Month: September 2021

My last post was regarding the National Day of Prayer. There are innumerable articles on the history of this day and how it has reached its present position on our federal calendar, so I thought it would be a good exercise to read some of those and brush up on my history a bit. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of reading some of the comments people left after the articles. Here is my conclusion. It is okay to read good spiritual articles, but if we want our blood pressure to stay stable, we should avoid the rants that come after the articles. Finding meaningful, enlightening, and mature interchanges on the internet is more than a challenge, it is nearly impossible.

Christians should pray everyday but not fall prey to hateful comments following legitimate articles on spiritual matters. By now we should realize there are certain people out there that surf the web for Christian blogs and articles, just so they can post hateful and often crude comments. In fact, they purposely look for spiritual articles so they can demonstrate their uncanny command of profanity. Unfortunately, “Christian” responses are often just as grating. I cringe when read some of the emotional negativity that is exchanged between believers and non-believers in the comment sections around the net.  Sadly, it is often hard to tell them apart.  I seldom read the comments after an article or video any more because the comments never change- the articles do, but the comments don’t.

I have often heard (and even said) that we cannot argue someone into heaven. I have also often heard (and even said) that we cannot love someone into heaven. So what can we do to reach the multitudes that look at Christianity as superstition and fantasy? Well, I know there are a couple of things that have not worked and will not work. We cannot name call or bully someone into a relationship with God. If that were the case, everyone would be turning to Allah right about now. No, I have concluded that people who hate god are not too fond of Christians either, so berating non-believers, talking down to them, and trying to out-name-call them is useless. It gives them the fodder they need to continue the feelings they already have. There has to be a better way.

Years ago I heard a story of a little boy who was complaining that his brother was making faces at him. The father asked him how he knew that because his brother was in his own room. “I am looking through the keyhole,” the little boy replied. Often that little boy is us. We look through the keyhole at comments that we know are going to be hateful, we get frustrated, we say things we shouldn’t, in ways we wish we hadn’t, and then these comments live forever, floating around in cyberspace. I have come across comments that are twenty years old on some sites. Is it possible that these people have changed a bit in a couple of decades? Many comments are like bad photos from the past which pop up embarrassingly every few months, haunting the photoed and reminding them that a mistake is never forgotten in the cyber world.

So how should we react to those who ridicule God and even those who supposedly support Him but in unacceptable ways? First of all, we need to come to the realization that God wants all to come to a saving knowledge of Him. First Timothy 2:4 says that God “…desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Yes, God even wants to save that angry blogger who just called you a “superstitious fool with the brains of a child and the sense of a mule.” I have read with amusement as someone tries to get the upper hand on some of these atheist snipers. It is useless. They are very, very seldom receptive to any words from the Word. God tells us the problem in Proverbs, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7) Trying to argue most people out of their long-held beliefs is almost as futile as an Amish man trying to talk gang members into dropping their weapons. It might happen, but only by the power of the Holy Spirit, not by the power of words.

We believe what we believe, not because we were forced there, but because the Holy Spirit revealed a void then offered to fill it. CS Lewis had it right when he said, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun his risen: not only because I see it, but by it I see everything else.” Once we have Christ, we often have a hard time understanding why others are so stubborn (as though we have never been stubborn). We hang on to the far-fetched idea that if we can demolish the opponent with arguments, maybe a few well-placed zingers, and a humbling phrase or two and they will roll over in the fetal position and ask to know how they can know Jesus. That isn’t going to happen.

Will responding to hate with hate change Andy the Atheist to Samuel the Saint? I doubt it. Don’t get me wrong. Peter tells us to “…honor the Messiah as Lord in (our) hearts. Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks (us) for a reason for the hope that is in (us).” (1 Peter 3:15) But there are ways to give a defense and ways not to. There is a great scene from one of my favorite movies, Sandlot, where two groups of boys are standing around exchanging insults. The insults don’t bring about a conclusion, they still have to play a ball game to settle things. In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony and Brutus meet on the battlefield to throw barbs back and forth (similar to the exchange in Sandlot), but they settle nothing and still meet on the battlefield to “work things out.” That is the thing about insults. They tend to be insulting. Thus, they seldom are effective.

I once saw a cartoon that showed a man on horseback holding a large shield with a cross on it. He had his lance at the throat of a man lying flat on his back on the ground. The man on the ground was saying, “Okay, let’s talk about this god of yours.” I have a hard time believing that spiritual decisions made at the tip of a spear are usually heartfelt.

Awhile back I read a young reader book about the end times that is pretty interesting. It is entitled “Scars” and many people in the book are forced to choose between denouncing Christ or facing death. It is fiction, but unfortunately that same decision is being faced by hundreds everyday across our globe. Not that long ago 21 Christians were beheaded for their faith. A witness to the event said that each of them declared, “Jesus is Lord,” before the blade did its job. Faith cannot be coerced.  It is either real or it is not.

When we celebrate the National Day of Prayer it gives us the key to changing hearts. We need to pray! Our only chance to really change someone is the same way we were changed. Someone interceded for us. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12 that, “…we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” These kinds of opponents aren’t dissuaded with insults. So the next time we are reading a blog by a basher or an assault from an attacker maybe we should ask if we have a reasoned response that might really make him think. Instead of putting pen to paper with pathetic pejoratives, we should prayerfully petition for the person’s position in Christ. (Wow, alliteration gone wild). In other words, our words to “him on our behalf” will probably have less power than our words to “Him on his behalf.”

Recently I heard an apologist say that his desire is not to change someone (only the Holy Spirit can do that), but to put a stone in his shoe.  We should present the Lord in such a way that others will be reminded of Him as they go through their day.  I like that analogy.  If we put an interest of God in someone’s mind (and don’t chase him away with harsh words), they will be “bugged” by those truths.  Hopefully, they will want to investigate “the Solid Rock” someday.

A nation observing prayer is good, but observing prayer every day is better. We can do so much more for the people around us, our country, and this world with prayer than with any other efforts. Arguing is fruitless, debate is okay, but prayer is the only thing that can really change others. So often when people argue and someone does get a last word in, it is really the first part of a new argument. It is a never-ending cycle of give and take that has a lot more take than give.

So the next time we feel inclined to bury a bully under a barrage of insults, we should instead intervene for him in prayer. Exodus 23:5 says, “If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.” When we see someone full of hate and disregard for others, the only thing that can change him is prayer. The above verse is basically saying that if someone has burdens in his life, we are to help him. It is not helping to pile more burdens on him.

We need to remember Jesus’ words in Matthew, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.“ (Matthew 11:30). Our prayers to lessen another’s burdens will go much farther than standing toe-to-toe and exchanging insults. Insulting exchanges make for good stories and plays, but are not very effective for moving someone from death into life. We should save our arguing for something far less important than eternal life. Vitriol will never lead to victory.

Psalm 37:7 “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices.”

We have all heard the saying, “Give me patience, Lord, and please hurry.” Waiting without worrying is a difficult task for most of us. We tap our feet waiting for God to work and though we ask that His will be done, we also would like His will to be in our time frame. But God has surrounded us with a world that can’t be rushed, as an example of how we should live. Trees grow at their pace, the tides are predictable almost to the minute, the sun rises with the accuracy of a timepiece, and nothing we can do will radically change the processes of nature. God seems to be the great scheduler and the world around us is a constant reminder of that.

In Ecclesiastes 3 we read that “For everything there is an appointed time, and an appropriate time for every activity on earth: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot what was planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to search, and a time to give something up as lost; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; A time to rip, and a time to sew; a time to keep silent, and a time to speak. A time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) God is the great timekeeper. He knows the best times. He has built a world that demands our patience. The farmer should not force the fields, anymore than we should force God to work in our lives before the time is right.

There was once a little girl who tried to help a butterfly out by opening up its cocoon. When the butterfly died, the girl’s father explained that the butterfly actually needed the struggle of leaving the cocoon to prepare it for its life journey ahead. The butterfly died because of the girl’s good intentions. It was not yet strong enough to leave its “womb,” and had been forced into the world too soon. We sometimes wish that God would jump in and give us what we want as soon as we want it. Sadly, that would often leave us unprepared to take on what lies ahead.

I sometimes have students who don’t want to wait long enough to put a second coat of varnish on their projects. They will put the second coat on before the first coat has completely dried. It causes all kinds of problems. Their impatience leads to long sanding sessions and two or three extra coats of varnish. In an attempt to finish things quickly, they actually add two or more days to the project. Of course, they usually only do that once!

We often do the same thing with our lives. We desire the end product before it is ready. My mom used to keep a toothpick with her when she baked. She would open up the stove and stick that toothpick in to check the progress of the cake. She understood the need to wait. If it would have been me, I probably would have been pulling the cake out when it could still be poured! I wanted that cake sooner than it was ready. God keeps a toothpick handy and we don’t. He waits until things are ready, but we won’t.

An old friend of ours, Mildred Bilderback, had a cute saying that she pulled out once in awhile when someone showed impatience. “If we try to fix a fix that God has fixed to fix us, He will have to fix another fix to fix us.” This little tongue-twister has a good message. God knows what lies ahead and wants us to be prepared for it. If we try to shortcut around His path, we will eventually have to get back on His path again and all we will have done is taken the long way around.

Lack of patience can keep us from doing God’s work. Some of the greatest missionaries of history devotedly spread the seed of God’s Word and yet had to wait long periods before seeing the fruit of their efforts. William Carey, for example, labored 7 years before the first Hindu convert was brought to Christ in Burma, and Adoniram Judson toiled 7 years before his faithful preaching was rewarded. In western Africa, it was 14 years before one convert was received into the Christian church. In New Zealand, it took 9 years; and in Tahiti, it was 16 years before the first harvest of souls began. Had these missionaries given up because of impatience, the thousands who eventually came to know Jesus through their ministries may have never become a part of the Body of Christ.

I once heard a story of a mother who was shopping with a crying, demanding three-year-old in the cart. The mother would say, “There are only three more rows, Ellen, and we will be leaving.” The child would demand something else in a loud voice and the mother would softly say, “Only a few more things, Ellen, and we will be checking out.” The girl continued her crying in the checkout line, and the mother said quietly, “We will be in the parking lot in just a minute, Ellen.”

A man happened to hear the whole thing and saw the mother in the parking lot while he was leaving. “I couldn’t help noticing how patient you were with little Ellen in the store,” he said, smiling at the mother.

“Oh, my daughter’s name is Tammy. My name is Ellen.”

Sometimes we need to patiently remind ourselves that the world does not always move at our desired pace. We are told in Thessalonians to “… admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.” (1Thessalonians 5:14) God asks us to be patient with people and patient with situations and especially patient with His work in our lives. We can do that if we truly believe that He loves us, He is in control, and He desires the best for us. We live in a world of turmoil around us, it is important that we live lives that have peace within us. We cannot change the world; we can only change ourselves. That power cannot come from us; it can only come from God.

I was sitting at a red light the other day and in front of me was a huge sixteen wheeler and another car. The light turned green, but the truck did not move. The car in front of me started honking (as you know, the only thing faster than the rapture is the honk of the car behind you when the light turns green), and after a few seconds a motorized wheelchair came creeping out from in front of the truck. It was barely moving and apparently did not have time to get across before the light turned. I had to think how foolish the man in front of me felt when the wheelchair finally pulled onto the sidewalk and we started moving. How much are we like that man, though. God can see something that we can’t see and here we are honking our horns of impatience.

“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus.” (Romans 15:4-5) May the comfort of the Word and the presence of God give us patience today. Like my mom used to say, “You need to trust my toothpick more than your eyes.” Remember God is carrying the toothpick and we will surely reap the rewards- in due time.

“And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.” Genesis 42:8

“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” 2 Corinthians 4:4

One of my favorite men from the Bible is Joseph. His years with his brothers, their rejection of him, his ascent to the throne, and his eventual forgiveness of his brothers is a wonderful story that closely parallels Christ’s time on the earth. When Joseph became ruler over Egypt, his name was changed, and his identity and appearance was so altered that when his ten brothers arrived in Egypt they had no idea that the prime minister sitting before them was the same brother that they had abandoned in the desert years earlier.

Joseph’s rejection and forgiving heart to those who hurt him would be revisited again centuries later in the person of Christ. Like Joseph the rejection of Jesus resulted in His becoming a savior to a world in need. Joseph met the physical needs of a dying world and Christ met the spiritual needs of a dying world. Christ was so different from the king that the people expected that he became virtually unrecognizable to His own people. Just like Joseph’s brothers who stood before Joseph without recognizing him, Christ stood before his “family” and they knew him not.

In 2007 journalist Gene Weingarten wrote a story that won him a Pulitzer Prize.  On January 12 of that year he went to the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station and chronicled what he saw there.  A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin and played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Few slowed as they passed by and fewer tossed in a tip as they walked by.  In fact, children were the only ones who tried to stop and listen, but they were all summarily dragged away by their parents who were hurrying off to their destinations.  In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell had played to a sold out crowd in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each. Weingarten reported that the violinist himself, usually accustomed to the highest of praise and applause for his efforts, admitted that this little social experiment, to which he readily agreed, was not all together comfortable for him.

This is an example of how easy it is to overlook greatness when it appears in an unexpected place. Jesus was born in an indescript village, in an inglorious way, to seemingly unqualified parents. Who would look for greatness in such a situation. Joseph, the outcast brother, was sitting on a throne, overseeing a kingdom, saving a nation.  These stories were not too dissimilar to the story of Joshua Bell that was not recognized as a maestro because his setting was unusual. Hundreds were blind to his greatness because their daily activities overshadowed what he had to offer.

Many pass by Jesus without recognizing what he has to offer because they are hurrying through their lives, caught up in the hecticness of it all.  It is not much different that the prophecies that spoke of his coming reception by the prophet Isaiah.  “Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isaiah 53:1-3).

Today we are surrounded by those who do not recognize Jesus. Jesus, like Joseph, has the keys to the future. Joseph would provide bread to his brothers during a famine and Christ can be the bread of life to those who are in spiritual famine. Jesus, like Joseph, sits ready to forgive, to extend mercy and accept those who have previously rejected Him. Jesus and Joseph both desired mercy over justice, both were willing to give the good things that are not deserved to those who do not deserve them. Both Jesus and Joseph found themselves in a position to turn their backs on those who had hurt them, but instead both reached out to meet the needs of their “enemies.”

On November 30, 1991 fierce winds from a freakish dust storm triggered a massive freeway pileup along Interstate 5 near Coalinga, California. At least 14 people died and dozens more were injured as topsoil whipped by 50 mile-per-hour winds reduced visibility to zero. The afternoon disaster left a three-mile trail of twisted and burning vehicles, some stacked on top of one another 100 yards off the side of the freeway. Unable to see their way, dozens of motorists drove blindly ahead into disaster.  Like these drivers we have people around us who do not know where to turn.  They cannot slow, speed-up or turn without meeting disaster.  But there is one refuge, and that is in Christ.  He is the safe place if we can just look to Him.

We are surrounded by so many who need to know the Christ who sits on the right hand of God mediating for those who love Him. Let us point a blind world to the Light of the world.  Let us live lives as people of sight, so that we can lead others to Him. Let us do all we can to reveal Jesus to the entire world. Let us stop to hear the music of the maestro who orchestrates life, so others will stop as well.  Every time Jesus is truly revealed, another one of “Joseph’s brothers” can weep with joy, gratitude and amazement, that the humble Suffering Servant who they rejected has forgiven them and is now their great and glorious King!

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2).

(This devotion is continued from last week’s, so you may want to read it first if you have not.)

There is a saying that states, “Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.” There is a positive selfishness that needs to take place in our relationship with Christ. In all cases but one we should put others first. However, in our Christian walk we should not be examining the walk of others before our own. It was once said that a sermon is the “wise words of God for the fellow sitting next to me.” Before we make complaints about those around us who do not live a godly life, we should look within ourselves to see if we are living the lives we should be living.

I sympathize with Roger from our “unconversion” story of last week. He is right to say there are many people who profess Christ but do not illustrate Christ. However, he is wrong when he says that there are no people who illustrate Christ in their lives. The Christ transformation should not be just barely noticeable, but striking. Do the adjectives godly, loving, kind, and generous jump the forefront of people’s minds when they try to describe us? Do the words “very spiritual” find their way into the conversation on our behalf? They probably should… we are in league with the Creator of the universe. He desires a personal relationship with us.  There is no other relationship like it. We should live lives that reflect that incredible uniqueness.

In 1987 George Gallup, famous pollster, found the following: “There’s little difference in ethical behavior between the churched and the unchurched. There’s as much pilferage and dishonesty among the churched as the unchurched. And I’m afraid that applies pretty much across the board: religion, per se, is not really life changing. People cite it as important, for instance, in overcoming depression–but it doesn’t have primacy in determining behavior.”

This sad conclusion is probably even worse now. In essence, what Gallup’s findings show is that the churched are as unethical as unchurched, but seem to feel less stressed about it. It is not only our feelings that should change when we are indwelled by Christ, but also our behavior. After all, it is our behavior that others see, not our feelings.

There was once a man who went into therapy because he would just walk up to people and hit them for no reason and feel terrible about it. After a few weeks with the therapist someone ask the man if the treatment was working and he enthusiastically replied yes.

“Oh, so you don’t hit people anymore?”

“Oh, no, the man replied. I still hit them, but I don’t feel bad about it anymore.

Unfortunately, that may be the attitude of many Christians. They continue their bad behavior but through the therapy of the church they accept it more. Church therapy gives them a change that is not realized in their behavior. That kind of artificial change in behavior was why Roger did not see enough differences in Christians and the world to keep him in the faith.

Of course, the differences Roger should have really looked for should have been inside himself, not others. Unfortunately, the truth of the matter is that people’s views of other Christians will influence the views they have of Christ. Our verse in Romans gives instruction on how our lives can and should change after we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Conforming means to take on the appearance of another and transforming is an inside change that is not dependent on surroundings.Only when indwelled with the Holy Spirit can we discern “the good, acceptable, perfect will of God.” That is how transformation takes place. If we accept Christ but live our lives separate from Him, we will not look like Him and Roger’s criticisms of the Christian faith will seem valid. Anyone can be conformed to this world, but only a Christian can be truly transformed.

I have witnessed transformed lives and have read hundreds of stories of those who have testimonies of God’s life-changing powers in their lives. On the flip side, I have also heard horror stories of people who purport to have Christ and live like the devil. How can it be that in some parts of this world there are Christians on their knees receiving the sword because they will not deny Jesus, and in other parts of the world there are Christians who avoid any behavior associated with Him. The Apostle Paul tell us in 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Why should we live like an old dying creature when we have become a new living one? Let us live lives that will not hinder the spread of the gospel.

I grew up in the sixties when being a radical was an honorable pursuit to many. That kind of radicalism had ends that were very debatable, but we could use some radicals today. We need those who will radically display the transformation that Christ can make in people’s lives. Raymond Williams, who was a writer-thinker and certainly not spiritual once said, “To be truly radical is to make hope possible rather than despair convincing.” Without him realizing it, he spoke to the Christian experience.

We live in a world that is permeated with despair. Christ gives hope and our portrayal of that hope is instrumental in its spread. Today as we go through our day, we might ask ourselves, “Do my actions coincide with my position? Do people want what I have or do they see me and continue their search somewhere else?” No one will confuse the butterfly with the caterpillar from which it came. No one should confuse our new life with the old one from which we came. John said it best, “whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” (1 John 2:6) Let’s watch our walk today.