Vexed, not beaten.

"1 Let not your heart be troubled, believe in God, believe also in me...26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."  John 14.1,26-28 

Words of comfort in a time that was filled with uncertainty and fear.  Jesus is leaving.  Life has taken a left turn and the Disciples are fragile, distraught slipping into despair or worse.  

Jesus comforts them; He reminds his followers who God is, who He is and what they must do to thrive in an environment of great hostility toward people on the Way and their message of deliverance and hope.  He blesses them with assurance and tells them a Helper will come.

We too live in a turbulent time!  The axioms that life, civilization, have been built on are being torn down, "stone by stone."  We have been adrift; now we are swept down a torrent no one can control.  This is vexing.  

Some years ago I was asked about a passing comment I'd made in reference to the Tower of Babel; the inquisitor wanted me to expand on the comment.

Over the years I've always attempted to find "dynamic equivalents" in the culture around me to help people understand a deeper principle from the Scriptures. The Tower of course was the penultimate expression of hubris on the part of humankind; our effort to shake a collective fist at God and say "See, you aren't so transcendent after all." Foolish pride led to an inflated opinion of who we were; God breathed, language changed and chaos ensued. We discovered we were no match for the transcendent God.

Fast forward to modern culture: God, in his grace, has allowed mankind to apply his intellect and ingenuity, these also graciously granted by God, to "discover" thousands of things that insulate us from the ill-effects of the fall: drugs, asphalt, steel, plastic, roads, air conditioning, engines, automation--the list is endless. We in turn, tainted by sin and swelled with pride, believeing ourselves to be wise "shake our fists" at God and say, "You see, the Scriptures are myth; there was a big-bang and then there was mankind and look at how we have evolved...we have the power to give and take life. We don't need myths to prop us up anymore. We are God." 

In reality, everything we touch we corrupt. Look at what we call our "system of Justice." We condition the air at the same time we poison it with hydro-carbons. We pollute the planet, poison our bodies, can't beat cancer or aids and when/if we do, something else always emerges. Regardless of how effective we are at blunting the effect of sin on life and the planet, sin always trumps our best efforts...and God allows it, to point us to our need for a Savior and His gracious provision for our redemption.

The farther evolved civilization becomes the further it devolves into moral and spiritual chaos--abortion, failed economies, addiction, violence, corrupt governments, greed, broken relationships, idolotry, shaminism, social injustice. Think about it, in 1965 LBJ gave us the Great Society. These unfunded mandates have done nothing to enlighten culture and end poverty--but they have driven us to edge of bankruptcy and destroyed families while perpetrating genocide on the poorest of the poor. The smarter we get, the dumber we are. We can run from God, but we can't hide.

So then, civilization as we have fashioned it, has become mankind's' most recent Tower of Babel; the work of "our hands" which demonstrates our independence, our ability to "get it done without God." We set out to be like God, and in a final irony, we create the very modality that could be the end of life as we know it. We can destroy it, but we can't fix it..."and all the king's horses, and all the king's men, couldn't put humpty-dumpty back together again." 

The lie that deceived Eve, continues to vex us; but we aren't beaten. THIS TRUTH has set us free...

"When we were utterly helpless...God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." Romans 5.6a,8

Stand-firm.  We will see the victory.  Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Liveitwell!

Beautiful music.

These are difficult days...yet not unlike the climate-of-culture in the first Century before the ascendance of the Gospel.  

As the Scriptures predicted, culture has again devolved to a post-christian paganism where pre-born children are targets of infanticide, gender is a mythic construct, love is whatever we declare it to be and values are defined by those who wield the most persistent, cynical and compelling narrative.

Yet this remains: People on the Way have been given a mandate to declare this Truth, "For God so loved the world He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish, but have eternal life." John 3.16

It seems, too often, that some within the Faith Community would be content to simply shout it from the rooftops with conviction, yet absent compassion. This loveless approach FEELS like these zealots are bent on brandishing the sword of truth to "cut others down to size" in the name of fidelity to the Gospel--the good news.  According to these, to do otherwise amounts to a compromise of Truth...indeed it is to preach "another gospel."  What tragic irony.  This amounts to a christianized version of Jihad. 

One need not compromise the message to deliver it in a fashion that communicates truth, urgency, conviction, exclusivity in its truth claims--in a context of grace, love, mercy and civility. The Gospel is inclusive AND EXCLUSIVE at the same time--God's Word is unique and powerful in this way.

He has called us to proclaim the Gospel in a context of suffering; to live our lives based on the Truth of God's Word-- IN the world but not OF the world--that His Will might be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Peter touches on this in his second letter, vv.14-16...

"14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame."  ESV

We NEVER compromise Truth. We NEVER accommodate culture. We NEVER embrace human wisdom as a lens through which we selectively apply God's Word. This praxis will certainly lead, has led, to suffering, persecution and aggressive steps to marginalize us and God's Message. That said, WE ALWAYS deliver that message with gentleness and respect born from our life-altering encounter with God's grace and mercy.  

When God's people, empowered by God's Spirit, in submission to God's Son, live transformed lives...it is breathtakingly beautiful and powerful at the same time; beautiful music that the Holy Spirit uses to impel people to effective faith "...Jesus is Lord and God raised Him from the dead." Romans 10.5-13

Life is fast. Play on.

Liveitwell!

Flesh it out.

The so-called culture-war strides forward--taking America by storm. But nothing has changed. Nothing.

As believers we have been "gifted" to add value to the lives of people, with an eye toward making disciples. We've been called to love people--the best and the worst--with a love that looks past what they are and sees WHOSE they are.

Whether or not they come to effective-faith in Christ is not my responsibility, this is the work of God. He uses me (it's not a head thing, it's a heart thing) when I selflessly serve people in a way that adds value to their lives, I reflect Christ--no, I flesh-out Christ--and they wonder, "Why, what's in this for you?" This testimony is powerful becasue the reality of Christ in me, has manifested itself in an "incarnational" way; they have seen Christ through me. That reflected image is intense and compelling. God uses this kind of "vision" to transform hearts, minds and lives.

This needs to inform our outreach effort, the way we see people, the way we see their sin. When our efforts at outreach do not wholistically address the felt-needs of people and work toward their spiritual need (it's not either/or, it's both/and) we diminish the Gospel at best, and erect substantial barriers to effective-faith for people without hope.

This is especially relevant given the the world we live in today. God does not need us to defend Godly values. They stand on their own. What He desires from us is to love "the lost sheep, the lost coin" the Way He does. He isn't finished yet, Matthew 25.34-40 makes this point very clear...

"34 Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’"

Believing friends, the Word is still becoming flesh--through us.

Life is fast. Flesh it out.




Do.Love.Walk
Liveitwell!