The One-Sentence-Stand

"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name."           Exodus 20:7

I don’t want to be one of those bloggers whose published thoughts are always ones of tirade, ranting, or admonition. I aspire to be a writer, and an individual, who keeps growing in his propensity towards speaking in positives, with uplifting ideas or messages, and in encouragement. I’m learning the timeless lesson, slowly but surely, that no matter how many things exist that can technically be criticized, there’s no shortage of condemnation, so why should I add to the pile of negative?

But sometimes, a Christian’s conscience is led by the Spirit to stand up for God and his Word. And that’s what I’m doing right now. Read the passage above again if you need to, to remember that this isn’t my platitude I’m making up.

And, before I go further, if you’re a non-Christian reading this post, I respect that and don’t expect you to hold yourself to standards a Christian like me advocates just for morality’s sake or anything. If you adopt this mantra, great! But I’m talking to my brothers and sisters who share my faith in Jesus Christ right now. And, by the way, I’m doing so under the acknowledgement that we have all fallen short in this regard before, in word or thought, perhaps many times over.

But let’s talk about a simple, three-letter acronym that’s becoming alarmingly common in typed usage or imagery in our society, from all parties. The three words it actually stands for are used – and abused – just as regularly out loud, without much thought whatsoever.

I’m talking about

“O  M  G”

Some of us don’t use the acronym anywhere, at any time, nor does the expression come out of the mouth, unless in actual, fervent prayer (where it belongs). For others of us, this is something that’s a rare slip of the tongue, something born of habit and influenced by the speech patterns of a society that really shows no regard for tastefulness or reverence anymore. For many of us, though, this is a common violation.

“Violation?”

Yup. That’s an abrasive word, I know. But – and again, I’m speaking to those whom I should be able to hold accountable, as I pray you do with me, my fellow Jesus-followers – if we go against what God has commanded us to do in our behavior, who of us can soften the blow of that verdict? It’s sin. It’s a rupturing of the 2^nd commandment, in this case. It’s violation. God handed down ten mandates through Moses, long ago, for his people to learn to show love towards each other, and, first and foremost, to their God, who was so mighty and awe-inspiring in bringing them out of slavery in Egypt. Nothing has changed in those few thousand years, about what God expects of the behavior of his people who are His Chosen through faith. So, yeah, it’s harsh to call it like it is, but it has to be done.

The OMGs must stop, folks.

I mean, really… This pops up everywhere. It feels to me like I read it in every third post on Facebook each day (i.e. “OMG, this recipe for these kale smoothies is to die for!”). I’m pretty picky about who I keep in my Facebook circles, and whose posts I allow to be seen, and still it’s rampant. It shows up in common conversation among adults, too, and especially when it happens around my 3 and 5 year old sons, my ears burn just a little, because I know how impressionable they are at that age. There’s only so much censoring of what I don’t agree with that can be done.

This is something God called us to keep sacred, and it’s something we deserve to be called out on when we slip up.

When you get down to it, whether we’ve been unwittingly trained into it by the influence of the world around us or not, misusing God’s name is really just uncalled for, when you recall who God is. His name is a name above all names. Even though others may mean Allah when they say God, or some other deity, or just a vague higher power who remains without much true identity in their mind, when a Christian says the name “God,” we are invoking the Almighty, triune God, who created this universe, who sent his dearly loved son to a horrible death on a cross for OUR salvation, and who gives us his Spirit of truth and enlightenment, to live above the ways of the world.

I think we just flat out forget who God is when the “OMGs” fly.

Would we utter that expression if we knew God was physically right around the corner, right in the next cubicle, right behind us in the movie theater, right in the next room while we watch a football game??

I doubt it.

Oh, and by the way…he is (physically right there).

Brothers and sisters, we are to be the light of the world…Something blindingly beautiful and noble for the darkened world to see. We are to be the salt, a presence that gives God-pleasing flavor to humanity. 

"Let your conversation always be full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."   - Colossians 4:6

I just want to encourage everyone to join me in resolving to keep this commandment better. We can do better, we really can. And not because we want a better, shinier church-people report card. Not because it’ll get us in good with God and usher us a little closer to the front of some line into heaven. Not even so much because it’ll be strikingly different and pure compared to the speech of those “in the world.” Let’s do it because God is awesome, and his name deserves to be protected. Let’s protect it from carelessness and abuse. Let’s keep it special, reserving it just for those spiritually meaningful moments of prayer.

In fact, let’s treat God’s name, even in acronym format, just like we would our very selves, when holding back, waiting, biding our time in intimacy for that special time after marriage when the union brings man and wife together in one flesh. We wait for that special completer, the spouse-to-be, the love of our lives, until the wedding night, and then revel in the delicacy and novelty of that time. It’s special because we waited, and reserved, and abstained, for the right occasion. Let’s do the same with God’s holy name.

It’s so tough, I know… It feels like an impossible mission to take back words we’ve spoken, or to change them going forward. But Christ has forgiven our sins of careless speech and irreverent use of his name, and with the power we have through God, we CAN change our habits, one day at a time.

No more one-sentence-stands with God’s name. No more one-Facebook-status-stands with the name of our Creator, deliverer, and best and truest friend.

Let’s save that holy, awesome, worthy-above-all-other-names name – GOD – for the right moments.

Prayer and praise, that’s it.

Let’s make it special.

Let’s show our God how much he and his identity mean to us. 

Line in the Sand

"It's been ten years strong,

        That's much too long,

                It's time to do something good for my health,

                      Time to do something good for myself..."

                                                  ("Bug Eyes" by Dredg)

Within the past couple years I've been applying (or trying to) a powerful principle:

           "Never leave the scene of a decision without taking an action step in its direction."

A line has been drawn in the sand of my life. There's no movie-like experience, no surreal epiphany, no trauma that's occurred that's causing this line to be drawn. No, it's just a plain ol' decision. A "for crying out loud, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH" decision. A life decision. And I'm letting the world know about it. This way, I'm accountable to you all. I've spoken it into existence, and as of today it becomes a part of the Jeff Ulrich that's publicly known. 

In senior year of high school I weighed 225 lbs. At that weight I bench pressed 250 lbs., I could squat 400 lbs., and ran a 4.8 40-yard dash - I was about the 3rd fastest on our varsity football team by my recollection. (The picture above was me at 20, 2 years removed from senior year, but in roughly the same shape)

In these years since, I've gradually become someone, physically, that I certainly shouldn't be at only 31, as a father of two young boys, and as a husband to a beautiful woman. It's time to put to an end this pitiful slide that has seen me ride the excuses of a busy grown-up's life like a rented mule. Tonight, that mule is being taken out back and given the shotgun treatment, cuz it needs to be put out of its misery. 

I'm tired of self-deprecating jokes. I'm tired of using the lines like "Hey, I'm in shape - round is a shape," or "I've got a six-pack under my keg," etc around other out-of-shape guys. I'm tired of being a prisoner to the reality that I let years of raising children, holding down stressful jobs, not always having money for the healthiest foods, or being "too busy" to work out, rob me of being in the kind of fitness I owe to myself. 

I'm done with hating what I see in the mirror. I'm done with not wanting my picture taken. I'm done with aches and pains that can be passed off onto other sources but that also have to do with being overweight. I'm done with never having the energy to tackle life's challenges, AND my continually buried ambitions, with the vigor that I want. I'm done with feeling like picking clothes to wear is a choice between evils. I'm done with lying to myself that when my blood pressure, heart rate, and cholesterol are always just fine at doctor visits that it means I'm "healthy." I'm done with the discontent, the lack of self-confidence, the bitterness, and the sloth...and knowing that it's all my fault. 

So here is the line in the sand. It starts here and now, once and for all. This is a mission that is NOT impossible. With my God Almighty behind me, I will not and cannot fail. 

My action step is this:

Between today and April 26th, 2015 I will be training for a 5K run in Milwaukee. It's called Sweet Home Milwaukee 5K, and its open for registration. Here's the link:

sweethomemilwaukee.weebly.com

For some of you out there this would be a joke. My own father, for example, runs this distance multiple times every week. It's a part of the habits he's maintained all his life. That is not my story though. For me, it'll mean a revolution of fitness in MY life. It'll mean pushing through plantar fasciitis and low back pain whenever I walk for more than a half mile. It'll mean getting my knees used to the feel of jogging, and getting my lungs used to running for long periods of time. It'll mean getting used to running 3.2 miles (5K) often enough that, come 4-25-15, I'll be able to PUSH myself to clock a great time on Race Day. 

This will be a huge, personal victory that I've been needing to go get for myself for a long time. And the intention is, it'll be a springboard to a consistently healthier future than what I've allowed myself in the past out of cowardice. 

By the way, I'm officially inviting anyone who reads this to join me that day, no matter where you are, to come out to Milwaukee and run the lakefront and enjoy the push. I can only imagine how cool it would be for me to culminate this long winter of training by seeing friends from everywhere gather - if you could - to support me and also do yourself the favor of making the run. Maybe some of you need to do something like this for YOURself too. A couple of you will be getting calls of personal request to run this with me, since I'll really hope for accountability partners in this journey. 

I am simultaneously filled with a jaw-clenched determination...and fear. I have so long to go....but I must. I've tried to start before and quit....but I can't this time. I've lived with a lot of lies about how important fitness is.....but those lies must be replaced with a new truth. I'm going to get weary, and feel like I don't have the support to make it...but I owe this to myself, to my kids, to my wife, and to everyone else in my life who'll gain from having a healthier Jeff around. 

This is a battle that's a long time coming. I'm putting on my mental armor and bracing for the fight with myself. I need you all to help me though, too. I would appreciate all the prayers and encouragement you're all willing to dish out. Thank you.

Right now a stern Bible passage that I've chosen to not apply more closely in my life is very much on my mind:

"You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies." 

           - 1 Corinthians 6:19b-20

I will do this for my own sake. Yep. And I will do this to ensure I'm around and healthy for my family's sake. Indeed. But most of all..........I will do this to honor my God. I will do this to make a thanksgiving sacrifice that shows my Savior that I appreciate from deep down in my ferocious, courageous, capable male heart that he saved me and punched my ticket for heaven, and gave me this body to be the vessel for the good works he drew out for me from eternity past. 

Now....It's time for me to start kicking my own butt. 

Giddyup. 

More Than Holding Doors

Now I'm just guessing that whoever made this up (I haven't researched it enough to know if it's a meme - whatever that is, a poster, a book cover, or what...and I don't care enough to), as well as my friend who posted it on Facebook today, is just doing it all in good fun. But it made me stop to think about the chauvinism it represents in light of the fact that this still is an issue at large in our society. 

I was reminded of that fact again recently within my own church circles when a woman who regularly attends our church spoke of her continued hesitation to fully join the church in membership because of her discomfort with the practice of asking women members not to vote in church assemblies. In her defense, her life's circumstances have given her little reason to feel like men have always been a solid example of leadership and sacrifice, so the idea of "submitting" to their authority - in church matters or otherwise - is hard to stomach. 

The mention of this word "submit" is always a can-of-worms-opener, and often results in some diatribe about how women need to just learn better to understand the true denotation of the word ("My dear sister in the Lord, if you read this in the original Greek text, you find that this word really means....blah blah blah..."). At least that's happened in my experience, and I've probably even been the one to try and do the educating on it myself, what with my background in pastoral studies. But that's not what I'm going to divulge here. 

The way I see it, women wouldn't have to go through any special Bible class and get a full dissertation on what Christian submission among women/wives should truly look like, if only they had a predominant presence of examples of men living in their true roles all around them - - especially in the church and in God-fearing homes, where it should abound. 

And so, switching gears, what is this true role of men?

That's it: SACRIFICE.

All of the debate and discussion about men's and women's roles or the gender differences - especially within church circles - always seems to end up revolving around the wife's submission that Christ had St. Paul write about and instruct on in the Epistles of the Bible. Why is this? Why is one half of the equation so lopsidedly spoken of?

Probably because men aren't stepping up. 

It's not hard for me to make that statement and say it boldly and simply, because I'm a member of the guilty party, and I've observed men's behavior all my life. When the summation of the behavioral tendencies of men is viewed through the lens of the Word of God, which exposes sin for what it is, and also provides direction for how we're to live instead, we can see this plain as day. Men aren't sacrificing enough. 

If men begin to overwhelmingly give women everywhere the evidence of their love and devotion through true sacrifice, in everyday life, women's hearts will begin to find the reason to soften enough to positively view submitting - in God's way - and have no issue with it anymore. 

I won't post it here - you can look it up yourself and let the words speak to you for a moment by yourself - but Ephesians 5:21-33 paints a picture that puts quite the onus on the men. Everything that God set up in the church, in society, and in the home, is really meant to be a model or reflection of God's relationship with mankind. The summary of that relationship, of course, is the ever-popular John 3:16:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, so that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life."

This passage is about a love of sacrifice. God's love for fallen man was so fierce that he made the heart-wrenching decision to commission his son, Jesus, to come down to Earth where he could live in our place, and ultimately die in sacrifice on the cross, to make atonement for all sins of everyone of all time. This made it possible for us to have a heavenly eternal destiny at God's side when life ends, rather than suffer separation from the God who loves us because of our horrible sins. 

This, friends, THIS is what men are supposed to model. This is about more than holding doors. This is about more than remembering anniversaries, birthdays, and flowers and chocolates on Valentine's. It's about more than poetry, candle-lit dinners, naming stars after her, buying jewelry, and so on. 

For those of us who've had a Wedding Day, in that moment when vows were read/recited, and the words came from smiling mouths as our eyes were locked and we stood in front of God and witnesses, talking about steadfastness in sickness and health, sturdiness in poverty and wealth, fidelity at all times, and unconditional love, didn't a part of us valiantly recall those times in adolescence or dating when we thought about loving someone (perhaps her) so much that we'd die for her?

Enough about dying for the girl. That's one moment of courage. In fact, for most red-blooded decent men, that's an almost instinctive thing that we have ingrained into us, by a God who designed us to be protectors, and by a society that has always lauded machismo and valor. That - the dying for her....that's nothing.

Women will embrace their role that God made for them - i.e. to submit by following our lead, letting us speak for them in important matters, letting us be the main teachers of God's Word to our household, etc. as soon as they start to see that men are LIVING - really living - for their wives. 

But why do we stink at this so much, guys? I think of myself and what I've done to fail at being the man and husband and leader that my wife has always needed and deserved, and it makes me feel like a hypocrite for even typing this. I think of how easy it was to try and sweep her off her feet, woo her and win her heart, serve her and be thoughtful for her, when our relationship was young. But we settle in for the long haul after a while. We become comfortable with an arrangement. We fool ourselves into thinking it was all about persuading her into a contract, or selling her on the product of us and our love, and then, once the ink on the paper is dry - why bother? That's what our sinful hearts begin to believe later on. 

But when we're numbly going along, acting that way, showing little sacrificial love to our women, we are in essence forgetting Christ's sacrifice for us. I so quickly and so often forget the raging vibrancy of the love that compelled Jesus to do everything he did, say everything he said, live every day as he did, and allow himself to be killed in crucifixion by hateful enemies, so that I could go free. If only I wouldn't forget... Cuz when I remember this model, my joy and thankfulness bursts into a flame of passionate and courageous desire to live for my wife and lay down whatever of mine must be lain down, so that she can be loved. 

Respect is something to be earned, it's not based on titles. No woman reading this should ever believe the lie that she should respect and submit herself to a man - namely her husband - because HE says so. Yes, God asks you to, and that's a directive worth obeying. But as far as men are concerned, the respect of women should be earned through our leading by example in the Lord's way. 

More to the point of the woman connected with my church: Guys, we can do wonders to inspire the women that God asks to follow us in church applications if we employ this same Christian chivalry and sacrifice within our church interactions. God has handed down the huge responsibility to lead and navigate our churches, and homes, through the perilous seas of life and the mission of serving others with our life's work. Let's make the load of submission as light as a feather by laying ourselves down for the ladies, just as Christ did in his unfathomable love for those he bought back from sin.

To my own wife, if you read this:

I'm deeply sorry for a history of entitlement with you, for lack of true loyalty, for conditions in my love, for being easier to be around only when things are going well, and for dropping the ball on leading with vigor in our home and in society. Forgive me, sweetheart, for losing my God-based identity and being selfish. But you somehow have consistently held a high standard for yourself in living within God's role for you, serving in our home, guiding and nurturing our children, and respecting me and my flawed attempts to lead. I WOULD die for you, dear...I only want to do better to live sacrificially for you every day. Thank you from the depths of my heart, for your shining example to all women, and for your gracious submission to me as I try to die for you every day. With God's help and strength, becoming the man of God that you deserve - a sacrificing leader - is a mission that's definitely possible!

God bless you all....

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.