Resurrecting an old friend

In the roughly ten years since my last post on this blog, the world has seen drastic changes expressed in many forms: politics, religion, economics, education, health care, you name it. It is amazing to see what has changed. 

For me personally there have been changes, too. For one thing I am ten years older, and I am experiencing many of the frailties of an aging body. Last year, I spent six months in and out of the hospital battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia (for an account of that adventure, see my blog Red Cells and White Cells and Platelets, Oh, My!) This year I am in need of eye surgery, because the chemotherapy I have undergone, did damage to my corneas. I am a living testimony to the adage "Getting old is not for wimps." 

Another thing that has changed for me is a growing understanding of my Christian faith. My experience with leukemia has heightened in me the sense of how desperately dependent on the Lord I am; not only day by day, but also moment by moment. 

As I contemplate all of these things, I am convinced that I must speak up about them. I started this blog in January, 2009, because it was becoming obvious to me that Christians were (and are) under attack for our beliefs. This fact is, of course, nothing new. Jesus Christ, the author of our faith, was persecuted and eventually executed on a Roman cross, perhaps, the most humiliating, cruel, painful means of execution ever devised by the heart of mankind. But Jesus of Nazareth had an ace up His sleeve. On the third day after His execution, He stunned the world by rising from His grave and making that fact known by appearing in the flesh to hundreds of people. By doing so He inspired and empowered His followers, aka the church, aka the body of Christ, to go forth into the world and change it forever. Some people don't like that.

Over the twenty centuries since the church was founded, there has been an incessant desire among people in every age to destroy it. Why would people want to do that? After all, the church was the driving force behind the development of hospitals, universities, and even, or perhaps, especially the notion that there is a loving God Who cares about His creation. It is ironic that, in contemporary America, the enemies of Jesus of Nazareth vilify Him as a hateful man Who is a threat to humanity. 

Jesus Himself said, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) That is exactly what He did on that Roman cross centuries ago. Not even the Roman Governor of Judea could find any fault with Him (John 18:38). The Roman centurion who oversaw the crucifixion admitted, "Truly, this man was the Son of God." (Mark 15:39) But the religious leadership of the day demanded that Jesus be executed, primarily because He was a threat to their privilege and authority. You see, the common men and women in Judea had been longing for someone to come and release them from their bondage. In their minds, the Messiah (Greek: Christ) would one day come and free them from the tyranny of the Roman Empire. 

When Jesus arrived on the scene, he quickly gained a following among the people to whom He stated

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
    and recovering of sight to the blind,
    to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)

There are credible accounts both in and outside the Bible of wondrous healings and other signs that this Jesus was no mere mortal. 

One of the foibles of mankind is that we view the world through our own filter, as my wife would say. For four hundred years, Israel had suffered at the hands of his enemies, but the people had not heard from a prophet who might show them the way out of their plight. Then a young man named John came on the scene. He was an odd duck who stayed in the wilderness, clad in a camel hair tunic, eating honey and insects. But those who listened to his message were encouraged, for he proclaimed

...“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” (John 1:23)

Finally, after 400 years, John was bringing hope to Israel. Through their cultural filter, they wondered; was the promised Messiah coming at last? Would He come marching in with a heavenly army to rout the hated Romans? Would He at last set the captives [Israel] free? John baptized countless Jews "for the remission of sins." People were cleaning themselves up so they would be presentable before the Lord's Anointed, now that He was about to show Himself. He would need some loyal warriors for His army.

What they all missed was that Jesus didn't come to rescue them from the tyranny of Rome. They had a greater enemy. They had been enslaved by the Roman empire for decades, but they were prisoners of war in the age old conflict between the Holy God, Creator of the universe, and Satan, once the most beautiful among the angels, now fallen into depravity, the chief purveyor of lies and opposition to God. 

They were looking for a mighty general. They got an unassuming carpenter... from Nazareth, a dirty little town in the middle of nowhere. What this carpenter came to free them from was the prison of their own sin. Israel has a long history of paying lip service to the God who created them, rescued them from slavery in Egypt, led them to a land full of bountiful resources, while they pursued other delights, including pagan worship, child sacrifice, murder, adultery, avarice...well, you get the picture.

They were the "poor," who lived unfulfilling lives. They were the "captives" who needed liberty from the oppression of Satan, who encouraged their lasciviousness. They were the "blind," who needed to have their vision cleared, so they could see how they had created their own misery by following after false gods who promised "the good life," but delivered only pain. They were the "oppressed," who needed to be set at liberty from the oppression of self-serving ways that led them to endless misery. 

The Carpenter from Nazareth came to free them from that, because even in a political hell, such as Roman occupation of their homeland, freedom from the oppression of a guilty conscience and self-loathing, that is the real freedom. 

Down through the centuries since Jesus appeared, people have had a choice. They can opt for false gods, who promise paradise and deliver things like addiction, loneliness, fear, falsehood, death and destruction, or they can come to the Lover of their souls for comfort and rest.

"...Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

What will you choose? 

In future posts I will address in some detail the salient points I have raised in this post. Like it or not, we are all involved in a spiritual war. How we conduct ourselves just might turn out to be a matter of life and death. 

Stay tuned.

The Eye of the Hurricane

There is a lot in the news lately about Hurricane Sandy, the weather phenomenon that is currently threatening the eastern seaboard of the United States.  I am far from a meteorologist, but I have learned in my lifetime that a hurricane is a cyclonic storm with winds blowing around a center at very high velocity. And yet, in the center of the storm is a region called the "eye" of the storm.  I am told that in the eye of the storm, the winds are calm, the sky may be clear and the weather quite mild.

I was reading a blog post by Lee Fortston today.  The post addresses forgiveness.  As Christians, we are commanded to love our enemies and pray for those who spitefully use us (Matthew 5:44).  In this blog post, Fortston talks about the battle we all face when we are hurt or maligned or disrespected.  She puts it this way:

When we feel hurt, betrayed, deceived, abandoned, abused, dismissed, or disrespected to any degree, our immediate response is to fight or flee. Fighting is associated with courage, while fleeing suggests protecting ourselves. Forgiveness requires that we surpass the instinct to fight and redefine the meaning of self-preservation. 

She also says, in a moment of understatement, that this redefinition of self-preservation is not an easy task.

It occurred to me, as I was reading this post, that life can be like a hurricane, full of noise and commotion, turmoil and destruction, but somewhere in the middle of all of that is the eye of the hurricane, a place of tranquility and peace.  That place, according to Fortston, is forgiveness.

We must find the still and certain center of our hearts, the place that wants to release the grievances and find peace. It’s the deepest part of our heart that knows, without doubt, that we are divine and there is no need to fight or blame. When we feel a tug to be still rather than to fight or flee, then we’re closer to that center, a territory so subtle and sublime that it can easily be overlooked.

 While I would not agree with her that we are divine (or at least I know I am not!), I would substitute "made in God's image," which does not connote divinity but rather that each individual, as the image of God, is deserving of respect and dignity, under any circumstances.

Forgiveness is the essence of grace.  One definition of  grace is "unmerited favor." We certainly receive unmerited favor at the cross of Christ. "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) Even in a situation where you are clearly in the right, forgiving your brother (showing grace) will lead to peace, and often to reconciliation.  In just this way, God, through the sacrifice of His Son on the cross of Calvary, has not only paid the penalty for our sins, He has also forgiven our sins so that we might be reconciled to Him.

Jesus told Peter that we are to forgive our brother who offends us 70 times 7 times (Matthew 18:22), which is in fact to say an endless number of times.  Why?  Is it simply so people will think we are nice?  Will it make God love us more if we keep on forgiving?  No. He already loves us enough to give His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)  I believe the reason Jesus instructed Peter to forgive unconditionally is so that Peter would have peace in his own heart.

Jesus told the disciples:

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27) These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

He apparently put a high premium on peace, which He said is available because "I have overcome the world."  It is the way of the world to react to tribulation by fighting or fleeing, it is the divine way to forgive and live in peace. 

Fortston relates the following anecdote, which I think illustrates Jesus' point:

Giving up the battle is a hard concept in a culture that thrives on drama and adversity. Before I grasped this concept, I judged a friend whom I saw backing off from an argument with a coworker, a situation where my friend was clearly in the right and the coworker clearly in the wrong. I inquired why she was submitting, and she said, “I asked myself if I’d rather be right or at peace. I’d rather be at peace, so I’m letting it go.” The ferocity in her eyes showed that this wasn’t the easiest choice, but it was the best one.

Fortunately for us, we have the Holy Spirit to help us make that choice. (John 14:26)  It has been said that unforgiveness is a prison we build for ourselves, for when we refuse to forgive, it doesn't punish the other person, but it enslaves us to our bitterness.  The alternative is to choose the peace in the eye of the hurricane and let the noise and commotion, turmoil and destruction of the hurricane of life rage on without us.  The simple choice is not always the easy choice, but choose forgiveness anyway. In forgiveness is peace. 

Know Your Enemy

As my wife and I continue to work with married   couples, we are constantly reminded of the powerful weapons that Satan wields in his fight against God's sovereignty.  One of his favorite tactics with married couples is to convince them that it is the spouse who is the enemy in the spiritual war in which we are all engaged. (Ephesians 6:10-20)

"God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him...For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh.'" (Genesis 2:18, 24) This passage has profound implications for us humans, God's children.
Consider that God declared that it is NOT good for the man to be alone. Nevertheless, we men, in the current American culture, tend to be loners.  And the worst of it is that we continue to be loners after the wedding. God made us for relationship, first with Himself and next with our spouses.

Whereas most women tend to be more relational than most men, God intended for all of us to be relational, that is, to "do" life together. It is true that God made men and women different. We are not only different physically, but mentally and emotionally, too. That is not an excuse, my fellow males, to shut your wife out of your life, a thing too many of us do with frightening regularity. In fact, the value of relationships is to profit from the diversity that each of us brings to the table.

Our text continues by saying that God made a "helper" suitable for the man.  Are we to construe this word to mean that the woman is someone made to be a lackey; a go-fer; an Igor to Dr. Frankenstein?  (Do you really want to be Dr. Frankenstein?) If you consider that Greek translations of the Old Testament use the same word here (paraclete) as they do in John 14:26, when Jesus is describing the Helper whom God will send to dwell with us, i.e., the Holy Spirit, you are unlikely to be so deceived.  This is a helper to empower us and provide wisdom and strength.  This is a helper with whom we are to be equally yoked (II Corinthians 6:14), that is, we are to be harnessed together as a team, pulling for the glory of God.  Robert Andrews, in his wonderful book The Family: God's Weapon for Victory describes it this way: husband and wife are a "one-flesh fighting unit."

But I am a little ahead of myself.  Before God tells us that we become one flesh with our wives, there are two other things that He expects to happen. First, "a man shall leave his father and mother."  How many couples we have counselled who missed this step entirely.  Husbands  Who Won't Lead and Wives Who Won't Follow is another good book on this subject.  Our passage says, "A man shall leave his father and mother."  It does not say "may leave" or "might want to consider leaving" or "it is suggested, if reasonably convenient, that a man leave."  This is a commandment, guys. So leave, already!

Don't let parents bully, shame, coax, cajole, wheedle or otherwise influence you into running your household their way.  Man up!  If you are not ready to be the head of your own household, don't burden your beloved with a meally-mouthed, spineless, namby-pamby husband.  God appointed you the head of the household (Ephesians 5:23).  Wives, this applies to you, as well; if you are not willing to respect and  submit to the leadership of your betrothed, don't saddle him with a nagging, shrewish ball and chain. Break the engagement, now.  Many a woman has entered into holy matrimony with the goal of emending her husband's faults, only to discover that, whereas Jesus told us all things are possible with God, with men, not so much.

Your spouse is NOT the enemy.  Build boundaries into and around your marriage. Your parents may have given you good advice when you were younger, and they may still have good advice to offer, but it is ONLY appropriate when it comes at YOUR request, not at their insistence.  Then, give it due consideration before prayerfully making YOUR OWN DECISION, which is not subject to review or criticism from your parents or anyone else.

The second thing God commanded is "be joined to your wife."  Your wife, at the day of your wedding, in a process which the Apostle Paul calls a mystery (Ephesians 5:32), becomes a part of your being; flesh of your flesh and bone of your bone; your next (very next) of kin.  If you are brother and sister in Christ, you already share His blood.  Realize that she is "my sister, my spouse." (Song of Solomon 4:9)  And while you are at it, remember that God commands you to be "enraptured by her love" (Proverbs 5:19).

All of this is to happen before you become one flesh with her in the physical, literal sense.  Is it any wonder that God has told us that sexual union outside of marriage is forbidden?  Once the banns have been read, commemorating your commitment to marry her and hers to you, the process begins.  In ancient Jewish culture, betrothal was as binding as marriage, requiring a bill of divorcement to break the commitment.  Less than a hundred years ago, people brought lawsuits for "breach of promise," when an engagement suffered a unilateral break. That is why Joseph was so troubled when he learned that Mary, his betrothed, was with child.  He wanted to "put her away quietly," rather than put her and himself through the scandal and humiliation of public divorce. (Matthew 1:19)

So, marriage is not, as is commonly said in our current culture, "just a piece of paper." It is a mysterious process of turning a man and a woman into a one flesh fighting unit in God's army. To be sure, they remain individuals, and yet in some magical way, they are irretrievably joined.  As such, they are helper and friend, sister and spouse, bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh. "For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes it and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church." (Ephesians 5:29)

Know your enemy. It is clear that your enemy is NOT your spouse.  Your enemy is, in the words of Paul, "...the devil...principalities... powers...rulers of the darkness of this age...spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:11-12) When you run up against the trials that life in this fallen world inevitably brings, "Count it all joy...knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience." (James 1:3-4)  You are not in this battle alone, for you have a Helper, Who will "teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that Jesus said to you." (John 14:26) And if you are fortunate enough to be married, you have yet another helper, suitable for you. Engage in the battle together, and your burden will be lighter.

To paraphrase the immortal cartoon character, Pogo, "We have met the enemy, and he ain't your spouse."

Every person in America needs to see this video:

Are "good" and "evil" simply relative terms?

Once again, T.M. Moore, theologian at the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview, has said a mouthful.  In his recent post, titled "Turning from the Truth," Moore emphasizes the fact that in the post-modern era, we have not only lost any concept of absolute truth, but also we have lost any concept of absolute evil. 

If evil does not exist, then by extension there can be no good, either.  If good and evil are relative terms, they are meaningless terms.  In the post, Moore quotes Andrew DeBlanco, author of  The Death of Satan:

"...if evil, with all the insidious complexity which Augustine attributed to it, escapes the reach of our imagination, it will have established dominion over us all." 

Remember that I have stated time and again that the battleground of the Spiritual War we are in is the human mind?  Well, here is corroboration.  When Satan gets us to believe that neither he nor evil exist, he will have complete dominion over us.

Jesus told us that the truth would set us free. (John 8:32).  He was talking about absolute truth as revealed to us by our heavenly Father in Scripture.  Jesus believed in Satan.  He spent 40 days in the desert with him. It was the truth from Scripture that set Jesus free from Satan. Perhaps, we should take a cue from our Commander-in-Chief, soldier.

Garbage in, Garbage out...

I have discussed in previous posts the fact that the battleground of the spiritual war we are engaged in is the human mind. How does what we put in our mind affect us spiritually? Does it matter what we watch or listen to or read? Does the cyber-axiom "garbage in, garbage out" hold true in life as well as computing?

The Apostle Paul tells us: "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:2). Apparently, he thought that it matters what we allow to influence us.

Today, Chuck Colson, erstwhile Nixon aide/apologist, and founder of Prison Fellowship ministries, wrote in his Breakpoint column about this subject. I recommend you read his article Film and Suicide. Then decide whether you want to put "garbage in."

Doing the right thing...

Here is a young, Christian leader who stands up for Jesus winsomely, humbly and articulately. Kirk Cousins is the quarterback of the Michigan State Spartans football team.