Response to the Responses to Orlando

Unfortunately, we live in a time where there is evil in the world. Too many times, we turn on the news and hear of another tragedy that happened. When they are in other parts of the world, we get numb to them. We pass off violence in Africa because they are not as far along as a society as we are. We ignore violence in the Middle East because they have a long history of killing each other. Too often, though, the news has not been coming from overseas. It is coming from our own backyards. Does that make the violence worse? No, but sad to say we pay attention to it more. We feel our way of life is being attacked.

In the wake of the horrible attacks like Sandy Hook or Orlando or of the many others we hear about, we as Americans feel we need to do something. We line up on our different sides: “BAN ALL GUNS” vs. “EVERYONE SHOULD BE PACKING” (Please note that both of these sides were represented with hyperbole on purpose. I have not heard anyone say either one of these statements). If we have more guns on the street, we will have more accidents and more incidents of people being shot over misunderstandings. If we have fewer guns on the street, we will have more opportunity for crime and larger shooting sprees by criminals with guns. We had crime and murder before guns were invented.

If we look at both sides, they are both trying to reduce the number of incidents and the number of victims. Neither one is getting to the root of the problem. The real problem is that we have people who get to the place where they feel hate and killing people is the only way to deal with it. Jesus tells us to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Matthew 5:44. As one of my relatives put on Facebook from the band “Gungor” “We don’t have to agree on a single thing in order to be kind to one another.”

“But Brad, they were in a gay bar so they got what they deserved.” Wrong attitude. First of all, we ALL deserve much worse because of our sin against God. They are no more a group of sinners than those that fill our churches on Sunday mornings. If God gave us what we deserved, there would be no one left on earth. Second, they were made in God’s image just like the rest of us. And taking someone’s life is a grievous sin in the Bible because you are marring the image of God. Thus, 50 people were killed and 50+ were injured for no good reason. We should be sad at the situation and we need to mourn and pray for the victims and families. Pray that God will make himself real to those left behind as well as comfort and healing during this time.

“Brad, does it matter that the shooter had ties to ISIS?” Unless we can tie him to a broader conspiracy to have multiple attacks like this, it appears he acted alone. Even if he was trained by ISIS, which no one has said anything like that, the fact that he is Muslim is a side note only. He does not represent all of the Islamic faith just like Westborough Baptist does not represent all Christians. Just because someone shoots at or blows up an abortion clinic does not mean they are acting in the will of the God of the Bible.

On the other hand, like it or not, the facts are that ISIL, ISIS, Boko Haram, and the Taliban (to name a few of the Radical Islamic Terrorist groups) are more active in terrorist attacks in the last few years than at any time in history. Does that mean all Muslims are terrorists? Not at all. Most are not. But to say that these groups are not Islamic is to not be realistic about their origins. Just like Christians can have their own favorite area of the Bible and try to down play or ignore the parts they do not like, Muslims do the same thing.

Bottom line is this: this incident should not bring us to ban all guns or to give everyone a gun. It should not be thought of a punishment for the gay lifestyle. It should not cause us to look at our Muslim neighbor any differently. It should cause us to mourn, grieve, and pray for those that lost their lives. It should make us rethink our lives to make sure we are following Jesus as our Lord and Savior. And finally, it should make us increase our efforts of sharing the Gospel with those who do not know you. Because we never know where evil will strike again. It might even be in your own town. As Queen Esther was told, “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14 She was able to save her countrymen. 

Who are you supposed to point to Jesus?

Patience: Negative and Positive

Today, my reading in Psalms was chapter 78:38-43:

"Yet he, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often and did not stir up all his wrath.
He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and comes not again.
How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert!
They tested God again and again and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
They did not remember his power or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
when he performed his signs in Egypt and his marvels in the fields of Zoan."

In this passage, the psalmist is reflecting on how much the people of Israel turned away from God but God was merciful. Another term we use for this is “patience”. When we say that God has patience, we are referring to the fact that as humans, we let God down but then he in return does not give us what we deserve. This is the negative aspect of patience that reminds us of another phrase that means the same thing: “long-suffering”. Someone has to endure the mistakes of another.

As parents, we need to show this type of patience to our kids often. Maybe they break something or they can’t find their black belt that they need for the concert in 2 hours so you have to go and buy a new one…only to find it when you get home after the concert. Just saying. While some of us are better than others at this, these types of things are what comes to mind first when we think of patience.

In The Songs of Jesus, Tim Keller has a passage, a little devotional and then a prayer. One phrase in his phrase on this passage gave me pause. The prayer was “Lord Jesus, the old meaning of patience is ‘long-suffering’ and you indeed suffered infinitely rather than give me the punishment my sins deserved. You have been unspeakably patient with me. Let that truth make me patient with people around me, and with my circumstances, and with your every disposal of my life. Amen.” The phrase that caught my attention was the last one: “and with your every disposal of my life”. At first, I needed to think about what that meant. God was not getting rid of me, so it is not the first meaning of the word. After a while, it seemed the best definition was like “at one’s disposal” meaning “available to be used”.

To put that phrase in other words, he is saying that we need to be patient with God when he uses us or when he is working in our lives. We need to go through a hard time now so that God could be glorified later. Because we are not enduring someone else’s sin, this could be looked at as the positive version of patience. Almost like watching a video where someone says, “Wait for it”. Something good is coming and it will be worth it.

Unfortunately, this is harder for me to endure. Why? That is a good question and I am not sure I have a complete answer. Part of it is that I am not in control. Part is I do not know what to do. Part is I am not sure how long. In other words, I do not trust God enough to hold on to the promise that the end will be worth it.

This psalm is chastising the Israelites for forgetting what God has done for them and how faithful God has been to them. Am I not in the same boat? To paraphrase a song we sang on Sunday with Communion, Jesus surrendered all for us; we should give him all of us in return. That includes being patient with His “every disposal of my life”.

Hope in the midst of dark days

Have you ever had one of those days where you just sit back and wonder why?  You ask God what is he doing? Nothing makes sense and things are not looking good for the future. We are in one of those cycles today. Last night, we heard of the passing of a dear sweet lady in our Kentucky church. She was fighting something but they could not figure out what it was. Then as a complete surprise, she was gone. Then we woke up this morning hearing about an active shooter incident up in Fargo where the shooter and a police officer are dead.

While I am not saying that these are related or are out of the ordinary, they do make you stop and think…and question God. One may ask if a Christian should question God. My response is that Paul writes in 1 Cor 13:12 that we see “in a mirror dimly” (ESV) or “like a cloudy picture in a mirror” (CEV) in talking about how we see God and his purposes. We do not see the full picture and we won’t until we see him face to face. So because of that lack of a clear picture, it is okay for Christians to question God.

I have been reading though a devotional book by Tim Keller called The Songs of Jesus which goes through the Psalms. There are many Psalms that question God; songs that were written with raw emotions to the point of being angry with God. Even those Psalms have a note of respect and deference to the Almighty God. It is okay to question God but we also need to remember our place. We have a limited perspective on matters but God’s is eternal. Sometimes, though, that is not enough. What do we do then?

Today’s chapter in that devotional focused on Psalm 24:1-6:

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.

This passage is talking about who can be intimate with God? “His Holy Place” was God’s “room” here on earth. He is asking us to come close to him and to talk, even argue with him with the purpose to get to know him better and to get a better picture of his character. What is keeping us from that intimacy? We need “clean hands and a pure heart”. It is a journey to continually keep coming into God’s presence, asking questions, and receiving God’s love as an answer.

Should we question God? Particularly when bad things happen that we do not understand, yes we should. As this passage tells us, we need to pursue God in those times “with clean hands and a pure heart”. We may not get all of the answers that we are looking for but verse 5 says “He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”

It is in difficult times that we need the strength from others and from God himself. Let us echo the father of the son with the unclean spirit in Mark 9 when he says “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Yes, let’s question God but let these circumstances draw us closer to God so we can know Him better.

Thoughts on Galatians from a Task-oriented person

In my quest to read more, I have taken Tim Challies’s challenge to use his guide on books to read. One of the books listed was a commentary. A new commentary series that is being written is the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series. I have read a couple of them and found them very easy to read and very devotional. I just finished Galatians by David Platt and Tony Merida and was challenged by it.

I am a task-oriented person and I think because of that, I found Galatians hard to wrestle with. I know what it is saying but how does that apply to my life? Paul starts off talking about how once the Galatians accepted the teachings of Paul and he left, they quickly abandoned what he taught and followed these Judaisers. They were saying that you need Christ + other works. Christ plus you need to live this way to be saved. I dismissed this because I knew that we were saved through faith in Christ alone. Then I would look at the lists in Gal 5 and use them more as a checklist: yup doing good there, yup, there too, oops, need to work on that. Even when I would look at the spiritual disciplines or when asked about what I should do to grow, I would see them as tasks to do. I have a couple of books on the disciplines and I would go through them and think, yup, there. Yup, there, Need to do that one… Even my quiet time has gotten to be more of a task to accomplish and remember to do rather than the focus of my day.

Gal 5:1, 16-18, 22-23

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Walk by, Desires of, Led by, and Fruits of the Spirit … this is the goal: living in God’s presence. Too often, we break things down into tasks, and then forget the goal because of all the tasks. Can’t see the forest for the trees. “And the Christian life is not so much about you and I living for Christ as it is trusting Christ to live for us and through us and in us.” (Galatians p 50) It is not a checklist to prove our spirituality. Pray: Muslims pray many times a day. Go to Worship: Hindu’s worship and they worship all day long. Study the Bible: JW’s do too and can quote the Bible better than most Christians. Missions Trip: So do Mormons many of which give up years of their lives to do so.

“If your Christianity consists of slavery to religion in order to make yourself right before God, then it’s just as if you’re giving yourself to the pagan religions of the world. But Christianity is radically different from those worldly religions. Rather than slaves of religion, we are sons in a relationship with God." (Galatians p 88)

Gal 4:9 “But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?”

 In my relationships with Wanda and the boys, I may write down tasks to do with or for them. But, my relationship is on my mind when I do those things. The why is more important than the what. The book of Galatians has reminded me that the same thing is true with my relationship with God.

The Syrian Refugee Crisis is not a Simple Matter

For months, the Syrian refugee crisis has been in the news. Now after the Paris attacks, it has become a political hot-button issue. Unfortunately, it appears to be a partisan issue dividing the country mostly on party lines. Some of the language being used on both sides is very disappointing. While there are strong passions on both sides, we need to learn to have a civil discussion/debate about the issue and not resort to personal attacks or insults.

That being said, this is a complicated issue. Much of the rhetoric is simplifying the situation to absurd levels. One side says that it is the Christian thing to do to accept them into our country and anything short of that is sin. I have even heard that it is not only against international law but also against the Constitution to keep them out. The other side says that it is strictly a safety issue and they need to stay out or maybe allow only the Christians in. In light of this, here are a few things that we should be able to agree upon in looking at this complex dilemma.

1. ISIS is a Muslim-based organization. It is clear that ISIS uses Islamic language in its communication and takes its cues from a literal reading of the Quran. (See article)

2. Not all Muslims are terrorists. Some have pointed out that the KKK is not representative of Christians just like ISIS is not representative of Muslims. Even if you want to argue that KKK was not following true Christianity and ISIS is following true Islam (which is not an air-tight argument), there are people in both religions that are not as fanatical as these fringe elements. In fact, there are Muslims that are coming out against the attacks. (See article)

3. God calls us to care for those in need. There are many Bible verses telling us to take care of strangers, widows, orphans, etc. Phil 2:4, James 1:27, Matt 25:40, and Deut 10:19 are just a few.

4. There is a safety concern that needs to be considered. In general, allowing 10,000 people into the country has some level of danger involved. Considering that one of the attackers posed as a refugee to enter France, this level of danger has increased. At the risk of over-spiritualizing this, there are biblical references to protection from harm as being a good thing. As an example, after the Israelites came back to Jerusalem, they rebuilt the temple but they also rebuilt the walls. When they were building the walls, they had to fight to protect against those who wanted to harm them and stop the building of the walls (Nehemiah 4). Is there a danger with the refugees? Yes. How big of a danger is it and should it affect our response? Those are harder to answer.

5. There are ways to help the refugees that do not include moving them to the US. Humanitarian aid is needed right now wherever they are located. Also, we should find places for them to live. Finding a country that is more similar to their culture may reduce some problems they might have moving to the US.

6. They are our neighbors and we are to love them like ourselves. Mark 12:31 and Lev 19:18.

In looking at all of these points, it is clear that we have a “moral obligation” to help these refugees (see some ideas here) but allowing them into the country is not our only option. As you can tell, I am not an expert on Middle East affairs and I will not be giving my opinion over whether we should accept the refugees or not. What I am saying it that this is not a simple issue and we should stop the “Sound-bite offensive”. The issue and the refugees deserve more than that.

Why is Biblical Manhod so hard to define?

This fall we launched a Small Group to go through The Family Project, a DVD curriculum produced by Focus on the Family. We have had a wonderful time walking though the design for the family and how we relate to God through our families. We have discussed topics including God’s creation of man, man being in God’s image, marriage, and even sexuality. We had covered mothers as being “image-bearers” and so this week we talked about fathers doing the same. In the video, the sobering statistics about children raised without a father were discussed and it was shocking. For example, in the 1970’s, the African-American community had a 70%+ birthrate of kids within an intact two parent home. Now, that percentage is down to 28%. While this stat tells the extant of the issue, others show that growing up without a father increases the likelihood of incarceration, drug use, pregnancy, among other dangerous behavior. It should be common sense but these stats show that fathers make a significant contribution to family life.

So then this leads to the next question: Why? What does a father bring into a family that flips these statistics around? Unfortunately, I am still trying to answer that question in my head. Hopefully, I will be able to post my thoughts on that matter when they solidify more in my own head. There are many books and blogs talking about this but many show characteristics of being a Godly parent and not specifically a Godly father. Yes, a Godly father needs to be a Godly parent so these all do apply. However, trying to draw a line (however fuzzy it may be) between the roles of a Godly mother and a Godly father is difficult at best and insulting at worst. As I pondered this question, a few thoughts came to mind and I turn to those now.

The first things that comes to mind when discussing roles is that from the very beginning, the first attack on humanity was to the structure of the family. We all know that Genesis 3 says that Satan was talking to Eve and that she was the first one to eat of the tree. If we look back to Genesis 2, who did God give the instructions to? He gave them to Adam and he passed them down to Eve. Notice that Satan did not do a frontal assault on the commands of God to Adam. He ambushed the family from the side by going after Eve. Why do I belabor this point? Because in the curses that are handed out, one of them to Eve speaks directly to the relationship between a wife and a husband. There will be tension in a marriage until the Fall is fixed in heaven.

The second thought is that our culture has given fathers a pass on responsibility. If a pregnancy occurs, it is primarily the mother who is draped in the responsibility of raising that child. There are men who do step up and take to supporting their child but the fact that they are celebrated for their self-sacrifice is the exception that proves the rule. That should be expected instead of the exception. That being said, when we think of father, we have to overcome the culture of absentee fathers before we even begin to talk about how to be a Godly father. We have to teach men what it means to be a parent before we raise the bar to being a father, then a Godly father. With this huge cultural hole, before we start talking about these other things, we need to level-set our audience. Thus, backfilling this hole becomes the vast majority of the discussion.

Finally, putting these two things together, we get the “Murphy Brown” syndrome. Back in 1988 – 1998, Murphy Brown was a sit-com whose main character was a single woman. While being a successful journalist, she decided to have and raise a child on her own. Vice President Dan Quayle took issue with this on the campaign trail and criticized this as “mocks the importance of fathers” by bearing a child alone(Carter, Bill. “Back Talk from ‘Murphy Brown’ to Dan Quayle” New York Times. July 20, 1992). (As an aside, while Quayle was raked over the coals for this comment, the stats prove that he was correct: fathers matter) This idea that fathers are not necessary to raising a child has grown in American culture. Fathers are portrayed as buffoons and only incidental in the shaping of their children in the media. Thus, when we discuss roles for men, there are many examples in society where women have needed to raise and take on that role for their families. Thus, it is hard to differentiate between the roles for the father and for the mother.

To start talking about Biblical Manhood, we have many cultural issues to overcome. We need to teach men to be responsible. We need to teach them how to be a parent. We need to teach them that they matter to the family. When we try to look at setting expectations on the fathers in our ministries to be Godly fathers, we need to make sure that we are aware of these issues. While we want to set the bar a teh example of Jesus, we also want to set realistic milestones for our fathers to use in order to see their progress and so they do not get discouraged. Bottom line with any discipleship ministry, we need to know our audience and be willing to walk them from where they are at to the place God is calling them to be. 

How do you choose your food?

In the past month or so, we have found ourselves eating out quite a bit. Whether it is busy schedules or special days, our meals at home have been fewer than they probably should be. One day when I was ordering, it struck me that I change how I choose my food based on where I am eating. For example, last night, Wanda and I went to Culvers. When I went in, I was looking for something that “looked good”. I choose the Pot Roast dinner. I have had good pot roast and not so good pot roast. While I know what it was supposed to taste like, this one exceeded my expectations of a pot roast from a “Fast Food” place. Still, I went in looking for something that I wanted.

There are some restaurants that are more creative. I am talking about eateries like Panera or those that use unique combinations of ingredients. When I go into those establishments, I am looking to challenge myself, to see how far the chef is willing to push me. Sometimes, you get something that you do not care for too much. Sometimes, it blows your mind with how good it is. I remember going to someone’s house for dinner and they served a vegetable dish with corn, summer squash and zucchini. I normally do not care for summer squash and zucchini but this dish was delicious. If I was at a restaurant, I would not have ordered that because it would not have appealed to me. But, I was glad that they served it so I could appreciate the dish and the flavors that can come out of those often-times bland and strangely-textured veggies.

When I am at home and I am watching TV, there is a better than 50/50 chance that I am either watching sports or a show about food. In both of those environments, they talk about pushing yourself, expanding your horizons, seeing how far you can go. I fully agree with expanding your world for a purpose (pushing the envelope just to push the envelope is for another post). When we talk about sports, it is pushing yourself so in the heat of the moment or a game, you can perform better. When we talk about food, we push ourselves to appreciate the wide varieties of food that God has provided us.

Pushing our limits is not just for food and sports. Too often, we approach God the way we approach a fast food joint or a familiar restaurant: what looks good. We come to church wanting something familiar to satisfy our wants. We expect to know what it should be like and critique it on how it did or did not live up to our expectations. We spend time in our quiet times reading safe or familiar passages, books, genres. I am not saying that this is entirely wrong. Sometimes we need to be refreshed and reminded of good familiar truths from God just like a good bowl of ice cream. Sometimes we are beat up and need something refreshing like a fresh, crisp BLT sandwich or good old comfort food like pot roast with potatoes.

But there are times that we should challenge ourselves spiritually. Paul in 1 Corinthians 3 is encouraging the church in Corinth to push their limits. He wanted to expand their horizons about God but they were not ready. For me, this came when I finished my reading and study of 1 & 2 Thessalonians. For my personal studies, I have spent 90% of my time in the New Testament and probably 75% of that time in the epistles. Again, not that it was not fruitful but I was doing the familiar. So, I then went to Ezra and Nehemiah. While they were in the Old Testament, they were still safe for me because they were historical books. To me, the prophecy books were like summer squash and zucchini. I had it growing up and it never tasted good to me. So I tried to avoid it as much as possible. Thankfully, God prompted me to see where I needed to expand my horizon and also see the connection between the last three books in the Old Testament (Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi) and Ezra and Nehemiah. I am through Haggai and working through Zechariah now. I would not say that I have fully appreciated this new “food” but I am starting to.

While my tastes are not at adventurous as Andrew Zimmer (Bizarre Foods), as a Christian, I affirm the whole council of the Word and the inspiration of all of the Bible. Thus, I should be willing and able to taste and appreciate all parts of the Bible for what God intended. Of course, this means I need to get out of my comfort zone and challenge myself. What new areas of Himself is God wanting to show you today?