The Old Preacher

Viewing the World through God's Word

Page 41 of 76

Be Patient Until . . .

July 4, 2016 /
O PreacherThe words to this video don’t precisely fit James’ message today.  But, I can’t resist playing it, because when our kids were small, they loved Music Machine.  Give a listen.
* * *
Be patient, then, my friends, until the Lord comes. See how patient farmers are as they wait for their land to produce precious crops. They wait patiently for the autumn and spring rains.  You also must be patient. Keep your hopes high, for the day of the Lord’s coming is near.  Do not complain against one another, my friends, so that God will not judge you. The Judge is near, ready to appear.  My friends, remember the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Take them as examples of patient endurance under suffering.  We call them happy because they endured. You have heard of Job’s patience, and you know how the Lord provided for him in the end. For the Lord is full of mercy and compassion.  Above all, my friends, do not use an oath when you make a promise. Do not swear by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Say only “Yes” when you mean yes, and “No” when you mean no, and then you will not come under God’s judgment (James 5:7-12, TEV).
* * *
News about intolerance toward American Christians comes in occasional reports, making the acts seem isolated—until they pile up in the following summary from “Time Magazine” . . .
 “Some of the faithful have paid unexpected prices for their beliefs lately: the teacher in New Jersey suspended for giving a student a Bible; the football coach in Washington placed on leave for saying a prayer on the field at the end of a game; the fire chief in Atlanta fired for self-publishing a book defending Christian moral teaching; the Marine court-martialed for pasting a Bible verse above her desk; and other examples of the new intolerance. Anti-Christian activists hurl smears like “bigot” and “hater” at Americans who hold traditional beliefs about marriage and accuse anti-abortion Christians of waging a supposed ‘war on women’.

“Some Christian institutions face pressure to conform to secularist ideology—or else. Flagship evangelical schools like Gordon College in Massachusetts and Kings College in New York have had their accreditation questioned. Some secularists argue that Christian schools don’t deserve accreditation, period. Activists have targeted home-schooling for being a Christian thing; atheist Richard Dawkins and others have even called it tantamount to child abuse. Student groups like InterVarsity have been kicked off campuses. Christian charities, including adoption agencies, Catholic hospitals and crisis pregnancy centers have become objects of attack”.

Jewish Christians faced harsher intolerance in the decade after Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension.  While many Jews trusted Jesus as Messiah, many more held the Sanhedrin’s view that Jesus was a deceiver who diverted the Jews from ridding Jerusalem of the Romans.  Driven from their homes, these Jewish Christians often found themselves at the mercy of wealthy landowners.  To those Jewish Christians, James writes these encouraging words . . .

Call for Patience (5:7a).

“Patient” (five times in varied forms here) is the Greek makrothumeo—patient with stress on waiting.  How long?  ” . . . until the Lord comes.”  Then the need to patiently endure injustice will be no more.

Like the Farmers (5:7b).

Jewish Christian works see this daily:  landowners waiting for harvest they expect to come from the seasonal rains they expect to fall.  A lesson from God’s creation . . .

 Be Patient (5:8).

“Keep your hopes high” is “Today’s English Version’s” translation of the Greek stayrizo— “establish” or “strengthen your hearts” so they remain immovable.  Why?  ” . . . for the day of the Lord’s coming is near.”

No Complaining (5:9).

The stress of unjust suffering boils grumbling up.  Friend becomes enemy.  Nerves fray.  The closest brother turns into a convenient target.  But they mustn’t “complain against one another” so that they will not incur God’s judgment.  And he is near.  At the door.

 Remember the Prophets (5:10,11).

Suffering isn’t strange for God’s people.  Their prophets are their models.  These Jewish Christians stand in the prophets’ line.  And when we think of them, James reminds them, “We call them makarizom (blessed, happy, favored) because they endured.”  A beatitude:  “Blessed are those who endure suffering for the Lord is full of mercy and compassion.”  Not only with his coming will injustice end, but in today’s suffering there is favor for the forebearer.  And how can we be confident the Lord is full of mercy and compassion?  We see his mercy and compassion lavished on Job in the end.

 Speak Simply Honest (5:12).

 Perhaps in their suffering stress, these Jewish Christians brothers are promising to “do better next time.”  Hard to tell from the context.  One thing, however, is clear.  Swearing oaths to keep a promise should be unnecessary.  When they say “yes” they should mean simply “yes.”  When “no” they should mean simply “no.”  Plain, unvarnished honesty.
If these Jewish Christians lived in America today, they’d probably march in protest or sue the landowners!  Our society is litigious; that, is, we’re a contentious people prone to lawsuits.  So the imperative, “be patient until the Lord comes”, sounds quaint and falls on deaf ears.
Even so injustice remains.  Wrongs don’t get righted.  The poor and powerless are vulnerable to the rich and influential.  The summary of intolerance toward Christians (above) reminds us that, while we have legal recourse in America.  it seems as if anything pertaining to sexuality holds sway over religious freedom.

But the Judge, our Lord, is standing at the door.  He will come to right the wrongs.  And from then on forever righteousness shall reign.

BE PATIENT

 

 

 

 

 

Corrective Tongue Surgery

July 3, 2016 /

O PreacherCan you believe it?  I preach or write about biblically-banned conduct, then find myself doing the very thing.  Just happened again.  James warns about the restlessly evil tongue, and I let loose angry words.  With trepidation, then, I move to the next block of James’ letter, where he takes his scalpel for more corrective tongue surgery . . .

Do Not Judge Your Brother!

Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you– who are you to judge your neighbor? (4:11,12).

I take “slander” (or “evil” from the Greek katalaleo) to refer particularly to judging one’s brother or sister.  (James repeats the word “judge” in some form six times in these four sentences.)

In what way, we wonder, are these brothers judging others?  Perhaps according to their outward appearance, as James condemned earlier . . .

” . . . you must never treat people in different ways according to their outward appearance.  Suppose a rich man wearing a gold ring and fine clothes comes to your meeting, and a poor man in ragged clothes also comes.  If you show more respect to the well-dressed man and say to him, ‘Have this best seat here,’ but say to the poor man, ‘Stand over there, or sit here on the floor by my feet,’ then you are guilty of creating distinctions among yourselves and of making judgments based on evil motives” (2:1b-4, TEV).

Such judging not only slanders the poor.  It also “speaks evil against the law and judges it.”  If a Christian speaks evil against the law, he presumes to put himself in the place of the “only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy.”  Hence, the cut-him-down-to-size accusation:  ” . . . who are you to judge your neighbor?”

What law, then, is James thinking of?  The same law he noted earlier.  ” . . . the royal law found in Scripture:  ‘Love your neighbor as yourself” (2:8).  Judge your brother/neighbor and you speak against that law.  Judge your brother/neighbor and you sit in judgment on that law.  Judge your brother/neighbor and you presume to take the place of the one Lawgiver and Judge.  Tame your tongue!  Do not judge your brother/neighbor!  Love him!

Don’t boast about tomorrow!

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”  As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.  Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins (4:13-17).

Spoken words are more than mere words.  They are the “leakings” of our heart.  Jesus:  “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).

What heart do the words of these merchants’ “leaks” reveal?  Godless self-confidence. Deliberate and designed arrogance.  More than planning; these are men whose profits make them presume to be captains of their destiny, masters of their tomorrows.  So self-assured, they’re convinced they have a year for their next project, and they will “make money.” 

James pops their balloon:  “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.”  Not only are they sinfully ignorant about tomorrow; they’re sinfully ignorant about their life.  “You are a mist (like the early mists of the Mediterranean mountains) that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”

Self-assured merchants aren’t sovereign.  Only the Lord is.  So they should say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”  Those are the words that should “leak” from the Christian’s heart.

To plan as if you hold the outcome solely in your hand is to brag and boast—and that is sin against the One who ultimately holds the outcome in his.

You wealthy, weep for coming miseries!

Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you.  Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.  Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.  Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.  You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.  You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you (5:1-6),

James switches to “you rich people.”  Like an Old Testament prophet, h e condemns them, though they can’t hear them.  “Misery” is coming on them.  Not because they’re rich, but because they’re greedy and unjust.  They abuse poor Jewish Christians—“the workmen who mowed your fields” are “crying out against you.”  “The Lord Almighty” has heard.  On Judgment Day the rich’s wealth will stack up evidence against them.  Their riches will rot.  They will pay for their luxury, self-indulgence and murder “in the day of slaughter.” 

* * *

Here’s my prayer.  May it be yours too . . .

Father in heaven, my tongue is battered and bruised from James’ corrective surgery.  But it’s surgery I know I need because my tongue is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.  I cry out for your greater grace.  Enable me not to judge my brother or sister by appearances.  Empower me not to brag about tomorrow as if I hold it in my hand, when I know you do.  And please don’t lead me into the temptation of riches, so I need warning to weep and wail because of coming miseries.  Satisfy me with yourself and the good you supply, so my tongue will be free of wailing to sing your praises and speak love to my brother.  Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer!   In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

 

Americans Not Seeking Church’s Answers

July 2, 2016 /

O PreacherAn odd situation.  After 44 years of church pastoring, I find myself church-less.  Mostly it’s disability that keeps me home.  Gives me an  outsider’s perspective.  I understand, for example, a person who thinks the church offers nothing special for him will likely not take the trouble of getting up and going.

Don’t misunderstand. I still believe everything the Bible teaches about the church.  I still care about the church’s mission in the world.  At the same time, I think I recognize  better the unchurched person’s view.

That gave the following article (from “Religion News Service”) greater impact.  While I’m generally suspicious of polls, there’s no explaining away the bleakness of this report . . .

God? Meaning of life?
Many Americans don’t seek them in church

By Cathy Lynn Grossman

Shavon Gardner, 17, prays as she sings with the Redeemed Christian Church of God youth choir at Redemption Camp in Floyd, Texas, on June 17, 2009. Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi *Editors: This photo may only be republished with RNS-UNCHURCHED-SURVEY, originally transmitted on June 28, 2016.

Shavon Gardner, 17, prays as she sings with the Redeemed Christian Church of God youth choir at Redemption Camp in Floyd, Texas, on June 17, 2009. Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi

(RNS) The “seekers” have left the church — if they ever came.
LifeWay Research has taken a close look at what might draw them in, zeroing in on people who say they have not attended a religious service in the past six months except for special events or holidays.
Worship? Not particularly interested, 2 in 3 people told the evangelical research firm in a survey released Tuesday (June 28).
Talk about God? Not so much, said 3 in 4 of the 2,000 “unchurched” people in the survey –including 57 percent who identified as Christians.
“Are a lot of Americans on a conscious journey to learn who Jesus Christ is? I don’t think so,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay, which is based in Nashville, Tenn.
The survey was conducted May 23-June 1. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.
The findings suggest most folks could be lured to church through events where faith is not explicit: community causes, entertainment and sports.
Even that old “seeker” standby — the search for meaning — doesn’t cut it for many who a decade ago might have read Rick Warren’s mega-selling handbook, “The Purpose Driven Life.”
Although 57 percent of those surveyed said finding “their deeper purpose” is “a major priority,” 31 percent disagreed at least somewhat and 12 percent were unsure.
That finding can be read two ways. Either folks are feeling secure in their salvation, even without church, or “most unchurched people don’t particularly care,” said McConnell in an interview.
Fully 70 percent of people who do not attend religious services agreed that “there is an ultimate purpose and plan for every person’s life.”
But whose plan is the unanswered question.
LifeWay deliberately didn’t mention God in asking about “plan” and “purpose,” McConnell explained, because it wanted to assess whether people had “a framework of wanting to make better, or the best, choices for life.”
If they already view life in terms of plans and goals, it’s easier to talk about the Christian faith. Evangelizing is like marketing a product — you need a value that matters to the customer, McConnell said.
The survey suggested that while evangelical churchgoers say heaven is the main benefit of their Christian faith, “that value proposition is not a product the unchurched are looking to buy,” McConnell said.
The survey found that 43 percent said they never wonder if they’ll go to heaven when they die and 20 percent can’t recall the last time they thought about it.
According to a new online survey of 2,000 unchurched Americans, LifeWay Research found few wonder, at least on a regular basis, if they’ll go to heaven when they die. Photo courtesy of LifeWay Research
The results were not entirely bleak, however: Nearly 62 percent would come for a meeting at church on neighborhood safety.
Offering a venue to “express compassion” can be a top draw for churches, Rick Richardson, professor of evangelism and leadership at Wheaton College, said in a press release. He is a research fellow for the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism, which sponsored the survey.
Other ways people could be inspired to visit were for events such as concerts (51 percent), sports or exercise programs (46 percent) or a neighborhood get-together (45 percent.)
Most (51 percent) said a personal invitation from a friend or family member could draw them to church. And many are willing to at least listen to the benefits of being a Christian. Only 11 percent said they’d change the subject if religion came up in conversation.
But only about 1 in 5 would accept if that invitation came from a church member knocking at their door, a TV commercial, postcard or Facebook ad.
McConnell said bringing people into church is “a different kind of conversation. It’s like cajoling them to take a blind date with someone you want to spend your life and your eternity with. We need to say take it one day at a time: ‘Let’s introduce you to Jesus and see what you think.’”

Cathy Lynn Grossman specializes in stories drawn from research and statistics on religion, spirituality and ethics. She also writes frequently on biomedical ethics and end-of-life-issues.

* * *

Two thoughts from this dreary report come to mind.

One, this is a spiritual battle, not a creative-techniques one.  Of course, we need tactics.  And we probably have to think “outside the box.”  But giving out free Cokes at red lights won’t bring anyone to repentance and faith in Christ.  Nor will a coffee bar in the church lobby.

Two, we have to pray.  When the apostle Paul reached the end of his spiritual warfare instructions, he urged the church, “Do all this in prayer, asking for God’s help. Pray on every occasion, as the Spirit leads. For this reason keep alert and never give up; pray always for all God’s people.  And pray also for me, that God will give me a message when I am ready to speak, so that I may speak boldly and make known the gospel’s secret.  For the sake of this gospel I am an ambassador, though now I am in prison. Pray that I may be bold in speaking about the gospel as I should” (Ephesians 6:18-20, TEV).

 What might God the Holy Spirit do in Jesus’ name,
if we faithfully, persistently set aside time in Sunday Worship
for the church to pray for the community’s unchurched?
Will we find out?

 

“I Hate Ants!”

July 1, 2016 /
O PreacherOur younger daughter posted this on Facebook today.  It’s well worth reading.  I’ll comment after . . .

Please Don’t Give Me a Christian Answer

Please Don’t Give Me a Christian Answer

June 30, 2016

“Jesus wept.” John 11:35 (NIV)

LYSA TERKEURST

I love Jesus. I love God. I love His Truth. I love people.

But I don’t love packaged Christian answers. Those that tie everything up in a nice neat bow. And make life a little too tidy.

Because there just isn’t anything tidy about some things that happen in our broken world. The senseless acts of violence we hear about continually in the news are awful and sad and so incredibly evil.

And God help me if I think I’m going to make things better by thinking up a clever Christian saying to add to all the dialogue. God certainly doesn’t need people like me — with limited perspectives, limited understanding and limited depth — trying to make sense of things that don’t make sense.

Is there a place for God’s truth in all this? Absolutely. But we must, must, must let God direct us. In His time. In His way. In His love.

And when things are awful we should just say, “This is awful.” When things don’t make sense, we can’t shy away from just saying, “This doesn’t make sense.” Because there is a difference between a wrong word at the wrong time and a right word at the right time.

When my sister died a horribly tragic death, it was because a doctor prescribed some medication no child should ever be given. And it set off a chain of events that eventually found my family standing over a pink rose-draped casket.

Weeping.

Hurting.

Needing time to wrestle with grief and anger and loss.

And it infuriated my raw soul when people tried to sweep up the shattered pieces of our life by saying things like, “Well, God just needed another angel in heaven.” It took the shards of my grief and twisted them even more deeply into my already broken heart.

I understand why they said things like this … they wanted to say something. To make it better. Their compassion compelled them to come close.

And I wanted them there. And then I didn’t.

Everything was a contradiction. I could be crying hysterically one minute and laughing the next. And then I’d feel so awful for daring to laugh that I wanted to cuss. And then sing a praise song. I wanted to shake my fist at God and then read His Scriptures for hours.

There’s just nothing tidy about all that.

But the thing I know now that I wish I knew then is that even Jesus understood what it was like to feel deeply human emotions like grief and heartache. We see this in John 11:32-35 when Jesus receives the news that his dear friend Lazarus has died, “When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother [Lazarus] would not have died.’ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ‘Where have you laid him?’ he asked. ‘Come and see, Lord,’ they replied. Jesus wept.”

Yes, Jesus wept and mourned with His loved ones in that devastatingly heartbreaking moment. And the fact that He can identify with my pain is so comforting to me.

You want to know the best thing someone said to me in the middle of my grief?

I was standing in the midst of all the tears falling down on black dresses and black suits on that grey funeral day. My heels were sinking into the grass. I was staring down at an ant pile. The ants were running like mad around a footprint that had squashed their home.

I was wondering if I stood in that pile and let them sting me a million times if maybe that pain would distract me from my soul pain. At least I knew how to soothe physical pain.

Suddenly, this little pigtailed girl skipped by me and exclaimed, “I hate ants.”

And that was hands-down the best thing anyone said that day.

Because she just entered in right where I was. Noticed where I was focused in that moment and just said something basic. Normal. Obvious.

Yes, there is a place for a solid Christian answer from well-intentioned friends. Absolutely. But then there’s also a place to weep with a hurting friend from the depths of your soul.

God help us to know the difference.

Dear Lord, thank You for being there in my darkest time. I know You are real and You are the only one who can bring comfort to seemingly impossible situations. Please help me speak Your truth to those around me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

– See more at: http://proverbs31.org/devotions/devo/please-dont-give-me-a-christian-answer/#sthash.rxElH0QU.dpuf

* * *
When someone’s mourning, we want to comfort.  Our heart outraces our brain, and too often we say something foolishly unbiblical like, “God needed another angel.”  We, of course, should comfort.  Of all people, we believers loved by God through Jesus should be the most prepared.  Usually, we think we should speak the most astute Bible verse to quickly start the healing process and somehow make sense of the suffering.  (If we’re pastors we feel especially pressured to speak the timely, golden word!)
Usually we mimic, as Lysa notes above, a packaged Christian answer that sounds to the hurter’s heart like, well, a packaged Christian answer, one size fits all.   More times that not, though, even if the packaged Christian answer is Scripture, it falls on a dazed mind and wounded heart.
When I’m struggling with my illness, Romans 8:28.29 comes to mind . . .
“And we know that for those who love God
all things work together for good,
for those who are called according to his purpose.
For those who he foreknew he also predestined
to be conformed to the image of his Son,
in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
In those moments, what’s meant to make sense of suffering rings hollow.  The Scripture is true, but it’s not what I need at that moment.  I need someone to embrace me close and help carry my burden.  I need someone to agree that this isn’t fair, that it makes no sense, and that we’re in this together.
And, if an ant pile lurks under foot, say, “I hate ants!”  And, if no ants are available, “I don’t understand either.”  That’s when we need lovers, not theologians.

Friend of the World? (2)

June 30, 2016 /

O PreacherPerhaps I made grace sound cheap with the final thought of my last blog:  “This,” I wrote, “is Gospel:   simply a humble confession from my heart that signals my desire to turn from sin is enough for God to pour in his always-greater grace.”  Just so there’s no misunderstanding, here’s a classic quote from German pastor and martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer to which I say a hearty AMEN! And which I hope clarifies I’m not for cheap grace.

Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy  for which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.”

Hopefully with a clearer understanding of grace, we turn to James 4:7-10 where James delivers several strong imperatives . . .

So then, submit yourselves to God (4:7a, TEV).

”  . . . then” connects this imperative to what preceded:   “But the grace that God gives is even greater. As the scripture says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (4:6, ESV).  In other words, since God gives grace to the humble, “submit yourselves to God.”  The Greek verb is often used of submission to human authority.  James, then, is urging his readers to humbly submit themselves to the authority of God who opposes the proud but gives grace (“generous, active, effective help far beyond anything we deserve or have right to expect”–Adamson, The Epistle of James) to the humble.

God’s  grace is for the one who humbly submits to him.  Muslims (“those who surrender or submit”) may understand that better than Western Christians who re-made God into a cosmic-helper!  He is that, but only to those who bow and kneel.

 Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (4:7b, TEV).

This world is the devil’s realm (“the whole world lies in the power of the evil one”—1 John 5:19, ESV).  Pride is one of his primary projects.  We are“lured and enticed by our own desire” (James 1:14, ESV);  but the devil stands in the bleachers cheering us on.

How to resist?  Perhaps by a humble submissive prayer like this:   “God, I admit my pride-problem.  By your grace, I turn from it.  Please help me now live and speak with humility and lowliness.”  Before such prayer and presence, the devil will  run.

Come near to God and he will come near to you (4:8a, TEV).
“God goes out,” Jewish rabbis taught, “to those who approach him.”  So 4:8a was familiar language to these Jewish Christians.  But, we mustn’t attach any merit.  God doesn’t “come near” to reward our coming near to him.  He comes near by grace as we humbly submit ourselves to him and put away our pride.

Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded (4:8b, TEV).

James calls these Jewish Christians “sinners” because they’re “double-minded.”  While drawing near to God they’re living like “friends of the world.”    “Wash your hands” and “purify your hearts” calls for repentance and moral purity in act and attitude.

Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom (4:9, TEV).

Paul’s letter to the Corinthians offers the best commentary on James , , ,

Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it– I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while–yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us.  Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.   See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern . . . (2 Corinthians 7:8-11v, ESV).

(Confession:  my sin-concession to God often becomes emotionless, as if I’m admitting a spelling error.  “O God, surely there are sins my heart should break over!  Break me then.  Guard me from receiving your grace cheaply.”)

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up (4:10, TEV).

James returns to his theme that threads through this segment.  Put aside “bitter jealousy and selfish ambition” (3:14, ESV).  Stop fighting and quarreling and coveting and praying to gratify your own passions.  Cut off friendship with the world (4:1-4).  “Lower yourselves before the Lord” like a proud mountain peak bowing at the command of His Majesty.

The imperative comes with a promise:  ” . . . and he will exalt you.” 

Once, invited to a feast, Jesus noticed how many guests chose seats of honor.  He told them a pointed parable . . .

“When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place. It could happen that someone more important than you has been invited, and your host, who invited both of you, would have to come and say to you, “Let him have this place.’ Then you would be embarrassed and have to sit in the lowest place. Instead, when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that your host will come to you and say, “Come on up, my friend, to a better place.’ This will bring you honor in the presence of all the other guests. For those who make themselves great will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be made great” (Luke 14:8-11, TEV).
* * *
“Lord, enable me to abort arrogant words that create division and humble myself before you, so I might receive generous, active, effective help far beyond anything I deserve or have right to expect before you.  And please rivet these, your words, into my mind . . .”

God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.
(James 4:6, ESV)

Humble yourselves, then, under God’s mighty hand,
so that he will lift you up in his own good time.
(1 Peter 5:6, TEV)

 Image result for photo of people humbling themselves

Christian Assault in Sexuality’s Name

June 27, 2016 /

O PreacherYears ago I received emails from a couple who had been members of the church I pastored.  They had moved to the mountains of North Carolina for a Last-Days’ defense against anti-Christ forces.

I’m not sympathetic to their cause and don’t wish to be numbered among them.  But I have written occasionally about the growing anti-Christian bias in America.  I have done it, because, if unaware, we’ll be like the frog in the pot, the heat gradually increasing until we’re boiled.  Furthermore, how shall we know how to pray, if we’re unaware of the “enemy territory” we occupy?  And how shall we know how serious we must take following Jesus, if we don’t know we’re “swimming upstream”?

I contend that these are days we must be seriously committed to our Lord, not just in the four-wall-sanctuary of our churches and homes, but in the marketplace of ideas and in conversation and in all of everyday life.

The following article, from “National Review Digital”,  speaks for itself,

 

The Assault on Christians

By Donald Critchlow — July 11, 2016, Issue

While perusing the “Anti-Civilization” section of Left Bank Books in Seattle recently, I came across a nonfiction book on how to survive zombie attacks. The author instructed readers that while churches are generally to be avoided, church buildings, with their thick walls and heavy doors, can provide protection from the “living dead.” As Mary Eberstadt shows in her new book, Christian churches are actually under attack from the living Left, which is engaging in a massive assault on religion — and the church walls might not prove as strong as they look.

Eberstadt’s catalogue of actions by these groups to suppress religious liberty will startle readers, even those who have followed the stories of fines against bakeries for their refusal to provide services to gay weddings, the attempt to force the Little Sisters of the Poor to provide contraceptives in medical insurance, Brendan Eich’s ouster as CEO of Mozilla because he contributed to a proposition campaign in California affirming traditional marriage, and the Houston city council’s issuing of subpoenas ordering pastors to turn over sermons mentioning homosexuality or gender identity.

All these cases gained national attention, but Eberstadt shows that the national media have ignored dozens of other assaults on religious liberty. InterVarsity and other Christian student groups have been thrown off campuses across the country because they refused to sign university “non-discriminatory” clauses in support of same-sex marriage. In Atlanta, an Evangelical Christian fire chief was suspended for writing and self-publishing a book professing his Christian beliefs; Catholic and other Christian adoption and social-service agencies are under legal siege because of their support for traditional Judeo-Christian marriage; military chaplains and personnel have been punished for wearing pro-life buttons or displaying personal religious symbols on their desks; and public-school teachers have been fired for explaining Biblical passages to their students. These attacks are so numerous that they are cause for genuine alarm.

There has been a well-organized campaign against Christianity, making use of new interpretations of the concepts of free speech, civil rights, and social justice. Eberstadt argues correctly that this assault goes to the very core of our founding constitutional principles of freedom of worship and free association, embodied in the First Amendment. The Founders understood that political liberty and religious liberty were fundamental to a well-ordered republic. It was not coincidental that it was the very first amendment in the Bill of Rights that ensured the protection of the free exercise of religion. Legal scholar Philip Hamburger showed in his magnificent study Separation of Church and State (2002) that the Jeffersonian-Madisonian concept of erecting a high wall separating church and state was rejected by Congress when it enacted the First Amendment and did not gain traction in legal discourse until anti-Catholic campaigns in the late 19th century. But Congress did enact the free-exercise clause, and meant it.

The concept of religious toleration came slowly to the West and to America. Some scholars point to evidence of ancient Romans’ tolerating other religions in their empire and Muslims’ toleration of Jews in their empire, but these cases are misleading. Romans tolerated religious cults provided they did not threaten state religion, and the Muslim concept of toleration allowed Jews to practice their faith, provided they paid a tax to local caliphates. These policies did not incorporate the ideas of free association and free speech embodied in the Western concept of religious toleration.

Eberstadt finds the concept of religious toleration in the West in the 18th-century European Enlightenment. She could have looked farther back in European history: The beginnings of the modern concept of religious toleration are found in the Treaty of Westphalia, which followed the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48), and the Glorious Revolution in England in 1688. The Thirty Years’ War, which began as a religious struggle between Catholic and Protestant principalities, degenerated into a barbarism that left entire villages devastated and destroyed economic, cultural, and moral standards. The terms of the Peace of Westphalia ending the war allowed for the recognition of the primacy of Roman Catholics, Lutherans, and Reformed Protestants within their own principalities. Religious minorities in these jurisdictions were subjected to various kinds of pressure and occasional persecution, but the first seeds of religious toleration had been sown.

A more important step toward religious toleration came in England with the Settlement of 1688, which replaced the Stuart dynasty with William of Orange. Under William, the Church of England allowed the modest integration of nonconformist Protestants into the church. In this context, English philosopher John Locke, the great apologist for the Glorious Revolution, wrote his “Letter Concerning Toleration” in 1689, arguing for toleration of Protestant religious groups. Roman Catholics continued to be excluded from holding public office, but local officials began to turn a blind eye to restrictive laws against Catholics.

The greatest advance toward religious liberty and religious toleration came in America with the drafting of the U.S. Constitution. The myriad Protestant denominations and sects created a pluralist environment that made it impossible for one group to dominate the religious order. Yet even in this environment, religious toleration was not complete. Many states continued to bar Roman Catholics, Jews, and Muslims from holding public office. These discriminatory laws and local ordinances quickly broke down, however, owing to republican culture and mass immigration.

The illiberal assault on religious liberty today represents a return to the past in which people were persecuted for their beliefs. Unlike the persecutions of the past, in which people were burned at the stake, today’s persecution of Christians takes place in the courts, the administrative bureaucracies, and the forum of public opinion. At issue, as Eberstadt correctly observes, is “nothing less than the future of free speech and free association.” On the surface, the intensity of the persecutor’s mind is difficult to explain. Why are those acting in the name of “diversity” and “tolerance” so intent on uniformity of thought and culture? Eberstadt says the “quasi-religious” belief of these reactionaries is invested in the sexual revolution: “It is that sex between (and among) consenting adults is good — and since sex is good, the more sex, at least in theory, the better.” The sexual revolution, which began in the 1960s, is “not libertarian.” It is instead “neo-puritanical — that is, it is aimed at safeguarding its own body of revealed and developed truths, and at marginalizing its traditional competition.”

She observes that this “religion of sex” mimics traditional religion with its own “hagiography of secular saints, . . . proselytizers for abortion and contraception, like Margaret Sanger and Helen Gurley Brown and Gloria Steinem; crypto-scholastics whose work is revered by generation after generation of the faithful and off limits for intellectual revisionism.” These saints are joined by a “full-blown secularist martyrology, according to which tragic deaths like those of Matthew Shepard or Harvey Milk achieve supercommunal status and symbolism.”

Eberstadt’s understanding of the quasi-religious nature of this anti-Christian crusade is poignant. Theologically, the tone of the sexual revolution devolves into a kind of pre-Christian gnosticism, in which believers have a secret knowledge unknown to the masses. Unlike the gnostics of the past, who were sexual ascetics obsessed with the spiritual universe, the mystery cultists of the sexual revolution are obsessed with the carnal world. The modern-day gnostics project themselves as an enlightened class willing to overturn centuries of faith and practice about sexual relations and the importance of family in maintaining a well-ordered society.

In their own eyes, they hold a revealed knowledge that sexual identity and the family are social constructions created by a patriarchal, oppressive society. Eberstadt understands that the foundation of the secular/progressive worldview is the doctrine that “the Pill and its backup plan, abortion on demand, have liberated humanity — first, by freeing women from the chains of their fertility, and second, by having broken down the door to the fortress of traditional morality, after which one sexual minority after another has been liberated.”

Eberstadt compares the anti-Christian onslaught today to the witch hunts in 17th-century New England and the anti-Communist hysteria in the 1950s. These analogies are somewhat misleading. New England Puritan leaders prided themselves on being rationalistic and scientific-minded. However misplaced their concerns about actual witches, they sought empirical evidence of the devil’s hand at work in the natural world. In the end, they concluded — too late for many who were sentenced to death as witches — that scientific proof was lacking for further trials. Today’s anti-Christian witch hunters, who look for signs of sexism, homophobia, and cisgender prejudice, are driven not by reason or historical experience, but by sentiment and passion. No facts to the contrary will dissuade them from their effort.

And whatever the ills of McCarthyism and its false accusations, there were actual Communists at work in America in the 1950s. We know from the Soviet archives and U.S. intelligence sources that there were over 300 American spies working under the directives of Moscow. Contrary to the anti-Christian propagandists of today, American culture is not permeated by widespread prejudice against women and homosexuals.

The movement against Christians and organized religion today has hysterical overtones, but it is a well-calculated endeavor. It is led by activist lawyers, foundation officers, government bureaucrats, and college-educated secularists. Secular non-believers are becoming a majority in Europe and America, especially among the youth. If Christians become the minority in America, this is all the more reason to protect their fundamental rights of free speech and free association against the “tyranny of the majority.”

Eberstadt remains optimistic that in this war on Christianity, as in previous moments of hysteria, common sense will ultimately prevail. A religious awakening, such as those that occurred in the 1740s and in the 1830s, can reverse the decline in American culture. Meanwhile, the task of Christians is to continue to defend their rights, evangelize for their faith, and involve themselves in their communities to produce good works.

Eberstadt concludes: “Courage is required for people like that to stand not only against the cultural tide, but against the inner worms of human nature.” Christianity was founded on the persecution of its Savior and a belief that faith and reason will ultimately prevail.

The “Anti-Civilization” section of Left Bank Books in Seattle has replaced the “Marxism” section, which is now just a small shelf of dusty books. Faith in progress and reason is being sorely tested these days.

– Mr. Critchlow, a professor of history at Arizona State University, is the author of Future Right: The Forging of a New Republican Majority.

Wisdom That Grows a Righteous Church

June 26, 2016 /

O PreacherAh, the hilarious wisdom of old age . . .

The dispersed-among-the-nations Jewish Christians to whom James writes are neither aged nor wise (while professing to be—wise, that is).  Instead, they’re foolishly tongue-lashing each other (James 3:1-12), harboring jealously and selfish ambition in their hearts (James 3:14) and arrogantly fighting with one another (James 4:1-12).

Before we dig into James’ rebuke, note three key words, two of which don’t usually make our top-three-church-virtues today.  First, peace.  This we want.  A church at peace.  Without internal conflict.  No fighting.  Everyone loving everyone else.

Second, wisdom.  We want a growing church, a friendly church, a great-music church, a well-programmed church.  But who longs for a wise church?

Third, righteousness.  When’s the last time somebody congratulated your church for being righteous or the last time you read a magazine highlighting a righteous church?

It appears from James, God wants his church to be at peace, wise and righteous.

James starts this section (which really continues his thoughts from 3:1-12) with a question to grab attention . . .

Who is wise and understanding among you?  By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom (James 3:13).

Yes, who?  Not the members who speak and act as if they know more than everybody else.  Not simply members with a good sense of judgment.  But members who make right moral choices before God.  Specifically, in this case, members who do beneficial praiseworthy acts from a spirit of humility and gentleness.

Our churches are not always sanctuaries of peace, schools of wisdom and overflowing fields of righteousness.   True, the church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.  But sick sinners should be getting better!  And that improvement should be progressively obvious.  Apparently, in the churches to whom James is writing, the opposite was obvious . . .

But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. (James 3:14,15). 

” . . . selfish ambition” reminds me of politicians.  They solicit support more for their own political profit than the nation’s good.  A lost seat to a competitor would color them envy-green.  James rebukes church members like that.  In fact, he reserves some of his harshest language for them.  Paraphrase:  “You brag about how wise you are as a Christian, when your “wisdom” doesn’t come from above but from here on earth.  It’s just natural, human, totally absent God’s Spirit.  It is, in fact, demonic.  (Can you imagine a pastor preaching this rebuke today?  Church-shopping time!)

For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. (James 3:16).

On what does James base such a harsh diagnosis?  The churches’ disorderliness and confusion.  Their moral corruptness.  Their evil practices.  I can’t imagine describing a church like this.  Such “fruit”  can mean only one thing:  members are envious and selfishly ambitious.  And their so-called “wisdom” is “earthly, unspiritual and demonic.”  What a contrast “the wisdom that comes from heaven”!

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.  Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness (James 3:17,18).

” . . . wisdom from above” is . . .

  • pure.  It produces people of moral and spiritual integrity.
  • peaceable.  It produces people who are conciliatory peace-makers.
  • considerate.  It produces people who are fair and generous.
  • submissive.  It produces people who put themselves under others in importance for Jesus’ sake.
  • full of mercy and good fruit.  It produces people who show compassion and forgiveness toward those they have power to harm,
  • impartial  and sincere.  It produces people without prejudice or hypocrisy.

This is a peaceful church, a wise church, a righteous church reflecting the character of Christ himself.  But it doesn’t just happen.  It takes members, like farmers, “planting” these virtues in peace.  Nor is such a church born in a day.  It takes time for “fruit” to grow.  But it will; the Holy Spirit will work through “planting” members and eventually “a harvest of righteousness” will be the yield.

Wisdom is the necessary ingredient.  How shall we gain it?  James has already answered . . .

If any of you lacks wisdom,
let him ask God who gives generously to all without reproach,
and it will be given him.
(James 1:1:5)

Here’s a prayer we might pray . . .

O LORD, I turn my ear to wisdom that comes from your words and commands.
I apply my heart to understanding.  I call out for insight.
I cry aloud for understanding.  I look for it as for silver.
I search for it as for hidden treasure.
I am trusting that then I will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.
I rest on the promise that you give wisdom
and from your mouth come knowledge and understanding.
This I pray in the name of your Son,
who is my wisdom and righteousness.  Amen.
(from Proverbs 2:1-6).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friend of the World? (Part 1)

June 24, 2016 /

O PreacherI’ve always held to the “you-can-catch-more-flies-with-honey-than-with-vinegar” philosophy.  When I spoke with church members needing correction, I usually did it with gentle, kind  words.  James, on the other hand, went heavy on the vinegar.  But he ends this scorching segment with unexpected, sweet grace.

New Testament letters are occasional documents—most topics occasioned by issues in the recipient church.  Because so much verbal violence is raging in the churches of these dispersed Jewish Christians, James can’t band-aide their conflict; he has to shovel to the cause and root it out.  Hence he starts with questions . . .

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? (4:1, NIV).

The root cause of their rage is no mere difference of opinion.  They’ve each got a desires-war within.  The Greek word translated “desires” is haydomay)— “lusts”, used of natural, uncontrolled appetites.  Their fallen nature’s desire for self-gratification wars against their new-birth desire for righteous living.  Hence they are fiercely frustrated . . .

You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures (4:2,3, NIV).

Hard to imagine they were actually murdering one another.  Either James is using “kill” in the sense Jesus did for “anger” (“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment”—Matthew 5:21,22),  or he means (as the TEV translates) “ready to kill.”  Either way, they’re coveting what belongs to a brother and, unable to get it, frustration erupts in verbal war.

Can church members really behave like this?  After a lifetime of pastoring—yes.  My situation was never this  bad.  But even  when hostility between groups of members simmered beneath the surface, it was  dreadful.

James prescribes prayer . . .

“You do not have because you do not ask God for it.”

We shouldn’t miss the import of James’ diagnosis.  Jesus promised:

“As bad as you are,
you know how to give good things to your children.
How much more, then, will your Father in heaven
give good things to those who ask him!”
(Matthew 7:11, TEV). 

And the psalmist taught:  

“Seek your happiness in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desire”
(Psalm 37:4). 

We’re to see our Father as our source of satisfaction and ask him for our heart’s desire.  Then rest in his answer, whatever it is, as good.  The alternative (to try to grab for ourselves, especially at others’ expense) leads only to fights and frustration.

When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures (4:3b, NIV). 

Motives matter.  Why didn’t they receive when they did ask God?  Because their passion in prayer was only their own desires.  “Pleasures” translates the Greek haydonays–used of indulgence or lack of control of natural appetites.   “Lusts” or “lustful pleasures” would be a good translation.

Jesus used”spend” (Greek, dapanaysata) of the prodigal son who “squandered his property in wasteful living” and “spent everything” (Luke 15:13,14).  So we might translate:   “that you may waste all you get on your pleasures.”

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.  Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? (4:4,5, NIV)

“You adulterous people”.  No address could shock these Jewish Christians more.  Their prophets used it often of Israel’s  shameful unfaithfulness to God . . .

Oh, that I had in the desert a lodging place for travelers,
so that I might leave my people and go away from them;
for they are all adulterers, a crowd of unfaithful people.
(Jeremiah 9:2)

Then in the nations where they have been carried captive,
those who escape will remember me–
how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts,
which have turned away from me,
and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols.
They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done
and for all their detestable practices.
(Ezekiel 6:9)

What does James  mean by “the world” that friendship with it is “hatred (hostility, animosity) toward God”?  The “world” (Greek kosmos) is all of humanity alienated from God and hostile to Christ.  To be on friendly terms, then, with humanity that opposes God in Christ, is to identify yourself as one with God’s enemy.

The church in which  I grew up often identified “worldliness” with outward things—girls wearing short skirts, movie-going, dancing, etc.  Rarely was coveting “stuff” for yourself mentioned.  But the “unmentionables” are usually more insidious.

Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?

A notoriously-difficult question to translate from the Greek.  Is “spirit” the Holy Spirit who is jealous for us?  Or is it our spirit that envies what others have.  I lean toward the latter, but will just leave it there to move on to unexpected, sweet grace.

I’m surprised at James. For five verses James has excoriated us.  Had I been one of those church members I’d feel mentally skinned alive.  He’s called us adulterers, God-haters, selfish and greedy pray-ers, friends of this fallen world.  I’m no better than the pervert who runs to a prostitute.  No more righteous than the evangelist who begs poor widows to give another offering so he can buy a new jet.  Instead of loving my brother, I’m angry enough to kill him.

But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (4:6).  

This “But” is a stream of cold water in a desert.  ” . . . he gives more grace.”  God’s grace (his “generous, active, effective help far beyond anything we deserve or have right to expect”–Adamson, The Epistle of James) is greater than sin in me.  By it God saves me from my adultery, my God-enmity, my selfish and greedy praying, my cozying-up to this fallen world.

Not, however, if I proudly refuse to lower myself and admit my sin.  Then God will surely set himself against me.

But if I humble myself and confess my sins, God will give grace greater than my adultery, greater than my God-enmity, greater than my selfish and greedy praying, greater than my corrupting friendship with this world.  This is Gospel:   simply a humble confession from my heart that signals my desire to turn from sin is enough for God to pour in his always-greater grace.

Dear Subscribers

June 24, 2016 /

P.AllanI began blogging back in March 2014.  Driven to retirement after 44 years of pastoring by primary lateral sclerosis, my mind longed to continue in ministry while my body fought against it.  I dreamed of writing a book, but that intimidated me.  A blog seemed the best bet.

So, after praying for guidance, I began.  “If nobody reads it,” I reasoned, “at least I’ll be somewhat creatively capturing my thoughts in printed form.”  Soon, however, I realized, “If nobody reads what I write, what’s the point?”

I devised a plan:  I would subscribe members of the church I formerly pastored.  Surely they would be okay with that.  And, if not, they could easily unsubscribe.  (Yes, that’s the sneaky way some of you ended up receiving my blog. )

For a month or more, daily visitors languished in the single digits.  Well, at least a few were reading.  So I plugged along, enjoying the study and the writing, and praying readership would grow.  I didn’t aim for a “mega-blog.”  That was (is) way beyond me.  But I really did want to speak God’s Word into the lives of as many people as possible.  In short, I hoped to continue my preaching ministry through a writing ministry.

My motivation wasn’t entirely selfless.  As an “older-old” (now 72) and mostly shut-in,  I very much needed a continuing sense of significance.  Not ego.  A sense that my life still counted for the sake of the Gospel.  I wasn’t ready to curl up on the couch with potato chips watching TV through glazed-over eyes.  I wanted to serve, to contribute.

I always pastored small churches over 44 years.  The first (in Atco, N.J.) had been without a pastor for nine months when I arrived.  A handful of older people hanging on, but when Lois and I left three years later, the church had grown to 40-50 people, a sizeable young people’s group among them.

We left because I had been asked to plant a church in northern New Jersey.  We named it The Living Church, and it was the most “alive” church I’d ever known.  From zero, we grew to about 120 at its peak after nearly 17 years of ministry.  Not a magazine-feature number, but a broad age-range and multi-ethnic members made it a most exciting community of believers.

Next we spent 24 years in Florida.  What began as a dying church of older folks (Port Richey Community Church) became a church of all ages, though small—as many as about 90 people at one time, but mostly around 50-60.  We sold an old building and built new (something I said I never would do!) and SonRise Community Church (our new name) grew into a Christ-centered family with exciting prospects for the future.

But my illness left me behind.  As I said, I longed to continue in significant ministry.  But would it be significant?

Well, as of today, theoldpreacher.com has 651 subscribers!  According to my statistics, people are reading from about 2/3 of the United States and more than 20 countries around the world.  (Obviously these are English-speaking readers, because the best I could do even in high school Spanish was a “D”!)  Far more people are reading my words about God’s word (his word is what’s important) than ever heard me preach over 44 years combined!

I’m not telling you this to boast.  Like the apostle Paul, my only boast is in the Lord.  This is his doing.  The glory, the praise, the applause all goes to him.

I am so grateful to still be able to serve.  I praise him that “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29).  My body may be “wasting away”, but God hasn’t taken back his gracious gifts!

And I thank him for you, dear reader.  That you make the time to read what I’ve written about our Lord.  That you allow the Holy Spirit to cause his word to come alive in your life.  That I have a small part in the person you are becoming for your greatest good and God’s greatest glory.  I don’t even know most of you.  But I so much appreciate you.  You don’t know how you’ve blessed me by subscribing and reading.  You are God’s gift to me at this time in my life.  Thank you.

I don’t want to make more of this than warranted.  I’m sure you have others who speak God’s word into your life to a greater extent than I.  I’m content to be supplemental.  To serve where the Lord has put me.

So I pray to be faithful.  I pray to be fruitful.  And I thank you for the blessed encouragement you are to me.  I pray you will receive the greater blessing.  So that through our “connection”, God may be most glorified, the name of Jesus exalted, and the Holy Spirit’s presence enjoyed and made visible in our lives as we follow our Lord together.

Evangelicals! Vote with Integrity!

June 23, 2016 /
P.AllanJust read the following by David French.  I’m posting it so you can too.  French’s words cut to my conscience.  I had thought it wise to vote for Trump to insure conservative Supreme Court justices would be nominated.  French blew that idea out of the water.  Better, I think, to be a man of integrity than to contribute to a potentially greater problem.   See what you think . . .

Don’t Bend Your Knee to Trump, Evangelicals

A candidate who subverts all of our most cherished values should be avoided at all costs.

By David French — June 20, 2016

Yesterday, hundreds of Evangelical leaders gathered in New York City to meet with Donald Trump. I must confess that I don’t understand their purpose.

I suspect that it was exactly the kind of meeting that Trump wanted: One where he could mouth a few platitudes and those Evangelicals who are desperate for power and influence would emerge gravely pronouncing themselves “satisfied” that he is in their corner. Of course, they’ll maintain their “reservations” — including their professed distaste for his racist rhetoric, disrespect for women, and habitual lying — but they’ll fall in line. The Supreme Court is the reason, they’ll say.

For some, that will be pure subterfuge. Access to power is a powerful drug, and there are quite a few Evangelical leaders nursing an addiction. It must be especially hard to kick the habit for those whose fortunes are on the decline. There’s a reason why Trump’s surrogates mainly represent a traveling band of the has-beens and “almost-weres”: He’s their last, best hope for relevance.

But others will hold their nose and cling to him, genuinely convinced that all of his faults are outweighed — just barely — by his (kinda sorta) promise to appoint conservative Supreme Court justices. Trump’s so mendacious that one can measure his lies by the minute, but in this case they’ll believe he’s telling the truth. Because they want to believe.

RELATED: Trump Is Holding the GOP Hostage

This is a grave mistake. American Evangelical Christianity does not exist for the purpose of placing one or two decent judges on the Supreme Court. It — along with its Catholic and Orthodox counterparts — represents the body of Christ on this earth. It is a flawed vessel, to be sure, but its moral witness is still of incalculable worth.

Despite the media’s grotesque caricatures, American Evangelicals (and Mormons) are the nation’s most generous citizens, giving their time and money to the poorest and most vulnerable of their fellow citizens at a rate that puts most other communities to shame. They are among the leaders in seeking true racial reconciliation, with each of the leading denominations dedicating countless hours and resources to bridging the cavernous historical divides that persist. Pentecostal churches are often our nation’s most diverse, places where men and women of every race and ethnicity unite in joyous worship.

We have our well-known flaws, but our churches are at the forefront of fighting for the family. They’re at the forefront of combating substance abuse and providing fathers and mothers for the world’s orphans. They battle for life even where abortion is available on demand, persuading countless women to keep and to love children they once wanted nothing to do with. I’ve never in my life attended a church that failed to feed the hungry, care for the needy, and minister to those in prison.

RELATED: There Is No Other, More ‘Presidential’ Donald Trump

Just think for a moment how many of those values Trump subverts. He has discarded two wives and brags of his sexual conquests. He praises Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion mill. He intentionally foments racial division, attacking an Indiana-born judge merely because his parents came to America from Mexico. He retweets the most vile online racists. Everywhere he goes, white supremacists follow, tormenting his online opponents with horrific images and overt threats. He claims to support the working man, yet he demonstrates aggressive economic ignorance, threatening to play games with American credit and trade in a way that would prove ruinous for families who live paycheck-to-paycheck. He views our fighting men and women as mere instruments of the presidency, and expects them to commit war crimes on his orders. He traffics in the worst conspiracy theories, treats his opponents with utter contempt, and uses his friends to his own ends. He lies as easily as he breathes.

The faithful Evangelical every day pleads with God, “Less of self, more of thee.” Trump each day demands, “All of self, none of thee.”

RELATED: Trump Ain’t Gonna Change

And yet some Evangelicals appear willing to use their God-given talents and abilities to actually help elect him — because of the Supreme Court. What are they thinking? Hasn’t Trump clearly demonstrated his own contempt for the judiciary? As he made plain when he launched his attack on Judge Gonzalo Curiel, he believes that the judiciary exists to serve him, not to serve the law. He’ll make his judicial picks based on one and only one criterion: what’s best for him.

Evangelical leaders: If you back Trump, for the rest of your days, you will be forced to live with having had a hand in fracturing our nation on the basis of race, discarding the sanctity of marriage, and scorning honesty itself — all for the chance, the remote chance, that Trump will make one or two decent Supreme Court picks. You will be selling your integrity for the most meager of returns.

Otherwise, you can fight all the way to Cleveland, and beyond if a strong independent candidate emerges. If the choice does come down to Trump or Hillary Clinton, you can instead reserve your vote only for those down-ballot candidates with the integrity to resist corruption from either presidential nominee. Faced with the choice between further debasing our politics and refusing to do so, you’ll emerge with your integrity intact.

Christians have had to take tougher stands in darker times before. They do so in other nations today. This decision, by contrast, should be easy. Trump is not worth your consideration or even one moment of your time. Let others bend the knee.

— David French is an attorney, and a staff writer at National Review.

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