I know of people who don’t pray because they say they don’t know how. They fear saying the wrong things to God. While I do not have that specific problem in prayer, I do understand, and I have some advice. It comes from the minor prophet, Zephaniah. “Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD; for the day of the Lord is at hand” (Zephaniah 1:7). Rather than say you can’t pray, why not simply acknowledge God’s presence and then listen. Admit that prayer is not just you talking to God, but rather it is a two-way communication. Don’t just take my word for it. Missionary Frank Laubach said, “Prayer at its highest is a two-way conversation. Then again, “For me the most important part is listening to God’s replies. . . The trouble with nearly everybody who prays is that he says ‘Amen’ and runs away before God has a chance to reply. Listening to God is far more important than giving Him our ideas.” Devotional writer Oswald Chambers asked, “Are you learning to say things after listening to God, or are you saying things and trying to make God’s word fit in?” Mother Teresa said, “God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of prayer.” So, with that biblical passage and these quotes, I rest my case. Prayer is two-way communication. If you think you can’t talk with God, just listen.

Why shed the blood of a lamb

that can't trample a scurrying ant
nor scare a perching fly;
that can't hurt a brooding hen
      nor startle preening chicks;
that can't raise her voice above a baa
      nor bleat in a noise-free zone;
that can't brawl with fellow lamb
      nor upset her shepherd's peace;
that can't restrict udder to her young
      nor deny fingers of a milking maid;
that can't shield her ram from harm
      nor resist a nod to slaughter table;
that gently walks to shearing shade,
      humbly yields her throat to a knife;
whose silence shouts her innocence.

Is it for food or fur?
      No, to free the wild from harm,
      stop beasts from shedding blood;
      make the world fit for humans,
      and humans fit for God.

© Celestine S.​ Ikwuamaesi

2018

I fear the greatest reason for the hostility being expressed in politics, social media and nearly every area of society is the absence of love. We who know the Lord and believe the Bible can know something more complex about love than most people. There were several words for love in the original language of the New Testament. The one I want to focus on is agape, the word explained in 1 Corthians 13. This kind of love is not easy to produce in our lives, especially in these days. In Matthew 24:12 Jesus prophesied that the time will come when the love of many will grow cold because of the wickedness around us. There is an urgency in our time for God’s people to pray for God to work supernaturally to set our lives on fire with His love. Let me give you an idea of the characteristics of the love that we need to pray for God to produce in us. 

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Jesus said the greatest commandment in the law was to love God with all our hearts. The second was to love our neighbor as ourselves. This was not a command, as some of us have said, to love ourselves. Loving ourselves is assumed in these words. And this cannot be a command to always like or feel good about others. I often don’t like myself. This is a command to treat others like we treat ourselves.

Love your enemy.

Let’s get right to the most difficult thing Jesus said about love. He told us to love our enemies. This again does not tell us to approve of the words or actions of our enemy. But we can pray for God to give grace to those we fear or whose behavior we hate? We need to struggle with this one. I think you may see most clearly here that the Love the Bible calls for demands that we humble ourselves and cry out for God to work in our hearts and minds.

Love is patient.

1 Corinthians 13 says a host of things about agape love. This kind of love is patient and kind. Are you kind to people you come in contact with? Are you patient with those closest to you at work or at home?

Love does not envy or boast.

Again, 1 Corinthians 13 says the kind of love God produces in us is not self centered. With it we will not focus on ourselves. We sometimes think being humble means continually admitting how lowly we are. That attitude is just as self focused as boasting. Love is so focused on others that we seldom notice ourselves.

Love is not arrogant or rude.

Have you called political figures that you dislike or fear by bitter or mean spirited names? Do you make or laugh at jokes that would hurt or embarrass others? Pray for God to change your attitudes to His love. Those people are made in the image of God. Mocking or speaking evil of them dishonors God.

Can you see the point of view of people you do not agree with? Are you working at it? Do you pray for it? Sometimes this is the key to persuading them. Even if it does not persuade, it is right. It is what God requires. 

Love does not insist on its own way.

Love is willing to compromise. This is a foundation of our type of government. It is getting more and more difficult for this to be public policy. But we believe God can change people when we pray, when He is at work in their lives. We can allow others to be wrong on many issues that those who believe in forcing people to change cannot.

Love does not rejoice in wrongdoing or revenge.

Love does not rejoice in evil. Love knows, even when our minds cannot, that repaying wrong only increases evil in society.

Love is powerful.

1 Corinthians 13 begins with these words,

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Of course this largely speaks to our position before God. That is more serious than how effective we are in the eyes of people. But these words can also apply to our effectiveness in this world. It often seems that strong greed works better at being successful and strong hate is more effective in changing people than love. But that is only in the short term. In the long run love carries with it the power of God Himself. I want to pray for God to produce it in me, in us, even when we are overwhelmed by what is happening around us.

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Humans like to be recognized and rewarded for things they have created.  They had the idea for the book, the story, the new invention, the improvement to an existing object, discovering a procedure, cure or vaccine to treat medical illness, etc.

They refer to these creations as “my innovation” or “my book.”  Others refer to them as “produced by” or “written by.”  Evanlogicals, however, see things differently.

This begins with a word most would spell “i-d-e-a.”  The Evanlogical spelling is “Inspiration.”  The capitalization in that spelling is not an error.  It is reverent.

God Created everything in and on this earth.  Thus, the Evanlogical version of the phrase “there is nothing new under the Son.”

This means everything spoken of above, has always been known to God.  The human “creators” and “their ideas” are nothing more than a revelation by God.  Evanlogicals share things that have been Shared with them.  They transcribe what has been Shared with them indicating that it is merely shared by.

The Gospels are called the Books of Matthew, Luke, Mark and John.  They are also referred to as the Gospels according to Matthew, Luke, Mark and John.  Aren’t they really By God, According to God?  Shouldn’t they, Evanlogically, be titled the Gospels as Shared by Matthew, Luke, Mark and John?

Some may consider Evanlogicals prideful because they claim Inspiration for things produced through them.  We ask those to pray over this:

Which is more humble?

Claiming human creation?

Acknowledging Inspiration by God?

Humans like to be recognized and rewarded for things they have created.  They had the idea for the book, the story, the new invention, the improvement to an existing object, discovering a procedure, cure or vaccine to treat medical illness, etc.

They refer to these creations as “my innovation” or “my book.”  Others refer to them as “produced by” or “written by.”  Evanlogicals, however, see things differently.

This begins with a word most would spell “i-d-e-a.”  The Evanlogical spelling is “Inspiration.”  The capitalization in that spelling is not an error.  It is reverent.

God Created everything in and on this earth.  Thus, the Evanlogical version of the phrase “there is nothing new under the Son.”

This means everything spoken of above, has always been known to God.  The human “creators” and “their ideas” are nothing more than a revelation by God.  Evanlogicals share things that have been Shared with them.  They transcribe what has been Shared with them indicating that it is merely shared by.

The Gospels are called the Books of Matthew, Luke, Mark and John.  They are also referred to as the Gospels according to Matthew, Luke, Mark and John.  Aren’t they really By God, According to God?  Shouldn’t they, Evanlogically, be titled the Gospels as Shared by Matthew, Luke, Mark and John?

Some may consider Evanlogicals prideful because they claim Inspiration for things produced through them.  We ask those to pray over this:

Which is more humble?

Claiming human creation?

Acknowledging Inspiration by God?

I was standing near the river remembering some good times we had had in this remote setting. We had been here many times before. We had just come from Jerusalem to this place where John first baptized. This week Jesus barely got away from the Chief Priests and the Pharisees. The crowd had picked up rocks to stone Jesus. I thought they had Him for sure. 

Peter broke into my reverie, “Thomas, people seem to have found out where we are. There are not many here today, but Jesus says more will come. We need to help spread them out so they will not trample each other. And we need to keep the area near the river clear so Jesus can teach the multitudes and we can baptise. I sent James to direct people in here from the road. I need you to meet them here and keep them from camping right on the river.” 

For months Jesus had seemed to be telling us that He would be arrested by the Chief Priests and handed over to the Romans. I wonder if we misunderstood Him when He said those things. At least He got away from them this time. If we had not been so afraid it would have been funny. One man was shouting that he had Him. Another one of them was screaming that the man had hold of him instead of Jesus. They were still scrambling around after Him as we left the city by back roads. He led us down across the Jordan to this place in the wilderness where John first baptized people. And it looked like He was going to be popular again.

“More and more people found their way to us. Directing the people became a big job. After a few days of Jesus teaching we began to baptise people. Most of them had seen miracles in Jerusalem. I was standing out in the water having just baptised a large family when I saw a man and wife with two daughters coming down to the river. He looked to me like a Pharisee. As he came nearer I was pretty sure I recognized him as one of the men who had argued with Jesus in Jerusalem. I suspected he was here to cause trouble. I would need to question him thoroughly before I could baptise this family. I looked around to see if Jesus or even some of the other disciples would help me. Then I realized that the man that I had just baptised with his two grown sons had confronted this Pharisee. They were speaking loudly and close enough to the river bank that I heard every word. 

The father whose name was Jonah demanded, “Aren’t you one of the people who tried to stone Jesus a few days ago in the city?” The man bowed his head in what looked to me like shame and said something I could not hear. Jude, Jonah’s eldest son, stepped up beside his father. Somehow the fact that Jonah and his sons were soaking wet seemed to accentuate their anger. 

“We think you need to explain yourself,” Jude said. “Why are you even here? Who told you where Jesus would be?” He looked around as if someone in the crowd had betrayed Jesus to the Pharisees. “You have to give an answer. And this whole crowd wants to hear, so you had better speak up.” 

The man remained silent for several uncomfortable minutes. Finally he said, “I am afraid I have some shameful things to confess. And I ask that my wife and daughters not be molested if you decide to punish me.”

The man’s humble tone struck them all. Miriam, the wife of Jonah stepped up and said, “We will not harm any of you. Please tell us your names.” I thought knowing their names might help keep this from being another confrontation like we had in Jerusalem. Miriam’s husband and sons seemed to agree.

“My name is Justice,” the man answered. “This is my wife, Deborah. And these are our daughters.” He did not mention the girls’ names. I climbed up onto the riverbank. I was the only one of the 12 disciples who had come near. I learned later that, although I had not seen, Jesus motioned for us to stay back and let the drama play out. Something occurred to me as I came even nearer. When the Pharisees had shown up to confront Jesus in the past they never had their families with them. 

Justice had begun to speak. He said, “I was indeed part of the group, I suppose I was even a leader of those who wanted to arrest the Master.” I was struck by the tone in which he said, ‘Master.’ He continued, “I was one of the men who asked the blind man’s parents how he could see, if he were really born blind. And while I didn’t pick up a stone, I was standing there with them. I have been with others who confronted Jesus, but for some reason I had never really listened to Him. I confess that I did not at all understand what He was saying that day about being the true shepherd. But His words were somehow comforting. One of us said that Jesus had a demon, and we should not listen to Jesus at all. Others said those were not the words of one who had a demon. As we were threatening Him, Jesus asked for which of the good works that His Father had done through Him were we going to stone Him. It seemed obvious to me that Jesus was either demonized or He was the Son of God. I didn't see how there could be any other options. The main way He told us His identity was by doing works only God could do. When Jesus said, ‘Even if you do not believe me, believe the works my Father gave me to do,’ I realized that He was giving us an invitation to believe and understand.

“In the turmoil that followed I was not sure if Jesus had got away. I went home and told my wife all of these things. One of our servants overheard me and said that Jesus might have come to this place on the river. He had already been baptized but he came here with us. My wife and daughters had come to believe before we arrived here. We understood from our servant that being baptized was the way we could say that we believe Jesus is the Messiah.”

I was aghast that the others had moved aside and the Pharisee’s family was now coming my way. I nearly fell as I backed into the water. Justice came to me first. I had hardly baptized him when I saw Phillip preparing to baptize his wife. Two others then baptized their daughters. All the crowd began to sing praise to God and to His Son. 

This story was taken from John 10.

Lord, you must be who you showed us you were rather than a demon from hell. We place our faith in you.

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God's people need to learn to fear and hate lies.

We live in days of great deception. Believers need to know how seriously God takes falsehood and deception. We seem to think some little lies are okay. They are not. It no longer seems to be a big deal to post a list of things on social media about a politician or public figure you fear or dislike, some of which you cannot verify. Falsehoods are demonic. In John 8:44-46 Jesus spoke pointedly about this to the religious leaders of His day

 “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Years ago my wife and I went with a group on a mission trip. Some of us arrived in the destination country without our luggage. A man among us was fluent in the language of that country. He went up to the airline counter and spoke to the frustrated person working there. He came back and told us that he told the person a lie to get them to hurry up and find our bags. Later he told about lying to the people of the church where he was working to get them to respond to God. That gave me the creeps. Do you think God approves of that sort of thing? Do you think it would help to bring about God’s will?

The weekend after the attack on the U.S. Capitol a respected Christian leader wrote a blog on how wrong the attack was. Someone replied saying he had heard from a friend who lives in D.C. who said, “Don’t believe what you see on T.V. There was no riot. There was no attack. There was no break in.” To believe that, you have to believe the conspiracy included every news outlet, conservative, liberal, and extremist. It would have to include every person in congress including Trump supporters. It would have to include the families of both police and insurgents who were injured or killed in the break in. It would even have to include insurrectionists who were already posting selfies of themselves in the capitol building.

Many of us are guilty of repeating things we read on social media. If we had stopped to think about many of them we would know they were lies. The Soviets said, truth was whatever they said it was. Are we moving in that direction? In these days believers need to know that we do not determine truth by whether it is spoken by a politician that we support or one we oppose. Our witness to the world is at stake here, not to mention the next generation of Americans. Even more serious is our standing with a holy God. Lies are of the devil and we need to run from them. This does not mean that we should stop opposing or endorsing political views. But we will defeat our purposes and alienate ourselves from God if we condone falsehoods in any form. I have addressed this to Christians. I needed to start somewhere, but I fear the viability of our form of government may depend upon an entire nation committing ourselves to absolute honesty.

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Christian Nationalism #5  

The Reconquista – The Beginning

I am old enough, and have been a part of the Evangelical world for long enough, that I am now struggling with understanding what exactly (or even in-exactly) is an “Evangelical.”  In an earlier post I gave a short overview of the history of Evangelical social engagement starting with the 1940’s.  The difference between early 20^th century Fundamentalism and mid-20^th century Evangelicalism was social engagement.  The early social engagement of Evangelicals gave birth to institutions such as World Vision and Inter-Varsity.  There was a genuine effort to mix concern for the poor, the desire to right the wrongs of racism and other items that could be categorized as “mildly progressive” together with a commitment to a historic and orthodox version of Protestant Christianity.  Thus Evangelicalism was willing – at least on a limited basis – to take up the concerns of the earlier social gospel movement without compromising or watering down theology. 

This new engagement did not make Evangelicals into political liberals, but it also was very far from the reactionary politics of the early 21^st century.  Institutions such as Wheaton College, Fuller Seminary and Christianity Today reflected these values.  With my own familiarity with Southern Baptists, I can also testify that this phenomenon was not just a Yankee thing.  The Christian Life Commission, Southern Seminary and the WMU all had strong components that reflected this new social awareness.  Perhaps the greatest example to the new Southern Evangelical was President Jimmy Carter. 

I remember as a college student going to the library and reading The Sword of The Lord.  This was the publication of John R. Rice, Jerry Falwell and Jack Hyles, and represented the last remnant of Fundamentalism that had survived into the 1970s.  The paranoia, the anti-intellectualism and the fierce hostility to any who did not completely accept their version of Christianity: these were the characteristics of their world.   I had a sort of perverse – almost schadenfreude – delight in reading their version of Christianity, knowing that they had lost.

I was wrong.  Starting in the late 1970s, a series of events and theological controversies began the reversal of the 20^th century Evangelical renaissance.  Today, Evangelicalism much more resembles the Sword of Lord style Christianity than the progressive movement of earlier years.  Modern Evangelicalism represents a re-conquest of the conservative Protestant world by a version of Fundamentalism that accepted the call to social engagement of earlier Evangelicalism but took it in a much different direction.  In my next blog, I will cover the Re-conquest from 1979 to 2000. 

There was always great excitement in those early meetings of the church in Jerusalem. The opposition mounted by the leaders of our people and even Roman authorities added to the thrill of gathering in the name of Jesus. Some of us met every day of the week. Our largest gatherings were on Sundays because we did not have to compete with the Sabbath services led by the priests, although many of us still preferred our Sabbath traditions. People began gathering in the outer courts of the temple at daylight. Many slaves and laborers had to work on Sunday and every other day as well. We began the day singing psalms and new hymns that were being written. We worshipped and encouraged one another for hours before the Apostles addressed the entire fellowship. On one particular Sunday, Peter stood as usual, and we all became as quiet as possible to hear what he would say.

He began, “My brothers and sisters, today I want to tell you about something Jesus did here in Jerusalem. We passed a beggar at the edge of a market who had been blind from birth. We asked Jesus, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?’ Jesus said, ‘It was not because this man sinned or because of anything his parents did. This happened so that the work of God might be revealed in his life.’

“I would like you to think about how important that man had to be in the Kingdom of God. Every evil and painful thing he had endured happened so the works of God might be revealed. You also need to see how important you must be in the Kingdom of God. Every bad thing that blind man endured happened so that the works of God might be revealed to you.

“Through the blind man Jesus gave us a parable. ‘While I am in the world,’ He said, ‘I am the light of the world.’ And He spat on the ground and made clay. He took the clay and anointed the man’s eyes, and told him to go wash in the Pool of Siloam where his eyes were opened. Jesus was showing us that His presence would open our eyes to the things of God even in the ordinary dirt of this world.

“We have something exciting to share with you today,” Peter said, “That man, who has not lived in the city for a while, has returned to visit his parents who often worship here with us. He came this week to visit an Apostle that he knew well. And he has agreed to speak to you this morning.” Peter then turned and welcomed a man onto the platform. All the people crowded nearer not expecting his voice to be as strong as Peter’s. His voice was not loud, but he had an anointing of the Holy Spirit similar to Peter’s, and the sound of his words carried to the far reaches of the crowd.

“My name is Liscus. Greetings in the blessed name of our Lord Jesus the Christ.” Liscus had said no more than this when the entire church began to sing.

“Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

I will praise the Lord as long as I live;

I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.”

When we came to the words,

“The Lord opens the eyes of the blind,” 

some of the ladies sang a high counterpoint to the men’s lower notes. Tears were spilling from the eyes of Liscus as the psalm concluded,

“Our Lord will reign for ever,

His Father to all generations.

Praise the Lord!”

When the congregation became silent again Liscus said “I am always thrilled to praise our Lord for all His wonderful works. One of my first vivid memories is of falling on my knees before Him.

“Our dear brother Peter was right when he said that everything that happened to me came about to reveal God’s works. However, I do not have many clear memories from the years before Jesus opened my eyes. I do remember the pain of occasionally being shoved or falling. And I remember an unnamed fear that often came over me. My clearest memories were of words and sounds that I heard. I remember my father reading the Torah on the Sabbath. I remember my mother singing over me at night. And I remember hearing the Rabbis teach when they didn't know I had snuck into the temple. But no memory is as bright in my mind as everything that has happened after Jesus came along. I remember hearing Him talk about me to His disciples even before He opened my eyes. And I remember his gentle touch as He put His hand on my shoulder and told me he was going to anoint my eyes with clay. 

“When I came back from the pool where he had sent me with my eyes open, those who had seen me begging were stunned. Some of them began to say, ‘Isn’t this the blind man who sat here begging?’ Others said, ‘It can’t be him, but he certainly looks like him.’ But I kept insisting, ‘I am the same man.’

“After I had convinced them, they took me to see the Pharisees in the yeshiva school at the temple. I don’t suppose I need to tell you that was a little frightening. They made me tell them every detail of my healing. The most outspoken of them were aghast that Jesus healed me on a Sabbath as if my healing was not an appropriate expression of worship. They said, ‘This Jesus cannot be from God. He does not keep the Sabbath.’ But others asked how a sinner could give us such signs?’ Some of the Pharisees asked what I thought about him. ‘After all,’ they said, ‘he opened your eyes.’

“‘He is a prophet.’ I answered. I didn’t know what else to call him at that time, but I knew He had to have come from God. Most of the Pharisees did not believe I had been blind until they questioned my parents. Of course, the Pharisees completely intimidated them. They brought them up and they stood them beside me at the front of the hall and demanded, ‘Is this your son whom you say was born blind. How is it that he can now see?’ What could my parents say? I had told them that Jesus healed me. But the Pharisees had made it clear that anyone who confessed that Jesus was the Messiah should be put out of the synagogues. That would have been serious in Galilee or even Alexandria. But if you were cast out of a synagogue away from Jerusalem, you could probably still sneak into the temple on holy days. Being put out here meant you were no longer considered to be an Israelite.

They said, ‘We know that this is our son. And we know he was born blind. But we don’t know how he received his sight or who healed him. Ask him. He is of age. He can speak for himself.’ I had not left the temple when the Pharisees caught up with me again. They said, ‘Give glory to God. We know this man is a sinner.’ I answered, ‘I don’t know what kind of man he is, but I do know I was blind and now see.’

“They asked me to tell them again how Jesus had opened my eyes. I said, ‘I already told you, and you wouldn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become disciples of Jesus too?’ This enraged them. ‘You are his disciple. We are disciples of Moses. We know God spoke through Moses. We don’t even know where this fellow comes from.’

“By this time I was exasperated. I said, ‘This is amazing! You don’t know where this man comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. It has never been heard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. How could he have done that if he were not from God?’ That was too much for them. They said, ‘You were born altogether in sin. And you dare to lecture us!” And they put me out permanently.

“Jesus had evidently heard that they had cast me out. He found me and asked if I believed in the Son of Man. I said, ‘Tell me who he is sir so I can believe in him.’ He said, ‘He is talking to you right now.’ I fell to my knees and worshipped Him. I continue to worship Him to this day.”

As the man stepped down we began to sing again. Before we had sung very long, John, one of the Apostles, stood up and motioned for our attention. When we had quieted down he said, “Jesus said some other things regarding this great sign that I think I should tell you. After Jesus told Liscus who He was, He said, ‘For judgment I have come into this world, that those who are blind may see, and that those who see may become blind.’ You need to know that our hearts are blind to the things of God. We can only see as Jesus opens the eyes of our hearts.

“Some of the Pharisees heard Jesus say this. They asked, ‘Are you saying we are blind?’ 

“Jesus said, ‘If you were blind you would not need to be forgiven for not seeing, but since you insist that you can see, your sin remains.’

“Earlier Jesus had said, ‘We must do the works of Him who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work.’ We join Jesus in doing the works of His Father. He sent Liscus to wash in the pool of Siloam. In Hebrew Siloam means “sent.” We are sent to the ends of the earth with the good news of Jesus. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world might me saved through Him. 

This story was conceived from the events recorded in John Chapter 9.

Father, open our eyes that we may see your works and believe with all our hearts in you.

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I first saw one in a friend’s “Prayer Room” (a middle bedroom of his house), then I saw another one in a colleague’s office. How unique, I thought.  So, I searched until I found my own Prayer Bench and fit it into my Seminary office. I had long believed, and then taught, the discipline of place, in private prayer.  After all, Jesus repeatedly went to specific places to pray (Mark 1:35; Luke 22:39-40). Among other subjects, I kept my class seating charts on the bench, and knelt there to pray for my students before each class, firmly believing that it is best to talk to God about people before talking to people about God.  It was a private place that saw only private times of prayer - or so I thought.  I recently spoke in a church pastored by a former student and was amazed and touched to see him stand before his people and emotionally share what it had meant to him to know that one of his professors had a prayer bench on which he prayed for his students.  Then he told of making his own such prayer bench for his office.  I always expected to teach when standing in front of students in a classroom.  I had not thought about teaching through a simple prayer bench, placed in my office.  Be careful this week, for you know not when, where, or how you teach. 

I am shocked and grieved at the revelation of the sin of Ravi Zacharias. Ravi was a hero of mine. His demeanor and his teaching had a great influence on my life. I am aware that all of us are broken. We all sin. I am also convinced that what Ravi taught and demonstrated was from God despite the sexual sin that overtook him. But I need to say that so far believing these things has not relieved my grief at all.

The fact that Ravi was evidently involved in these things while he was being used by God flies in the face of nearly everything I believe and have taught about Christian ministry. For many years I have said holiness is the goal of ministry. True and lasting effect in ministry is in the hands of God. Rather than success, we are to seek holiness which depends entirely on our relationship with God.

Several trustworthy people have written or been interviewed about this. I would like to hear what some of them have to say. But I need to seek a personal word from God on the issue before I think about what others have to say. As I have prayed about this, God has faithfully spoken to me. There is still much that I don't have worked out, and some of what I have to say may not deal directly with the issue, but I share these things with you because I have received some peace from them.

The first truth that I can apply to myself comes from John 9:4

John 9:1-4 read,

“As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.’”

God's glory is the purpose of our lives. God can receive glory from whatever we see happening around us. There are at least three facets to living for the glory of God. They are waiting, watching, and working. We seldom see any good while we are in the midst of tragedy. But Paul’s statement that God works all things together for good in Romans 8:28, includes sin and its terrible effects. If you could have quoted such a verse to one of the disciples at the cross, they would not have understood. They needed to wait for His glory to be revealed.

We also need to watch for God to reveal His glory. If we do not learn to watch and pray we will miss some of the most wonderful things that God does in our lives and on the earth. 

And Jesus clearly said we must do the work that God sent Him to do. God’s work does not begin with our initiative. In John 8:28 Jesus said He did nothing on His own authority. To do the work of God we must spend time with Him learning to hear His voice.

Jesus said we must join Him in His work while it is day. I strongly suspect that we are coming into the terrible times prophesied for the last days. Even if I am mistaken, God and my doctors have been telling me my time is short. I need to keep my head down and do the work given by God to my Lord and through Him to me. 

I have come to see that even though Ravi's sin dishonors God and that his world wide ministry is likely to collapse, God will yet use these things to bring glory to His name.

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

http://theanchorofthesoul.blogspot.com/

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/

Website

http://daveswatch.com/

YouTube

https://goo.gl/PyzU

Amazon Author Central page.

As I was reading through a stack of pastoral resumes at a church where I was Interim Pastor, I was reminded that Pastors do get tired, but often they are working so hard, they fail to realize it. So perhaps it is time to share a list of some collected ways to know how a pastor is tired. (Not sure where I got all of these. Some might even be original with me.) Pastor-types will recognize a few of these and might even add a few more. Non-pastors need to realize some of these, to help them better relate to their pastor. Pastors are tired when: 1) The threat of being fired sounds good; 2) When standing in a hospital room, envy for the patient sets in; 3) The goal for today is to get through it without serious damage; 4) While still basking in the glow of surviving last Sunday, it occurs that another Sunday is on its way and today is Wednesday; 5) People ask if a pastor has been sick and the reply is, “Not yet;” 6) A senior who adores the pastor runs by the office to bring a cherry pie and she is avoided; 7) The personnel committee offers a six-week sabbatical and it is turned down because a decision is too difficult to make on what to do with all that free time; 8) The words to ‘”Jesus Loves Me” don’t come so quickly anymore; 9) An extra effort is made to go to that denominational meeting because it will be so boring, some rest will be available; 10) The nighttime prayer has become, “Lord, I’m tired. Amen.” Note that pastors will not admit to most of these. Love them anyway, and by all means, pray for them, and remind them of Galatians 6:9, “Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

Antony moved secretly through the city. He was not exactly dressed like the Jews in the city, but he was fairly certain no one would recognize him as a Roman Centurion. Still, he was looking in every direction to avoid anyone he might know as he made his way to the home of a man named John. John already knew he was a Centurion. Antony would have to be wary of him. He was a leader in the group sometimes calling itself The Way. The rapid growth of the followers of Jesus had surprised everyone, Pilate not the least. The Tribune assumed they were dangerous. He suspected that they were raising an army. Antony did not know one way or the other.  

He was now in the shabby neighborhood where John had sent word that he was living. He had no idea how to find the house. Suddenly he noticed several people approaching him. He gripped the sword concealed under his hooded cloak. They stopped about ten paces from him. He was surprised when a woman in the group stepped forward to speak.

“Are you Antonio Longinus?”

“How did you recognize me?” He demanded. 

She said, “John sent us to find you. And you seem to be the only one hiding your identity.” Antony had begun to perspire. He was relieved to throw back his hood and feel the breeze on his face.

“Call me Antony. I need to see this man called John.”

“We are all followers of Jesus. My name is Mary Magdalene. John sent us to bring you to his home.” The woman led the group. Several men surrounded Antony as they walked. They may have been trying to shield him from view, but they made him uncomfortable. Twice they changed streets. If he had not been met he would never have found the house. They stopped at a small cottage. It appeared to be well kept. The other men remained outside as Mary brought him into the house. John welcomed him and led him to a table with chairs. Many Syrian homes had low tables or mats, and the people sat on pillows rather than chairs. An older woman sat near the table obviously to listen to them. Wine was poured for both of them. When they had both sipped a little, Antony began the conversation.

“I have felt some urgency to speak with you. I know you are one of the leaders of this new Jewish cult. My men have been at your meetings on the temple grounds. They say that you are quite resolute that this Jesus who was crucified is alive. Is that the case?” 

“It is indeed,” John said. “I was one of those who spent time with Him after He arose.”

“My fellow officers think that is ridiculous.”

“If that is the case,” John said, “Why have you come to see me today?”

Antony asked, “Do you know who I am?” John did not respond. “I am aware that what I tell you next may end my chances of learning what I am desperate to know. But you will not understand if I do not tell you everything.” John nodded to him. Antony continued. “I was there when Jesus was crucified. I was the Centurion in charge.” Antony paused to consider John’s reaction. He could make little out of his expression. “I have seen many people die in war. I could not begin to know how many. And as a Roman officer I have participated in over a hundred crucifixions. No one ever died like that man. I cannot recount all the ways his death was different including the darkness and the earthquake. Aside from those things his words and his manor were not like anything I had ever imagined. 

“I had sent men to listen every time he was in Jerusalem. I even went myself when I could. I knew that you believed that there is only one god long before I came to Roman Syria. You may be aware that Jesus healed the servant of a Roman officer in Capernaum. I spoke with him and listened to what he had come to believe. I thought about what he said and I began to wonder if it were not true. I knew that Jesus talked about coming from his father. I understood that he was talking about your god, the god who made the earth and the stars. But when Jesus prayed on the cross, I got the feeling, I suppose I knew, he was really talking to God. The men with me were affected in the same way. I admitted then that only one who came from God could die like he did. I could not forget it even though I knew he was dead. 

I did not know what to think when a squadron of guards returned from his tomb terrified but unwilling to say what had happened to them. Later, representatives from the Jewish council came to vouch for the soldiers saying they had not really gone to sleep, but they needed them to say that. Why would they need them to say that unless they knew that something they wanted to hide had taken place at the tomb? I continued to wrestle with these things not knowing what to do about it. I have heard that you say he is somehow alive again. And I thought if he was a god, or as he seemed to be saying, the Son of God. . .” Antony fell silent.

John said, “You seem to have concluded much on your own. What do you need me to tell you?”

Antony said, “I don’t know what to ask. I suppose I should start with something I think Jesus taught that made little sense to me when I heard it. I need to know about forgiveness. I need to know if I could ever be forgiven for crucifying the Son of God.”

John said, “I think you need to know why Jesus died.” Antony frowned but did not speak. John continued, “You mentioned that you heard Jesus pray from the cross. Do you remember what He prayed?”

“One of my men speaks enough Aramaic that he told me the meaning of the loudest words he prayed. He said they meant something like, ‘My God, why have you forsaken me?’ Antony trembled at these words.

John said, “That is important. I will come back to that in a minute. Can you remember anything else He prayed?” Antony thought a little longer and shrugged as much to shake off some of the emotion that threatened to drown him as it was to say that he did not know. John said, “You said you knew Jesus taught about forgiveness. Do you remember anything He prayed about forgiveness while He was on the cross?”

Antony thought for a moment and said, “‘Father, forgive them.’ When he said that I think he looked at the men mocking him. He certainly looked down at me.”

John said, “I think you know or at least suspect that I was there that day. When Jesus said that, He also looked at me.”

“At you? But you were not mocking him. You did not put him on that cross. His blood could not have spilled on your hands and tunic.”

John continued, “Jesus taught us about our need for forgiveness. One of those times He said to the crowd, ‘I will soon go to Him who sent me, and you will die in your sins because where I go you cannot come.’ Jesus taught us that we are under a greater domination than that of Rome. All people are slaves to sin.”

“Antony said, “I am not sure I know what you mean.”

“I mean that sin has its grip on your heart. You have sinned all your life and cannot keep from sinning. You not only need forgiveness for crucifying Jesus, but for all the things you  have done that were wrong.”

Antony was silent until he could control his emotions. Then he said, “I know very little about the laws of your people and your god. You seem to believe that everything I do from working on Saturn’s day to missing your feasts are sin. I am sure some think it is a sin to be a Roman. Your god will surely not condemn me for all those things.”

John nodded. “I understand. But you do believe that some things are right and some are wrong, don’t you? I suspect you know there is such a thing as evil in this world.”

“I suppose I believe that,” Antony said. 

“And you have done things that you knew were wrong.” 

Antony nodded. “You are right, though I never thought of those things until we crucified Jesus. Now I have trouble sleeping.”

John paused a moment and then said, “What most sticks in your mind about being near Jesus. How did He make you feel?”

Antony said, “That is a difficult question. At the cross or from before? 

“Either,” John said.

“As we were crucifying him, I guess I felt guilty even though I was doing my duty.”

“What made you feel guilty?”

“I was thinking, ‘This man could not die like he did if he had ever done anything wrong.’ I think the people in the crowd must have felt that too, even as they mocked him.”

John said, “As you watched Him die with His clothing, His dignity and eventually his life stripped away, you couldn’t help seeing that His holiness remained. Do you know what that word means?”

“I know a little of how the Greek religions use the word.”

John explained, “Our Scriptures teach that holiness is absolute righteousness. This means more than not doing evil. Jesus said, ‘My Father is with me because I always do what pleases Him.’ But God could not be with us. None of us is holy. And if we are not forgiven, we will die in our sins and stand before a holy God. Jesus who always did what pleases God, was crucified in our place. He was rejected by God for us. He died to pay the penalty for our sins. And He rose from the grave to reconcile us to Him forever.”

“And that includes a Roman soldier?” Antony asked.

“That includes all of us. Those of us who recognize that Jesus was God with us, will not die in our sins.”

Antony said, “I need to think about this. I don’t think you know how much believing this will cost me.”

John said, “I think you have enough to digest from our talk. But I would be willing to meet with you and talk more about Jesus. I know you still have many questions.”

“That will not be possible. I am in danger from this meeting. If we began to meet regularly I would probably be put to death as a traitor. And besides, I am being transferred. I don’t even know where I will be sent.”

Before Antony could dawn his disguise and leave, John said, “You were able to understand all this about Jesus because God has been speaking to you. You came here because He drew you. Jesus told us He is the light of the world. Believing in Him begins to make sense of everything. Wherever you go you can ask God to speak to you. He will teach you. Before long many of us will be sent to places all over the empire. You will hear of us again.

The seed of his story came from John 8:28.

Lord Jesus, forgive us and transform us in Your holy presence.

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

http://theanchorofthesoul.blogspot.com/

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/

Website

http://daveswatch.com/

YouTube

https://goo.gl/PyzU

Amazon Author Central page.

When we see the daffodils and tulips blooming during springtime, we often think of preparing our gardens. I grew up on a farm in the Midwest, and we always had a garden to grow our potatoes and vegetables. As I was thinking about sowing seeds in the garden, I was reminded of the fruit of the Spirit in (Galatians 5:22, 23 TLB) “But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

 When we invite Christ into our lives, the seed for the fruit of the Spirit is sown into our hearts. A life controlled by the Holy Spirit will exhibit the character traits of the fruit of the Spirit.    

To produce a profitable crop the seeds, need watering, sunshine, weeding, and pruning. When our grandchildren enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit comes into their hearts, preparing the soil for the seed of the fruit to be sown in their hearts. Along with the sun, the ground needs watering with God’s Word for the seed to sprout and grow. Jesus, the Son of God, must shine on their heart for the plants to grow. After the weeding and pruning have taken place, the seeds will produce a good crop.

We can aggressively pray, knowing it is God’s will, for the godly seed to be sown in the lives of our children, grandchildren, and future generations. The seeds of prayer we plant today will yield a harvest of blessing in the future. God has given us a powerful resource in the avenue of prayer to bring power and blessing to their lives as well as ours. Just as God told the Israelites, “I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants” (Isaiah 44:3), God will pour out his blessings on our lives when we sow seeds of prayer.

Pray:

• Your grandchildren will allow God to prepare the soil of their hearts.
• Your grandchildren will invite Jesus Christ into their hearts.
• Their hearts will be watered with God’s Word for the seed to grow.
• They will allow the Holy Spirit to control their hearts.
• They will experience God’s presence and love in their hearts when being weeded and pruned with disappointments in the challenges of life.

Personal Reflection:

• What needs to happen before life will exhibit the character traits of the fruit of the Spirit?
• What results will the seeds of prayer bring to us?
• Have you used God’s Word when praying for your grandchildren?

The seeds of intentional prayer you sow today

will yield a harvest of blessings in the future

for your grandchildren and yourself.

This blog is taken from the book Grandparenting with a Purpose: Effective Ways to Pray for your Grandchildren, available on this website.

Written by Lillian Penner

Christian Nationalism #4

Five Principles for Discerning the News - cont'd

(Principles 3 – 5)

In my early blog post, I talked about the first two principles.  Now I will continue with #3,#4, and #5.

3. The enemy is never a monolith.

One of the myths that exist in any situation of conflict is the over-estimation of the opponent.  I remember some years ago when I was working for a group that was advocating for affordable housing in the City of Chicago.  We had put together a loose coalition of people and groups that had very little internal cohesion, but who were willing to tolerate each other for the common purpose of this effort.  Perhaps I exaggerate, but this was no unified front.  As I talked with the city officials – people who were well educated and pleasant people – they clearly communicated that they knew our ulterior motives: namely, to undermine and defeat the political career of the current mayor.  We were the enemy, and all they saw was a powerful and unified front that stood in opposition to everything that they cared about (at least from a political point of view). 

This was perhaps the clearest personal experience that I have had of a phenomenon that I observe happening with increasing frequency: the idea that we are under siege by a powerful enemy that wants to destroy us.  It also allows us to look beyond the current issue at conflict and see the real battle as some sort of cosmic struggle of good vs. evil.  This is really a problem because it prevents us from engaging in healthy dialogue over important civic issues.  How can we talk about healthcare reform when the real agenda is the imposition of a dystopian Brave New World?  Civic discourse stops and civil war begins.

The way out of this morass is to better understand those who disagree with us.  I have been fortunate in living at various times on both sides of the Left/Right divide in our country.  The Left is as diverse as the Right.  In fact, those labels are actually not helpful.  There are a few dedicated Marxists out there, but they are not powerful.  The largest group of progressives is well-meaning people who have no other agenda than the actual issue for which they are advocating.  The Left, like the Right, is fluid, and alliances change depending on the issue at hand.  The same for the Right.  Left-wing anxieties about some sort of theocratic Handmaiden’s Tale society are nonsense, yet the myth exists.   The dedicated extremists, either Left or Right, are few, yet they feed into the false narrative.  Most political disagreement is just people like us disagreeing. 

4. Beware second hand news.

There has been a breakdown in how we get information from trusted sources.  Thirty years ago, we had local newspapers and three television stations whose editors served as a filter for the information that we received.  Some of us who were particularly curious would subscribe to the Atlantic or Wilson Quarter and get more of an inside scoop on things.  That is no longer the case. Today there are many sources, most of which are not completely reliable.  One of the greatest dangers that I have heard through these new media sources is the anecdotal story that reinforces a political narrative.  I will give an example:

During the 2016 election year, there were numerous stories of “caravans” of illegal immigrants invading the United States, and embedded within these caravans were Al-Qaeda operatives (or perhaps ISIS, take your pick).  People I know and respect would repeat the story as if it were true.  Often they were uncertain of where they heard it, but it was true none-the-less.  When it was pointed out that the U.S. was at an historic low mark for illegal immigration, the fact was dismissed as untrue.  When it was pointed out that the Muslim population of Mexico was relatively small, it was dismissed as untrue.  Only the overarching narrative was true, and contrary facts were rejected or simply not heard.

We need to become better editors of our news.  We need to know the difference between reliable sources and sources that are engaged in political propaganda. Because this is difficult, perhaps the best approach is to be a news skeptic.  Information given during the standard news programs is more reliable than those given by “opinion hosts.”  Most of these hosts are considered entertainment by the broadcast company, and are thus held to a much lower standard when it comes to reliability. Know that stories are promoted to further political interests.

5. We are in God’s hand, not the hands of politicians.

I believe that the crisis in the church today is one of faith.  For some reason, we now doubt that God is truly in control of events.  During times of genuine persecution of the church, the saints of old held forth, firm in their faith.  To accept martyrdom was the ultimate statement of God’s being in control.  The body they may kill, but God’s kingdom will prevail.  And it did prevail. 

The desperate grasp for political power by many Evangelicals is the exact opposite of the witness of the martyrs. The Evangelical political agenda has the underlying assumption that God is not in control, and God needs us to re-establish control.  God needs us to fix the problems in society.  And we can best fix those problems by exercising power over others: We need Christian judges to mandate morality upon a restive population.  We need legislation to enforce our moral preferences.

A healthier and more Biblical way of advocating for change is to win the hearts and minds of the people.  Every significant social change in our society has happened not through the political power of a few, but by the changes within the broad public.  The fight for civil rights took more than 100 years following the Civil War, but changed only happened when the country was ready for the change.  The forces of segregation lost the public moral argument on a bridge in Selma. We may not win every argument, but we should never believe that God requires us to use force to enact his will on earth.

If you ask me anything in my
name, I will do it (John 14:14)

My life is wary of a wild world;
I'm a stranger in a crusty clime!
What a drudge to live each day!

Yet the day guards its brightness,
night its darkness; yet to see sun
slow its course, moon its stroll.

The elements in a pact with God,
with God who abides by his Word;
who won't peddle a fake promise.

What grace to flourish in his love:
ask by faith and haul in his favors.
Dawn to dusk, love drips like dew.

In drought, fresh promises refresh
hearts that ask for showers to wet
the dry earth and honey from rock.

I bask and joy in asking; I've faith
in hope that grows with his Word;
ask till plodding turns to strolling

on the street of gold in God's glow.
In asking, I bask in God's presence.

Celestine S. Ikwuamaesi
20/02/21

Daily devotional - Times Square Church, New York Feb 20, 2021

https://worldchallenge.org/devotion/three-broken-bones?ref=devos

THREE BROKEN BONES