Telling God's Story

We've a story to tell to the nations,
That shall turn their hearts to the right,
A story of truth and mercy,
A story of peace and light,
A story of peace and light.

For the darkness shall turn to dawning,
And the dawning to noonday bright;
And Christ's great kingdom shall come on earth,
The kingdom of love and light.

We've a song to be sung to the nations,
That shall lift their hearts to the Lord,
A song that shall conquer evil
And shatter the spear and sword,
And shatter the spear and sword.

For the darkness shall turn to dawning,
And the dawning to noonday bright;
And Christ's great kingdom shall come on earth,
The kingdom of love and light.

We've a message to give to the nations,
That the Lord who reigns up above
Has sent us His Son to save us,
And show us that God is love,
And show us that God is love.

Psalm 78:1-8

1 An instruction of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law; bow down your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will speak dark sayings of old,
3 which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their sons, showing to the generations to come the praises of the LORD, and His strength, and His wonderful works that He has done.
5 For He set up a testimony in Jacob, and ordered a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, that they should teach them to their sons;
6 so that the generation to come might know; sons shall be born, and they shall arise and tell their sons,
7 so that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments;
8 and might not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not set their heart aright, and whose spirit was not faithful with God.

This psalm, Psalm 78 (and other scriptures) brings to light the "generational-ness" of the God: "to you and your children" -- always multi-generational. Something that God required of his faithful people was to communicate him to their children:

• The history of his covenant (God has always worked with mankind covenantally starting with Adam and Eve - he doesn't do it any other way)
• The nature of his dealings with people based on his covenants
• The requirements (law) of living in fellowship with him and each other

What do I mean when I talk about covenant?

• An ecosystem (modern buzzword but a very good picture - everything is interrelated)
• Like a colonial charter (how? King grants colony and terms under which life is to be conducted)
• Like marriage, not just a legal agreement, but tangled up with all of life, decisions, etc.

Back to our song: "We've a Story to Tell to the Nations"

• What have we done with the story?
• The last couple of generations have made some mistakes with God's story

Some mistakes with the covenant life

• We have started to think of God as someone who sits far off on the sidelines and only intervenes when we get in bind and decide to pray
• We have broken the "mainspring" out of the clock and forgotten that it's purpose and function is in relation to the clock as a whole.
• Worse yet, we have broken life into a bunch of pieces that have no relation to each other (compartmentalization) Example: I can be a serial adulterer but a great leader

Some mistakes with the message of salvation

• We have tried to make God's story fit into a Four Spiritual Laws pamphlet
• We have made it about following the right script (four points and a prayer) instead of trust and obedience and commitment

Some mistakes with the scriptures

• We have tried to tell the "punchline" but didn't lay the foundation so it makes less sense
• We have broken the story into bite sized chunks instead of doing the hard work of study
• We have pulled out promises and principles and tossed out the rest like the gemologist

Some mistakes with discipleship

• We have made being disciples "something extra" (an optional add-on for salvation)
• We have made it activity-oriented (go and do and come home) instead of lifestyle (24/7)

What can we do about it?

Work at becoming "whole" in our thinking, perspective of life and actions

• God's story didn't start at Christmas and it doesn't end at Easter
• Many people think the message of the Bible is "how to get to heaven"?
• It includes that, but it really tells me the past, present and future of man's relationship with God and how my own life fits in with that
• There is a bodily resurrection and new heavens and a new earth where righteousness dwells and every believer will be there
• Like your marriage affects all your decisions -- how you spend your time and your money, where you go, what you do and who you do it with -- if God's kingdom is real, and your relationship with him as King is real, it is the same way

Embody God's story

• John 1:14 says "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us"
• Jesus embodied and lived out God's every expression of God's law and promises perfectly
• You remember the old saying, "You may be the only Bible a person ever reads..."
• The apostle Paul said that "we have this treasure in earthen vessels"
• Though we are not perfect, we can bring the word to life
• Think of the difference between 2D vs 3D -- "in living color"

Remember the story of Yakov and Cimmerman

There is a magnificent story in Marie Chapian's book Of Whom the World Was Not Worthy. The book told of the sufferings of the true church in Yugoslavia where so much wrong has been perpetrated by the politicized ecclesiastical hierarchy. That which has gone on in the name of Christ for the enriching and empowering of corrupt church officials has been a terrible affront to decency.

One day an evangelist by the name of Jakov arrived in a certain village. He commiserated with an elderly man named Cimmerman on the tragedies he had experienced and talked to him of the love of Christ. Cimmerman abruptly interrupted Jakov and told him that he wished to have nothing to do with Christianity. He reminded Jakov of the dreadful history of the church in his town, a history replete with plundering, exploiting, and indeed with killing innocent people. "My own nephew was killed by them," he said and angrily rebuffed any effort on Jakov's part to talk about Christ. "They wear those elaborate coats and caps and crosses," he said, "signifying a heavenly commission, but their evil designs and lives I cannot ignore."

Jakov, looking for an occasion to get Cimmerman to change his line of thinking, said, "Cimmerman, can I ask you a question? Suppose I were to steal your coat, put it on, and break into a bank. Suppose further that the police sighted me running in the distance but could not catch up with me. One clue, however, put them onto your track; they recognized your coat. What would you say to them if they came to your house and accused you of breaking into the bank?"

"I would deny it," said Cimmerman.

"Ah, but we saw your coat," they would say," retorted Jakov. This analogy quite annoyed Cimmerman, who ordered Jakov to leave his home.

Jakov continued to return to the village periodically just to befriend Cimmerman, encourage him, and share the love of Christ, with him. Finally one day Cimmerman asked, "How does one become a Christian?" and Jakov taught him the simple steps of repentance for sin and of trust in the work of Jesus Christ and gently pointed him to the Shepherd of his soul. Cimmerman bent his knee on the soil with his head bowed and surrendered his life to Christ. As he rose to his feet, wiping his tears, he embraced Jakov and said, "Thank you for being in my life." And then he pointed to the heavens and whispered, "You wear His coat very well."

Ravi Zacharias, Can Man Live Without God, (Word Publishing, Dallas: 1994), pp. 101-102

We've a Savior to show to the nations,
Who the path of sorrow has trod,
That all of the worlds great peoples
Might come to the truth of God,
Might come to the truth of God.

Telling God's Story

We've a story to tell to the nations,
That shall turn their hearts to the right,
A story of truth and mercy,
A story of peace and light,
A story of peace and light.

For the darkness shall turn to dawning,
And the dawning to noonday bright;
And Christ's great kingdom shall come on earth,
The kingdom of love and light.

We've a song to be sung to the nations,
That shall lift their hearts to the Lord,
A song that shall conquer evil
And shatter the spear and sword,
And shatter the spear and sword.

For the darkness shall turn to dawning,
And the dawning to noonday bright;
And Christ's great kingdom shall come on earth,
The kingdom of love and light.

We've a message to give to the nations,
That the Lord who reigns up above
Has sent us His Son to save us,
And show us that God is love,
And show us that God is love.

Psalm 78:1-8

1 An instruction of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law; bow down your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will speak dark sayings of old,
3 which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their sons, showing to the generations to come the praises of the LORD, and His strength, and His wonderful works that He has done.
5 For He set up a testimony in Jacob, and ordered a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, that they should teach them to their sons;
6 so that the generation to come might know; sons shall be born, and they shall arise and tell their sons,
7 so that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments;
8 and might not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not set their heart aright, and whose spirit was not faithful with God.

This psalm, Psalm 78 (and other scriptures) brings to light the "generational-ness" of the God: "to you and your children" -- always multi-generational. Something that God required of his faithful people was to communicate him to their children:

The history of his covenant (God has always worked with mankind covenantally starting with Adam and Eve - he doesn't do it any other way)
The nature of his dealings with people based on his covenants
The requirements (law) of living in fellowship with him and each other
What do I mean when I talk about covenant?

An ecosystem (modern buzzword but a very good picture - everything is interrelated)
Like a colonial charter (how? King grants colony and terms under which life is to be conducted)
Like marriage, not just a legal agreement, but tangled up with all of life, decisions, etc.
Back to our song: "We've a Story to Tell to the Nations"

What have we done with the story?
The last couple of generations have made some mistakes with God's story
Some mistakes with the covenant life

We have started to think of God as someone who sits far off on the sidelines and only intervenes when we get in bind and decide to pray
We have broken the "mainspring" out of the clock and forgotten that it's purpose and function is in relation to the clock as a whole.
Worse yet, we have broken life into a bunch of pieces that have no relation to each other (compartmentalization) Example: I can be a serial adulterer but a great leader
Some mistakes with the message of salvation

We have tried to make God's story fit into a Four Spiritual Laws pamphlet
We have made it about following the right script (four points and a prayer) instead of trust and obedience and commitment
Some mistakes with the scriptures

We have tried to tell the "punchline" but didn't lay the foundation so it makes less sense
We have broken the story into bite sized chunks instead of doing the hard work of study
We have pulled out promises and principles and tossed out the rest like the gemologist
Some mistakes with discipleship

We have made being disciples "something extra" (an optional add-on for salvation)
We have made it activity-oriented (go and do and come home) instead of lifestyle (24/7)
What can we do about it?

Work at becoming "whole" in our thinking, perspective of life and actions
God's story didn't start at Christmas and it doesn't end at Easter
Many people think the message of the Bible is "how to get to heaven"?
It includes that, but it really tells me the past, present and future of man's relationship with God and how my own life fits in with that
There is a bodily resurrection and new heavens and a new earth where righteousness dwells and every believer will be there
Like your marriage affects all your decisions -- how you spend your time and your money, where you go, what you do and who you do it with -- if God's kingdom is real, and your relationship with him as King is real, it is the same way
Embody God's story

John 1:14 says "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us"
Jesus embodied and lived out God's every expression of God's law and promises perfectly
You remember the old saying, "You may be the only Bible a person ever reads..."
The apostle Paul said that "we have this treasure in earthen vessels"
Though we are not perfect, we can bring the word to life
Think of the difference between 2D vs 3D -- "in living color"
Remember the story of Yakov and Cimmerman

There is a magnificent story in Marie Chapian's book Of Whom the World Was Not Worthy. The book told of the sufferings of the true church in Yugoslavia where so much wrong has been perpetrated by the politicized ecclesiastical hierarchy. That which has gone on in the name of Christ for the enriching and empowering of corrupt church officials has been a terrible affront to decency.

One day an evangelist by the name of Jakov arrived in a certain village. He commiserated with an elderly man named Cimmerman on the tragedies he had experienced and talked to him of the love of Christ. Cimmerman abruptly interrupted Jakov and told him that he wished to have nothing to do with Christianity. He reminded Jakov of the dreadful history of the church in his town, a history replete with plundering, exploiting, and indeed with killing innocent people. "My own nephew was killed by them," he said and angrily rebuffed any effort on Jakov's part to talk about Christ. "They wear those elaborate coats and caps and crosses," he said, "signifying a heavenly commission, but their evil designs and lives I cannot ignore."

Jakov, looking for an occasion to get Cimmerman to change his line of thinking, said, "Cimmerman, can I ask you a question? Suppose I were to steal your coat, put it on, and break into a bank. Suppose further that the police sighted me running in the distance but could not catch up with me. One clue, however, put them onto your track; they recognized your coat. What would you say to them if they came to your house and accused you of breaking into the bank?"

"I would deny it," said Cimmerman.

"Ah, but we saw your coat," they would say," retorted Jakov. This analogy quite annoyed Cimmerman, who ordered Jakov to leave his home.

Jakov continued to return to the village periodically just to befriend Cimmerman, encourage him, and share the love of Christ, with him. Finally one day Cimmerman asked, "How does one become a Christian?" and Jakov taught him the simple steps of repentance for sin and of trust in the work of Jesus Christ and gently pointed him to the Shepherd of his soul. Cimmerman bent his knee on the soil with his head bowed and surrendered his life to Christ. As he rose to his feet, wiping his tears, he embraced Jakov and said, "Thank you for being in my life." And then he pointed to the heavens and whispered, "You wear His coat very well."

Ravi Zacharias, Can Man Live Without God, (Word Publishing, Dallas: 1994), pp. 101-102

We've a Savior to show to the nations,
Who the path of sorrow has trod,
That all of the worlds great peoples
Might come to the truth of God,
Might come to the truth of God.

Focused But Not Frantic

One thing NT Wright communicates is how Jesus incarnated was the Kingdom of God. In fact, his ministry was like a living parable. Revivalism and modern Evangelicalism has successfully reduced the "gospel" to something like the Four Spiritual Laws and reduced ministry to a delivery mechanism for the Four Laws. Our faddish -- "Gimmick Driven" -- modus operandi testifies to that. Jesus' appearance took several milennia after the fall and his ministry took 33 quiet years before he stepped on to the public stage. Paul spent over ten unhurried, missing years after his conversion and was brought into the ministry spotlight by someone else, not his own ambitions.

All this is to say -- not that we have "all the time in the world" to lazily bring the Kingdom of God to our world -- but rather that this is God's business. Let God be god -- he has brought everything to pass in his own time. A farmer has to work the field at the proper times to have a crop, but he can't hurry the harvest and it ultimately depends on God to come to fruition.

RIP - Eddie Boy

James Edward (Eddie) Taunton, one of God’s special angels, 62, of Caledonia, AR, passed away on February 28, 2008. He was born November 21, 1945, in El Dorado, AR, to L. A. and Eva Taunton.

He was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his two brothers, Tommy Taunton and wife, Inez of Strong, AR; Paul Taunton and wife, Geneva of Camden, AR; four sisters, Alice Halfacre and husband, Bill of Bull Shoals, AR; Betty Kelly and husband, Alvin of Junction City, LA; Ann Bearden and husband, Jim of Anna, TX; and Cindy Rowland and husband, John of Junction City, LA; special friends Kathy Jones of Junction City, LA; Lillie Smith of Spearsville, LA; and Ophelia Blackman of Lillie, LA; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A Private Service will be held at Caledonia Baptist Church with Bro. Hugh Nelson officiating. A Private Burial will follow at Caledonia Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to Caledonia Baptist Church, 2192 Wingfield Lake Road, El Dorado AR 71730.

Picture Album

My Last Day With Eddie

Thursday February 28, 2008

Was called by the nursing home at bedtime last night that Eddie's fever had spiked up to 103 and they were going to switch to a different antibiotic administered by IV. The nursing home called again before 7 am and said that his breathing was distressed and they were taking him to Tri-Ward emergency room.

Cindy and I got ready and left for the emergency room. Eddie was not conscious and his breathing was shallow and labored. He was on oxygen. His extremities were very swollen -- puffy -- like the michelin man. I had never seen them this way. The nurses asked us if we had advanced directives for him. We left after he was admitted and in a room. Cindy notified the family of his situation when we got home and I went to work.

The nurse called Cindy later and asked if she was aware of how much breakdown there was on Eddie's backside -- they were going to have to call Wound Care. Betty and Inez went down to see Eddie and to talk to Dr. Shaw mid-afternoon. Dr. Shaw indicated that his situation was very serious and otherwise, he was much the same as when Cindy and I saw him in the morning. Betty and Inez left the hospital and arrived at our house at 5:00 pm. They had barely arrived when the hospital called and said that Eddie had died. Betty called me at work and I came home and began the arrangements for his funeral.

The Action of Servanthood

Paul, our servant and the servant of Jesus (Philippians 1):

• His faithful service has gotten him put under house arrest in Rome waiting for a hearing with Caesar
• He doesn't lament his circumstances and resent that he is tied down
• He recognizes that these circumstances extend the kingdom of Jesus Christ in a place he might never have gotten otherwise
• Paul uses his circumstances to remind the church at Philippi about Jesus the servant

Jesus, our servant and the servant of the Father (Philippians 2:1-16)

The Introduction (2:1-4)

• The way Paul uses "if" in these sentences is the same as saying "we all know there is consolation in Christ, we all know there is comfort of love" -- emphasizing that these are facts they share in common
• Because these things are facts, the ultimate joy then is to be like-minded, to be "like-loving", to not be self-oriented, to not place your own interests above others, to be a "servant" of others in your own mind and to look out for their interests
• Servants by nature of the job had their master's interests ahead of their own
• When the master needed something, the servant couldn't say, "When I feel like it..."
• Question: If we are going to be like-thinking, whose thinking do we standardize on? (Answer: Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus...)
  

The Example (2:5-11)

• Let Jesus' thinking and attitude be your model
• As God, the maker, the creator, the ruler he didn't consider his position more important than serving and sacrificing for those he loved
• The eternal one took on a human body with all it's limitations
• He made himself "a nobody"
• He humbled himself and obeyed his father's will completely, even to dying on a cross for his creatures
• The father verified Jesus' work by raising him up to rule over all things
• His desire is that all men freely recognize him as Lord, Ruler and Savior

The Response (2:12-13)

• Just as Jesus obeyed in all things and Paul obeyed in all things, you obey in all things
• Work at making your whole life reflect his salvation: Why?
• God is working in you to will and do what pleases him

The Results(2:14-16)

• Complaining is unbecoming for a servant
• We all have a tendency to want everyone to know how much of a sacrifice we are making
• Do your "serving" willingly
• Serving without complaint will set you apart in a world of complainers
• It will make your profession of God's word believable

The Takeaway

• Jesus said that greatness comes through serving, not dominating
• We all have God-given priorities for our service, keep those priorities
  
• It's easy to say we are God's servants, but the proof of the pudding is how we serve in those God-given priorities and circumstances
• Ask God to make serving without complaining the character of your life

The Challenge of Servanthood

I haven't posted since just prior to Christmas and a lot has gone on in the "between times". Cindy was admitted to Baptist Hospital in Little Rock on January 7 for tests to determine if she was strong enough and well enough for a dangerous thoracic surgery to remove two tumors in her right lung (and at the time, we supposed for removal of an abdominal mass, as well -- that, wisely, was not to be).

When several days of scans and exams were done, her thoracic surgeon -- who specializes in risky cases like Cindy's -- determined that there was no reason not to proceed. Cindy had that surgery on January 10 and was released from the hospital on January 17. She has been at home recuperating since. That is the backdrop of my comments about servanthood.

Having an invalid to take care of provides a lot of learning opportunities that we don't normally get to be involved in otherwise. Until Cindy's congestive heart failure last fall, we cared for her bed-bound-total-care brother, Eddie, for seven years since her mother died in 2000. Eddie provided lots of "learning opportunities" in caring for someone else's needs and not being focused on our own. We also appreciate ones like our friend, Benny Elam who bears that burden day after day looking after his disabled wife.

These situations force us to look at love in a very practical way, as a responsibility, not a feeling. That is how God wants us to think of our love for one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. We have a communal -- covenantal -- responsibility to each other and to our master. We aren't together to feel good.

Read John 13:1-17. The historical setting: In a typical middle-eastern setting, several social courtesies were ordinarily extended to guests. Expressions of hospitality included, the kiss-on-the-cheeks greeting, anointing, caring for the guest's animals, providing food and shelter.

Western culture typically has a completely different list of social amenities, taking a guest's coat, offering something to drink, asking the guest to be seated. In a culture where household servants were in abundant supply, the task of washing a guest's dusty feet normally would have been performed by a servant of the host. This fact is what made Jesus' action so repugnant to the disciples. They were disgusted that Jesus would lower Himself to perform such demeaning labor.

Other observations about John 13 and the "Master Servant":

• Jesus loved them to the MAX (not just to the end)
• He treated Judas just like everyone else, even though Jesus knew he was a betrayer
• We must take positive action to replace self-serving things with others-benefitting things
• Knowing is good, but the blessing only comes in the doing

"I have given you an example that you should do..." We are servants, he is the master. If the master stoops to wash, then the servant is not too important for the same task.

Christmas 2007

Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room, And Heaven and nature sing, And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

How quickly this year has rolled past! Cindy and I are running behind -- we just returned from a business trip to the UK and are now trying to get in gear for the fast approaching holiday. We traveled to London the Monday following Thanksgiving and stayed at St Albans, a historic little town of about 125,000 north of London. It has lots of history -- dating back as far as the Roman times. I worked there for 2 days, then we traveled to Wales -- which was just beautiful -- for work over the weekend, then back to St Albans for the rest of the week, returning on a long, long flight Friday, December 7. It was all a tremendous blessing that neither of us would have ever thought we could have enjoyed. You can see comments and links to our pictures at:

http://uk-roots.blogspot.com

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

Joseph graduated cum laude from University of Central Arkansas with double majors in Communications and Writing. During his last semester, he interned at Arkansas Educational Television Network which has its headquarters there at the university. He since was hired by AETN as an associate producer and has been working all through the fall on a broadcast project for which he is now writing the music score. He is getting to apply many of the talents he has developed over the years in a medium he really enjoys.

No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found, Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

We have had a number of health challenges during the year. Things were going well with Cindy's chemo treatments, such that we asked for and received a break from the treatments beginning in June. Cindy has felt better and better throughout the summer and fall. Shortly before Labor Day, she began having tremendous problems with breathing and activity -- then the night of Labor Day, she had to be hospitalized, learning that what she had been experiencing was congestive heart failure. We were fortunate to be able to get good treatment for that and she is doing much better in that regard. However, after returning from the UK, her routine scans for cancer revealed that some of the growths that had been under control previously were now growing and becoming troublesome again. Her weakened heart condition will make that more difficult to deal with and she is in the prayers of many.

With Cindy's heart failure, we had to make a difficult decision about caring for Eddie in our home and he is now being cared for in a nursing home nearby. Cindy gets to visit him almost daily and he is still a joy to us.

He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love, And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.

You may have noticed that I have included the words to Isaac Watts' hymn "Joy to the World" in our letter this year. Those people of faith in years-gone-by proclaimed something we have forgotten in our world of turmoil. Jesus came to set creation and, most importantly, people free from the damage done by sin -- wherever it is found. To replace the curse with blessing. To overcome evil with good. He is the ruling King, not just in some future time, but now. He wants us to enjoy it with him.

Comments on First Corinthians - Part 8

1 Corinthians 8-10 (Part 2): "Rights" of a Christian.

Example: Paul himself. The Corinthians thought they had rights. Didn't Paul have "rights" as an apostle... to food and shelter, to take a wife with him. Soldiers don't pay their own expenses. Farmers eat from their own crops and herds. The oxen on the threshing floor get to eat from the grain they are threshing so they have strength to work. So, Paul had a right to expect what he needed from those he labored among -- from them. But... he purposely did not exercise that right, so that nothing would create an obstacle to the message of Christ.

More than that, Paul considered himself a servant of those he worked among, becoming whatever they needed to win them to faith. Paul was for the Body, not for himself and he made every choice with that in view. Winning was winning others, overcoming every obstacle -- not getting his own way. Paul said that if he did otherwise, he was in danger of forfeiting his life purpose and all he had worked for. Even Paul, with all the things endowed to him by God and all the "importance" of his role as an apostle, could lose and disqualify himself from God's work by living selfishly. His standard: I (we) win when the Body wins.

Example: Israel in the wilderness. They had been chosen for great blessing, for a great work. They had been set free from enslavement and provided for -- for what? To satisfy their own lusts? To desire evil things? To fool around with idols and false gods? To complain about what God had done and would do for them in the future? God made an example of them to us -- who have also had a great deliverance and given a great calling in God's purpose for the world. If we live for ourselves and "play both sides of the fence" we are in danger of being disqualified. God knows we live with temptation. God knows that no one has "unique" temptations. He will bear us up through it. He uses it to improve us, not disprove us. There is a vast difference between being tempted to sin and doing sin (living out the temptation).

Therefore, don't be arrogant with your "superior" knowledge, don't play with demonic things. If you eat some meat from the meat market, and it has been sacrificed to idols, don't worry about it since idols are nothing. However, if someone says, "This meat is special, it has been blessed by sacrificing it to Zeus" or "We're celebrating Gaia! Come join us in our celebration meal..." don't eat it for their conscience sake. More than that, if you join them in celebrating Gaia -- YOU are participating willfully with demons!

Comments on First Corinthians - Part 7

1 Corinthians 8-10 (Part 1): "Rights" of a Christian.

As someone has said, freedom isn't being able to do whatever you want, it is the power to do what you ought. Christians have gained truth that sets us free from things that harm and destroy life.

Intellectual knowledge is like cotton candy -- it gives the appearance of substance, but is really just a little sugar "fluffed up". Love (the action, not the "feeling") is substantial. As with the Corinthians, knowledge can become an instrument of individualism, separation, of competition. Instead of acting in the interest of their weaker brethren, those who had "knowledge" about the non-reality of idols and sacrifices to them used that knowledge to prove their "superiority" to those unenlightened ones who let those kinds of things trouble them.

To be clear, we are not to remain children and this concern for the weaker should not be construed as a reason to let the immature stay that way. It is the responsibility of the mature to lovingly build up the maturity of the weaker members. That may take time and patience but it is essential for the growth of the body.

Comments on First Corinthians - Part 6

1 Corinthians 7: Again, our bodies are not our "property". In the case of the marriage relationship, we owe physical, emotional, spiritual affection to our mate. It should be a debt we are glad to pay, but it is a debt nonetheless. This keeps the home fires burning in a wandering, immoral society. God didn't make us to be stoic or ascetic on the one hand or stray dogs on the other.

A married believer should not instigate a divorce from an unbelieving spouse, but especially a believing one. If so divorced, reconciliation or celibacy are the only options as long as both are alive. If an unbelieving spouse divorces a believer, let them go peacefully.

Unmarried believers who are considering marriage need to make the decision with their eyes open -- not "blinded by love". Singleness offers greater flexibility and service to Christ with fewer distractions. As Paul says -- and I think every married disciple would agree -- when we are married we have the additional desire to please our spouse. Just reality. Marriage is not a "second class" option to singleness, but it needs to be stripped of the phony expectations of our Cinderella and the Handsome Prince way of seeing it. When we make marriage vows, we are binding ourselves to God's purpose in marriage, with attendant covenantal blessings for obedience and cursings for disobedience.

Comments on First Corinthians - Part 5

1 Corinthians 5-6 Part Two: We quote the scripture that God has given us "everything pertaining to life and godliness." The scripture also says that the mature are those "who through practice, have their sensed trained to discern good and evil." In other words, the mature person listens to God's instructions, practices them and gains clarity and discernment. They are not clueless about "the right thing to do" any more. These are the ones that Paul says to go to for conflict resolution, not to judges that are spiritually clueless.

While God's standards must inform -- even condemn -- the world, the church "polices" its own, God deals with those outside. When we are "grown up" we will judge the world and even angels. Are we getting ready for that -- by studying and practicing -- or are we just "expecting it to happen" by and by? This was another area where the Corinthians were dishonoring the body. Instead of pursuing maturity and helpfulness toward the church, they were living just like those whom God condemns, preying on one another. People are either servants or predators. The Corinthians were being the latter.

For Christians -- and in the usage of Paul -- "the body" can either refer to an individual's flesh and bones, or to the corporate church. It would seem that those who dishonor one dishonor the other. That is definitely true throughout 1 Corinthians. Paul's warnings apply equally to both. A person's body is for Christ, not for immorality. The Church body is for Christ, not for immorality. God made both the stomach and food, but food doesn't rule the stomach, God does. Sexuality (or anything that tends to "control" people) doesn't rule the person or the church, Christ does. He owns the lives he bought. Beware of your appetites.

Comments on First Corinthians - Part 4

1 Corinthians 5-6 Part One: Tolerance of evil is not maturity. God created the body for holiness and that holiness is part of the testimony that his salvation is real -- not just "god talk". Those who practice evil need to be put outside the protective sphere of the church, for their own good and the good of the body. A father with an independent and rebellious son will not allow him to continue to stay at home, live as he pleases and disrupt the household. For the good of the son and the protection of the rest of the family, the father will make him move out and fend for himself. The father will still love him and try to work with him, but not in the home. There is no biblical evidence of the modern attitude "we'd rather have them in church."

Churches with no discipline are inviting ruin to the whole family. The notions of "whoever is without sin, let him throw the first stone" or "first take the log out of your own eye" do not apply to situations of habitual gross disobedience like this. We have allowed those principles to be mis-applied to the degree that they make church discipline toothless. Paul's rebuke to the Corinthians is also very clear that he and the church are given authority to "turn over to Satan" those who prefer sin over obedience. That's pretty serious authority for the church to have responsibility for. God's standard for the church is purity. It is not an elective for those who are "really serious" about their faith.

Comments on First Corinthians - Part 3

1 Corinthians 4: As said before, Paul took the Corinthians apparent liking to "one up" each other by the horns. He used himself and his discipling companion Apollos -- another one of their "superstars" -- to show the foolishness of that way of looking at things.

We start adding our own extras to give our position a little more pizzazz than the other guy. Paul urges them not to "go beyond what is written." The gospel is an equalizer -- everything we have that is good is a gift and no one is an earner. One of the pleasant characteristics of liturgical churches -- from my standpoint -- is that is doesn't focus on the preacher. Many evangelicals are like the Corinthians. "I think Pastor X is really dynamic." "No, Pastor Y is better!"

Liturgical worship, for all its formality, has the capability to focus on worship and reflect on the word of God, not on how much ga-ga the service has. We could learn from that.

The Corinthians took "ruling or reigning" in the same manner as the pagan rulers -- they wanted to be distinguished, esteemed, opulent. To Paul, reigning came by serving (just as his model -- Jesus -- said, "the one who rules must be servant of all") and he gave examples of how that manifested in the lives of his fellow apostles.

For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.

Make no mistake, Christians are destined to rule, but it will not be by force, it will be by service.

Comments on First Corinthians - Part 2

1 Corinthians 1 and 2: The Christians at Corinth had "sided up" with different gospel superstars as if their stars had unique messages, but especially because they had different "styles". Paul's warning is that nothing spiritual originates in men and Christ's spirit does not divide himself up and represent himself differently through different people. He warns that the message is quite simple and "style" can only take away from it, the Spirit and the message are going to be the same no matter who is speaking. If it takes gimmicks or "pizzazz" to succeed, it is not success by God's definition.

Richard Dawkins and other extremists of the materialist faith accuse Christians of a "God delusion". Paul says that there is wisdom that is hidden from the eye, that materialists can't know. This wisdom is only revealed by the Spirit to the spirit. The things God has prepared for those who love him fall into this category. Only spiritual men, then, are playing with a "full deck".

Next: Chapter 3

Comments on First Corinthians - Part 1

I have been spending a lot of time reading and thinking about Paul's first existing letter to the Corinthian church lately. I don't presume to uncover anything new, but in the next few posts, I will briefly put some of my thoughts out here.

After reading the letter, there are many similarities to the modern (especially American) church. Lest we shrug that off, it was so serious at Corinth that some people were sickly and others had died as a result of their wrong-headed and careless approach to body life. In fact, the warnings of chapter ten about Israel's self-willed practices -- tying together with the warning about the temple of God and about the Lord's supper -- were obviously meant to be taken seriously by them, and by us.

This church is all about distinguishing oneself from others: "I'm better than the others because..." Their meetings were about "what's in it for me" and "I'd better get mine before others do." It was a sick body, the parts not working together in healthy way and the immune system down (chapter 5 -- allowing sin to openly go on which even pagans considered out-of-bounds). It was a far cry from the holy body God called it to be -- see Titus 2:14.

Next: Comments about chapters 1-2.

The Great Plains -- A Retrospective

Calling Out Your Name

Well the moon moved past Nebraska
And spilled laughter on them cold Dakota Hills
And angels danced on Jacob's stairs
Yeah, they danced on Jacob's stairs
There is this silence in the Badlands
And over Kansas the whole universe was stilled
By the whisper of a prayer
The whisper of a prayer

And the single hawk bursts into flight
And in the east the whole horizon is in flames
I feel thunder in the sky
I see the sky about to rain
And I hear the prairies calling out Your name

I can feel the earth tremble
Beneath the rumbling of the buffalo hooves
And the fury in the pheasant's wings
And there's fury in a pheasant's wings
It tells me the Lord is in His temple
And there is still a faith that can make the mountains move
And a love that can make the heavens ring
And I've seen love make heaven ring

Where the sacred rivers meet
Beneath the shadow of the Keeper of the plains
I feel thunder in the sky
I see the sky about to rain
And I hear the prairies calling out Your name

From the place where morning gathers
You can look sometimes forever 'til you see
What time may never know
What time may never know
How the Lord takes by its corners this old world
And shakes us forward and shakes us free
To run wild with the hope
To run wild with the hope

The hope that this thirst will not last long
That it will soon drown in the song not sung in vain
And I feel thunder in the sky
I see the sky about to rain
And I hear the prairies calling out Your name

And I know this thirst will not last long
That it will soon drown in the song not sung in vain
I feel thunder in the sky
I see the sky about to rain
And with the prairies I am calling out Your name

Rich Mullins
Psalms 19:1-6

It has been over twenty-five years since I left the Great Plains. I still carry with me the nasal southwest Kansas twang -- I will probably have it till my dying day. I had no appreciation for my homeland of western Kansas when I was growing up. It was a place to get away from. Definitely un-cosmopolitan, consisting mostly of wheat farms, pasture, cattle rances and prairie. Life revolved around planting and harvesting the wheat crop, getting cattle to market, Friday night football games or basketball games. Small farm towns, like Protection, where I grew up, were a symbiotic partner with the farms and ranches. I was a "town kid" -- my family provided services to the farmers, ranchers and townspeople. As the seventies hit, and the small farm was beginning to decline, I was one of those with stars in his eyes - who wanted to get far, far away from the seemingly dull existence that the high plains offered.

Rich Mullins, on the other hand, was making the journey in reverse. Already a "star" (though that is not what he intended to be and sought not to be), Rich came to the plains of Kansas as someone who could appreciate it's unique beauty for what it was -- and that is partly what he communicated in the song printed above, "Calling Out Your Name".

I came late to appreciate Rich Mullins. And I came late to appreciate my homeland. Better late than not at all.

Poor Man's Blackberry (tm)

Most people these days have a cell phone and most of them have an SMS or Text Messaging function. It is possible to use that feature to turn your phone into a "poor man's Blackberry". Most likely, you would not want to be notified of every email message that comes to your account, but would like to be kept aware of specific mail messages when the arrive.

Most corporate mail systems have the capability of user-created and user-managed rules regarding disposition of messages. In my case, if I'm away, I would like to know if I get email from my boss and I would also like to stay on top of the requests coming into the corporate help desk -- since they affect me, as a systems admin. So, to accomplish that, I set up a mail rule to do the job which I can turn on when I'm preparing to be away from work and turn off when I'm in the office.

My mail rule (see screenshot below) notices any Help Desk messages or any messages from Joe, my boss and routes a copy to my cell phone via text messaging.

The only real downsides to this approach are 1) SMS messages are limited in length and 2) your plan may charge by the message versus unlimited. My plan charges about .10 for each text message, but if I need it, it's no big deal, as far as I am concerned. This allows me to stay on top of what's going on Helpdesk-wise without being tied to the PC.

Tornado Alley

Since yesterday morning, it has been hard to watch the cable news or the Weather Channel without seeing footage and commentary about the Greensburg, Kansas tornado. We were staying at a hotel preparing for our son's college graduation, as my Mom and Dad joined us for breakfast. Their first words were, "Did you hear about Greensburg?"

This was not the first tornado "experience" I have had, but the amount of devastation is hard to get my arms around. I was living in Emporia, Kansas in 1974 when a killer tornado struck, destroying a shopping mall, a large trailer court and a wide area of upper-middle-class apartments and residences. There were 12 fatalities. It was eerie. The description of Greensburg as "looking like a war zone" was used then, as well. I'm not sure they were using the rating scale on tornados that they are using today. I don't believe Emporia's tornado was an F5 like the one that took out Greensburg.

Years later, when we were living in Bloomington, Indiana -- a tornado struck on the the south side of Bedford, about twenty miles south with similar types of damage, only a much smaller area. The reason I write this is: I grew up very near Greensburg. I have been there and driven through there countless times in my growing up years. It is all very familiar to me -- and to watch from afar -- it is even more gripping for the memories of the town I knew, but is now nothing but rubble.

Finally (but one never knows), we have had a several tornados near our home in Junction City, Louisiana in the last few years. One came as near as half-a-mile and thankfully we had no damage though others a few miles down that tornado's track had localized but massive destruction, like the Greensburg photos.

Our prayers are with the people of Greensburg.

Addendum: My dad forwarded a news article that stated that the Greensburg tornado originated near my old hometown of Protection, Kansas -- accounting for the 20-30 minute warning that the residents of Greensburg had. Here is a link to a stormchaser site that covered another multi-tornado outbreak near Protection on April 23.

Shame on Me (Telling on Myself)

My wife, Cindy, and I traveled to Little Rock yesterday so that she could have a PET scan prior to making some decisions about her ongoing chemotherapy. I was sitting in the Imaging waiting room at Baptist Hospital while she was going through the process back somewhere in the bowels of the Imaging department.

I like to encourage Christians to speak up when there is an opportunity to choose the right thing and oppose the wrong thing. As it turns out, while I was sitting there a couple sat on a love seat next to where I was sitting. The said is wife would just go crazy if she didn't get to see "The Young and The Restless" and would anyone mind if he turned the TV to that channel. My response was, "I don't care one way or the other." As he changed the channels, I thought to myself, "You don't care? -- What do you mean 'I don't care one way or the other'?"

I had a good experience of Jesus admonition to take the log out of my own eye. How can I encourage others to do what I don't do myself? Shame on me!