Congratulate me! My blog has won second place in a contest that judges weekly internet journals written by Church of Christ preachers named Jeff to distribution list of less than fifty and publish them between the hours of 2 and 4 am. I, of course, already knew that I was great, but now with this prestigious, all be it anonymous, award, I can rightly hold my head high.
Are you ill yet? You should be. But this is the egocentric society in we live. It comes from a society that refuses to make judgments. One that says all ideas are equal. There is no right nor wrong, no absolutes, and truth is relative. This post-modern nihilistic philosophy seeks to render all authority impotent.
The result is a classroom culture where the teacher has no control over his students but feels free to have illicit relations with them. Red ink is considered harsh ego-damaging criticism, and students are socially promoted because their feelings are regarded as more important than actual education. The home culture has the children calling the shots, love is only a feeling, and divine familial design is scorned. The work culture is full of rhetoric about the value of its employees but demonstrates their value with fewer benefits, gives great reviews but little raises, and dispenses titles like penny candy, but gives no authority to accomplish it. Our community culture preaches that there are no winners and losers. I have been to team sporting games where they don't even keep score and at the end of the season every player on every team gets a trophy.
Overall, our culture thinks that it is doing everyone a favor promoting a society with no judgments. It is the "I'm okay, you're okay" delusion. They have wheeled the ten commandments into the closets and told the homosexuals to come out. They have tried to bar God from the public square at every turn. Debate has been labeled contentiousness. They claim community without real unity; marriage without real love; and spirituality without the real God.
The self-proclaimed self esteem movement has psychologists and childrearing experts patting themselves on the back. A 2006 study of college entrance profile tests revealed that 30% of Generation Y freshman are "overly narcissistic" when compared to 25 years of their predecessors. Looks like Gen "Y" is better called Gen "I" (or "Me" if you are a stickler for grammar).
As Christians, why is this important? Paul said:
"For I say, through the grace given to me, to every one who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. But set your mind to be right-minded, even as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith." Romans 12:3
Pride is a monumental obstacle that keeps us from God because it seeks to replace Him with ourselves. It should be no mystery to us that for self-esteem to reach its unhealthy limits, God must be removed from all aspects of society. This is certainly Satan's strategy in 21st century America. This year marks the 75 anniversary of US organized humanism. Though its axioms have been reworded over the years, its basic tenants proport denial of anything supernatural, man's knowledge is the highest order, and take a Marxian view of religion as merely "the opiate of the masses." In their charter they claim,
"In the place of the old attitudes involved in worship and prayer the humanist finds his religious emotions expressed in a heightened sense of personal life and in a cooperative effort to promote social well-being." (To read all of this culturally influential document, click here Humanist Manifesto I)
This is why you can have "churches" that openly embrace atheism such as the Unitarian Universalist church. To them a godless church is no contradiction because the church is merely to be self-serving: A glee club of sorts. And this philosophy is ever permeating our world. Survival of the fittest becomes the defacto reality in a culture of selfishness, and that is exactly what pride becomes.
As Christian, we must be aware of the Satan's schemes. No truer words were written than, "Now the serpent was more cunning than any of the beasts of the Garden." He is apparently subtly, slowly turning up the heat as not to alert his prey to their precarious position. And although the church, the called-out ones, are not of be of the world even as they are in it, we are too often influenced by our world.
Be sensible and vigilant, because your adversary the Devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking someone he may devour;" 1Peter 5:8
Now the point of this treatise is this: When we artificially raise the self-esteem of others, especially our children, by meaningless standards, we in reality devalue them. When everyone is a winner, winning is meaningless. When we refuse to discern right and wrong, people are left wandering aimlessly. When we tell them they came from slime and evolved from animals, should we be surprised when they act like animals? Can we expect even prideful people to truly feel valuable when we teach them there is no God, no forgiveness, and that they were an accident rather lovingly, purposefully created?
Tragically, what has happened in all the self-congratulation and hubris is a desperate underlying sense of insecurity. Pride and insecurity equal envy. I watched an interview lately between a British subject and an American. Though we are seemingly trying to quickly catch up to them, Europe is well ahead of us in this pattern. The Brit was trying to understand the American ideal of genuinely being happy for someone else's successes. He could not understand why we might have some joy about anything that does not benefit us directly. He seriously said that when other people succeed, he gets depressed. He said that is the way it is in Britain and could not relate to any other way.
I have heard many others echo that sentiment since that interview. And that is where we are headed if the church continues to idly sit by and do nothing. What are we to do?
"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, in order to prove by you what is that good and pleasing and perfect will of God." Romans 12:2
This is a key that will unlock God's floodgates. Of course the transformation involves pressing toward the greatest Christian virtue: Love. In definition, the love is selflessness and not merely some emotion that we arbitrarily assign to some to the exclusion of others. So I leave you with the God-ordained antidote to our societal ill:
Love God completely, love others compassionately, and ourselves correctly.
This week in contemplating the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord, I couldn't help but try and put myself in the shoes of Jesus' disciples as the events unfolded. Lord, forgive my envy of their ability to talk with you in person, look into your face, and wrap their arms around you.
But there is no question that my envy is quite fleeting when balanced with the tremendous trial they faced as witnesses of our Lord's baptism of suffering. I can imagine the denial I would have at the notion He would have to die. I'd draw my sword alright, and I would not be merely cut off an ear either! I picture myself screaming "No!" and latching onto my God's leg as they tried to arrest and take Him away. I get ill even contemplating it.
I am a sore loser. Particularly when it come to Satan. I am constantly looking for his next move against me and others; ready to resist and stand firm for the Lord. I see this quality in the apostle Peter. I see him always ready to answer and act. He confessed Jesus as the Son of the Living God; he stepped out in faith (some anyway) upon the water toward Jesus; he was the one that drew his sword in an attempt to keep Jesus from being arrested. But there is one great part of Peter's vigilance that let him down. This might have been his lowest point. "From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took Him and began to rebuke Him, saying, God be gracious to You, Lord! This shall never be to You. But He turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind Me, Satan!' You are an offense to Me, for you do not savor the things that are of God, but those that are of men." Matthew 16:21-23
What is so striking to me is that a short time and five verses ago, Peter is blessed by Jesus because he professed Him to be the Christ and the Son of God. This rebuke of "Get behind Me, Satan," is of the same construct as the rebuke Jesus gave to Satan after be tormented by him during His time of fasting following His baptism.
Stand, if you dare, in the sandals of Peter at that moment. You have come off a spiritual high because you were wise, bold, and faithful enough to proclaim the true identify of your Lord and Saviour in front of all. Now He tells you that He must be killed and raised on the third day. You think, "Oh no you won't! I won't allow it. I will stop it. No one is killing my Lord!" You take Jesus aside and tell Him that He shouldn't talk like that. He should know that you will not let such a terrible thing occur. Instead of Jesus telling you, "Thanks Peter, I knew you'd come through," He says, "Peter, get out of My way you messenger of Satan. You are being used by Satan to ensnare Me!"
Oh how the mighty have fallen! Jesus' star student just got an F-minus-minus. What are we to make of all this? It means that God's ways are not our ways. Just when we think we know what is best, God tells us that we were running the wrong way and scored a touchdown for the opposing team. It also tells that when God is revealing His plan to us, don't try and overrule Him. Just because we get a few things right, let's not puff ourselves up to where we try and start calling the shots. We look at it and think that Jesus was being harsh because Peter certainly meant well. But God looks at it saying, "Peter, who did you think you were working for when you started rebuking me?"
We must always be on our guard. The distance between being God's biggest champion and God's newest obstacle can be as short as five verses. Sorry to say, I have seen many "mighties" fall over the years. One day they have a great and successful ministry, the next they are trying to pick up the pieces or fading into the annuls of history. Like Peter, they have begun to believe their own press. "We are great!" "Look at everything we are doing for God!" "How did God ever survive without us?" Next thing you know you have a bunch of preachers selling insurance and used cars. Not that such a turn is limited preachers; I have seen it happen to new Christians as well as elders.
There is one more part for us to wisely consider in all of this. When God rebukes us like Jesus to Peter, we must not explain it away. For instance, when Judah ended up off track, God used Babylon to rebuke them. The problem is that when God sent Ezekiel about as His prophet to tell them what He had done to discipline them in an effort to get them to repent, they had no interest in listening to Him. Instead, they choose to listen to false prophets who assured them that they were God's chosen people and that God would never turn His back to them.
As a result, the people did not repent, Jerusalem was destroyed and all but a handful of faithful remnant Jews were condemned. The majority of Jews chose to think that everyone else was just jealous of them. Because of their closeness to God, Satan was persecuting them. But in truth, they were working for Satan and God was attempting to rebuke them into repentance.
As we begin to stray, God will always try to reel us back in. He loves us that much. We must not assume trials are simply the high price we pay for serving God. Oh Satan does and will continue to oppose righteousness, but God also chastens whom He loves. Perhaps we can learn from the words of Joseph to his brothers:
"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive" Genesis 50:20
What you perceive as evil, God may be working righteousness in your trials. The only question is will you listen and learn? Will you repent? If not, don't expect God to stop His chastening until you do, or you are removed as an obstacle. Apparently Peter did learn right away, because he later was warned how he would fall into Satan's trap again by denying Jesus. He was even told when and how many times, but he still walked right into it. This is the trouble we face in this spiritual warfare.
So how do we know the difference? We are always to be seeking God's wisdom, plan, and guidance. Don't always presume that you must be right in your thinking and plans merely because you were successful before. Listen even to your perceived enemies, for God may be speaking to you through them. God's floodgates are only open when we are within His will.
"For to this end I also wrote, that I might know the proof of you, whether you are obedient in all things... so that we should not be overreached by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his devices. " 2 Corinthians 2:9&11
One of the worst horrors of war is something that most people don't even want to think about, much less discuss. All moral judgments aside, it is an even deeper emotional issue than the gravity of carnage from today's extremely powerful weapons or the collateral damage of women and children. It is commonly called "friendly fire."
Many of you probably remember Pat Tilman. Pat was a safety for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals. Pat was a good player, but he really gained our admiration and respect when he walked away from a $3.6 million contract to enlist in the Army. He and his brother Kevin, who also walked away from a professional sports career in baseball, were so moved by the 9/11 attacks they both joined the Army Ranger program in 2002. Parents nationwide hoped their boys would be as loyal and patriotic and selfless.
Like so many stories of war, Pat's did not have a happy ending. He was killed in combat in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. Seemingly, no good deed goes unpunished. What we later found out made it seem even more senseless and tragic. Pat was killed by one of his own. A fact so disturbing, the military first tried to cover it up, but weeks later, confessed the details.
A poll reveals that upwards of 80 percent of people leave a church because of a personal offense. This number is staggering. Here we are in the Lord's army facing a formidable but common foe. Like any war, we expect some will fall in the face of battle, but to know that most are the result of friendly fire is unbearable. What makes friendly fire so hard to deal with is that it seems so avoidable. Now accidents do happen, as it likely was in the case of Pat Tilman, but 80% is no accident, it is recklessness. God has a plan that can avoid all the spiritual bloodshed.
Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the 'Sons of God.'" He also said, "Love your neighbor as yourself," and "Treat people in the way you want to be treated." You have also heard that God will not forgive you if you do not forgive others. But forgiveness is only one part of peacemaking; Ken Sande identifies six peacemaking responses. These responses are commanded by God, empowered by the gospel, and directed toward finding just and mutually agreeable solutions to conflict. According to Matthew 18, the first three peacemaking responses are to be carried out personally and privately, just between you and the other party. The vast majority of conflicts in life should and can be resolved in one of these ways.
1. Forgiveness. Many disputes are so insignificant that they should be resolved by quietly and deliberately overlooking an offense. “A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense” (Prov. 19:11; see also 12:16; 17:14; Col. 3:13; 1 Peter 4:8). Overlooking an offense is a form of forgiveness and involves a deliberate decision not to talk about it, dwell on it, or let it grow into pent-up bitterness or anger.
2. Reconciliation. If an offense is too serious to overlook or has damaged the relationship, we need to resolve personal or relational issues through confession, loving correction, and forgiveness. “[If] your brother has something against you . . . go and be reconciled” (Matt. 5:23–24; see Prov. 28:13). “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently” (Gal. 6:1; see Matt. 18:15). “Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Col. 3:13).
3. Restitution. Even if we successfully resolve relational issues, we may still need to negotiate material issues related to money, property, or other rights. This should be done through a cooperative bargaining process in which you and the other person seek to reach a settlement that satisfies the legitimate needs of each side. “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Phil. 2:4).
When a dispute cannot be resolved through one of the personal peacemaking responses, God calls us to use one of the next three peacemaking responses; they could be called assisted peacemaking. These responses require the involvement of other people in the church.
4. Mediation. If two people cannot reach an agreement in private, they should ask one or more objective outside people to meet with them to help them communicate more effectively and explore possible solutions. “If he will not listen [to you], take one or two others along” (Matt. 18:16). These mediators may ask questions and give advice, but they have no authority to force you to accept a particular solution.
5. Arbitration. When you and an opponent cannot come to a voluntary agreement on a material issue, you may appoint one or more arbitrators to listen to your arguments and render a binding decision to settle the issue. In 1 Corinthians 6:1–8, Paul indicates that this is how Christians ought to resolve even their legal conflicts with one another: “If you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church” (1 Cor. 6:4).
6. Accountability. If a person who professes to be a Christian refuses to be reconciled and do what is right, Jesus commands church leaders to formally intervene to hold him or her accountable to Scripture and to promote repentance, justice, and forgiveness: “If he refuses to listen [to others], tell it to the church” (Matt. 18:17). Direct church involvement is often viewed negatively among Christians today, but when it is done as Jesus instructs—lovingly, redemptively, and restoratively—it can be the key to saving relationships and bringing about justice and peace.
Instead of following God's clear plan to preserving the unity of the Spirit through peace-making, Christians often sin by peace-faking or peace-breaking. Peace-faking is an escape response and can come in three stages: denial, flight, and suicide. We act as if it didn't every happen, run from the problem (sometime to another church or away from God), or even can escalate to taking your own life. None of these address the riff between brethren and do nothing to honor God. Peace-breaking is an attack response and also has three stages: assault, litigation, and murder. Obviously, none of these is either profitable nor godly.
Historian and author David McCullough has written such notable works as 1776, John Adams, and Truman. In his book "1776," McCullough highlighted some critical experiences in Adams’ life; one of them has caused me to reflect on the ongoing need for reconciling relationships within the church.
Thomas Jefferson had been Adams’ closest friend. Then they became political rivals and soon were political enemies. John Adams had served for one term as president, but then Jefferson defeated him in Adams’ bid for a second term. Neither of them spoke to the other for twelve years, but then, as McCullough tells it, “Adams initiated the first letter of what was to be one of the great reconciliations in our history. The correspondence between these former presidents lasted until their deaths, and is some of the most wonderful letters in the English language.” I have not always seen such a reconciliation of relationships in the church. Many people insist that it would do no good to do so, and, in fact, make no effort at reconciliation.
The apostle Paul had to reconcile at least one ministry relationship that we know about. After his first missionary journey, he and Barnabas disagreed over whether to take John Mark, who had deserted them on the first missionary journey, with them on a second journey. They had such a disagreement that they parted ways for different ministries (Acts 15:36-41). The relationships Paul had with Barnabas and John Mark must have been reconciled over the years, though, because late in his ministry Paul speaks fondly of John Mark in both Colossians 4:11 and 2 Timothy 4:11.
For me the key to reconciling relationships is Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 18:15-17. If your brother or sister has wronged you, indeed if there is any problem between you and a brother or sister, you should go speak to him or her in an attempt to reconcile the relationship. If the person does not listen, you should then take others with you in order to make every effort to reconcile the relationship. In the case of an honest disagreement, the reconciliation effort should not be to convince the other person that you are right and he or she is wrong, but rather to heal the relationship. We ought to pay better attention to this teaching of Jesus in our relationships.
In order to reconcile relationships in this manner, the person who goes to his brother or sister needs to go with an open heart, willing to listen to changes needed in his or her own attitudes. We also need to remain open to a brother or sister coming to us and pointing out where our attitude has hurt a relationship.
In the brief article that I read, McCullough did not indicate what caused John Adams to write Thomas Jefferson and begin the process that reconciled the two men. Perhaps, though, it was his faith. McCullough relates that Adams’ faith in God remained unshaken to the end of his life, and concludes that, “He was as devout a Christian as ever served in our highest office.”
Perhaps we need to let our faith control how we deal with all our relationships, so that even difficult relationships can be reconciled and so give testimony again to the Spirit of Christ within us.
There is no question in my mind that God will open His floodgates of blessing to us if labor to keep Satan from dividing us apart. I am equally convinced that He will not if we don't.
"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you " Matthew 6:14
We all have heard the truth that what we put into our body, we become. There is a big push now to alert Americans that we are ruining our bodies with all the junk and convenience food that we are consuming. Even talk about banning fat people from eating at restaurants. I suppose we would put a scale at the entrance and and an automatic trap door that opens if we try to sneak in with all our extra pounds. Hey, but I was going in to eat a salad, honest! Gym and exercise equipment sales are on the rise, though I don't know if that really means more people using the equipment. All of this is fine, we should take care of the body that God has blessed us with.
But (oh come on, you knew there was going to be a "but"), I am astounded that our mouth is the only thing people seem to want to regulate. Clearly, what people are consuming with their eyes and ears is far more detrimental than what they are eating. Now let me say, I have not always been one to condemn everything that comes out of Hollywood or Nashville or the internet. But I really am left wanting for any reasons not to anymore. I have seen people rolling their eyes when the preacher uses words like "Hellywood," and "the Devil's music." Now, however, either I am getting older or there is just not enough glimmers of light anymore in these media to see much redeeming value in them. Now, lest I be accused of cherry-picking obscure examples to taint an entire industry, I will let the artists themselves suggest their very best work; The best of the best in fact.
Case in point: At this year's Grammy awards, their darling was admitted, unrepentant heroin-cocaine addict Amy Winehouse. She was rewarded with five Grammy awards including best album and song of the year for her hit ironically entitled, "Rehab." Now music has been a large part of my life and I have been involved in it from theory to practice for many of my years. There are few styles of music (not to include the lyics) that I dislike, but I do not find anything in particular superlative about Ms. Winehouse's acclaimed song. Check it out for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlRF43-xaYc
Now even if you find the beat a bit catchy (to each his own), you must pity the woman for such sad lyrics. Mind you this is a woman that started her career and a beautiful voluptuous woman and is now so drug ravaged, that she is emaciated down to a mere skeleton. So instead of insisting the poor young woman get some much needed help, they honor her for writing lyrics such as these:
They’re tryin' to make me go to rehab
I said no, no, no
Yes I been black,
but when I come back
You wont know, know, know.
I ain't got the time,
And if my Daddy thinks i'm fine,
He’s tried to make me go to rehab,
I wont go, go, go.
The lady is in real trouble as she has even been caught on tape snorting cocaine on stage during her concerts. This is the best of their best, and the licentious culture they wish all of us to live. This is no anomaly, Ms. Winehouse was also joined on stage by 11- time Grammy winner Kanye West. His trouble began two years ago when he had sex on stage with a minor during one of his concerts. No jail time, but lots of awards. Last year, the Grammy awards lavished their top prizes upon the Dixie Chicks! Need I keep going?
Let's consider Hollywood buffet of offerings for your audio-visual pallet. This year's Oscar winners included "No Country for Old Men" about the drug trafficking culture, "Juno" about a pregnant 16 year old, "Sweeney Todd" the demon barber, and "The Golden Compass" an deliberate (according to the author) atheistic fantasy that militantly tries to subliminally indoctrinate children against the Living God and His church. Fortunately, the viewing public still has a little more taste than Hollywood as the "Golden Compass" movie has to date not even made half of its $150,000,000 production and distribution costs back.
Again, this is nothing new. Anyone remember recent past award winners such a Al Gore's science fiction movie (emphasis on fiction) about global warming, "An Inconvenient Truth," and "Brokeback Mountain." Gay cowboys?! Are you kidding me? Is nothing sacred? That is a stab right through America's heartland. With baseball on the fix and people trying to take away our apple pie because the nation is on a diet; what do we have left?
In all seriousness, these people know what they are doing. They are not just victims of their artistic minds, that take them far beyond us mere mortals. They are portraying for you the world in which they wish to live, in hopes of creating it. And they are successful. I even heard some Christians saying after watching "Brokeback Mountain," "They are just like us, so what they are doing must be okay." To which I say, right, they(homosexuals) are just like us. We are sinners and they are sinners. Except, we are repentant forgiven sinners, by the grace of God, and they are not. The same, yet so different in the hope of our salvation. We don't hate the people, we hate the sin, because unforgiven sin kills and kills eternally.
Friends, we live in a troubled world, full of challenges. We are not to be changed by the world, but be world-changers. Our only hope is to keep ourselves away from worldly influences. We live in the world, but are not to be of the world. Here is what the apostle Paul said in Colossians 3:1-2:
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Be mindful of things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life has been hidden with Christ in God.
You are what you eat! Not only are you carrying that cheeseburger on your stomach and wearing those chocolate bars on your hips, but what you are consuming with your eyes and ears leads to a brain fat with worldliness. If we want God to unlock His floodgate of blessings upon us, we must not be seeking all the world's "blessings." Jesus said several times that if we seek all our rewards from this world, God has no room to reward us.
Don't get me started on the internet! But I guess it is not all bad, after all you wouldn't be reading this right now :) We don't need the government to regulate us, do we? Can't we discipline ourselves with some self-control? Don't be surprized when the world encourages things that are bad for you. Take charge of your life in Christ.
Therefore if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much rather clothe you? You of little faith! Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, With what shall we be clothed? For the nations seek after all these things. For your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow; for tomorrow shall be anxious for its own things. Sufficient to the day is the evil of it. Matthew 6:30-34
Congratulate me! My blog has won second place in a contest that judges weekly internet journals written by Church of Christ preachers named Jeff to distribution list of less than fifty and publish them between the hours of 2 and 4 am. I, of course, already knew that I was great, but now with this prestigious, all be it anonymous, award, I can rightly hold my head high.
