the Christian’s righteous response in the face of persecution. And our reward? The Kingdom of Heaven!

The Beatitudes of Jesus (#5)

Beatitude #5- “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (from Matthew 5:7)

Mercy is an attribute of God and God is its only source. Mercy withholds that which the offender deserves and is motivated out of love. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us” (Ephesians 2:4) He is abundantly merciful, not stingy with mercy, but pouring it out lavishly upon us. I can personally testify to this truth in my own life!

Though the wording here may seem to be saying that we receive mercy only because we show mercy, it is in reality quite the contrary. Only as we experience first hand and realize personally God’s great mercy toward us, are we then able to be merciful to others. Our mercy, thus demonstrated outwardly through our attitudes and actions, is then the confirmation that we have indeed received mercy (and come to understand it and grasp it) from God in our own lives. “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36) This is indeed a happy state in which to dwell! Psalm 86:15

 

The Beatitudes of Jesus (#7)

Beatitude #7-“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (from Matthew 5:9)

What is a peacemaker and why is it that they are blessed and happy? And why are they, in particular, called sons of God, and by whom are they called this? This for me is the most cryptic and difficult to understand of the Beatitudes of Christ when taken at face value. Perhaps lending to this difficulty is the fact that this is the only time in all of Scripture that this word “peacemaker” is used. It is the Greek word, “eirenopoios” from the Greek “eirene” meaning peace, plus “poieo”; to make, accomplish, perform, bring forth, acts, does, etc.

So in spite of the fact that former President Jimmy Carter liked to think of himself as a peacemaker because of his efforts at multi-national diplomacy (most of which were unilateral in nature and ultimately failed), this is not what Jesus was referring to, a mediator, counselor, diplomat, or if you will, a referee of sorts who is there to help “everyone just get along”. This interpretation is confusing man’s kingdom with God’s kingdom! Rather, I believe Jesus is speaking of all believers who have His peace within their hearts and manifest it outwardly, especially in times and situations where, humanly speaking, peace seems to be an impossibility. These believers thus show themselves to be His; “for they shall be called (recognized, named, identified as) sons of God.” “For He Himself is our peace…breaking down the barrier…the enmity…making one new man…establishing peace.” (Ephesians 2:14,15)

And He has given us this ministry of reconciliation, urging others as His ambassadors to be reconciled to God, thus establishing peace with God through Jesus by the making of the “new creation.”             (II Corinthians 5:17-20) It is the sons and daughters of God who are carriers of this peace (Jesus) through the Spirit of Peace, who by their new life lived and truth shared help bring others to peace with God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 5:1) These are the true peacemakers!

 

 

The Beatititudes of Jesus (#6)

Beatitude #6- “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (from Matthew 5:8)

The heart (the core of our being) is to be pure, meaning our purity is to be inward and not merely outward in its manifestation. Why the heart’s primacy in attaining purity? Because “from it flow the springs of life”. (Proverbs 4:23) And, “for the things that proceed out of the mouth come  from the heart, and those defile the man”, Jesus said. (Matthew 15:18) Scripture further states, “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the Lord”. (Psalm 24:3-5)

“No man has seen God at any time” (John 1:18) He “whom no man has seen or can see”. (I Timothy 6:16) Not yet… To look upon Him in our present condition of impurity of heart would mean instant death! Even Moses didn’t look at Him directly. For the Mosaic law could not do what Christ through His Spirit must do in all who will inherit salvation; “the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord”. (Hebrews 12:14) However, one day we will see Him face to face, as the Scripture promises, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (I John 3:2-3) “We see now, dimly as in a mirror, but then face to face.” (I Corinthians 13:12) “We with an uncovered face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” (II Corinthians 3:18). So it is the Spirit of God who prepares us through sanctification, through momentary light afflictions, as we behold Him as in a mirror, to one day see the Lord. “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (II Corinthians 4:17-18) Purification now. Glorification then and forever! Will you see God one day?

Memorial Day Thoughts

I and my family just spent the better part of the day today attending a Memorial Day Tribute and touring the George H.W. Bush Gallery at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas. There were the presentations of the colors, a singing of the “National Anthem” and “America the Beautiful”, a laying of wreaths by the Gold Star Mothers, the playing of “Scotland the Brave” and “Amazing Grace” by a talented, young bag-piper, and a short but moving speech by Lt. General Donald Holder (U.S. Army Ret.).  He said, “We have an obligation to protect and expand on the freedoms that they (our fallen heroes) won for us.”

As I toured the museum, I was captivated by the engaging exhibits, mesmerized by enthralling stories from the myriad battles fought in the Pacific theater, and amazed and overwhelmed at the breadth of the tragedy that was World War II.  Though we lost over 400,000 souls during the course of this war, the toll of life (soldier and civilian) was even greater for other countries involved; over two and a half million Japanese, four million Germans, six million Poles, 17 million Chinese, and over 20 million Russians. All totaled, the death toll was a staggering 88 million people by some estimates, making it the deadliest war in human history!

I was reminded after leaving the museum, of the question I often hear voiced by many well-meaning folks who try to grapple with and get their arms around such an unfathomable human tragedy:why would God allow such suffering to occur? Or similarly, how is it that a loving and just God would one day bring destruction upon millions and millions of people at the Judgment? A fair set of questions…

God created man in His own image with a will to choose his (or her) own way. When sin entered human existence through that free will being exercised, suffering too became a part of our existence. So it should come as no surprise that when nations, ruled by tyrants bent on advancing their own selfish agendas and lust for self-aggrandizement and accumulation of wealth, are intent on taking the resources, human and material, of another nation, then death and destruction on the scale of a World War II would rapidly ensue. God, though intimately involved in human history, leaves man to his own devices to show him his utter sinfulness and his need for a Savior. He will one day return to bring justice to the entire world for the first time in human history and to establish a rule which will be peaceful, equitable, prosperous, and righteous in every respect for all peoples in every nation. In order to do so, He will necessarily judge the nations with equanimity, truth, and fairness, setting right all wrongs and avenging all evil. A necessary part of “setting the world right” will be to judge and exclude from the new order all who did evil and did not repent (i.e. turn to Jesus) in the old order of things. Man, in his inhumanity to man, has killed, maimed and de-humanized hundreds of millions of souls throughout the ages. God will set all this tragic history aright, excluding those who choose to go their own way (sin) rather than choosing His Way (Jesus). As C.S. Lewis once put it in his famous allegory The Great Divorce, “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.” All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened. ” He will then welcome millions upon hundreds of millions of our fellow men, women, and children (and perhaps some animals as Lewis, George MacDonald, and others postulated) to a world free from conflict, want, sadness, sorrow, pain, suffering, and death who ultimately look to the Life-Giver for such a world without end! Amen! Isaiah 9:2-7; 11:1-9; Revelation 20:1-15; 21:1-8

The Beatitudes of Jesus (#4)

Beatitude #4- “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (from Matthew 5:6)

A hunger and thirst for righteousness is the antecedent to obtaining it. When we hunger and thirst physically we have a deep internal need which can only be filled through an outside source; food and drink. And so it is in the spiritual realm as well. It is therefore obvious that our Lord is referencing Himself here, just as He refers to Himself elsewhere in Scripture as the “Bread of Life” and the “giver of Living Water” (John 6:32-35; 48-51; 7:37-39). He also says His body is “true food” and His blood “true drink” (John 6:55-57). Without Jesus’ supply for our craving need, we cannot obtain righteousness-a right standing with God. For in fact, our righteousness is not our own, but rather is given by Him to those who by faith receive it. But, we must first realize our need for it (outside of ourselves) and our source for it (in Jesus Christ) before we can receive it. Then and only then will the promise associated with this beatitude come true: “For they shall be filled and completely satisfied”. (Isaiah 55:1,2) Glory!

The Beatitudes of Jesus (# 3)

Beatitude #3- “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth” (from Matthew 5:5)

The humble, the meek, the gentle shall inherit the earth. Though it is the proud and strong and rich that rule the earth now, when His kingdom comes and His will is done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10), then the meek shall rule alongside of Him who was gentle and humble of heart, Jesus Christ (Matthew 11:29). The gentle shall rule with Christ and inherit jurisdiction of both the present earth during the millennial reign of Christ, and also the new earth for all eternity. And thus shall it always be, for His glory! This is the way of the Lord, so topsy-turvy to the way of the world. That is why Jesus said His kingdom was “not of this world” (and further explaining His disciples gentle and peaceable ways) when He answered Pilate as to His authority. Praise God for His marvelous ways and His deep, deep wisdom which confounds the wise of this age! See also Revelation 20:4-6; 21;5-8

The Beatitudes of Jesus (# 2)

Beatitude #2- “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (from Matthew 5:4)

This is perhaps the most “upside-down” of the beatitudes; to be “happy” when you are mourning?! The reason for blessedness in mourning is found in the promise that follows: “for they shall be comforted”. We are not talking about some trifle comfort, a drying of the tears and laboriously going on in life with a brave, but long face and a despairing heart. Rather, Jesus here is speaking of comfort that only can come from “the Comforter”, the Holy Spirit. This is a deep and abiding comfort that can even bring on inexplicable joy in the midst of sorrow. Why? Because the ultimate end to the mourning is foretold by the work of the Holy Spirit, given as a down payment of what is to come; complete comfort, an end to pain and sorrow and tears! Spirit-inspired scripture speaks resoundingly of the complete lifting and doing away with mourning altogether which will occur one day for the believer (Rev. 21:3-4). O, what a day. Our God is so good!

The Beatitudes of Jesus (#1)

Before we begin, please read Matthew 5: 1-12 and also Luke 6: 20-23.

In The Beatitudes, Jesus reveals the “topsy-turvy” values and logic of the Kingdom of God which are so evidently contrary to the ways of the world. Jesus sat down on the side of a hill to teach these truths. Opening His mouth, he addresses His disciples who came to Him. He also addresses the multitudes who were beginning to follow Him and had gathered to hear Him speak and witness His miracles. This audience is indicated in Mt. 7:28-29.

BLESSED: Happy and to be envied. As the Amplified Bible renders it: “With life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, apart from your outward condition”. From the Greek: Makarios meaning to be happy and spiritually fortunate.

Beatitude #1  “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven”   (From Matt. 5 :3)

Being poor does not automatically qualify one for blessedness or the Kingdom of Heaven, but rather being poor in spirit does. However, financial poverty can cause a person to be humble and desperate and realize his or her need for God as a provider of the material needs of life. These poor folk may then make the “spiritual switch” and realize that He is their provider of spiritual life as well. David discovered this truth in Psalm 51:17, which is I believe, akin to what Christ was talking about here in Matthew 5. It reads, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.” Only as we are contrite in spirit-poor in spirit-realizing and coming to terms with our spiritual poverty can we discover the riches in Christ Jesus and the Way into the Kingdom of Heaven! Rom. 10:12; Eph. 1:7; 2:4-7; 3:14-19 NASB

Next Time: “Blessed are those who mourn”

A Tribute to Dietrich Bonhoeffer

This past month, on April 9th, many people around the world, Christians and non-Christians alike, remembered the death of Dietrich Bonhoeffer which came at the hands of the Nazis 66 years ago in Buchenwald prison, just 23 days before Germany surrendered to the Allies. Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran theologian who conscientiously opposed Hitler, the Third Reich, and the Reich Church during the late 1930’s and early 1940’s. He was a founder of the Confessing Church, an alternative church body to the Reich Church which arose in Germany during that period. He was also deeply involved in the Worldwide Ecumenical Movement of the day. Deeply committed and spiritually cerebral, Bonhoeffer’s theology was summed up in his advocacy for all Christians to simply live by the words of Christ in The Sermon on the Mount. The major corporis of The Sermon on the Mount is found in the first 12 verses of Chapter 5 in Matthew’s Gospel known as “The Beatitudes”.

It is in the spirit of Bonhoeffer’s delight in these timeless words and truths that I will be discussing in greater detail each of The Beatitudes with my readers over the course of the next couple of months. If you would like to read them all, post a comment, or be notified when a new post is up on this blog, please follow the instructions on the subscriptions button in the right hand column and subscribe to this blog site. You will receive an email when a new posting appears here.

So stay tuned. It is my prayer that this in-depth discussion and study of this paramount passage of Scripture will be of great value to all who are heeding The Upward Call!

P.S. My congratulations to Eric Metaxas, author of the New York Times Best-Seller Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy released last fall, for winning the Christian Book of the Year award! The Christian Book of the Year is chosen from among several worthy finalists to represent Christian publishing’s highest quality and greatest impact for 2011. The Christian Book Award winners and Christian Book of the Year were announced at the Executive Leadership Summit in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on May 2nd. He also was named this year’s recipient of the John Pollock Award for Christian Biography given by Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School.  Metaxas received that award from Beeson dean Dr. Timothy George during an 11 a.m. service Tuesday, March 1, in the A. Gerow Hodges Chapel at Samford. For more information on this outstanding, engaging, and theologically definitive biography on Bonhoeffer go to Eric’s website by clicking here.

Does It Matter When We Celebrate Easter?

It seems as if every Easter someone comes out of the woodwork to challenge the Christian tradition of Easter. In years past it has been Time magazine or some other liberal, anti-Christian rag who tries to stir up the faithful by challenging scripture (remember Satan’s taunt to Eve: “Did God really say?”). Leave it to liberal MSNBC to  instigate things this year. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/42643674?GT1=43001

The date of Jesus’ birth is generally thought to be between 4-6 BC and his crucifixion between 29 and 33 AD. As to the exact date, there are many opinions on which we are unlikely to ever come to universal agreement. As to whether He had the last supper on a Wednesday or Thursday is really irrelevant. In reading the gospels, it appears to me that he took passover supper with His disciples on Thursday, was crucified on Good Friday, laid in the tomb Friday afternoon, remained entombed all day Saturday (the Sabbath) and rose early on Sunday morning (the Third Day) before sunrise. That is in line with the traditional view, but is not universal in its acceptance.

What matters is that a historical Jesus really was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died an ignominious death on a cross to save us from our sins and give us peace and reconciliation with God, and rose triumphantly from the grave to conquer death and sin. He then proved He was alive to many eyewitnesses, commissioned His disciples to take this Good News to the uttermost parts of the earth, and ascended to Heaven to join the Father, sending His Holy Spirit to indwell all who believe and put their faith in Him-as our Helper and as a down payment for what is to come. That is what we celebrate at Easter; our victorious risen Savior and King! Someone always seems to want to complicate the issues of simple faith…

Does God Really Care Who Wins The National Championship?

I watched (for over two hours, with mild interest and more than occasional bouts of disinterest) the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball National Championship game last night. To be billed as the pinnacle of the sport and the culmination of all that has gone before with hundreds of Division I teams and the lead up to March Madness (the NCAA Tournament) in the sport of college basketball, saying that the game was a bust would be an understatement. Even the commentators called it “ugly”, interjecting that the first half was “as exciting as watching paint dry” and generally had little positive to say about how the game was played on either side, most especially by Butler who made NCAA history by shooting an ignominious historical championship low shot percentage of 18%!

All this is but a contextual prelude to ask the question that is the topic of today’s blog: Does God really care who wins the NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship? And further, by extension, does He care who wins the Super Bowl, the gold medals given out at the Olympic Games, the BCS Bowl games, Johnie’s Little League game or any other sport venue of your choice for that matter? And what about the Women’s Basketball Championship, where Texas A&M just minutes ago knocked off “God’s Team” (or so say some of my devout and well-meaning Catholic friends)? The answer (my answer, of course, as this is my blog)? Unequivocally, yes!

So what team does God root for? And don’t you think that if he had a favorite team He would certainly have the “pull” to make sure they won every time? Would it be Notre Dame or someone else?  Would it be the team with the most Christians on it or with a Christian coach or the one with the most noble motives (good guys don’t always finish last)? There are certainly plenty of folks on both benches and in the home and visitor stands desperately and fervently praying to the same God at the same time asking for the same outcome; a victory. Whose prayers will He hear? If we all knew the answer then the odds makers in Las Vegas would have to close up shop and go home!

Pay attention here. I said that I believe that God “cares” who wins, not because of individual or team favoritism (Scripture says there is no partiality with God), but because of a higher purpose-to shape the character of those playing the game (and watching it too sometimes-over-zealous team parents!). He wants to create more Christ-like character in those players that are His children, and use these players and the circumstances of the game and its outcome to testify that His ways are higher than our ways, even to those who do not have a relationship with Him yet. The trophies of this world all tarnish and are forgotten. Many end up in garage sales or landfills. No one can recall (except sports trivia junkies perhaps) who was Champion 5 years ago, 10 years ago, was MVP in 1998, etc., etc. Not surprisingly, a majority of people when asked can’t even tell you who played in the Super Bowl last year, much less who won!

So God cares who wins not for the reasons most of us care who wins. Not because it is our alma mater playing. And most assuredly not because we have a substantial bet on the outcome, or think the coach is a good man, or the underdog (David versus Goliath) deserves a little favoritism. No, rather it is for His higher purposes; that those who are His or will become His begin to take on the character of His only begotten Son, Jesus. That’s it? Really? That’s it!

Sometimes that process is very public and readily apparent and comes through magnificent victories and at other times it comes through defeat and is realized and internalized only by the individual competitors in the privacy of their own soul searching moments. I remember Kurt Warner, while playing for the St. Louis Rams, giving glory to God on national television after winning the Super Bowl trophy and Super Bowl MVP trophy in what was arguably the greatest Super Bowl of all time against the Tennessee Titans (where the game was decided on the last play of the game by literally the length of the football!). I also vividly remember backup quarterback Frank Reich’s wonderful testimony following his leading of the Houston Oilers to the greatest come from behind victory in NFL history against the New York Giants. (He also holds the record for the greatest come from behind victory in college football as well). But, I am impressed with a different recollection of a post-game interview of an injured and humbled Colt McCoy, having been knocked out of his last game as a Texas Longhorn early in the first quarter of the BCS National Championship game in 2010, giving God the glory and seemingly understanding the higher purposes at work in his life, even though his team had just lost and he was unable to contribute and play which would have undoubtedly made a difference in the ultimate outcome of the game.

So, we need as Christians to look beyond the outward success, see into the inward process, and measure the results by our upward progress. It’s all about the upward call of God in Christ Jesus, the living Word of God!

“Because all flesh [mankind] is like grass and all its glory [honor] like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower drops off. But the Word of the Lord [divine instruction, the Gospel] endures forever.” I Peter 1:24,25 (Amplified Version)

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