Fixing My Facebook Feed

I read this today with our HCC Thursday morning Bible study crew and thought to myself: “Self, you and a lot of your friends and virtual friends need to think and pray long and hard on this before our next tweet or post on Facebook.”  Simon “Rocky” Johnson (you may know him as the apostle Peter) writes:

⁸ Now finally, all of you should be like-minded and sympathetic, should love believers, and be compassionate and humble, ⁹ not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you can inherit a blessing (1 Peter 3:8-9).

all of you

Peter’s letter is written to Christians living as the decided minority in their world.  Here in this part of his epistle, he writes to instruct Christ-followers how to interact with other believers.  He means, of course, to address a specific group of folk in a specific time and place, namely, first-century Christians scattered and displaced in the Roman provinces of northern Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey).  What the Lord Holy Spirit moves upon him to write, however, is perfectly suited for two millennia of Christians all around the globe, including twenty-first-century believers in the USA today.  

So, when Pete says, “all of you,” he means you and me, each of us and all of us who rely upon Jesus Christ for our salvation and who claim to adhere to His teaching and endeavor to follow His example – whatever your tribe or denominational tag, whatever your race or ethnicity, whatever your socio-economic status, whatever your political persuasion.  If we belong to Jesus Christ, we all belong to one another.

I will let you mine the treasure trove of Christian conduct to which Peter calls us.  In fact, we would all do well to invest some time and brain cells and shoe leather in replicating each part of the behavior he promotes.  May I save you from scrolling back up and simply remind you:

⁸ … all of you should be like-minded and sympathetic, should love believers, and be compassionate and humble, ⁹ not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you can inherit a blessing (1 Peter 3:8-9).

you were called for this

Hey, brother and sister believer in Jesus Christ, we are “called for this.”  We are called to give blessing, to encourage, to love one another just like Jesus Christ loves us (cf John 13:34-35.  Go ahead, look it up.  You’ll be glad you did).  

What if we are called to be a blessing to other people, even and especially in the virtual world of our social networks?  Maybe now would be a good time to take inventory of your last dozen or so updates and responses on your Facebook feed.  Any blessing there?  Anything there that sounds like what Jesus Christ calls us to be?

Pete draws inspiration from the Hebrew hymnal and quotes one of the psalms to seal the deal.

¹⁰ For the one who wants to love life
and to see good days
must keep his tongue from evil 
and his lips from speaking deceit, 
¹¹ and he must turn away from evil
and do what is good.
He must seek peace and pursue it,
¹² because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and His ears are open to their request.
But the face of the Lord is against
those who do what is evil (1 Peter 3:10-12; Psalm 34:12-16).

seek peace

The last phrase in verse 11 jumped out at me.  Any of us who desire to love life and live well, must devote ourselves to “seek peace and pursue it.”  On this text, Pastor Greg Pouncey writes:

…  Conflict usually erupts because someone wants to win.  Someone wants to win an argument, win a battle, or win a war.  Christians have an obligation to pursue peace, not victory, at all costs.

… If we win a battle with our lost neighbors but lose our witness, we have worked against God’s ways rather than for them.

This is not a call to put our heads in the sand or to play nice as if the world is not the wacky hot mess that it is.  In my estimation peace is not so much the absence of conflict as it is a campaign to stay the course, to keep calm, to trust ever more deeply, even in the throes of the most violent storms, in God’s Word, God’s work, and God’s way.   

I am also of the opinion that peace is not the same as uniformity.  Uniformity would have us all dress alike, talk alike, or vote alike.  Unity, on the other hand, celebrates diversity and flavors and perspectives even as it brings us together like one large, multi-colored tapestry.  Uniformity demands we all ride on the same bus, listen to the same music, follow the same schedule, and take the same route.  Unity allows for vehicles of many shapes and sizes and seating capacities, endorses freedom in our pace, and celebrates the songs we prefer on the roads of our choice.

(Don’t try to make those metaphors walk on all fours, dear reader.  John 14:6 makes clear the only way to the Father is Jesus Christ.  Revelation 7:9-10 makes just as clear that Father revels in the rich, vibrant variety in our forever faith family.)

seek peace and pursue it

We have to pursue this peace.  This requires effort.  This involves rigor.  This is a call to action that may leave us breathless and weary here.  Remember, though, that “here” is not Home.

Listen, I don’t care very much anymore for whom you voted or did not vote.  This is a landscape upon which we followers of King Jesus should stand out from the rest of the planet.  Whether the onlookers live in the lands of the far left or the far right or the big, squishy middle, we who bear His name should stand out as exceptional by virtue of our profound love and respect for and humble service to one another and our neighbors.  We should, as our Savior prophesies, be recognizable to the world as His disciples, His people, His family by our love for one another. 

Now is the time.  Let our world and our networks see in no uncertain terms that we are His, we belong to one family, and we will seek peace and pursue it by His grace and for His glory!

The View from "The Big House"

The View from “The Big House”
A Reflection on the Fortieth Anniversary of Roe v Wade

Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan, is less than a 30-minute drive south from our house, strange and sometimes perilous territory for a fan of Buckeye football and Hoosier basketball to call home.  The University of Michigan football team plays their home games just down the road in the spacious confines of Michigan Stadium, or as it is known in these parts, “The Big House.”  The stadium is, in fact, one BIG house.

The official seating capacity for “The Big House” is 109,901.  The seats are actually very rarely used since attendees typically stand the whole time they are there.  September 10, 2011, however, 114,804 eyewitnesses watched the hometown Wolverines defeat the Notre Dame Irish by a score of 35-31.  That represents the single-game attendance record for NCAA football.  

Just as impressive as that single-game feat, every home game since a contest with Purdue on November 8, 1975, has hosted at least 100,000 fans.  That’s more than 200 games.  That’s 20,000,000 spectators. 

Think about this a moment.  If I did my math correctly (multiplying by two and adding two zeroes), more than 20 million people since 1975 have packed into “The Big House.”  Imagine 200 stadiums across the nation being similarly crammed with 100,000 people each.  Now double that, and we have an astounding 40 million people.  

That is still 15 million people shy of the number of citizens the United States has lost since 1972 to abortion. 

Fifty-five million people since 1972 have gone missing, missing from our schools, from our rosters, from our neighborhoods, from our workplaces, missing from our churches and synagogues, missing from our lives.  The oldest of them would be 41 years old today, and the youngest … well,  some of those 41-year-olds could be raising the youngest of these.      

How many teachers and mentors?  How many policemen and firemen?  How many doctors and nurses?  How many soldiers and civic leaders?  How many athletes and coaches?  How many discoverers and pioneers?  How many artists and craftsmen?  How many church members, ministers and missionaries?  How many benefactors and taxpayers? 

How many more will we lose?  Recent trends suggest more than 800,000 babies will be lost this year… no, not lost but … well, what is the best word?  Discarded?  Sacrificed?  Murdered?  More people than will go to the seven home games at “The Big House” in 2013 will be deprived of the opportunity even to cheer on a favorite team on TV.  

Will we miss them?

Rules for Intersections: A Thought or Two about This Election Season

A week or so ago, some of our members approached me unaware of one another with questions about the election this year.  About the same time, an editor asked me for permission to print some of the articles I have written over the years and posted on our church website.  They specifically asked me to re-write an article I wrote about the 2004 elections.  What follows below is a slightly longer, more personal version of the article I sent the editor this week.

Rules for Intersections

When I was a little boy learning to cross the street, I received some timeless guidance: Stop.  Look both ways.  Proceed with caution. 

Later, when I was learning to drive, we applied those same three simple rules to intersections: Stop.  Look both ways.  Proceed with caution.

Today, three extraordinarily busy intersections on the American socio-political map require the same sage advice.  How can we safely traverse the intersections of Republican Road and Democratic Drive, Wall Street and Main Street, and Church Street and State Street?  Stop.  Look both ways.  Proceed with caution.

Look for a Signal

Over the years, I have learned that safe passage through busy intersections often requires aids and guides.  Children learn to cross the street at the corner under the direction of a monitor or, even better, with their hands in Mommy or Daddy’s hands.  Traffic flows more safely and freely when facilitated by volume-appropriate directors – Yield or Stop signs, stoplights, or a police officer directing traffic. 

So, I propose another word of counsel to our simple rules for safe crossings: Stop.  Look both ways.  Look for a signal.  Then, proceed with caution.

Where do we find these signals?  I believe God has set up some traffic signals at those treacherous intersections we noted above.

Republican Road and Democratic Drive

Stump speeches, party platforms, and analysis from all the experts abound with obscenely large numbers, gratuitous claims of impressive accomplishments, nearly messianic claims to resolve our challenges, and obligatory accusations of the other side’s incompetence at least and malevolence at worst.  Frankly, from the conventions to the political ads to the media coverage – whether “fair and balanced” or not – I struggle to discern the truth, and we have not yet been treated to the clarity the presidential debates will most assuredly obscure.  Republican Road and Democratic Drive is a perilous intersection, to say the least.

God’s Signal

Of course, God is neither a democrat nor a republican, though we are quietly confident He votes like us.  Here are a couple of signals I look for at Republican Road and Democratic Drive.

God values human life from the womb to the tomb, so I cast my vote for candidates and measures that protect life, and I encourage my family and friends to do the same.  I cannot find any just cause worthy of compromise on this issue!  No politician, party, or platform that supports abortion – the legalized murder of innocent pre-born children – shall ever have my support.

The first institution God ordained to help us be fruitful, multiply, and manage His creation for His glory is that of marriage between one man and one woman.  So, I vote for candidates and measures that support a biblical view of marriage and family, and I encourage my family and friends to do the same.

Wall Street and Main Street

The financial record of the past several years exposes the dangers resident at the corner of Wall Street and Main Street.  Seems the “greed” light has been on for all roads leading to this junction.  The resulting collision has been particularly disastrous for folks who failed to wear their seatbelts even while they “pushed the pedal to the metal.”  Hyperbole aside, we all know that more Americans face real and hurtful economic woes today than at any other time in our history since the Great Depression.  Most prognosticators warn that we have not seen the full measure of the pileup on our financial highways yet.

God’s Signal

Our conduct at Wall Street and Main Street reveals and reflects our true treasure and our hearts.  To be in debt is to be enslaved.  That’s true for families and nations.  We do not need everything we want.  Simplify.  The quickest way to get a raise is to control our appetite.

The dollar is not almighty, God is.  We do business at Wall Street and Main Street, but we do not depend upon those markets.  “We trust in the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7).  Commerce is a neighborhood where we model that trust.

Church Street and State Street

One of the most confusing intersections is where Church Street meets State Street.  Most of the time, these roads appear to be on parallel courses, widely separated, and we assume they never meet.  In fact, societal engineers have been working for decades to redirect one or both of these roads as if they could somehow eliminate any connection between the two.

God’s Signal

What if Church and State Streets are actually partners, corridors that may even share the same pavement from time to time?  What if our failure to navigate and direct our people with better sense and cooperation along these foundational paths is the culprit that has produced the violent congestion at these other intersections?  In fact, marriage is the first institution ordained by God, followed then by both government and His church.

Here’s the best direction I can find for crossing Church and State Streets, indeed, all of the intersections we face today: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD” (Psalm 33:12). 

As Christians, our truest citizenship is in Heaven (Philippians 3:20).  As citizens of Christ’s Kingdom, however, we should be the very best citizens of these United States.  Do we not believe that Jesus Christ is the King of kings, the Lord of lords?  As such, do we not understand He might have a word or two concerning His will for our nation, as He does for all nations?  As His ambassadors, then (2 Corinthians 5:20), we should do our best to articulate our Sovereign’s message to Americans all, even as we vote our values – better, His values – so that we may truly be “one nation under God.”

This election season, stop, look both ways, look for a signal, and proceed with caution.

Please pray with me as I prepare to bring a brief series – two, maybe three messages in October leading up to the November election about the issues that should influence our vote this year.

His glory, our joy!
Pastor Rob

Dear Sméagol

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3a
Dear Sméagol

Video Illustration: Sméagol and Gollum (“The Two Towers,” Part One: Scene 29)

Peter Jackson did a wonderful job in that scene presenting J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterful portrait of the human condition in the pitiful character of Sméagol/Gollum.  In the scene we just viewed from the second installment of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “The Two Towers,” Sméagol tastes the freedom truth can bring to even the most decimated human spirits.  Sadly, Sméagol tastes but never truly dines on truth.  He hears a bit of the truth but never fully appropriates the whole truth.  So, he remains susceptible to the lie, and that eventually leads to his ruin.

I am calling this message: “Dear Sméagol.”  I want us all to keep in mind the warfare launched against each one of us in Gollum-like fashion as we consider God’s Word this morning. 

¹ Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him: We ask you, brothers, ² not to be easily upset in mind or troubled, either by a spirit or by a message or by a letter as if from us, alleging that the Day of the Lord has come. ³ Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. …

Let’s pray.

Father, thank You for always telling us the truth.  Thank You for giving us Your Word – not only this treasure we call the Bible but Your promise, Your pledge that You are who You say you are and You are going to do everything You say You are going to do.  Lord Holy Spirit, illumine our hearts today.  Thank You for the word You have for us today.  Help us see Jesus Christ – the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  We ask this in accordance with the will of our Savior, in Jesus’ name.  Amen. 

What’s the truth?

At one time or another, each of our children has come to us weakened, wearied, or worried because somebody – usually another one of our children – has called them a name or accused them of being someone undesirable.  “Daddy, so-and so called me a such-and such.”  My response has always followed this sequence:

“Well, are you a such-and-such?”

“No.”

“I didn’t think you were either.  So, you know the truth.  Don’t worry about what so-and-so said.”

Occasionally, they may need a wee bit more encouragement than that, so I would seek to remind them of the truth.  I may or may not have always used these exact words, but my aim has always been the same.

“Do you know what the truth is?”

“No, what?”

“The truth is you are amazing, a wonderful gift from God to your mother and me full to the brim with promise and purpose and potential.”

I would that we would all – each and every one of us – hear that word from God this morning.  We have an awful adversary who ever and always wages war against our King and against us.  He presses against us with his lies.  He accuses us with powerful delusion.  He distracts us with the world system and discourages us with appeals to our own fallen nature.  Have you heard him this week, even this morning: “Oh, you’re just a such-and-such.  You’re a failure, a fraud, a freak.  You are forsaken and friendless.”

Oh, that we would hear our Father ask: “Well, are you really a such-and-such?  Is that who I say you are?”  Oh, that we would hear the voice of our Shepherd calling us by name and inviting us to rise above the vile taunts of the accuser.  Our Advocate says we are His glory and joy!  Our Advocate reminds us we are indeed full to the brim with promise and purpose and potential.

Beloved, I need to hear this.  I need to believe this and live my life governed by this truth!  This truth, this tonic to our spirit, is the subject of Paul’s address to a tiny, young, beleaguered and badgered band of believers in 2 Thessalonians 2.

¹ Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him: We ask you, brothers, ² not to be easily upset in mind or troubled, …

At the outset, what we do not see in our English translations is the urgency, the passion of Paul’s request.  The word Paul uses to state his request (ἐρωτάω) is the very first word in the Greek sentence.  You may remember, that makes it the most emphatic word in the sentence and in Paul’s mind.  So, Paul begins:

I implore you, do not be upset, do not be troubled, do not be deceived about the return of the Lord Jesus Christ and our reunion (ἐπισυναγωγῆς – “gathering together”).  Be encouraged (vv 16-17) and stand firm (v 15).

Why is “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him,” the παρουσίας and the ἐπισυναγωγῆς, so important?

¹³ We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. ¹⁴ Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. ¹⁵ For we say this to you by a revelation from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly have no advantage over those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we will always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

·      The return of the Lord Jesus Christ, the παρουσίας, and our eternal reunion with Him and with our loved ones in Christ Jesus, the ἐπισυναγωγῆς, produce in us a powerful and profound hope and joy.

·      The powerful and profound hope and joy produced by the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, the παρουσίας, and our eternal reunion with Him and with our loved ones who are in Christ Jesus, the ἐπισυναγωγῆς, provide us a winsome platform from which to make the power of the Gospel known.

·      The winsome platform of hope and joy produced by the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, the παρουσίας, and our eternal reunion with Him and with our loved ones who are in Christ Jesus, the ἐπισυναγωγῆς, prove we are in full and fulfilling pursuit of our life purpose.

“The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”  I believe the whole testimony of Scripture is that we are created to manifest the truth about God.  Our essential life purpose is to know Jesus Christ more intimately and to make Him known more intentionally.  When that happens, as that happens, we experience the most complete fulfillment.  This is what we live to be and to do – to be people of a powerful and profound hope and joy.

aNow, when we understand what the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, the παρουσίας, and our eternal reunion with Him and with our loved ones who are in Christ Jesus, the ἐπισυναγωγῆς, produce, provide, and prove, we may begin to appreciate in a new way why and how our adversary would seek to attack us. 

The “why” should be fairly apparent to us. 

·      Our enemy does not want us experience this hope and joy.

·      Our enemy does not want us to express this hope and joy as a winsome platform for Gospel witness.

·      Our enemy does not want us to exalt the King of Heaven and the Lord of our salvation by the hope and joy He gives us.

What about the “how”?  Notice that Paul specifically implores the Thessalonian band of believers “not to be easily upset in mind or troubled” (v 2a).

easily upset in mind (μὴ ταχέως σαλευθῆναι ὑμᾶς ἀπὸ τοῦ νοός )

σαλεύω = to be shaken or thrown down by wind, storms, or waves; to be shaken from a secure or steady position

·      Matthew 11:7 – a reed shaken in the wind

·      Matthew 24:29 – the powers of heaven shaken in the end times

·      Acts 4:21 – the place shaken where the church assembled and prayed for boldness when the Holy Spirit filled them

·      Acts 16:26 – the Philippian prison shaken by the earthquake

·      Acts 17:13 – the confidence of the believers in the Gospel shaken by the unbelieving and agitating Jews

The enemy wants us to be shaken, insecure, and unsteady.

troubled (μήτε θροεῖσθαι)

θροέω = unsettled, thrown into confusion; troubled, disturbed, wanting to cry aloud because terrified

Matthew 24:6 and Mark 13:7 – alarmed or frightened

The enemy wants us to be confused, unsettled, and fearful.

The Encourager, the Lord Holy Spirit, bids us through Paul’s parental passion for church in Thessalonica: “Don’t be shaken.  Don’t lose your footing or your nerve.  Do not be alarmed.  Focus on the Return and the Reunion and find your footing.”

How would the Thessalonian believers “be easily upset in mind or troubled”?

² … either by a spirit or by a message or by a letter as if from us, alleging that the Day of the Lord has come. ³ Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way.

Consider the lengths the enemy would go to mislead the church:

·      by a spirit (μήτε διὰ πνεύματος) = probably indicates a false prophet

·      by a message (μήτε διὰ λόγου) = suggests “a word,” a teaching

·      by a letter as if from us (μητὲ διʼ ἐπιστολῆς ὡς διʼ ἡμῶν) = a forged or counterfeit epistle alleged to be from Paul, Silas, and Timothy

These three bitter springs are streams that break off of the River Religious. 

·      Where would false prophets, false preachers, ply their trade?  In a religious setting.

·      Where would people hear a false sermon, most effective when a little bit of truth is mixed with a little bit of error?  In the church.

·      Where would a fake letter find a foothold?  Among those who want to hear from the apostle, but who have not learned to discern.

Religious people in religious organizations can be both easily deceived and dangerously deceptive.  Beware of rules without rejoicing.  Beware of ritual without relationship.  Beware of religion without romance.  Ritual and religion without relationship and sacred romance generates a toxic faith.

Are we guided more by faith or by fear?  Do we make choices based more on our feelings or on the facts from God’s Word?  Are we governed more by what so-and-so says about us being a such-and-such or by what our Father in Heaven says about us?

The Thessalonian believers were so easily thrown off balance and moved to fear because they reacted to their situation emotionally.  When they were moved off the solid ground of Truth, they lost any firm footing.  Truth is not discovered or defined by emotions or circumstances.  Truth is discovered and defined by the Word of God.  We must allow God’s message to define our circumstances and inform our emotions.

Why would the deceiver be so intent to see the Thessalonian believers “be easily upset in mind or troubled“ about the παρουσίας and the ἐπισυναγωγῆς?

Jesus Christ warns His disciples that the enemy is like “a thief” who “comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy” (John 10:10).

·      The enemy wants to steal our hope and the joy hope produces.

·      The enemy wants to kill our witness –our influence and our desire to influence.

·      The enemy wants to destroy our lives.

Whoever said: “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” was lying!  Freak.  Fraud.  Failure.  Forsaken.  Friendless.  Those words hurt … a lot.   The enemy, the accuser, knows this full well; so, he goes to crazy lengths to make sure I get daily doses of that message.

³ Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way.

So, how does Paul propose to help the Thessalonian believers not “be easily upset in mind or troubled”?

He reminds them of the Word he had already brought to them.

⁵ Don’t you remember that when I was still with you I told you about this?

We are all Sméagol, and he would make us all Gollum!  We need to know and hear the truth about us.  Yes, we are fallen; but we are loved.  We are valued to such a great extent that God would not leave us fallen and forsaken.  

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, received “the wages of our sin … death” so that He could extend to us “the gift of God … eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).  Now we know the truth:

… that Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures,
⁴ that He was buried,
that He was raised on the third day
according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

Moreover, we know the truth: we are so precious to Him that He is coming back for us!

¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we will always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

The truth:

·      We are not freaks.  We are faithful.

·      We are not failures.  We are fruitful.

·      We are not frauds.  We are forgiven.

·      We are not forsaken.  We are for Heaven!

·      We are not friendless.  What a friend we have in Jesus!

So, we come to His Table faced with Sméagol’s dilemma.  What voice will you hear?  What voice will you heed?

Lord, we turn from lifeless idols to faith in the living God and wait now for Your Return and our Reunion.  Set our lives ablaze with this hope today.  We ask these favors in Jesus’ name.  Amen.