What We Know

As my discussion with my friend the other day continued, at times fruitful, at others leaving me to question what on Earth is it that any of us can know for certain!  Different cultural backgrounds, life experiences, even an age gap creates misunderstanding and miscommunication galore!  Yesterday's post was the product of our original discussion, social inequalities, but it became philosophical and I always strikeout at that point!

So what can you, I, or anyone know for certain?  Back to the basics -

1 Timothy 1:15-17

We can know that the story about Jesus is true.

• He was born
• His stated goal was to break the cost of sin
• We each must agree

 We can know that this truth is universal and deserves acceptance.

We can know the very plan of God.

• To save us out of our sin

We can know our great need for Him.

• Paul declares himself the greatest sinner
• Jesus' coming to this world was personal
• The gospel should therefore be personal to each of us

We can know that we are God's Mercy on display.

• To demonstrate Jesus
• To show evidence of our own sin and failings
• To show evidence of God's Grace
• To show that God's Grace can reach even you!

 We can know where our praise belongs.

•  All praise is God's
• All praise is only God's

Where Is God?

“Night, is a book by Elie Wiesel about his experience in the German concentration camps. “One day,” writes Wiesel, “as we returned from work, we saw three gallows… The SS [guards] seemed more preoccupied, more worried, than usual. To hang a child in front of thousands of onlookers was not a small matter. The head of the camp read the verdict. All eyes were on the child. He was pale, almost calm, but he was biting his lips as he stood in the shadow of the gallows… ‘Where is merciful God, where is He?’ someone behind me was asking. At the signal, the three chairs were tipped over… Then came the march past the victims. The two men were no longer alive… The child, too light, was still breathing… And so he remained for more than half an hour, lingering between life and death… Behind me, I heard the same man asking: ‘For God’s sake, where is God?’ And from within me, I heard a voice answer; ‘Where is He? This is where – hanging here from this gallows…'

Where is God when a child is shot in Newtown or hung in Auschwitz or killed in an American drone air strike or for that matter dies of cancer? I don’t know. There is no answer.

Talk of God giving humans free will and thus allowing us to face the consequences of our choices solves nothing. If the creator could intervene personally when it came to the magic tricks in the Bible like making the sun stand still for a day in a battle, he could have done something about that child gasping out his young life. He didn’t. Theology that tries to paper this horrible fact over with explanations about why there is evil is nothing but nervous blather.

But I take comfort in the fact that sometimes a person of immense courage follows Christ to a cross. Such acts point to a God that had the empathy to share our fate. Sometimes one person’s example gives me hope that following Christ might be the path that leads us out of the hell we’ve made, even if I’ll never know why we’re here in the first place, let alone why God didn’t just make things simpler, better, faster rather than taking the slow path of gradual ethical evolution."

***

If you are Christian, if you deal regularly with the unchurched, sometimes even the churched, you will hear the wail and the anger - because there is no God, because no fair God would allow ...

And how do you answer them?

When I think of my late friend Peter, telling of me of the nun Maria's plight in a Magadan death gulag ...
When I think of the 6.5 million Jews, the 7.5 million Christians executed by my father's Reich ...
When I think of Lenin and his 19 million executions to purify the land ...
When I think of the 30 million Stalin in his paranoia executed ...
When I think of Mao Tse Tung and his 32 million deaths ...
Or Pol Pot ...
Or Rwanda ...
Or Ruby Ridge, Idaho ...
Or Waco, Texas ...
Or the assassination of John F Kennedy ...
Or a record setting typhoon ...

Where is God when the millions, or even the one is crying out in their death rattle?
Where is God in the storm, the waves, the tides, the mass deaths by nature?

How can a fair God ...

And that is the rub, God is not "fair".  If he was you would already be dead, as would I.
God is a "just" God, he does what is right, not what is fair.

When we see with human eyes, we are looking for fairness.
When we see with God's eyes, we are looking for justice.

And when we are judging God, we are judging by human standards, not God's standards.

Where is God?  Allowing man to trash and destroy His creation, even human life.  He has already provided the only standard of measure for life - the ability to stand with Him but acknowledging His son's sacrifice, at human hands.

Where is God in the storm or other natural disaster?  Perhaps judging a perverse culture, perhaps destroying false witnesses, perhaps testing the faith of His people, perhaps calling His people home because it is time.

We are not smart enough to know.  I can look at a culture dedicated to sexual vice and know God will call them to judgement.  I can look at authorities whom are ruthless or corrupt and know that God is going to call them to account for their deeds.  I do not know when, I do not know how, but anyone can read Jeremiah or Isaiah in the Bible and see that God has a standard and He was willing to use it even against His own people - to their own destruction!  How much more so for a just God, to do the same to  _____ (fill in the blank).

We are the creation, not the creator, we can not judge how He uses us, when he uses, where he will use us - we just have to be willing to be used, ready to be used and expect to be used.  The problems arise when we say, "Well, God would never work that way!"  Really?  Maybe you need to study your Bible a little more closely before you side with Western (American) Culture's beliefs about God.

The real God does not cause sin, that does not mean He can not use it to His advantage.  The real God does have control of everything and is more than willing to turn Satan loose upon a world unable to recognize much less fight against it without the Holy Spirit's intervention.

Everyday, in the world around you, in your daily life, God is there, God is working.  Can you see Him?  Can you see His handiwork?  Can you show others?

But, if you are not a Christian, well, there is no requirement that God does anything in your life or around you, other than to continually offer you the chance to make your peace with Him - through you acceptance of His son's death as the payment for your doing things your way and not His.  And then you get to be held accountable for having followed teachers of the truth ...  (hint, we are surrounded by those quite willing to lie to us and mislead us!)

So where is God right now?  Calling the hurting, the desperate to look to Him and not theirselves for the answer to their problems.  Calling you to account - right now, right here ...

That does not mean you are saved from death or punishment, but it does mean there is a better way from what you knew on this Earth.

Imperfection Before Man

So last time talked about the Church and the vacuous definition for exactly how to build it.  Well, that was because you are the Church, you are a part of the Church, you are the support for the Church, you are what is to hold the church up!  So, assuming you are a Christian, a real one, not the fake kind so prevalent these days all over the world ...

Using Timothy as our example, an imperfect person for the ministry in man's eyes, but perfect in God's.  1 Timothy 4:11-16

Forget your age, you can not be too old nor too young to be used by God - for anything He wants you to do!  My current pastor preached his first at age 13, conversely I have met many in their 90's still doing the same thing through the years.  So and age and positional requirements are of no meaning to God, you dedication to Him is however.

Something I learned very early in my Christian life, God grants authority, not man, not the church, not society, not culture.  So I have even found myself on the wrong side of everyone's opinion in doing as God asks!  God is to be the center and the source of our life.

Read your Bible!  Interestingly, we are told here to do this out loud and in public!  Why?  Probably because copies of Scripture were rare and by doing this out loud, other can listen and learn.  Also, Timothy was in a Gentile environment where the average man, much less the convert, did not grow up in Synagog and so would not know or understand was in those Scriptures!

You have gifts, given to you by the Holy Spirit, everybody has them - they vary person to person and from time to time.  Just because you are gifted in X today, you may not have it at a later date and now have Y instead!  The gifts are owned by the Holy Spirit, they are His, and He gets to give as He sees fit.  So get humble dudes!

These gifts are to be used by you to support the ministry of the Church and to reach the lost to bring them to salvation.  It is a witnessing tool, it is a ministry leadership tool, it is the power of the Church - when used correctly.  So do what you are called to do and use it!  And if you can't expect to lose what you do have!

You used to have a life, a life not focused on God, a life dedicated to your sin - even if you thought you were serving God.
Then you became a Christian, you are now supposed to be a follower of God.
How do you do that?  By constantly being on top of your sin life - in confession, in prayer, persist in your battle against the pull of your past, the world and Satan.
Realize that there is only one task for you, for the church corporate - witness to a world lost in sin - in your family, in your town, in your extended area, in your cultural group and rarely outside of this to the world at large.
Live the change in your life!  And realize that if you can not be effective where you are - guess where you are not going to be either ....  just sayin' ...

And the hard one, protect your witness.
Yes you may be called to a task with danger to your witness.  Your ability to thread that task will only be accomplished as long as you can do everything "right" and have strong backup.  I thought I had that, but what do you do when those whom are helping you give you really bad advice, you trusted their wisdom and then they turn that advice against you?  Yeah.  Happened to me, burned me, oh well, my hands and heart are still clean before God - but no one cares because gossip and lies are so much easier to believe than the truth.  So, what are you to do?  You can take the easy way out and not do anything the least bit controversial - or just know that you need to be better than me at picking your backup(s) and be prepared for disaster if Satan attacks.

Remember your entire life is one witnessing tool, someone(s) future state of salvation may depend upon your doing the unexceptable, in order to reach them for Jesus.

Turning Tears Into Triumpjh

"Where is God when _____?"  Fill in the blank with the question of the day, your life, or your friends lives.

"Where is God when it hurts?"

"How am I to handle grief?"

How can you turn tears into triumph?  With the truth.

John 11:23-27

It is now four days after Lazarus' death.

Seek the truth, because theology matters.
"Your brother will rise again."
"But ....."

Yes, Jesus is Lord, but who he is, is more important because there is no "universal" salvation.
What you believe determines how you will live your life, where you will place your hope in eternity.

Know the truth, It is Jesus!
Jesus claimed to be the resurrection and the life.  And then He proved it!
Make a note here my skeptical, non-Christian readers, the Rabbis were to write about how after the death of Jesus, they moved against Lazarus.  But a fight broke out amongst them.  They KNEW Lazarius had been raised from the dead, so placed him and his sisters bound in a leaky boat and set it our to sea for "God" to take their lives.
Lazarus reappears as the Bishop of Cyprus, was to die there and was memorialized there.  Eventually, his grave was moved to today's Turkey.  However, the remains of his grave are still on Cyprus.

Embrace the Life, it comes with the truth!
Death is not the end, it is only the beginning of what is to follow.
We struggle for life: medications, drugs, surgeries, etc. to put off the inevitable.  Yet death is what starts your eternal life.
It is not the duration of your life, it is the quality of life, God's quality.
Eternal, exclusive, your life belongs to Jesus alone.

Answer the question, Its the Key.
The most important question appears in 11:26, "Do you believe?"
What you believe is how you will understand and answer His question!

Reality

Reality sucks.

Surprised that I might say something like that?  Yeah, well, then I wish you could walk with me and see what has been going on in my life and head this week.  I feel so sorry for my niece, she gets to bear the brunt of Kris' mental convolutions.  Even Dutchman, whom took me out for lunch had to sit back and just go, "Wow ......"  Yeah, my brain is on fire, searching, sifting, analyzing and reanalyzing everything as I redefine whom Kris is.  By the way, Dutch now thinks it is time to retire and wants me in his second house on his property outside of Priest River, Idaho.  But, my grand kids are here.  conversely, he does have places in Puerto Vaillarta.  Hmmmmm.

Just as serious as my redefining reality to myself, so is the entire topic of eternity, I have been rolling this around my head for a few days on another level of my brain.  Yeah, I usually have four or five things all running concurrently through the grey matter.  Usually things may rot in there for weeks before I come to a conclusion.

Do you take the topic of eternity seriously?

I do not think that most do, especially the "pseudo-christians" filling America's churches.  (pseudo is Greek for false-form, something that appears to be one thing but is actually something entirely different)  Generally, when I bring up this subject, I get feelings, impressions, whatever the latest pop-culture whim is!  Mighty flimsy foundation upon which to base your eternity on here!

Please read John 3:16, if you have not already memorized it.

Interestingly, when it comes to your eternal life, you will either be dead-wrong or dead-right.  You are going to die, it is almost guaranteed!  I do not think anyone can afford to actually be dead-wrong!  My father bet his eternity on my being wrong; I am satisfied I am not.

So, you die.  The exact moment comes for  you, God knew long ago when it was, and you either took advantage of one of your opportunities for salvation or you are not going to perish.  There is a bread truck or a train wreck with your name on it out there just waiting to occur!

Perishing is not ceasing to exist, it is still existing but now suffering the torments of Hell.  Hell was made for the rebellious angels and Satan, not you.  But, you get to earn eternal destruction just by not accepting Jesus as the payment for sin and what separates you from God.

Vine's Bible Dictionary, defines this as:
"the idea is not extinction but ruin, loss, not of being, but the loss of well being."

God will judge us for our sins, our deeds and willingly sentence us to Hell, but only as a last resort - only over His son's dead body!

John 17:3, 3:36, 5:24 and 1 John 5:11

When does eternity begin?  It begins here and now, where you are, what you are facing, what you are doing.

The world and even our churches are filled with walking dead people!  They are spiritually dead, they are looking for someone to notice, for someone to show them the way.  And they are probably clueless that this is true of them.  It is always someone in Borneo, not right here in my church, neighborhood, restaurant, etc.

When Heaven is mentioned in the Bible, it speaks in terms of things we are familiar with here on Earth.  However, you must remember and realize that Heaven is a gated community.  Not everyone is welcome nor will be admitted.

It boils down to either you are responsible for yourself when you stand before God, or Jesus is.  Unlike my father, make the wise decision and err on the side of God taking responsibility for you.

Missing The Boat

John 18:1 - 14

First off, you have to understand that ALL prophesy is going to come to pass!  In this passage, Jesus finds himself, exactly where he was supposed to be, Isaiah's words are about to be fulfilled ...

You can miss it
Judas came close, but he missed the mark with Jesus.  He was there, he saw the same miracles that all of the other disciples saw, he heard all of the same words as the other disciples did, he sat through all of the same lessons, he walked in Jesus' footsteps.  But, something went wrong inside of Judas, maybe he never really was a follower...

Remember that Judas was hand picked by Jesus!  Jesus knew what He was doing, he knew Judas' heart at the time as well as what it would be in the future.

You can not fool everyone
The other eleven had no clue who Judas really was, either during the three years of following and learning under Jesus, nor what Judas had been up to recently.  At the dinner table no one thought the betrayer of Jesus would be Judas!  They each questioned if they were the one.

And that is interesting, each questioned their own dedication, love for the master and faith.  Indeed we each know the truth about ourselves, as ugly as it can be sometimes.  The disciples were no different than us in this regard.

Your disappointment can yield disaster
Was Judas greedy?
Was he scared?
Or maybe disappointed that Jesus was not going to conquer the Romans?
Was he politically motivated?
Or religiously motivated, to do what he did?

Take your pick.  What did separate his mind and his heart from God and God's will in following Jesus?  We may never know, but whatever the source of his anger / frustration, it forced him on to a path of disaster.

You can trade true love for something far less
Judas is going to betray Jesus.
Jesus offers him a chance to reconcile, but to no avail.
Judas returns with perhaps as many as 600 soldiers, priests, servants and people.

A fight was expected, but none was given.

You do not need to be a Judas
We can learn from his mistakes!
Have no strings attached to your relationship with God.

And expect, the unexpected...

You Can't Get To Heaven

When I pastored my first youth group, one of the favorite songs was, "You Can't Get To Heaven".  The kids loved singing this and always had to include whatever my poor excuse of a car was at the time.  For those of you whom are confused: "Oh you can't get ot heaven, in Kris' car, 'cause Kris' car, won't drive that far."  So you get the idea, any mode of transportation makes for a fun round singing.

But this morning I am in John 3:1 - 15.

You Can't Get To Heaven By Being Religious
Being a Christian is about have a relationship with Jesus, not religion.  Religion is feel good-ism.  Christianity is about a struggle as you relearn how to walk in this world, place the emphasis on God and Jesus, not yourself.

You can be a Christian and do religious things; but you can also do religious things and not be a Christian.

Although I think little of those whom devote themselves to philosophy, I have to admit that Pascal's observation that there is a "God sized hole in each of us", does seem to be true about man, across all cultures.  We, without even thinking about it, seek to fill that hole with whatever draws us in.  Materialism, politics, sports, sex, power, money, etc all seem to fit the hole that we each have, interestingly, so does God.  As I told my father once long ago, "... you can be successful and have the world, but what is the cost of being a servant of God, living a life devoted to helping your fellowman?  If I am wrong, then I will have lived a life truly in joy of the knowledge that many youth will be the better for it.  Amassing wealth, will only show how shallow I really am."  Yeah, well, he chose women and all of his wealth went to pay for 7 divorces.  Still bothers me.

You Can't Get To Heaven By Being Important
Nicodemus was rich, respected, religious and a ruler!
He had the best chance of any but still needed to recognize that Jesus was his Messiah (Christ).

We were talking about religion and US Presidents, and just doing fruit inspection.  So, when was the last Christian US President?  We were able to agree on Jimmy Carter.  And before him?  Yeah, that is a tough one.  I thought maybe Truman, but it would be using a definition of a Christian I am not very comfortable with....  Power does not seem to be very compatible with being a Christian.

You Can't Get To Heaven By Being Righteous or Good
Even though the Pharisees tended towards legalism, they loved God's Law and emphasized righteous living.  As leaders they judged, taught, were held accountable in business, etc - but still they came up short when it came to having salvation.

You Can't Get To Heaven By Being a Jesus Admirer
Saying, "Jesus, you did many great miracles, what a teacher you are", isn't the point of Jesus life and sacrifice.  You have to attain a new life.  Who needs to?  We all do!

It is time for Christians in this western culture to realize that they are not living any form of the Christian ideal, admit that and change accordingly.  Our churches are filled with, giving them the benefit of the doubt, admirers of Jesus, not disciples, not followers, not even converts!  Christianity has lost its way and we have a church quite happy with the status quo on the express rail to Hell.

What can you do?  Honestly, read your Bible.  Then be in prayer for understanding.  Ask the Holy Spirit to give you knowledge and wisdom.  Seek earnestly to know.  And God will respond, just be prepared to leave your ideas in the dust.

Although this is what I did, I am not saying you need to, but I found that I spent most of my time reading books about the Bible, not actually reading the Bible.  I was getting a head filled with other believers thoughts, ideas, beliefs, etc but I was not getting my understanding from the Bible.  I gave my entire library of over 4,000 books to a local church for an auction they were going to have.  And I do not miss them.

Yes, I kept a few commentaries, books by mentors, whom were signed for me.  But, the library went, I may have a few dozen books in total now on the Bible, ancient times, etc.

So, what is Kris' understanding of how to get to Heaven?  Well, we will be beating that horse to death over then next several days.  :)

The Blessings of Service

As I was driving home last night, God got me thinking about what composed the last few months and the wonders I experienced. Of course, daughter discounts all of this now, even though she witnessed all and knows all. That is why I can not understand her current behavior in light of what she knows versus what she says she wants.....

I guess the real surprise was God asking me to do something. Yeah, I live my life to be of service to Him, but nothing really meaningful ever really seems to come about. Lots of little silent things but never something big like - pursue and change a life! I did not expect much in the way of success. But I am game for most any task. And given I had already been given my walking paper from life by numerous doctors, 30 to 90 days max and that would have been with a miracle as it was. If God wants one more assignment out of me, cool - not a problem. And He used me as I have never seen Him do before.

Nine months later, I am still alive, though my life is now dead - the personal cost of service stripped me of almost everything. Which is fine, I would do it all again, having seen what I have and knowing my daughter is now within the realm of God and not dead to sin as she was.

And God performed so many miracles. When they began, i realized instantly God really was calling her and provided so much evidence she never would be able to discount it was not God behind this effort. Of course, from my perspective the greatest and the most tragic was - God gave a genetic sociopath an emotion. Since only maybe .0025% of the population can understand what the absence of emotion really means in your life - I was devastated by what happened to me. It brought joy, it brought pain, it was the death of me as I knew myself. Yeah, things like this do not happen. And so daughter's betrayal could only hurt me if I had an emotion - and since I now did, a three week old emotion took the hit. For now, little is left of it. I know that I have no ability to recall it, I know God does. I know that it is of God and bears His mark for my daughter. It is like it was programmed to only react to her. So weird.

I prayed over a friend with an arm set for amputation, after months of not healing and it did have to come off - it was rotting! God granted that prayer and healed that arm. No, it is not yet 100% but that swollen arm began shrinking immediately and she moved a finger for the first time in months that morning. Doctors are clueless, but daughter was there and she and I know God worked a miracle that morning.

There were other healings: for daughter, a swollen and twisted ankle healed instantly and I have to admit I was a little freaked watching that swelling melt away like butter. Numerous healings, so many for me that she was constantly commenting on how this just did not make sense. Yeah, I get injured a lot, so God heals once prayed for - others - well, I get to enjoy their healing to the fullness of time, sigh. Miracle ones - third degree burns vanish, gangrene healed, a six inch hernia - poof! gone! And there were so many daily that time does not permit all I could share.

The healings were impressive but it was the thousands of small things, everyday that God overcame, through prayer that really was noticed. However, the ones I really sought - never happened - acceptance of daughter by my family and Gaelic Girl - water and oil all of them. Though it was a miracle in itself that we even had opportunities for each other so she could grow.

Then there were changes within me which completely modified me. None of them I understand, all of them worry me. The emotion was only the most mysterious, I am still a little frightened by what the others mean.

Daughter was extremely damaged, I knew this about her since she was a child of 8, but I could not understand where this damage leads and what it does to a person internally. Because of daughter I now do understand and unfortunately I can now "spot" those whom share her brokenness. No, I have no calling to intervene in another life, as I did with her. I am not sure if that is right or wrong, but I do know that God has ordered me to wait upon Him and what He is going to do with daughter. And that is fine, but she sure is not going to think so.....

Well, I wear down easily and so must now rest....

What Humility is Really All About

It was May 1975 and spring break was upon us.  I had a choice: go on a retreat with the Star Lake Bible Study I belonged to or spend a very boring week cleaning my apartment.  Which to choose, which to choose?!?!?  Of course I cut and ran for the camp out/retreat!  We had reserved the Hoh Campground, which is next to the La Push River.  Very pretty spot - in summer, unbelievably miserable in spring!

So we had two large fires going 24x7 and everyone lived within about 30 inches of either blaze!  The first night all of the elders were gathered and Bud asked what we ought to do with our time - as if nothing was planned?  Yup, to everyone's surprise there was nothing planned!  After a long period of thought I mentioned that I had never been baptized and two others commented the same.  Interestingly, there were two others in the larger group whom were unbaptized as well, and coincidentally, we five were the only ones to have brought swim suits!

Yeah, this incident is the one  that suddenly opened my eyes to there being NO COINCIDENCES.  I mean, what are the odds here?

So, the following day we five were baptized in the La Push River and then retired to the restrooms to change into something warm!  and Leonard Savage, a good friend, grabbed a towel and started drying my legs and feet.  I was horrified, I was humbled, I was left having no ability to even comment!

So, John 13:6-11

Which would you prefer?

• Poor and loving your job or rich and hating it?
• Having your flight delayed or arriving on time with no luggage?
• Lick a frog or a dollar bill?
• Wash someone else's feet or have them wash yours?

Yeah, not too many would choose to have their feet washed, because it is humiliating.  And this is really what today's post is about -  Humility.  Real humility means that not only can you dish it out but you can take it as well!

If you remember: the setting of this passage is the upper room, the last week of Jesus' life.  And the Apostles are arguing over whom is the most loved, the greatest, etc.  Jesus gets up, grabs a towel, a wash basin and shows what it means to be the greatest one in the room.  The servant of all.

In order to receive it - you have to put aside your pride.
Peter refused, he threw a hissy fit, "you may not wash my feet!"  Tradition dictated that this was not the role for the master, it was the role of the servants!  And, none of them were servants!

Humility is to receive the service of others.
Humility is to give the service to others.

Pride involves conceit, being impatient, being demanding - what all of the Apostles were demonstrating prior to this.

You have to be willing to admit you are eternally clean but practically dirty.....
Peter then changes his tune to "do all of me!"  Yeah, he realized how unclean he really was and need to be ritually cleansed.  And what better way than to have the Master, the Messiah, do this for him!  Awesome idea!  Not.

We are completely forgiven, Jesus paid for all of you sins - from your birth through the moment of your death.  ALL sin was paid for at the cross.  But we all continue to live in sin, like pigs in a mud bath!  Which brings to mind Bill Bright's "spiritual breathing", to live our lives such that we are continually breathing out confession for what we have just done wrong (again!) and breath back in God's forgiveness.  Simple, elegant, I love Bill Bright.

You have to see humility, it matters more than you know.
For all intents and purposes, Jesus looked just like an out of control Rabbi to the outside world.  But, he was doing what was required of him.

Anonymous acts do not equal insignificant acts.  Just think on that the next time you are in a toilet and discover the toilet paper is missing!  Yeah, small acts can make a real difference to you and your day.

Small acts of service are what eventually lead to Jesus being our Savior.  And that  will require humility on your part.

Jesus is coming for your feet, are you ready to receive him ..... ?

I Take No Joy

Even before I was a Christian, I was a pretty straight forward guy.  You could trust me.  And up until mid-way through my 18th year, I never betrayed anyone.  Then my life made a hiccup and I did betray someone's trust.  It was not totally my fault, but I was guilty as charged.  That was not a good weekend.

Years later, one of most moving devotionals I ever gave concerned that incident and the recent death of that man.  Oh yeah, he was my enemy - make no mistake.  And he had been someone I had looked up to and respected.  Yeah, teenage stupidity.  But in that devotional, I told of how now that he was dead, I still was not free, nor did I relish my enemy's death.  Instead, I now understood what is meant about the importance of praying for our enemies.

One of my earliest posts concerned my Oldest Daughter's boyfriend being in an almost fatal accident with Virtual Fifth Daughter, complete with photos.  And, let us not forget the soap opera which unfolded after that!  Because I "discerned" a problem with the character of this young man - I went to his father, a pastor and told him what was up with his son.  I suppose I was naive but I expected a pastor to understand that God only gives knowledge when action is to taken.  I was labeled a liar - and in a small community my reputation was badly damaged.  Even if I was completely right.

No matter, I knew, the God I know, would one day  bring that young man to either spiritual or social justice......

Last year, I learned that said father was to find out that may be he had been a little harsh with me - what I had shared with him, had come to pass.  But, he could not admit he was wrong.  I knew it was far from over - God had His hand on that young man as he sat in the twisted wreckage of his car on the night of his accident.  I knew far worse was ye to come, he would be held accountable by God.

So, I now hear that accountability has finally come.  That young man, whom I had naively tried to help through his father - is now in jail.  He has come finally to accountability for his life and actions.  I will not go into the details, you can probably find the story in the news later if it is a slow day.  But, his now ex-girlfriend is hospitalized with severe damage and he is facing numerous years in prison for putting her in the hospital..

But, I take no joy that this young man is finally getting what is coming to him.  No, in my mind I am remembering the look in my own eyes, in the mirror, when my son had reached the same point of no return last summer.  The utter hopelessness despair brings when your loved one - is being held accountable.

Please pray for that young woman in the hospital, she faces months, if not years, of reconstructive surgery.
Pray for that father, whose faith in his only son has not only been shattered but now has been humiliated.
And pray for that young man.  Yeah, it is now a good time for him to consider salvation that is based on faith and not head knowledge.....  I am sure he will have many years of opportunity to think on this ahead of him.
Then add to your prayer list any sons you might have.  Our culture is bent on destroying - God wants them saved.....

Taking a STAND

In spite of our 'liberal' and 'diversity' loving culture, when you see Jesus' Critics Converging - you need to take a STAND.

Back to John 9:8-34.  Was the blind man's cure worse than his disease?  His troubles began with his healing!  Seems even when the miraculous occurs we still do not get to live happily ever after!  Consider this:

See trouble coming.  When you dedicate yourself to Christ, expect problems with the world.
Matthew 16:24 - take up your cross
Luke 22:36 - buy a sword

Take a history lesson.  When you are criticized, realize that it is not about you, it is about whom God is!  Jesus was hounded over healing on the Sabbath, "who's your daddy", etc.  The blind man was "arrested" and forced to account for his own healing!

Anticipate push back.  The blind man was "brought" in for interrogation - there was no joy over his healing.  Critics want to discredit Jesus - and use you to do it!  The now healed man learns that the Pharisees are not his friends.....

Note, even those closest to you will step farther away from you!  "Fear of the Jews, lest he be thrown out of the synagog" !  Even the blind man's own parents did not stand up for him when questioned!  Jesus was a threat to the Pharisees, so anyone supporting him was thrown out!  Kris' Weakest Link Theory in action and in the Bible!

Dare to tell your own story.  You must be able to witness your own story, not someone else's!  Be prepared to tell your truth of Jesus in your life.  You are not expected to know everything, just what you do know.  All the blind man knew: "I was blind and now I see....".

"And they threw him out of the synagog...."  Which meant he was stripped of his Jewishness and declared a Gentile - to be considered dead by both family and friends.  But, then again, he did find the Messiah.

John 8:1-11

You know this really is an intriguing episode in Jesus' life.  There are lots of goodies to take away from it and apply to your life, but today I am thinking about my son  and of course his sins which have brought him to the point where he is expected to be moving out this weekend.  (No idea if that will actually happen, but he has been told there is no more grace.....)

If you, my reader, are a Christian - then you can understand the idea that everyone of us has a past.  That past is composed of sin and it may well be those sins which put you on the road to finding Jesus, learning about his payment for that sin and making peace with your Creator.

And whether you are a failing Christian (such as my son) or still looking for "something" to fill that hollowness within, it is heartening to know that every sinner has a future!

We are each to see ourselves in this woman brought before Jesus for condemnation.  I see myself in my son's rebellion to God.  I am just as guilty of rebellion against God as this woman was.  And where I find it so hard to have finally drawn that line in the sand - which son so quickly crossed over I still can not believe it!  But, Youngest Daughter has never been known to lie, so I know he really did beat his girlfriend in front of our house.

Each of us grades our own sins on a curve.  Well my sin can not be anywhere near as bad as yours!  Sin can not be minimized.  A white lie is as bad as stealing, which is as bad as murder, which is as bad as adultery, etc.  So from God's perspective, what son has done is no worse than what this woman brought before Jesus has done and no worse than anything I have done (even if I believe that hitting a woman is about as low as you can get!).  We can not compare our sins to another's!  If you want to do comparisons - you have to compare your holiness with God's holiness!  Yeah the "curve" disappears when we allow God in the picture.....

Jesus told this woman to sin no more.  In doing so He acknowledges that she did wrong, he offers hope for her future and offers forgiveness.

I am not sure my son will be able to see forgiveness in my pushing him out into the real world, but if he is to grow up and have a future - it obviously will not be living here and not learning his lessons the easy way.  Some things really crack one's heart.

Down

Been more than a little down since last Friday.  Friday marked the death of my father a year ago now.  In reflection, it seems like 8 years have gone by with all of the drama swirling around me!  It continues to be some disaster every 21 days, whether I like it or not!

But, losing a loved one, for eternity really stings.  I prayed for that man's salvation for almost four decades but there was just no turning that man's head to consider there is a need for a savior.  I re-read my little memorial I did on him.  As I sat and stared into that youthful face, bedecked in his KinderKorp uniform, I could not help but weep for all of the children in that photo (I have the original with about a dozen kids in it).  So lied to by the world they lived in, so lost to eternity.  Though I pray some of them were able to live long enough to turn their hearts towards God.

Now I think of my almost lifelong friend living in Tucson.  When I was down there in January I left the book, The Case for a Creator, for him to read.  He just sent it back with a note telling me that evolution is easier to believe.  Sigh.  I knew his family well and with the exception of him and his brother, they were all Christians.  You have to wonder what happened to harden his heart so.....

And what of my recently dead uncle back home in Switzerland?  His life never did match up well with Christian ideals, but he certainly knew the truth.  Well God knows his heart and I pray his choices concerning God were better than in life.  Sigh.

Yeah you get my drift - I am feeling the weight of loss for those I have loved but are now without any further hope, those whom continue to rebel against God and lastly for my son.  He certainly professed Christ at one time but his teenage years have been a real battle for him.  To the point I have to question his salvation state.  I know that is between him and God and only God knows the truth of his state. But, it strangles my heart to think of the pain on the course of life he is chosing.

Sigh.....  Just on of those days I guess.

Jesus' Exclusive Claims

All "truth" claims are by definition exclusive.  Every major religion makes "truth" claims.  And, in America it seems that "truth" has become relative to each individual, rather than any standard for actual TRUTH!  So what can we find out about what Jesus claimed about himself?

John 5:21-23

v21 - Jesus Claimed to be the Giver of Life
this is a direct declaration of DIETY

v22 - Jesus Claimed to be the Judge of the World
Jesus is our JUDGE, not some inhuman alien untouched by our daily struggles

v23 - Jesus Claimed to receive the Honor of God
you can not worship God and not give HONOR to His Son

Given Jesus' claims, each of us must choose carefully - our eternity depends upon that choice!

Urgency

It is 1877, you are a minister speaking in Boston and suddenly the Holy Spirit opens the heart of the people to respond to the call.  Such is what happened to William Wilberforce Newton.  Imagine the scene: men rushing out to the street, hanging on to light poles and screaming at how they knew the gates of Hell where opening to suck them in.  The fear was real, the conversions were real.  It was an event that one sorely wishes would happen today.

So why doesn’t it?

I think it has to do with a lack in the sense of urgency.  We have no urgent viewpoint. 

Maybe it is because Jesus has not returned since his departure around 33 AD.  If he has not come in 2,000 years – why should he be showing up in the next 2,000 years or 200 or 20 or this year, much less this month or tomorrow?  It is almost as if the Church has become one of the scoffers mentioned in 2 Peter 3:3 -

First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.

There is NO sense of urgency.  Is it because we have read too many books claiming to know when He is coming again?  Or the black eyes the cultish whack-o’s have delivered to the sincere believer whom has been waiting and watching?

Perhaps the parable of the sower of the seed in Luke 8:14 has the answer:

"And as for that which fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and their fruit does not mature."

                                               

Whatever the cause, why have you lost your sense of urgency?  Is your life so busy or overcome with situations that you can no longer anticipate His return?  Is it that tomorrow always comes, that you see no reason to be urgent?  Have you been wooed away by the world and its promises to the extent that His promises are only dim memories?

I think you get the point here.  We are easily distracted from what our pursuit as believers is to be.  We do not need to be more financially solvent to be effective for Him to use.  We do not need to be so busy in our lives that there is no time to live as we ought.  Nor do we need to continually be entertaining ourselves, literally to death, so there is no interest in study, or prayer, or helping others, or witnessing – even with our life.

Turning off the TV and getting involved in the lives of those around you is what all of us have to do.  Time is short.  Urgency is our byword.  Now, get off the computer and get out there!

Christine's Story

Christine was a very dear friend. She is also dead and this is a part of her story. 

I hadn’t heard from Chris in about three years. This was not unusual for her; she would often disappear for a few years and pop back up, and then disappear again. Plus, I knew from her sister she had been ill. You have to understand Chris was a drama queen “ the queen of drama queens”, if you will allow. So when she said she knew she was dying, I knew she had twenty years left to go. What I had not known was that she had been in a coma for several weeks with her estranged son sitting by her bedside waiting for her to die. Apparently, he left for a stretch and walk; she came to and called me. When he returned, she was dead.

Too freaky! The timing I was to learn from one of her brothers whom were trying to piece together the question as to how I had talked with someone in a coma, whom was being watched. This sequence is the best they could come up with. Were it not for knowing God and how He works, I would be getting goose flesh over this! But, instead, I say “Cool, thank you God for letting me talk one more time with her.” Apparently, she needed to share her story, and I have with all of my youth groups since her death….. And, now with you.

Chris grew up in a Christian home, extremely head strong and very soft on the eyes, as they say. Her sisters used to tease her about being the Christian with the smell of smoke clinging to her clothing and the back of her dress on fire, because she was a little on the wild side. Everyone would laugh at this, as it seemed true and there were no consequences for any of our actions. Yeah, none of us were any better or worse, maybe just wild in other ways. And as the oldest of the group that hung together, we learned much from her mistakes.

Chris went through a string of marriages and divorces. All those hot guys kept turning out to be real losers. Oh yeah, she loved some of them desperately, long after they were gone. But, they were not Christian and they were losers in many different ways. Heavens, one of them even turned out to be a contract killer; everyone thought he was a salesman, until his arrest. Boy could she pick them! I will admit I still like one of those husbands, boy did he get the shaft from her but that is another story!

Her sexual activities turned into an addiction. She went from doctor to doctor trying to find a pill or therapy which would cure her of what she now saw as a real problem in her life. She ended up sleeping with most of them; one giving her the gift of HPV.

Pretty depressing story, huh? But, it is not over yet.

“Kris, this is Chris, and I am dying. I got HPV from a shrink I was seeing. He was supposed to be helping me, instead he killed me. 

(HPV discussion was here, as she had to explain it to me for I had never heard of it before.)

“I want you to know what your friendship has meant to me and to thank you for being there.

“I can’t believe it took so long for me to get my act together and understand what life is all about. I was living my life for me, the way I wanted to, the devil be damned.

“And now I can’t understand how I could have been so selfish, I just did not listen to those whom cared the most.

“And now, I will be leaving my two children. There is nothing I can do about it. I guess they will have to live with their father now. What am I to do? How can I tell them what they need to know?

“But, at least I got it figured out. I have made my peace with God, I know He is now my true Savior and I am ready to meet with him. Oh, if only I had done this twenty years ago! I didn’t understand!”

We talked for close to thirty minutes until she weakened and had to go. I expected she was going to be making similar calls to her other friends and family members. Little was I to know this was to be her last phone call. I heard from her brother the next day she had died after a six week coma. I then understood how miraculous this call had been. 

I loved Chris for the “soul mate” she was to me. We never failed to make the other laugh or cry, probably the definition for the best of friends. Maybe why she suddenly called me instead of a sister or her mother. She knew I would understand and tell her right from wrong and be a comfort, even if I truly could not have understood.

If ever there were a reason for young women in the church to get their acts together, Chris’ story should be it. She grew up in the church, she knew all the right words, she even thought she was a Christian. There is nothing to make Chris, you or I any different from one another.

It is only by the grace of God each of us doesn’t go through what Chris had to, in order to at long last find peace in HIM. 

Certainly, God gave me an easier route, when I deserved far worse.  And I do pray you make your peace with HIM long before you get hammered by God, as Chris was.

Moral Relativism

Moral relativism is when morality is not defined by objective and/or universal truths, but instead make claims relative to social, cultural, historical or personal circumstances. Moral relativists hold that no universal standard exists by which to assess an ethical behavior; it is the opposite of moral absolutism. Moral relativists often see moral values as applicable only within certain cultural boundaries or in the context of individual preferences. An extreme relativist position might suggest that judging the moral or ethical judgments or acts of another person or group has no meaning.

Jean-Paul Sartre held that a personal and subjective moral core lies or ought to lie at the base of individuals' moral acts. In this view public morality reflects social convention, and only personal, subjective morality expresses true authenticity.

In popular culture people often describe themselves as morally relativists, meaning they are accepting of other people's values and agree that there is no one ‘right’ way of doing some things. However, this actually has little to do with the philosophical idea of relativism; relativism does not necessarily imply tolerance, just as moral objectivism does not imply intolerance.

*****

Oh where oh where can my baby be
The Lord took her away from me
She's gone to heaven so I got to be good
So I can see my baby when I leave this world

In the early sixties, a song came out by J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers, entitled, "The Last Kiss." The song is about a couple out on a date whom get into a auto accident. The girl dies in her boyfriend's arms. He mourns her death singing the above refrain.

This song sums up the attitude of a lot of people. They think they can live a good life, if the good works they do outweigh the bad, then they will have earned their way to heaven.

Unfortunately, the Bible does not allow anyone to earn their way to heaven. Numerous verses show us that good works have nothing to do with one entering heaven. It is only by God’s grace we are allowed into His presence, and then only after our relationship with Him has been covered by Jesus’ sacrifice. It is nothing we can earn, because God has done everything for us on a cross and through an empty tomb, two thousand years ago.

Titus 3:5 - Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us.

Ephesians 2:8 – 9 - For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Hebrews 11:6 - But without faith it is impossible to please him.

John 6:29 - This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

So, the moral relativist might argue there are no absolute rules for morality, but even they rely upon a set they wish not to acknowledge - bust out their car window, steal their stereo and suddenly their morality is based on the Ten Commandments – just so you never hold them to that standard!

After all, you are being judgmental then…

Relative To Man

We struggle to understand God, usually ending up by remaking Him in our image because it is what we can understand.  Jesus is not much easier.  Lots of cults have arisen through the ages differing from Christianity in their attempts to get a handle on the nature of Jesus.

I have only known two whom I believe may have a solid understanding of both and both would claim their understanding to only be at the beginning.  Which means, the rest of us are sort of hopeless in this endeavor…

So, from our perspective what can we know?

Revelation 1:12-17

Jesus is God’s beginning and end.

We are told that creation began with Jesus and will end through Him as well.

Jesus is unique among faith founders.

Jesus came preaching a message of life, eternal life, freely given.  Something no other religion or faith can offer.  (Yes, I am very familiar with both Judaism and Islam, neither of which offer salvation apart from works.)

Jesus makes death powerless.

Although Jesus’ death on the cross was for the covering of our sin, His rising from the dead demonstrated His power over death.

Jesus will never die again.

Jesus faces no condemnation from His father, and never has.  It is very poor theology which claims otherwise.

Jesus holds the keys to your eternity.

You get a choice: accept Jesus’ payment for your sin and face an eternity with Him, or face God in your sin and be judged accordingly – not an eternity of suffering ever meant for man.

Embarrassment

Back home, so many of my kids were to graduate from school last week – setting out upon their journey into the real world and their futures.  Ok, most of them were kicking and screaming!  KJ (whom I baptized last year), artist girl, virtual fourth daughter and god-daughter number two (the actress) – I have all mentioned in the recent past and now are facing the uncertainty of  adult life.

KJ is now off on a trip to California as a present from his father – much to the horror of middle daughter, artist girl is working on expanding her portfolio before she is exiled by her mother to college in California, fourth daughter has no clue as to what she is going to do and god-daughter I got to see as she was passing through Seattle yesterday!  I only see her at most once a year so always an event.

Last year, I was to learn she had decided she was now Jewish.  She has gone through atheism, Buddhism and now is Jewish.  Ok, what ever.  So at the airport she was all excited to see me – hugs … kisses … embarrassment.

Yeah, it was her tee-shirt she remembered to be embarrassed of, too late.  I never said a word, nor even let on I had seen her shirt, which in large letters proudly announced to the world, “Jesus is Wrong”.

I doubt she really thought about this through.  Jesus is wrong about what? 

• He is wrong as to what Judaism is supposed to have been? 
• He is wrong that the leadership had sold out to the world? 
• He was wrong he fulfilled prophesy? 

He was wrong – about what?  It is not any easy statement to support intellectually - and still be academically honest with yourself.

The problem her shirt stated is not that he was wrong, but that those whom followed him were.  Her shirt would be best had it stated “Roman Catholicism Got It Wrong”, “Dispensationalists Have It Wrong” “Evangelicals Should Try Harder” or perhaps even “A Good Christian Is A Jew or is it Visa Versa?”.   No those would really be politically incorrect – to those whom wish to be ignorant!

You get the idea, as Christians we tend to forget that we are followers, the accumulation of the Hebrew faith.  The difference between Judaism and where we should be, and visa versa, is that our payment has been made through the sacrifice of Jesus – and his resurrection.  Not much else is different, if  you allow for the Spirit in your life.

So, I bide my time.  She is seeking, looking to shock, thoughtful enough to not want to offend me.  Yes, she and I will have our talk one day, when she is ready – and I hope that will be in the near future….

The Image of God

You and I are made in the image of God.  If you are lucky, you look nothing like me and may have even gotten a date while in high school!  We both have fingers and toes, etc.  But, that is not what the Bible is talking about when we are told in whose image we are made.  Each of us has a spirit and that spirit is what is in the image of God.  (Yes, I know, if you are of an American 20^th century faith system, you may well believe God has fingers and toes….  We must respectfully disagree at this point – but keep reading anyways.)

So, if we are created in the image of God, then it stands to reason this must make us as humans to have an inherent value before God – and should before one another as well.  Where am I going with this?

Well, I have been rather troubled this year over the handling by the press, talking heads and just general discussions with friends over the deaths of James Brown, Gerald Ford and Saddam Hussein.   And here are my concerns:

James Brown was a talented singer many will concede.  However, I can remember never having heard a single positive thing about this man.  Troubling thing to say, but bad press generally does get the reader’s attention.  With all of his problems revolving around drugs and violence I have read about, I would not want him for a neighbor!

Gerald Ford has been constantly lauded as the bringer of peace and closure to the Nixon era.  I wonder how many actually remember his tenure in office?  We can thank him for the assassination of the president of Chile and decades of bloody rule following American intervention there.  We can thank him for the mess in Iran and Iraq.  And let us not forget his pardoning of Nixon for obstruction of justice and letting the little guys take the fall.  Of course, he also bombed flat Cambodia over the taking of a spy ship – good job!  So, at least he did one thing right in my book.  But then he allowed the military to throw the book at the commander of the ship, for following orders!  Outside of his office work, he was on the Warren Commission which botched the Kennedy assassination investigation leaving us with more questions than answers over what really happened and why did the US government need to lie?  Yeah, quite a resume.  With his elitist attitudes and dishonesty, I would not want him for a neighbor either!

And now we reach Saddam.  There is no question he should have been brought down decades ago, maybe never even allowed into power – he could have been stopped rather easily were it not for the Cold War.  How many millions’ blood are on his hands?  We may never know.  And the press cheered his departure or at least has made the most out of it.  Definitely, I would move out of the neighborhood if he moved in!

What does this have to do with the image of God?  Well, do we honor that image when we lie about the deceased?  Man seems to want to remember well about everyone once they die – unless, of course, they have already been vilified publicly - like Hitler, Stalin or Mao.  I am sure families have shed tears, perhaps in secret, for each of these men – as well they should.  Life is precious, even for the likes of Saddam.  I do not moan the loss of life for someone like Saddam, but I do for the possible loss of their soul into eternity.

I would not claim to know the spiritual state of James Brown or Gerald Ford prior to their deaths.  Due to the culture in which they have lived, they had ample opportunity to have made their peace with God. 

And, what of someone like Hussein?  I wonder if anyone in the Army units which held him offered to speak with him about salvation.  I know this is so terribly politically incorrect of me to even think!  The world wanted him dead and they got it.  But, even a man of such destruction, as he was, still needs to hear the word of the true God and was deserving of our prayers.

Take a moment today and remember the leaders of your country, state, city, church, etc in prayer – for God’s wisdom to be theirs, for their salvation as needed, for the softening of their hearts.  Then, remember your enemies in prayer – anyone whom you dislike, pray for them!  And if you are like the many, pray for God to open you heart, to respect that image of Himself.

Remember, prayer changes things …….