Turning Loose

My wife and daughters have often told me that I just can't turn loose of something once I have my mind made up.  I've come to the conclusion that they are right.  However, in my defense, it is because I am a passionate person with strong convictions.  When I am proven wrong, or someone demonstrates a better perspective, I have often changed my view and conviction.  Having said that, there are some immutable truths that God has delivered on which I will not capitulate.  I believe He is the ultimate judge of what is right and wrong.  Therefore, I approach His word with a certain amount of trepidation, expecting to be taught.  Instead of bringing my own preconceived notions, using the scriptures to prove what I already believe, I go to the Word, leaving my own conclusions behind, and read with an open mind, allowing the Lord's words to speak without interpretation.  At least, that is my goal.  Since I am an imperfect human, I need to be in constant prayer, meditating over what has been delivered.  The one thing I strive not to do is to mix scripture with worldly wisdom.  This is dangerous, and leads to much error.  I fear that far too many Christians have bowed to the god of pseudo science, especially in areas that are delicate to discuss.  In the interest of tolerance, we have begun to tolerate that which God does not.  This is what has inspired this blog entry.

When approaching the subject of homosexuality, I have been labeled with several derogatory labels.  Most recently I was called self-righteous and judgmental because I called homosexuality a perversion.  Yet, I was only calling this sinful lifestyle what God calls it.  But, these terms are mild compared to the others, such as, hater, bigot, homophobe, etc.  What's disconcerting is that these are coming from Christians who should know better.  Oh, I realize that they believe they are being compassionate and tolerant toward people who simply can't help themselves.  And, to support this there is science.  Unfortunately, the same science that is used to tell us that people are born homosexual, also tells us that some are born with a predilection toward alcoholism, drug addiction, and a myriad of other types of aberrant behavior.  The primary difference is that we used to treat people who were homosexual, just as we treat alcoholics or drug addicts.  We helped them find a cure.  And, it worked.  Many were able to overcome and lead normal lives striving to be the kind of people God wants us to be.  But, for some reason unknown to me, science decided to defy God when it comes to homosexuality, telling people that it is normal.  Then, some Christians who have decided to interpret scripture using this pseudo science, have also condoned this sinful lifestyle.  So, now we have a lot of good people who are living in opposition to God's will, being deceived by the great deceiver, and in danger of hell fire.  Do we not care that these are possibly going to hell?  I don't get it.  I am called a hater, when I care enough to want to help these poor misguided souls.  Is it really compassion to condone what God clearly condemns?  Yet we sit idly by while thousands are being deceived.

Homosexuality is not the only sin we are condoning by our silence.  Sexual immorality of all sorts is being seen as tacitly approved.  Watch an evening of prime time television and you will witness adultery, fornication, and pornography being portrayed as normal human functions.  If we speak out against teens having sex before marriage we are told that we are being unreasonable.  Adultery is expected.  Pornography is portrayed as a normal, acceptable part of life.  Foul language is vogue, even among Christians.  It demonstrates how tolerant and enlightened one has become.  Human life has been cheapened at every level. Young girls are being objectified in our restaurants, given immodest uniforms to entice men to look and order more from the menu.  There is more emphasis on toned bodies than there is on moral lives.  Something is wrong only if you are caught.  Lies are okay so long as no one gets hurt.  In fact, that is often the justification for much of this sinful activity.  You often hear, "Who are they hurting?"  Well, my answer to that question is, "God."  He hurts every time we willfully sin.

Am I saying that God's grace is insufficient? Absolutely not!  However, the Bible gives us very stern warnings about taking the grace of God for granted.  "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?  By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"  Romans 9:1-2  And then, the one that should cause everyone pause: "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." Hebrews 10:26-27

I have leaned hard on homosexuality because it seems as though every force outside the Bible is trying to push this sinful lifestyle on us, forcing us to accept it as normal.  I have nothing but the greatest compassion toward those who are caught up in this great lie.  So, rather than condoning it and accepting their eventual fate, I would rather reach out in love and offer them redemption instead of condemnation.  This is what God wants.  It is what His grace offers.  "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9

Week 52 2013 Post-Season Football

It is amazing how many bowl games are played when the season is over.  I have such a difficult time trying to keep up with college games throughout the season, and then post-season comes with its bowl games.  Add to that the NFL play-off games leading to the Superbowl.  Oh, excuse me, the “big game.”  It seems that just because the season is over, we aren’t ready to let it end.  It’s all good, because I love football, and I’m sure that other fans would echo that sentiment.

I wonder, is there anything else we are just not ready to let go of?  Oh sure, we aren’t ready to let go of our loved ones when they come to the end of their lives.  There are probably a lot of books, movies, and songs we would like to extend.  What about those things devoted to the Lord?

What if we found worship to be so enjoyable we weren’t ready to let it end?  How would the world look if we enjoyed serving at a soup line so much we extended our agreement regularly?  If our love for our fellows was so deep we just couldn’t wait to express it in tangible ways, how exciting would that be?

As we begin another year, let me offer a new year’s resolution that would be sure to make 2014 better than any other year.  Let’s resolve to show love for everyone, regardless of who they are or whether they reciprocate that love.

Week 51 2013 Places to Go, People to See

We have been traveling most of our lives.  From the moment of our engagement on, seeing places we hadn’t seen before has been a priority.  I remember Una telling me that she had never been anywhere.  That statement is no longer true.  By the time we had retired we had been in every state in the Union.  However, we are a bit light on world travel, having only been to the two bordering countries, Ireland, and the western Caribbean islands of Cayman, Jamaica, and Honduras.  While there is still life in the body, there is hope in the heart that the Lord will bless us to see even more of the world.

Why do we like to travel so much?  Primarily, because we love witnessing all the intricacies of God’s creativity found on earth.  There is the history associated with many of the sights we visit.  The marvel of what mankind has been able to build is fascinating.  People.  Everywhere we go, we are blessed to meet wonderful people.  Meeting people and making friends, even those with whom we have limited time, are priceless.  Some of these have become friends while traveling the “information highway.”  It has been a joy to meet some of these face to face after a time.  We now have friends spread throughout the globe.

It is this final aspect of traveling that has given us pause to put the brakes on our traveling.  Even though we have friends all over the world, there are concentrations in two different locales, California and Texas.  That doesn’t, in any way, discount the feelings we have toward our dear friends in Oregon, Washington, Montana, Wyoming, Arizona, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Florida, Maine, Ireland . . . you get the picture.  Yet, it does offer some stability as we grow older.  You see, in these two places we have established church families that love us and care for us like no other.  These folks follow our travels and look forward to our return so we can once again be engaged in the ministries that we so enjoy.  From Men On a Mission to Monday Fun and Fellowship, we encourage and are encouraged in ways that no amount of travel can equal.

So, does this mean we will stop traveling?  No.  It does mean that we will probably travel less.  Remember, we still have people to see in other places, and there are still other places.  Happy trails!

Week 50 2013 Thanksmas

During the last two months of the year we celebrate two of the best family holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Both of these events bring family and friends together like few others.  We eat together, share together, love each other, and at least for one day in each of these months, we get along.  I thoroughly enjoy these times.  Taking time to reflect on what we are thankful for, while knowing that we should be doing this every day, is good.  Sometimes the feeling lingers for awhile.  We might even go to church in order to express our thankfulness toward God.  It gives us a warm, fuzzy feeling.

While we complain about the commercialism of the Christmas season, we take our part in promoting the frenzy.  The joy of giving is alive and well.  It seems we cannot give enough, as we max out our credit cards, spend hours in long lines, and fight holiday traffic.  Many of us will reflect on the greatest gift given and the night of His birth.  Even though the Christmas dinner will be enjoyed, the highlight will be the opening of gifts and the stockings that were hung with care.  Pictures and videos will be snapped and memories made.  It’s all good!

There is no excuse for spurning either of these holidays.  Fortunately, the number of real-life Scrooges are few in number.  Whether one is a believer or not, these holidays are just plain fun.  Aside from the frivolity, and the warmth between family and friends, these point to the end of the year, promising a new beginning with the coming year.  Everyone looks forward to a fresh start, the opportunity to enjoy what a new year has in store.  So, I am thankful for Christmas, following Thanksgiving, hoping that everyone has a Happy New Year!

Week 49 2013 Phil Needs to Duck

Phil Robertson is a dedicated Christian with a college degree who has taken a simple product and turned it into a multi-million dollar business.  Duck Dynasty has become one of the most marketable television shows in recent history.  It is also currently one of the highest rated television shows.  Yet, A&E, the network that airs the show, is actually threatening their future by suspending Phil because of his comments during an interview with GQ, Gentleman Quarterly.  It has caused a firestorm of controversy, with lines being drawn over homosexuality.  And now, grandstanders, like Jessie Jackson, are attempting to bring racism into the forefront.  It is a remarkable fiasco.  It is also an indicator of where the moral compass of our nation is pointing.

There is an old adage that proclaims, “If we don’t learn from history, we are bound to repeat the same errors.”  Throughout history every major world empire embraced sexual immorality shortly before its collapse.  Our current world empire is centered in America and there are multiple indicators pointing to an end.  The unfortunate part is that history also demonstrates that the culture emerging from the collapse always moves the pendulum to the extreme right, oppressing different segments of the population through arbitrary criteria decided by a small minority.  Nobody benefits from such a scenario.

Having said this, it is my conviction that the unredeemed have a difficult time understanding God’s will.  Jesus makes a profound statement in the Sermon on the Mount: “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”  Matthew 7:6 We have witnessed the truth of this statement in recent times over the abortion issue and gay rights.  Rather than projecting the pearls of truth found in scripture to a lost world, we should be proclaiming the gospel, loving the lost with an unconditional love.  Once they obey the gospel and have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, they will be better equipped to understand and embrace these pearls.

Even though I agree with what Brother Phil said, I believe the venue he used was not the best.  He is an intelligent man.  Thus, he should know what the liberal media is going to do with any interview he grants.  They would love to tear this godly man down because he and his family are having such a dramatic impact for Christ.  It is my prayer that everyone will take a step back and consider the love this man has for everyone, including the sexually immoral.

Week 48 2013 Battlegrounds

We visited several battlegrounds this summer, both Revolutionary War and Civil War.  Gettysburg, Antietam, Harpers Ferry, Fredericksburg, Manassas, just to name a few, are sites where thousands of men lost their lives fighting for a cause for which they believed had value, a cause worth sacrifice.  One is humbled by the sheer enormity of life lost on these fields.  In virtually every battle, nearly every soldier believed that God was on his side, believed that He would bless their troops with success.  There were prayers to the same God in every camp site.  Chaplains, serving the same God, held services for troops on both sides of the line.  Churches in both camps held prayer meetings for their boys gone off to war, believing they were fighting for the cause of Christ.

The same could be said about most every war over the centuries.  So, what shall we conclude?  Was the losing side deluded?  Or, were both sides confused?  Who is to say that one side was closer to God than the other?  I’m not really sure I have the answers to these questions.  Furthermore, I’m not sure that anyone else does either.  I am sure of one thing.  God stands ready to bless any who put their complete faith and trust in Him.  This doesn’t mean that He will fight and win our battles.  It does mean, however, that He will be with us through those battles, regardless of the side we have pledged our allegiance.

These are battlegrounds where flesh and blood are destroyed.  There are other battlegrounds where spirit and soul are sacrificed.  These are battles with eternal consequences.  When engaged in these struggles there is a clear separation of right and wrong, good and evil, God and Satan.  Unfortunately, there are untold millions lost in this war.  Our weapons are those provided by the Lord.  They are powerful and able to take out the evil Satan wields with great expertise.  The battlegrounds are all around us.  We can be fighting these battles on the streets where the homeless and hopeless reside, or in our church buildings where the wheat and tares await the winnowing that will take place in that great judgement day.  The weapons are the same, regardless of the battleground.  The Lord provides these gifts abundantly to any who are willing to use them to His glory.  The Apostle Paul tells us that the greatest of these are faith, hope, and love, with love trumping all of them.  If we will let these be our weapons of choice, refining our ability to wield them, we will be victorious, and we can rest assured that God is truly on our side!

Week 47 2013 Floral Fun

Since we bought a DSLR camera, we take more pictures.  Some of these turn out so well we wonder if there is some way to protect them from other people marketing them.  I must admit that I have absolutely no idea how to do that, and I’m not really sure that I care that much.  However, I do enjoy the pictures.  One of my favorite settings on the camera is the flower setting.  It takes advantage of one of natures most beautiful occurring events.  The variety and depth of color are simply amazing!  I really need to take a course in botany in order to identify the masterpieces God has provided.  Perhaps with that knowledge I could put together a book that could be used by others to share the beauty we have experienced.

As enjoyable as photography can be, the very best pictures can’t be printed, because, the most excellent visions are in my memory banks.  These are those that come so quickly and spontaneously I don’t have the opportunity to shoot them with my Nikon.  They also involve more senses and dimensions than my camera can offer.  Furthermore, these engage the most beautiful of all of God’s creations, people.  People offer an insight into the Creator.  We are made in His image.  The vision we exhibit is deeper than what our eyes can develop.  The best book to view these images was written thousands of years ago.  It is accessible to anyone.  You can pay as little as nothing, or as high a price as you might think is desirable.  The Bible is the best-selling book of all time, and its images are beyond incredible.

Enjoy the creation found in nature.  To use the cliche, take time to smell the roses.  But, don’t limit yourself to these beauties.  Take in the full picture by learning about the One who created nature.