Good Things & God Things

Recently an amusing, yet spiritually profound, thing happened in a brief text conversation between my wife and I. My wife was telling me about the outlook of her day and some obstacles she had to face. Being at work myself, I had no time to make a phone call and speak verbal reassurance and encouragement to her. So my thumbs of fury flew across the screen and off into cyber space went a text of quick encouragement including the line, 

"...Hope you can get a lot of God things done today."

Naturally, when I looked at my last entry a few seconds later, I noticed the apparent typo. See, I had used the "swype" texting method - I know, I'm so highly evolved, technologically, please hold your applause - and because I so often have to correct the auto-default word choice of "good" by swapping it with "God," this time my phone must've thought "God" was what I wanted in the sentence, not "good."

My instantaneous reaction was to think, in that brief glance down at my phone and my apparent typo, "Ach, that's not what I meant to type." Then I paused for a moment and read it again.

Next, what I typed to my wife was something along the lines of,

"...meant to say "good" not "God"...but that's even better. :) "

What I was reminded of in that moment is that we should always be most concerned with getting "God things" done each day. 

"God things" are better than just "good things," and in fact, when we're striving to do "God things," we'll get plenty of the right things done. 

I can't remember exactly, but I suppose at that moment the subject of the text conversation between my wife and I probably centered around the usual tasks of everyday living. You know, the cleaning around the house that gets neglected...The things she needed to get on top of as an on-site apartment manager for the rental property where we live...Groceries or errands...The bills...Box after mundane, routine, annoyingly urgent box of our life's daily checklist. 

We all worry about these things, don't we? We all get sucked into the craze of fulfilling each day's urgent checklist. But do we make sure it's the important things, and not necessarily the urgent, that are given our attention, and the full effort of our heart and will every day?

Remember: "Urgent" usually just means there's an element of promptness about the thing - and this is often an element that's twisted in our minds because of distraction (example: an email notification buzzing on your smartphone tells you to urgently look at it and respond). But "important" means that the effects of achieving that thing are of lasting significance. 

It's a struggle to prioritize properly, especially when the Christian's values and priorities are a vastly different set of things from what most others live by, or live "under the thumb of."

Because of our new status as forgiven, saved children of the one true God, we get to live in an awesome state of freedom that we can't always feel or detect through our earthly lenses, but that - nonetheless - exists in spiritual reality. This means we are free to focus our lives each day on the things that matter to God, more than focusing on the day-to-day grind and all the peripheral checklist boxes. 

This is not to say that we should neglect all other regular duties. Being responsible with everything that's on our plate shows thankfulness and faithfulness to God that he is proud of when we exhibit it. But the point is, it's far better to have a moment of quality investment into the lives of our children, teaching them something, speaking the word of Jesus into their lives, and bestowing principles that root their foundation, than it is to have a squeaky clean kitchen at all times. And lots of other things like that -- you fill in your own blanks.

So, as long as the things we accomplish each day center on our family, furthering our relationships and our love of, and devotion to, our God, in ways that will leave lasting impressions and growth in each other, THEN we've done the right "good things." THEN we have plenty of reason to exhale in satisfaction as our head hits the pillow for the night. 

"These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 

Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and

when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.

Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates."

Deuteronomy 6:6-9

It Can Happen Again

Maybe you're not as spiritually weak as I can be. 

Maybe your prayer life is a vibrant, churning machine that never sees a break between shifts, and the prayers ascending to heaven are as beautiful and powerful and fervent as the smoke signals of a marooned sailor, rising from a deserted island, imploring the heavens to acknowledge and respond. 

But I'd wager we all could stand to be reminded of something that's direly important right now. 

We need to pray - hard - for a conversion. 

We need to pray - hard - for some more "Sauls" to be made into "Pauls."

Linda Buxa, author, presenter, and writer who contributes blogs to the website for Time of Grace out of Milwaukee, recently pointed out:

 "In Acts 8, after Stephen was stoned to death, 'on that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. . . . But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.' "

Sounds eerily similar to what the whole world is watching transpire in Iraq in recent weeks, doesn't it? The Islamic group ISIS, a group of Muslim extremists, is ravaging their lands with what journalists are calling a genocide of Christians. I'm betting you all know all about this plotline. Many of you probably know some of the details even better than I. Many of you probably also have come to familiarity with the picture above, of the Arabic nun, their letter "N," which has been written upon the homes of the Christians (over there, "Nazarenes") who are to be victimized by this horrifying onslaught of forcible conversion. 

As is so often the case when gut-wrenching, horrible crimes against humanity are taking place around the globe - or in this case, crimes against people who truly are fellow believers to us American Christians - don't we find ourselves almost numb to it? Part of it, I think, is that element of deplorable desensitization that Americans in this day and age are all subject to. Unless you've lived abroad for a significant amount of time, or have done so recently enough for the experience to be fresh in your mind and heart, you've got little frame of reference to understand and focus on someone else's sufferings or overall standard of life. This, however, isn't my point. After all, if we could snap our fingers and make it happen, I'm sure many of us who haven't had the experience (like me) would be teleported over to some place that's "third world" and either passively witness and take it all in, or even pitch in actively with acts of service. 

The other piece of why we're numb to what's happening to Christians over in that land, I believe, is that we tend to forget the power we have, as Christians, to at least DO what we CAN DO. 

Since social media creates a spreading wildfire effect with any prevalent ideas or comments to current events (whether it's this story, or the one that seems to be neck-and-neck with it, the sudden passing of actor/comedian Robin Williams), it's not that there's been a shortage of solid ideas for how we can respond to this genocide in Iraq.

Well-meaning folks have offered generally a 3-pronged approach to what we, who stand at a great distance and observe it as if it were "Schindler's List," can actually do: 

1) PRAY

2) GIVE - to some organization actively involved, on the ground, with aid in Iraq

3) SPREAD AWARENESS - using social media, talking about it in public, etc.

Points #2 and #3 on this list are both just fine, in my opinion. I think whatever implementation one can achieve of those parts is a great contribution. CERTAINLY far better than just sighing, shaking the head, saying something as calloused and cliche as "What a messed up world we're in..." and moving on in the news feed or going back to whatever task is at hand. Back to life as usual. Back to comfort.

What I say we can all do, is focus on #1. PRAY. Pray like the dickens. And pray for something specific. 

What's my specific idea? For God to give strength and courage of faith's conviction to those being persecuted? For our military to have the opportunity to intervene and somehow, for crying out loud, just rescue the children at least...so no more innocent little ones are ripped from their family's arms and beheaded? For there to be more caring people worldwide giving of their personal wealth to finance the aid being deployed by charitable organizations over in that land, to give some relief and show compassion? 

Yes, a resounding YES, to all of these. But here's what I'm proposing:

PRAY FOR SOME MORE "SAULS" TO BE CONVERTED INTO "PAULS."

Like we said above, as documented in Acts 8, something like this has happened before, and the Bible itself spoke of it. It's happened many times throughout history, because Satan has been continually trying to fight the tide of salvation that has always washed across the earth, bringing people of all tribes and nations to the Christian, saving faith. 

And I believe what happened in Acts 9 can happen again. Saul, who was "breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples," was headed toward Damascus and was confronted by Jesus himself, which left Saul blinded by the light of God's glory, and after he was cared for medically God reinstated him back into the public, and he had a new heart, a new mission, and a new name - Paul. 

I don't know if God would seek to operate in exactly the same theatrical fashion, making Jesus himself appear, riding a bright and shining war horse, and convert all of ISIS by knocking them to their knees in terror and then pleading with them to stop persecuting his true believers...But I know he could. 

And whether the Lord would do it that way, or by means of regular mortals, maybe even the men and women and children they're carrying out these horrifying acts against, someone testifying to them at the right moment and creating a ripple effect of more subtle, yet overwhelming change within that organization, the point is: Why not??

I've thought it myself, and I've heard it or seen it posted online from plenty of people. "If only we could just drop a bomb on all those devils." Well, have Americans used deadly force to quell horrible acts and warfare in the past? Yeah, absolutely. But just because we'd all agree that it was a good thing America helped in ending Hitler's horrible scheme in Europe, consequently bringing Hitler himself to an earthly end, doesn't mean that Christians in 1945 shouldn't have been praying for his salvation too. 

God may have any number of ways He could plan to use this passage in history to accomplish His grand design for mankind and for the spread of the gospel. I'm just proposing that we pray that even the evil men who are responsible for terrible crimes against these Nazarenes in Iraq be made the object of a worthy prayer. 

God did it before, with Saul of Tarsus in the first century A.D., and it can happen again. 

But is the problem that we don't want it to happen to these ISIS malefactors? Do we want to see earthly judgment served and equally violent retribution poured out on them in wrath? Maybe... Or is it because we don't believe this could happen again?

If you're anything like me, sometimes you have to shake yourself out of that weird mindset that something we read about in Biblical history was insulated from the rest of "real" world history, or from what happens in these days, in current times. Why? Why do we believe that God was different then, for all of those thousands of years, with all of those millions and millions of other real life people - believers or otherwise? It's kind of the Sunday-school-lesson effect, where everything from those pages of ancient Scripture made into coloring books with Bible passages and crafts assigned to them, is diminished from the real life we all live right now, and right here (or right there - i.e. Iraq, where the blood of Christians is moistening the soil as we speak).

God cannot be put in a box. He cannot be limited or characterized by what we humans think of Him based on our understanding from our cultural context or upbringing and brand of faith. God is a God of possibility, a God without limits, and a God who has always wanted His people to cry out with one unified voice over the things that impact this world most, pleading with Him for His will to be done in the ways we believe HE CAN. 

What if God turned the hearts of many - or even just some, or EVEN JUST A FEW - of the ISIS radicals? What if that helped to stem the tide of violence and hatred and bloodshed? What if that led to other Muslims, whether extremists or not, being persuaded to faith in the one true God? What if THAT happened because millions of other Christians, American or otherwise, took the time to think on it, get down on their knees at their bedsides, and prayed hard, asking God to make it so? 

If that could happen - and we must believe it could - wouldn't it remind us all, and show the whole world, what power we wield in the form of prayer? 

Wouldn't it remind us all, and show the whole world, what a powerful and merciful God we believe in?

Brothers and sisters, anyone, everyone who believes...Let's PRAY. 

Let's pray hard, let's pray specifically....Let's mean it....

God Almighty, if it's your will, turn those evil "Sauls" into new "Pauls."

"The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." - James 5:16b

Kingdom Math

I'm guilty of it too. 
I'm guilty of this wretched, wretched math effect. 

I'll admit it now, to start it all off, so no one dare say I'm just ranting and railing against others, while thinking myself impervious.

I've actually spent months and months working my way up to writing this one, because that part of me that hates the idea of looking like a hypocrite is holding me back. But no more.

It has to end, folks. It just has to be put to an end. Taken out. Abolished. Done in. Taken out back behind the shed, shot, buried and forgotten. 

What does?

This horrible, disgusting, maniacal, DISTRACTING math. 

I'll call it "Kingdom Math." And when it's the DIVISION kind of Kingdom Math we're talking about, it creates all sorts of distraction. 

Kingdom Math is whenever someone or something is added, subtracted, multiplied, or divided within the confines of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God has been defined by many as existing wherever the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ is being proclaimed, and where believers in Christ are found together. I'm focusing on the people part of this definition. When you and me, fellow believer, are found hanging out together, the Kingdom is there with us. When 50, 500, or 5,000 of us are together in worship inside a building, singing God's praises, hearing the truth of the Word of God, it's definitely there too. 

Here are my examples of the Math of the Kingdom:

Addition: A baptism. A child or adult is brought into the family of believers through this awe-inspiring sacrament involving the element of water and the presence of the Word of God. After a baptism, the Kingdom's tally has just *DING!* gone up by one! Another example: Someone gains tactful and friendly influence in another person's life, uses great people skills to find the right ways to speak difficult truths to them when the time is right, and, through the boldness of their witness when the other person's heart is ready to be receptive to them, the Holy Spirit moves in that person and leads him or her to see Jesus as their Savior. *DING!* Up goes the tally!

Subtraction: This one, while not the focus of my article today, is actually the worst of the math types. Example: A child grows up in a hateful home where parents who claim to "believe in God" abuse their child verbally and neglect to show her love in the most critical, formative times. This child becomes an adolescent and, even though she attends church a handful of times each year and goes through the motions of a Confirmation class in a stale, stuffy church congregation, as soon as she is on her own years later, there is no room for God in her heart. The tiny flickering flame of faith in a God that was misunderstood because of horrendous misrepresentation is now snuffed out. A tally has been erased from the number of those who are bound for heaven. *funeral bell sounds*

Multiplication: Back to the happy stuff. An example would be: A child who has never really heard much about Jesus (except when His name is used in vain around home or on the TV) ends up at a Vacation Bible School in town because his parents want to use it as kid-free time for them to do drugs. After a few days of their son coming home carefree, happy, and carrying a curious twinkle in his eye as he talks about his crayon pictures of Jesus and the kind people caring for him at VBS, the parents decide to get to know the nice folks running it. After a few weeks of thinking, they reflect on their talks with the nice folks at St. XYZ Church who impacted their child, and decide to attend a service. They're surprised at how inviting the casual environment is, almost as if the people organizing the service want it to be for outsiders, not "church people." They feel their hearts stir a little as the pastor delivers a message of hope, and they begin wondering if Jesus loves them like their little boy believes He does. Months later, after more worship services are under their belt, they ask the Pastor to pray with them, and their hearts are converted to the Lord and they become believers in the one true God, Jesus Christ. The changes this new faith sparks are incredible and fire off like a chain reaction. Soon other family members are attending church. The effect of one happy little boy coming back from a church evangelism function with the name of Jesus on his little lips turns into an exponential wildfire of conversion in a family, as many begin to follow Christ because of the ripple effect of the impact. This is when the *DING!* begins to sound like a slot machine hitting a jackpot. 

But then there's another Kingdom Math type. The last. The one I hate almost more than subtraction, because it's performed by Christians themselves when it never should. 

Division:  This one can occur in many grievous forms. It occurs when one Christian criticizes another for how the other's church chooses to conduct worship, when really it's just a matter of opinion as to whether an organ or a rock 'n roll style praise band is better music for church (and by the way, when God's people were partying in the streets with raucous music involving lyres and tambourines and trumpets, as they celebrated war victories He had given them through King David, which type of present day worship does that seem closer to? I'm just saying...). It occurs when the Lutherans look down their noses at the Assemblies of God folks because they assume they can speak in tongues in worship, and when Assemblies of God folks mock the Lutherans for their stubborn traditions and overly-conservative (in their minds) theology on fellowship practices. It occurs in so many settings, and the list goes on. Satan loves this list, and in a moment I'll tell you why. 

Another occurrence of this sad type of Kingdom Math is one that I absolutely cannot stand. I said it before and I'll say it again: I'm guilty of it. I look back in my past and can recall times when I fell prey to the arrogance that causes this. I pray I never do it again so long as I live, and I have fought like everything to outgrow it. 

Here's the example to which I'm referring: One Christian (we'll call him Joe) shares an opinion or view of something that matters to him. Whether on social media, in public, in a classroom, at fellowship hour after church on Sunday, at a picnic or softball game, or at the bar....setting doesn't matter. This expression from Joe might be an idea about how God can bless a certain vocational choice that Joe has been seeking peace about in his life, or maybe it's that Joe expressed lingering sorrow for a loss he suffered (perhaps the death of a loved one). Along comes another Christian (we'll call him Lance) who proceeds to tell Joe a thing or two about how dumb his view or emotion is. In fact, it's not just out of place or misguided, it's sinful. With the way Lance comes across, so matter-of-fact, so point-blank, and so blunt, all Joe can hear is condemnation. He's immediately turned off to whatever Lance has to say, and he's confused as to where Lance perceived there to be an invitation for the admonition in the first place. The two cannot resolve the ensuing dispute because Joe is too hurt by Lance's judgmental position, and Lance is too proud to recognize he's needlessly taken an unexpected withdrawal out of his relationship to Joe, and they part ways and a rift opens between them. Over time, depending on other factors, that rift may form into a cavernous abyss that neither can manage to cross, and it hurts them both for years, perhaps even causing one of them to question their faith. 



I have to ask the question:

Why do we sometimes think being a Christian - being a bearer of God's infallible Word of timeless truth, and someone familiar with God's Law - entitles us to be a jerk?

Why does this happen? Because pride is easy, and people skills require work. Dealing with each other in all things in Jesus' way is a LABOR of love. Human nature is fallen, and our spiritual laziness leads us to hurt each other out of sheer lack of desire to take the harder road through interactions. 

Pride is also ambitious. Within each of us hides a hideous monster called the opinio legis, which is Latin for the "opinion of the law," or, for our purposes, the good ol' self righteousness. When a Christian sees something in his brother that he cannot agree with, whether it's an emotion, an attitude, an idea about something, or whatever, he can take two paths: 1) Make an effort to see where his brother may be coming from, elect the patience and gracious heart of Jesus that doesn't opt to first throw stones at offenders, and keep his mouth shut unless asked, or 2) Insert himself somewhere with no tact whatsoever, shaming the other person, capturing an opportunity to "preach the law" as Jesus did simply because he's been told somewhere that the law is for those in error, and committing arson to the relationship. 

Kingdom Math, Division style, takes place because Lance cannot help but want to feel superior to Joe. He has an upper hand of greater understanding of an issue, or wants Joe to be held to the same standard he feels he's been held to before, and can't stand the idea of Joe "getting away with" his folly. So, in the face of all Lance knows in his heart about the mercy and forbearance Jesus showed to the ungrateful 9 other lepers he healed, the Pharisees, his family members who doubted he was the Son of God, Zacchaeus the cheater, the thief on the cross, and many more, Lance opts for wielding the Law weapon like a bull in a China shop just because it's available for use. He passes it off as being ok because of any number of reasons (it's his personality to "tell it like it is," or God doesn't want us to convey tolerance of something by not calling it out to someone's face the second we see it), and makes no effort to retract or smooth things over when Joe's offense blows up in his face. 

While these various divisions are taking place, the Great Distraction unfolds. 

I mentioned it earlier. Remember? 

"...when it's the DIVISION kind of Kingdom Math we're talking about, it creates all sorts of distraction."

Satan is God's enemy, right? Satan and God are at war for the souls of mankind. (At least that's the way it feels, as we humans watch good triumph one moment, and evil prevail in our world the next. Fortunately, the Scriptures show us the image of the once crucified and dead Christ, rising from his grave to defeat sin and death, thus defeating Satan...Until Judgment Day, Satan merely gets to think he's winning sometimes)

So if Satan, who deep down knows he's already beaten by God, wants to have any victories at all, what is his best chance? He can't take away mankind's salvation. That was bought and paid for by Jesus on the cross, once and for all time, never to be revoked. Salvation stands waiting for all to accept it as a free gift. 

The only thing Satan can take away is....FOCUS. The world's focus, that is. 

When Lance pulls that prideful stunt with Joe, what the world sees is two bickering, petty Christians. They see the egotist, Lance, being a judgmental hypocrite, they'll call him, who can't cut Joe any slack. They'll see Joe fighting back to defend himself, and that's a scuffle that won't end in two seconds. Meanwhile, as the world watches this silly little Christian altercation - this abhorrent Kingdom Math of division, they forget....about....JESUS. 

Brothers and sisters, if there was any argument that trumps all others, as to why we need to err on the side of avoiding division like a zombie apocalypse, it's this: 

WE NEED TO LET THE WORLD HAVE EVERY CHANCE TO FOCUS ON JESUS. 

When unbelievers' attention is taken away from their Savior, the one who loves them dearly and who died to make them His children and heirs of heaven, EVERYONE loses. 

The fighting Christians being divided lose.
The whole of Christianity, who wants the world's attention on Jesus, loses.
The world itself, full of spiritually starving, thirsting, dying people loses. 

Folks, this is what's at stake. Let's be honest here. Is there any room for judgment? 

There is a time and place, as outlined in God's word, for speaking the Law of Scriptures to our brother or sister in the faith. But those occasions are not only few and far between, but more often than not way more good will be accomplished by further winning over the fellow Christian to heaven's cause by uplifting, encouraging interactions, than would be accomplished by a "Lance's" version of fire and brimstone, thrown carelessly into the middle of a situation where it wasn't warranted. 

Enough of the power trips and selfish pride, brothers and sisters. Let's ensure together that the only Kingdom Math being computed in this fallen world is Addition and Multiplication. 

What is Jesus' way? Love. Mercy. Forgiveness. Quiet acceptance of one's brother or sister in spite of their sin or mistakes or off-base opinions. Grace...

Let's end the distraction. Let's keep the quibbling down, and let the world focus on seeing Jesus, their loving Savior and true friend, in center stage instead of us. He is worthy of every bit of attention He can get. 

Not an Exception

Many things are absolutely true, no matter what. Other things are true some of the time. Still other things are rarely true. One thing that's rarely true is that summer is a moderate, pleasant season in the Midwest. Although rarely true, that statement just so happens to apply this year in Wisconsin (so far), with humidity rarely being as sweltering as it often is, and with temperatures rarely getting much above 80 degrees (to those who are sure I've hexed us for the months of August and September, I'm sorry). 

Absolute truths abound in absolute consistency with God. One of the truths about our heavenly Father is that, as He promised, He is always with us and will never leave our side. Life's darker times tempt us to disbelieve that can be true or even possible. We have a hard enough time conceiving of God's quality of "omnipresence" (being in all places at all times), let alone how he'd want to be around some of us all the time - or at all, for that matter!

One of the most beautiful truths about God is something that he expounded to the Israelites through the prophet Jeremiah many centuries ago. In the book of Jeremiah, chapter 29, verse 11, God says to them, 

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

I think this passage ranks right up there in the list of most well known and beloved Bible passages, whether you know the Bible well or not. This is my wife's favorite passage, and its Scripture reference (Jer. 29:11) wound up on one of her license plates years ago. 

The truth behind what God was promising in this passage, though, is something that I have to realize again and again throughout life that I lose track of. When hardships are wearing out their welcome in particular seasons of life, the lack of self esteem we may have mixes with a twisted sense of logic about what we think we're seeing around us, and its result is like a chemical reaction of eroding spiritual damage. 

Yeah, must be nice for the Israelites....But God isn't doing that for me, I think. 

Maybe God uses crappy situations to bless others, but mine is just a mess of a life. 

He's turned the down times into good later on for those who really have something to offer, or those who have stronger faith, or those He loves more...but it doesn't look like it's in the cards for me. 

These thoughts have raged through the human heart many times, in everyone's life. When the foreboding clouds of darkness hang low over my head for a long enough period of time, I eventually consider throwing in the towel on hope, prosperity, or any kind of bright future. 

But have you ever considered what's taking place when deep cloud cover is pierced by the sun's rays, like the picture at the beginning of this post? Whenever someone sees that happen, they declare that heaven is literally shining its light down - it's that beautiful of a contrast. 

Have you, like me, forgotten how profound it is that the clouds' existence is the only reason that concentrated beam of light piercing through looks as striking and heavenly as it does? If not for the clouds cluttering the sky and temporarily - I say it again, temporarily - obscuring the view of the sun, there would be just normal, everyday sunshine permeating the sky. We're all used to that. 

Without the dark storm clouds of life that must hover overhead, at times so ominously, and for so long, we would take the sunlight for granted. Without the thick, enveloping shroud, there would be no hole through which the heavenly rays could beam down to remind of the beauty and illumination of the source of that light. 

This is a truth for everyone. 

There is no exception. I am not an exception. Say it with me: 

"I AM NOT AN EXCEPTION."

What God meant for the Israelites thousands of years ago in Jeremiah's day, when they were languishing through the oppression of the Babylonian Captivity, He means just as much for you and me. 

The human heart is a fickle and tricky thing. Its ability to emotionally distort the facts, and meddle with the processes of the mind that knows God's truths, is sorrowfully uncanny. In those times when my circumstances are penning me in, when disappointment breaks my heart, or when the guilt of my sin is feeling like a millstone tied around my neck, dragging me down to the depths of the sea, I must remember that Jeremiah 29:11 is for everyone, and that includes me. 

I am not an exception. The Israelites didn't deserve God's goodness any more than I do. Their history of smiting the Lord with complaining and idolatry mere moments after miraculous events was appalling. Jacob, another forefather of the faith, didn't deserve God's grace any more than I do. He tricked his father Isaac into assigning his brother's birthright to him instead, tearing a rift in their family for years. Daniel was a man whose heart had sin in it just like all of us, yet God saw fit to use his inherently miserable situation as a hostage of a pagan conqueror as a path to great influence. Abraham seemed to rarely trust God, and repeatedly lied to kings whose lands he passed through that his wife was his sister, so as to avoid personal harm, yet God always mended those disasters and allowed him to leave that country richer than before. Paul, in the years after Christ was on Earth, was one of the greatest persecutors of Christians and oversaw their malicious deaths, yet after his stunning conversion to the true faith, God used him to lay the foundations for the entire Christian church in the known world at the time, by way of his mission work. 

God is so awesome that he has forever and always been utilizing messed up, sinful people with messed up, sinful situations to accomplish His will for mankind, and to even bring good to the lives of those people who are smack-dab in the middle of the mess. 

Is your life a mess right now? Is there something about your world that just feels all wrong? I've felt that way too, often. I've felt a void. I've felt betrayed by life itself. I've felt unfairly wronged, and cheated out of the opportunities I once expected life to offer me. I've felt stinging remorse over my sins that brought me to my knees. I've felt lost and unable to hear the words my God wants to tell me, to help me see a way through it. I've felt....hopeless.

But God knows the plans He has for me. Even when my life feels like a cage and I'm captive to the circumstances I can't shake off or understand, behind the gloomy, confusing, scary clouds lurks the almighty purpose of God, waiting for His time, when it will be the right moment to burst through the shroud and illuminate everything with the beauty of His designs. 

His plans contain hope for you, and a future lived out in the sunlight of His mercy and blessing. His plans include joy and the warmth in your soul of knowing His peace no matter what happens. His plans include the satisfying growth of your spirit within, as you learn through these storms of life to just plainly believe that He is there. 

He has made this promise true so many times, for so many of his dearly loved children. He has done amazing things, and He will do it again. 

You and I are not an exception. 

Middle Ground Peril

Sometimes middle ground is the most dangerous place to find yourself. 

Sometimes middle ground means you're following the herd right off the cliff. 

Right now, conservative voices have plenty to sound off about in bewilderment and concern, when it comes to messages coming from the byproducts of the pop culture machine. Whether it's the horrifyingly raunchy idea behind the "50 Shades of Grey" movie coming out next February (which was, of course based on a women's erotica novel series, more or less), or whether it's stupefying, vulgar lyrics or themes of music that manages to top the charts (special thanks go to rap and hip hop here, usually), there's plenty on the end of the spectrum that's Defcon 5 type stuff for the mind and soul. 

Obviously, the life of a Christian, who wants to always be focused on whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable (Philippians 4:8), is comprised of a multitude of choices that impact our level of "sanctification," that is, how holy and God-pleasing we're being in our conduct, habits, and attitudes, etc. Out of thankfulness to our God for all He's done for us, we want to lean towards the obviously upright things whenever possible. 

But isn't it true that there are lots of not-so-completely-evil-looking things out there that our lives run up against? 

A recent example I'm thinking of is a song I heard on a mix CD I made awhile back, called "Same Direction" by Hoobastank.

Don't mind me....Just waiting it out. Ok, are you all better now? Yes, their band name is Hoobastank. Don't ask me. Just go with it. Musically, they're actually quite talented and worth taking seriously. Anyway, in this song they sing about the woes of being caught up in the current of what they consider to be a pervasive culture of conformity to singular philosophy on something. As lyrics usually go, they keep from specifying the exact characteristics of the herd they don't want to follow. But it's clear that they have some real disdain for those who want them to go along in their footsteps. Here are the lyrics:

Whenever i step outside, somebody claims to see the light
It seems to me that all of us have lost our patience.
'cause everyone thinks they're right,
And nobody thinks that there just might
Be more than one road to our final destination

But i'm not ever going to know if i'm right or wrong
'cause we're all going in the same direction
And i'm not sure which way to go because all along
We've been going in the same direction

I'm tired of playing games, of looking for someone else to blame
For all the holes in answers that are clearly showing
For something to fill the space, was all of the time i spent a waste
'cause so many choices point the same way i was going.....

So why does there only have to be one correct philosophy?
I don't want to go and follow you just to end up like one of them
And why are you always telling me what you want me to believe?
I'd like to think that i can go my own way and meet you in the end.

But i'm not ever going to know..........

Nothing terribly alarming there, right? If I hadn't said "boo" about the theme of the song in a way that alluded to my scrutiny of it, and if you were to be along in the car while we cruise down the road and have this tune cranking, the purely rock 'n roll elements of it would likely distract you from the actual lyrics themselves. Let's face it, unless the vulgarity of the lyrics is so obvious and so crude that it jumps out at you, you're likely to miss anything negative almost regardless of how many times you hear it. 

But this song is a great example of how the middle road can be just as dangerous, if not worse. It's not the high road of a beautiful worship song by someone like Chris Tomlin, and it's sure not Beyonce's "Drunk in Love" (the lyrics to which I would rather NOT include in my blog, we'll just say) on the other end of the spectrum. But this middle-of-the-road song offers a dangerous idea when you look closely enough for it. 

"So why does there only have to be one correct philosophy? I don't want to go and follow you just to end up like one of them."  

Many people today have taken hold of the ideas of postmodernism. In an effort to appear supposedly more enlightened, tolerant, and non-judgmental, an ever-increasing majority of people throughout the world - or certainly in Western civilization - choose to live by the mantra that "what's right for you is right for you, and what's right for me can be right for me too." 

This philosophy even creeps into some corners of religion, usually the type practiced by folks who don't have a sound theological basis of any brand, or aren't very church-going. They'll speak of how "all steeples point to heaven," and so forth. After all, how fair would that be if some folks could live their whole lives and be wrong about anything? How fair is it that we should have to seek out actual truth and be sure that we're on the correct side of important issues, especially one like where we're going after this life? (This seems to be a possible explanation to "Same Direction"'s line "And why are you always telling me what you want me to believe? I'd like to think that I can go my own way and meet you in the end...")

It's sneaky how this lyrical content works. It doesn't make your ears turn red. It doesn't curl your toes or make you look over your shoulder to be sure no one with a clerical collar and Bible under-arm is nearby with a disapproving frown. It isn't the kind of content that warrants the RIAA to put "Parental Advisory" labels on the packaging of the CD. 

But just because there aren't cuss words, disgusting talk of sex acts or violence, or drug references, doesn't mean a parent wouldn't want to educate their child on the harmful nature of what some parts of the lyrics mean. 

We shouldn't just shy away from PA labels, R rated movies (especially R rated comedies - Why should humor ever need to be R rated??), strip clubs, and cult seances. Things on the middle ground, several degrees removed from the verboten end of the spectrum, can often be just as detrimental to our faith or our thinking. 

One could even make the argument that this seemingly-harmless, subtle, middle ground media we come across all the time in music, on TV, in newspapers and magazines, and in common conversation among our peers, is even MORE dangerous than the stuff our parents warned us against growing up. Think about it. If your moral guard is down while the input is allowed to come at you again and again because you don't really see a need to censor it out, over time you'll be permeated by that input and you'll run the risk of accepting it as truth. 

If it makes no typical warning sirens go off when you read or hear it, over time it may become part of you. 

Over time this idea that sneaked in under the cloak of a vulgarity-free rock 'n roll anthem of not conforming to society (or parts of it you don't agree with) could, if your foundation weren't strong enough in the first place, slowly convince you that truth is in the mind of the beholder. Just like that, one small, innocent-sounding input converted you from an advocate of objective truth and, by extension, a believer in a single true God with one offered path to heaven, into a wishy-washy postmodernist who just thinks it's cool to fly a flag for independence from the herd, just like Rob of Hoobastank. Maybe you'll even wear your hair down over one eye, buy a leather motorcycle jacket, and add some metal to your face to complete the liberating stereotype of originality. 

It's worth keeping an eye out for even the little things. Is it absolutely, downright sinful to own and listen to music like what Hoobastank puts out, or attend a PG-13 (or R rated, for that matter, in some cases) movie, or tune in to the evening broadcast of CNN? No, not necessarily. But it IS gravely important that we guard our hearts and minds from ideas that could change us subtly and gradually too, with the stealth of the middle road innocence. 

As for Hoobastank's lyrical statement in this song.......

"We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive."

                                                                      C. S. Lewis

Last Role Model Standing

Anyone 50 years old or older can correct me if I’m wrong, because mine is a younger perspective… But, used to be there were a lot more good role models around for men, weren’t there?

From local civil servants like police officers and firefighters, to sports figures like Harmon Killebrew, Fran Tarkenton, Barry Sanders, Grant Hill, Phil Mickelson, and Tim Tebow; from celebrities like John Wayne to politicians (yes, there have been a few) like Ronald Reagan or George H. W. Bush, there have been men in the spotlight with qualities worth emulating. Men with sturdiness, bravery, and class. Men with humility, yet strong enough to take a stand. The kinds that conquered the West, scored touchdowns with busted limbs, and ran the gauntlet of complicated and odious human dealings without compromising who they were. The kind who stood up for their women and made romance an art form, protected their children and property, and rolled up their sleeves when the going got tough.

Even in the comics there have always been manly figures who displayed courage, sacrifice, integrity, and a will to lead others around them. What boy growing up didn’t like the idea of being Superman, Batman, or Captain America?

Don’t look now, but the quintessential male role model is fast becoming an extinct symbol of American culture. Well within my own relatively brief lifetime, it’s gotten to the point where the majority of sports figures seem to be all about chest-pounding and taking to Twitter to verbally spar with opponents over trivial nonsense. It’s gotten to the point where there’s cowards and cheaters and criminals within every aforementioned group: corrupt law enforcement officials, crooked and back-pocket-stuffing politicians, addiction-riddled or – dare I say it? – “fruity” male celebrities (or actors who themselves may not be sell-outs, but who, in many of their shows, play spineless wimps of men who let their homes run them – see Ray Romano in “Everybody Loves Raymond).

Well, at least the masculine tradition of the world of comics has remained intact. Wait. What’s that you say? Ahem, I stand corrected. Ladies and gentlemen, this just in:

Thor is now a woman.  

 

That’s right, you heard me correctly. Marvel Comics has just changed the character of Thor – the mighty, hammer-wielding, Norse warrior/god of longtime mythology – into a woman. Not gave him a female counterpart. Not renamed Thor as Thorina, the female version….Replaced him. As if to say Thor never was a man. As if to show that he should’ve been a female from the beginning.

It’s certain that the social media world and online forums will be ablaze with outrage and debate and speculation as to why on Earth Marvel Comics decided to do this, and all the ramifications that stem from this big change. That is NOT the purpose of my mentioning this. My point, instead, is simply that male role models are vanishing.

By the way, permit me a quick aside: I write all this today not to infer that females don’t need a role model (because they do), nor to convey that the exact same isn’t happening to womankind (because, I’m sure, to an extent it could be). I write this because the only perspective I’m experienced with in this matter is the male’s, and, more importantly, because I subscribe to the belief that God established men to have a massively important leadership role within not only the family, but also society.

That aside serves well, actually, as an introduction to what I’m truly driving at here.

For, if all the available traditional male role model sources are being weakened, tarnished, or otherwise eliminated or replaced (like Thor), what happens when men start to wonder where they should turn for examples that inspire them to live?

Without Jesus Christ, I propose you would really have nowhere to turn for that answer. You would be in a heap of trouble.

These days are troubled ones indeed. Things like the changing of Thor from a man to a woman by the comic industry leaders are just a small, albeit poignant, symptom of the epidemic overtaking American culture over the last half century or more. But this serves as an excellent blessing in disguise. In years past, it was natural for a majority to be or seem Christian. Even though Christianity has never been an official national religion by law, the traditions of this country that were set up even from the time of the founding generations put into motion a culture of Judeo-Christian expectations for living, and it’s taken all this time for that foundation to be eroded down to the topsoil. Now, as Christianity has been marginalized nationwide, and other countries are sending missionaries to us because they see America as so Godless (and they’re right!) , we have a very different scene. Now, men everywhere have to step back and re-evaluate where they get their foundations from.

This gives the opportunity for a miniature spiritual renaissance to take place, where men everywhere have to go back to the drawing board and rediscover one very critical idea:

We never should have looked any farther than Jesus for a great male role model.

It’s great to be able to see men acting honorably or inspirationally in society, in entertainment, in politics, and hopefully most often within our own homes. Praise the Lord when we see them acting as they should so that their share of the limelight is being used for good. But ultimately, even men at their best are never going to provide the best example. Men, even at their best, are flawed, and their flaws are ever so tragic. Men, even at their best, are inflicted with a sinfulness that leaves them gasping at the foot of the cross of Jesus, weeping for forgiveness.

But Jesus Christ himself, although he was fully man, was perfect. His perfection, something only God incarnate could accomplish, not only played a part in his life’s mission of redemption of fallen men and women, but it also serves as the only, and best, example for men today to follow.

Need a superhuman example of courage, dedication, and bravery? See Jesus, fending off days of relentless temptation by Satan himself as he traveled through the desert, fighting fatigue, starvation, and thirst. See Jesus, standing up to hateful crowds and going about his work of ministry all while knowing that jealous men plotted his demise every step of the way. See Jesus, foreknowing his death on the night before it would occur, praying feverishly in the Garden of Gethsemane, asking God his Father to take away the task, but continually resubmitting himself to whatever was necessary. See Jesus, being led in prison fetters, mocked, spit on, knocked around, and jeered during a late-night rigged court case. See Jesus, kneeling to accept the vicious, ripping sting of the whips Roman soldiers used on him at Pilate’s command to have him flogged. See Jesus, carrying his cross for the nearly half mile journey through Jerusalem, up onto the hill called Golgotha, where he was crucified and gave up his life.

 

Need a superhuman example of humble tenderness, empathy, and friendship? See Jesus, taking the time everywhere he went to heal diseases, speak with outcasts of society, and let little children gather around him to learn and enjoy his glowing mannerisms. See Jesus, standing among the influential people of his time, speaking about difficult and challenging topics like taxes, women’s important roles in society and the church, and how to truly serve God more than just lip-service. See Jesus, understanding the loss of a great companion like Lazarus, weeping outside his tomb before bringing him back to life.

See Jesus, issuing kind and patient words to those who came with endless requests, troubled hearts, or ill-gotten motives and needing direction. See Jesus, preaching to crowds while tired, making sure people were fed, and never letting a teachable moment pass by. See Jesus, gathering to himself a tight-knit group of men from the surrounding communities, mentoring them, teaching them how to lead the church they didn't even know yet that they were going to run, and passing to them the institution of the Holy Sacraments. He shared his life with them and he did it selflessly, with complete integrity, and with endless love in his heart for those around him.

 

Pro athletes, politicians, actors and entertainers, firefighters and policemen, soldiers, and every other kind of everyday man caring for his family, running a business, serving in his church - - let them all strive to be great role models of what men should be.

But wouldn’t it be great if the primary characteristic of such role models was to be men who point to Jesus?

Men out there, listen up! Don’t sweat the troubling signs in society… Athletes will always say the wrong things with a mic in their face, or get DWIs and get suspensions for performance enhancing drugs. Politicians will always lie and neglect upholding the promises they made hollowly while running for office. Celebrities will be troubled and seek solutions for their inner confusion just like the rest of us do who don’t live around cameras. Other men, no matter who they are, will always fail us. But let’s keep showing our sons and the men-to-be of our communities how Jesus was the real way to live like a man!

Let’s focus on being the change we want to see in the world, but more importantly, being the messengers the world needs to see Jesus.

When Jesus is the superhero we most look up to, the tears about Thor’s sex change can be dried more quickly. When things like that happen, it can feel like Jesus is the last real role model standing.

The truth is, he was the first. And he is the only one that counts. 

Redirection

Sometimes we need to simplify in life. I was inspired by a dear friend and fellow blogger to reconstruct my original blog, eliminate an additional one I'd created just for spiritual topics, and begin anew. 

Going forward there is no more "Jeff's Leadership Journey" blog, and, separately, "Reflections From the Fire" blog. At this stage, I'm recalling once again that everything I am, everything I stand for, and everything I think about and talk about falls under the umbrella of my God-given mission and purpose in life. 

My mission is gradually unfolding before me. I used to regard it as something as simple as "following the Great Commission" (for those of you not from lifelong Christian backgrounds, that refers to Matthew 28:19-20...go look it up!). I used to swear by what my dad always said when I was a young boy: "We're pretty much here for two things - To come to faith ourselves, and to help others do the same." Not that such a perspective was ever misguided or wrong for me. It's just that I've learned over the past few years to appreciate the complexity of life's journey, and the abundance of opportunities that lie waiting out there, for how, where, with whom, and for what one can live their life. 

In other words, I'm seeking to constantly diversify my understanding of my mission in life. I will always have as my overarching mission and core goal the desire to fulfill said "Great Commission." However, along the way, I feel that God has placed some other desires within me that are unique, subtler nuances of what will take place as I leave my mark on the world.

Want to know what I'm getting at with all that enigmatic talk? Well, feel free to continue following along with my posts, or retrace my steps therein if you're here for the first time, and discover it for yourself. Maybe my meanderings will shed light on the path you've been needing to see for yourself, too. 

Henceforth, my blog will speak of many topics, but it will all circle back around to the theme of the beautiful unfolding of what God is doing in my life. Really, I'm not the main character in my story anyway. Jesus Christ is. What he did for mankind, and what He is all about still to this day, is on center stage. The rest of it is details. Some intriguing, some painful, some mystifying, some dark and foreboding, some sorrowful, some hilarious or uplifting, and some sublime...but really just details. 

Enjoy the ride. Not even I know what's coming next. 

Clearly.