Silver and Gold

1 Peter 1:18-21, "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver of gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God."

The Holy Spirit of God placed this divine passage upon my heart this afternoon. I believe that it was divinely placed there for my own benefit, but also for the benefit of others, that together we might be reminded to keep our eyes on Jesus this time of year. This seems almost incredulous. How can I not be reminded that Christmas is a time to remember the Christ. And yet year after year I am reminded that the Church herself falls prey to worldly indebtedness and bondage through  material pursuits. "Blessed is the one who gives" the Scriptures tell us...unless there is no reciprocation. 

I must admit that this temptation is getting easier to avoid the older I get. There isn't much that I need or want, at least anything that I cannot go out and buy for myself if the finances are present. I am less content with the stuff and seeking that which has a greater value to me. 


When I was a kid one of my favorite Christmas programs was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. And one of my favorite songs was by folk-singer, Burl Ives, "Silver and Gold." 

Silver and gold

Silver and gold

Ev'ryone wishes

For silver and gold

How do you measure

It's worth?

Just by the pleasure it

Gives here on Earth

Silver and gold

Silver and gold

Mean so much more

When I see

Silver

And gold decorations

On ev'ry Christmas tree

Silver and gold

Silver and gold

Wise men brought gifts

To the mange I'm told

Mary was humble to see

Shepherds and kings

There on bended knees

It's silver and gold

Silver and gold

Feeling the world

With their lives

Silver and gold

How they shimmer

On ev'ry Christmas night

On ev'ry Christmas night

In this season of Advent (Coming) I am reminded that silver and gold have no value in themselves. It is only the value that is placed on them by humanity - either through their greed, their need, or their worship. 

Because they are precious metals, humanity, in their greed seeks to acquire them for the ease of life they will produce and for the power that they convey. 

Because they are valued metals they are useful in all kinds of instruments and equipment. They are being used to make our lives better and at times more pleasing. 

But because of the first two they should be put in their proper position at the feet of the dear Savior. For silver and gold could not buy us the pardon we seek. Silver and gold could not assuage the wrath of a Holy God for he created the very glittering veins in the earth. Anything of such value should be placed in its proper perspective; they are simply gifts of worship to lay before the King and Creator. 

I am reminded that their is something more precious, more powerful than any glittering stone found in this universe:  the blood of Jesus. It is that crimson flood that covers my sin. It is the staining fluid of life that in some miraculous way makes me white as the winter snow. 

As we are reminded this time of year of our dear Savior's first coming may we be acutely aware of his second. Not only was his birth preordained before the creation of the world but also his return. Will I be caught up in a world full of glittering silver and gold or will it simply remind me of the preciousness of my Lord?

The Oregon Trail

"...give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 

Our last Sunday in Alpena was filled with tears as we said good-bye to many who we had come to love and care for. We had a huge luncheon in the auditorium where we were able to celebrate and remember all that we had done over the past 12 years.

The highlight was a video that a Chinese church had sent to welcome us. It was a way that our church family in Alpena would always be connected to our new and future home in Oregon.

Deb had been ferociously packing up the rental house we were living in at the time. If you have ever moved you know the feeling of those last couple of days. You are trying to remember where everything is packed and it always seems to happen that you need something that has been packed away in some box somewhere. It is a picture of life in transition.

Tuesday comes and early in the morning I am down at the Penske truck rental place. We have a problem. They don’t have a car dolly to pull my car behind the truck. “We never received another one to give you,” they apologetically said. I thought to myself, “And the trouble begins….”

Oh, how little faith I had.

They quickly followed up and said, “We’ll have to upgrade you at our cost and give you a car port that you can actually load your whole car upon.” It wasn’t trouble that was to follow us; it was God’s blessings.

We had hired a loading company to come and help us pack up all our belongings.They too, were so gracious in giving us free boxes and actually packing things so that they would stay safe.

We packed up all the belongings that could go and by two o’clock that afternoon we were looking at Lake Huron and the city of Alpena for the last time.

I was thankful that I grew up on the farm. That big old 28 foot truck and trailer reminded me of hauling all those loads of grain to the farm or to the elevator, so I had a measure of confidence.

The diesel truck was a bit loud on the inside so I couldn’t turn the radio on and hear Deb at the same time call me on the two-way radios that we bought. It would make for a lengthy time of self-contemplation and singing to myself for three and half days.

When we hit Indiana to celebrate Thanksgiving with our children and Deb’s family the fog became so terrible that we could hardly see the road. In fact, I actually had to pull off the highway because I knew that their road was coming up but I literally could not see it. I had spent a good part of my adult life in that area and for the first time I felt lost. I eventually found the road and was never so thankful to get out of that truck as I did that night.

We enjoyed our family that Thanksgiving, said our goodbye’s, and looked for Interstate 80. It would be our friend all the way to Utah.

We were a bit worried about the drive across the country in the latter part of November. We have seen some pretty horrible winter storms that have rolled through the mountains and the prairies at this time of year.

Deb’s uncle, an over-the-road truck driver, was telling us all kinds of horror stories about getting stuck in storms and having to pull over for two or three days in out of the way places.

“You probably need chains to get over the mountains” he said.

I was thinking that maybe Deb and I could just drive down to Arizona or Texas, skip the mountains and wait for next spring. I didn’t realize that if you want to skip the mountains you would have to drive down to somewhere in southern Mexico and my Spanish wasn’t that good anymore.

Again my lack of faith was showing.

I didn’t have any chains for the truck and didn’t know where to get any at that short notice so went just headed out in faith.

We had planned traveling 3 12 hour days and one 8 hour day to get to our destination. Best Westerns became our home away from home as we made reservations at each place for our next Best Western destination.

Things we’ve learned along the way:

Nebraska is a very, very, very long and boring state.

Diesel for Penske trucks is often hard to find so start looking when your tank is half empty.

There is nothing in Wyoming except tumbleweeds and Cabelas Hunting Fishing store.

And make sure that your stuff is tied down on your truck if you’re traveling through the mountains.

We didn’t hit any snow in Wyoming but when we got up to the top of the continental divide we hit 50-60 mile an hour winds.

My hands hurt from holding on to the steering wheel so hard that day.

In front of us a pick-up with all kinds of camping gear went ahead of us that day. They forgot to tie things down as we dodged sleeping bags, clothing, and other assorted and lose things that continue to fly out of the back of their truck that day.

I also thought that I was going to have to have Deb tow me up some of those mountains. My foot was pushed as hard as it could go to the floor and I was racing up at a high speed of about 30 miles an hour. Coming down I was trying to remember how to use my brakes so that they wouldn’t burn up. I was also trying not to miss our next stop in Rock Springs.

We were getting travel weary and wondering if we would ever get there. And I had picked up an unwanted souvenir somewhere in the boring state of Nebraska – a head cold. We needed some encouragement, and God provided it in the most unique way.

Cynthia Acquino was a woman who attended our church in Alpena but who had family in California. She had just lost her husband to cancer and told us that she would find us and meet us on the way back to Michigan. So in Rock Springs, Wyoming, two native Hoosiers, were having supper with a former congregation member from Alpena, Michigan. It was as if God was saying to Deb and me, “Stay encouraged.  You’re almost there.”

At the end of our third days drive we entered into the great state of Oregon. I cheered in my truck cab, “We’ve made it.” “We have made it through the mountains and are now heading toward the left coast.”

I should have looked at the map to see how far I still had to go and what lay ahead.

The truck started to go up hill again and now I was driving in the dark...in the mountains…which I thought I had left. There is nothing worse than driving a big truck pulling a car up and down unfamiliar mountains at night.

When would this day be over?

We finally made it to our destination – Baker City, Oregon. We were both extremely tired and we were so ready to be at our new home. We ate a late supper and said to the waitress, “We’re out of the mountains, right?”

She paused.

Not a good sign.

She said, “I…don’t think so. In fact, the worst is yet to come.”

I didn’t sleep well that night. And…the temperature dropped down into the twenties.

If you don’t know what the means, it means that diesel trucks don’t like to start when its that cold unless they are plugged in over night – which ours wasn’t.

We ate a quick breakfast and I prayed, “Please God, start this truck.” It cranked over and groaned as if it were being punished for something. I think it was saying, “Leave me alone and wake me up in a few more hours.” But the second time she gave in and I kept my foot on that fuel pedal just in case she needed a little encouragement.

Deb and I headed out for our last leg at around 7 am. We started driving and Deb calls me on the radio. “I think our waitress lied to us.  If this is as bad as it gets we’re good.”

She didn’t lie to us.

The ascent began. Up and up and up we went and then we hit the sign across I-84.

“Caution:  Dense Fog alert”

“7% grade descent”

So in other words, I’m going to be going down a very, very steep mountain and I am not going to be able to see anything in front of me. Thank you, Lord.

We started the ascent and it wasn’t long before Deb calls me on the radio.

“Did you just see the sign?”

I said, “You mean the one that said, “Deadman’s Pass?”

She said, “Yes, that one.”

I said, “No, I didn’t see it and I don’t want to see it.”

I was never so glad to see Pendleton in my life.

It was flat. It was Indiana corn-field flat.

Yes….we made it.

Not quite.

We hit the wind tunnel called the Gorge, and then the traffic of I-5.

We finally turned into Forrest Grove Apartments in Tualatin. We arrived to an apartment that we had rented on the internet. We had never seen it before. But in all things God was good.

A year later and we can honestly look back and truly see how God was with us in every aspect of our trip.

We didn’t have any mechanical breakdowns.

We found fuel when we needed it.

We didn’t have any snow or heavy rains the whole time we went through the mountains.

The truck started every morning.

The apartment was perfect for meeting our needs.

We had wonderful brothers from CFBC to help us unload in about an hour or so.

And I was able to return that truck to Home Depot and go to bed an Oregonian.

And that was just the beginning of God’s blessings.

We have been here almost a year and there is not a day that we don’t get up and give thanks for being here in Oregon and here at CFBC.

Every Sunday as we turn east on Sherwood-Tualatin road we look for that clear sky and are reminded of just how big our God is as we gaze upon Mount Hood.

It is a great reminder of His mighty hand and why we are Thankful for his protection, provision, and His love today. 

Joyful Expectation

2 John 1:12, "I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete."

Its been a little over a week now since Deb returned home from her six weeks stay with our youngest daughter, new baby, and new location to live. 

The sacrifice was honorable but I'm glad to have someone else in the house again, even if we aren't in the same place most of the time. Because of her absence I now own another 150 pairs of socks, another 50 items of underwear, and have proved that one can actually wear the same shirt 40 days in a row. I am also on a first name basis with the girl at Taco Bell and my favorite cashier on register number 10 at Fred Meyer.

Just joking...I received exact instructions on the clothes washer and dryer and several days of meals were wonderfully prepared for me before I left. And yes, the bed was made every morning. 

Deb and I have never been apart for that long in our entire 31 years of marriage and I hope we don't have to do that again. It made the departure like pulling a bandage off quickly and the flight home light a return from India rather than Indiana. 

I am a people watcher and just enjoy the creative differences of our God. Not a single person is the same. Even identical twins are not identical in every way. And as I sat expectantly awaiting my bride to arrive I saw the most joyful things. 

It was late in the evening and things were fairly quiet. It was obvious when a plane unloaded - lots of people funneled through the airport to make their way to their final destination. Those who were anxiously awaiting loved ones began to stir and to stand and to pace and to stand on their tip-toes looking over the heads of the ones coming toward them. And one by one those around me jumped up and rushed toward their hearts desire. Lots of hugs. Lots of kisses. Lots of tears. I didn't even know these people but I was so happy for them. If they would have motioned for me to come I would have joined in the group hug. It brought joy to my heart to see people greeting each other with such love. I couldn't wait for my turn. By the time Deb arrived I was so emotionally exhausted from all the joy shared with my fellow Oregonians that I stayed in my seat and tried to blow her a kiss. It came out more like a cough and I think by the response of the man in front of her that my kiss may have hit the wrong person. I thought to myself...everyone needs to have someone greet them at the airport with a hug and a kiss (I wrote PDX about my new ministry but they have not responded as of yet). 

Someday our Savior is coming back to fully redeem this ole body and this old world and I can't help but to think of the all consuming joy that I will feel at his arrival. I just hope His plane is on time. 

Simchat Torah

Simchat Torah is the last Sabbath of the Feast of Sukkot or Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles is the third and final fall feast (Feast of Trumpets or Rosh Hashanah, lit. head of the year and Yom Kippur, lit. Day of Atonement are the other preceding fall feasts). It declares the goodness of God through His abundant provision and care during the wilderness wanderings of the Jews.

I had the privilege of attending Sinchat Torah at a Jewish Synagogue in Portland with a Chinese student from George Fox on this night. Two strangers:  an Irish/German and a Chinese guy walking into a Jewish synagogue --- sounds strange enough doesn't it. But they were very welcoming and gave us directions so as to not offend. 

First, the yamacha's were placed upon our heads. My Chinese friend had really high poofy hair so it looked a little weird on him but it went well with his plaid tennis shoes. 

Next, assigned seating -- men on the leftt, women on the right, separated by a wooden partition with glass at the top - very traditional and happens in many orthodox churches. 

We were given two books. One was the songs to sing as we closed out Simchat Torah and the other as we began the bereishit bara - the new cycle of reading through the Torah again. 

Almost the whole service was in Hebrew. I took this in Seminary and can still read it (somewhat) but it was a whole other experience hearing it spoken and sung. Like any foreign language I wanted to stop the service and say, "Slow down" but since I was a guest I didn't think it prudent. Every once in a while the young rabbi would call out a page number and we faithfully turned - proud that we were able to participate in some small way. 

The service was short - only 45 minutes in total. It was not their full Shabbot service which is 3-4 hours including a lunch. It speaks to community that often is lacking in Protestant churches. There were no instruments in the church - only the voices of worshippers. Not always on key or in timing with each other but they lifted up their communal voices as best they could. I had gift envy. If only the Holy Spirit would give me the gift of tongues I could have sung with them. But alas, the heavenly fire did not fall. 

The sermon was short - maybe 5 minutes. As he began to introduce Genesis he said that it was a book of lessons, lessons about righteousness. "Although a righteous man falls seven times he will rise but the wicked are brought down by calamity," says Proverbs 24:16. Righteousness has to do with a man's ability to rise in the midst of his failures. Righteousness is the obedient pursuit of the law. I wept inside. 

Torah will never be able to make a man righteous. It will make him a good, moral, man, but it cannot make him right before God. Deuteronomy 27:26 says, "Cursed is the man who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out." We are all cursed because we cannot carry out all the law. It is why Paul tells us in Galatians 2:13, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree' (Deut. 21:23)." Jesus was cursed not just because he was murdered and hung on a tree like a common criminal (which he was) but because he was an innocent man who, indeed, did keep all the commandments and become our substitution. We were cursed and should have been the one identified as the criminal but he stepped in and deflected the wrath of God by letting it hit him. 

Second Corinthians 5:21 tells us so wonderfully that "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." It's not in deeds that we become right with God but in responding to the finished work of Jesus. 

My prayer is the same as the Apostle Paul - that some day the Jewish people will recognize their Messiah and come to know the true Word, Jesus, as their Lord and Savior. 

Am I My Brother's Keeper?

"Now Cain said to his brother Abel, 
'Let's go out to the field.' And

while they were in the field Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. 

Then the LORD said to Cain 'Where is your brother Abel?' 

'I don't know,' he replied, 'Am I my brother's keeper?'" 

I don't think that I have ever been so nervous as I have these last few days regarding the President's adamant decision to strike Syria for atrocities against their own people. I hear our "representatives" giving us "reasons" for spending millions of dollars which we do not have to exact "justice" upon people that we have selectively chosen to deem our "national interest." They tell me that this is about principles. What principles? Is this another "just war"?  Death is death but for some reason chemical weapons are different. Have no mothers, fathers, and children died through bombings and gunfire? Are bullets, shrapnel and falling buildings discriminant? What principles are we really fighting for as a nation? I wish our elected officials would tell us and perhaps we would empathize a bit more with their potential decision. If our President has called our nation a post-Christian nation then what values other than the Judeo-Christian ethic are being considered? What sense of "right" is governing this decision. I just cannot believe that we will do this when the Arab League is condemning this. Europe as a whole is condemning this. Israel is handing out gas masks as I write this and bracing for an all out Middle East explosion, and the Islamist are praying that we give them another reason to exact "justice" upon the "Great Satan". 

Can we please call this for what it is, "Saving face." Would not the most principled thing be to admit that one did not adequately think about the consequences before one spoke?" There are times when strength is found in both reason and humility. But there is no "I apologize. I was wrong. I spoke before consideration." In our great capital there is no humility. And I fear that we shall pay for this action and not recover; not from the Muslim world but from God.
"I resist the proud," God says. He will abandon us to the consequences of our own sins. 

Oh, Church of the Living God, may we be like Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel in those chapter 9 prayers of contrition. May we rise up and confess our national sins of pride to a merciful God and find mercy. May godly people stand in the gap and pray for those who are not. Let us pray for the good people who are trying to do the right thing but without the counsel of God. Let us come against the spirit of confusion and delusion. Instead of killing Bashar Al Assad, why are we not on our knees praying for his salvation and the salvation of his people. "If by the sword you live, by the sword you shall die." That not only goes for Syria but for the U.S. as well. 

I was in a suk (sook - a shopping plaza) in Damascus, Syria less than ten years ago. The people were the kindest I have ever met. Middle Eastern hospitality puts us to shame. Time and time again we heard, "We hate your politicians. We hate our politicians. But we love the American people. They are the most generous people in the world." Herein lies our greatest strength - love  through a generous spirit. 

It grieves me to think that many of those friends are now displaced and possibly killed. Families that I once had supper with until midnight...singing, enjoying life...


The Lord speaks to my heart, "Where is your brother?" 

I'm afraid my answer is, "I don't know, Lord. What am I to do but pray and weep for him. His blood testifies against us from the ground."

What to do when worlds collide?

"So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer." (2 Cor. 5:16)

 I love these words from the Apostle Paul. They have been a source of conviction for me lately. God has been working with me on some personal prejudices for which I am ashamed to say still reside within me. But it is part of my quest to be "the image" of God in Christ and through the transforming power of Christ. 

I have been reading some mentally challenging work as of late and I would like to offer some nuggets of truth to help with a world that seems to be colliding internally. In my world I have to deal with a secular community that is anti-God, pro-whatever-sexuality-you-want, homeless squatters who look as healthy as a good horse but love living off my hard work and tax dollars, etc... I would love to show them what the Bible says about such things but...alas...they don't believe what I believe about the Bible and don't much care what it says. Hence, the collision that is inevitably coming. 

I quote from Lesslie Newbigin and The Gospel in a Pluralist

Society. This is from chpt. 5 - "Reason, Revelation, and Experience.

"In contrast to the long period in which the plausibility structure [in other words, the way a community determines if something can be true] of European society was shaped by biblical tradition, and in which one could be a Christian without conscious decision because the existence of God was among the self-evident truths, we are now in a situation where we have to take personal responsibility for our beliefs. When we do so we are immediately faced with the charge of subjectivity. In a consumer society where the freedom of every citizen to express his or her personal preference is taken as fundamental to human happiness -- whether this personal preference is in respect of washing powder [soap] or sexual behavior -- it will be natural to conclude that adherence to the Christian tradition is also simply an expression of personal preference.  The implication will be that claims to universal truth are abandoned and that we are back again in a relativistic twilight. The only firmly established truth is the truth of the reigning plausibility structure, which is bound to deny the Christian's claim that God has acted in historic events to reveal and effect his purpose for all humankind. 

How then do we deal with the threat of this relativism of consumer-oriented society? It is that one learns to live so fully within both traditions that the debate between them is internalized.  As a Christian so to live within the biblical tradition, using its language as my language, its models as the models through which I make sense of experience, its story as the clue to my story, that I help to strengthen and carry forward this tradition of rationality. But as a member of contemporary society I am all the time living in, or at least sharing my life with, those who live in the other tradition. What they call self-evident truths are not self-evident to me, and vice versa.  When they speak of reason they mean plausibility, but know what it feels like to live in it. Within my own mind there is a continuing dialogue between the two. Insofar as my own participation in the Christian tradition is healthy and vigorous, both in thought and in practice, I shall be equipped for the external dialogue with the other tradition.  There is no external criterion above us both to which I and my opposite number can appeal for a decision. The immediate outcome is a matter of the comparative vigor and integrity of the two traditions; the ultimate outcome is at the end when the One who alone is judge sums up and give the verdict."

To summarize:  What to do when world values and beliefs collide? Seek to understand and live out your Christian faith strongly so that through validated experience you can pass on your tradition of faith. Realize that other people do not share your reality. They don't see God in their lives. They have never knowingly experienced Him the way that we have. Their eyes are "blinded" so that they can only see the reality of this world and not God's. Seek to understand it so that you can live in the two. You cannot appeal to the Bible just as they cannot appeal to...whatever truth base they have. In the end God will be the judge of the true reality. Hope this helps. 

King Lute the 1st

In light of the the Tennessee couple who wanted to name their baby boy "Messiah" I've been thinking about asking my mother if it would be O.K. to change my first name to King:  King Lute the 1st. It has a great ring to it, doesn't it? Actually, I'm going to add it to my name so as to not offend my parents: King Daniel DeWayne Lute, the 1st. And hopefully in three or four months we can add Dr. to it with of course my ordination title: Rev. Dr. King Daniel DeWayne Lute the 1st. Thank God I didn't have this when I was in kindergarten but the thought of having six names is good for my self-esteem. I feel good about myself today. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOCNY9pJ850 

The problem is that Rev., Dr., and King are not first names but titles. They are words of honor given through hard work or through a society's favor. 

Some would argue that Latin American parents have been gracing their male children with the name Jesus for centuries and that would be true. I actually know several European men who have Maria (Mary) as their first or middle name. And we have recorded in Hebrew many children before the time of Christ whose name was Jesus or Joshua in hopes that they might be the actual coming Deliverer, the Jewish Messiah. 

But having the name Jesus and being called Messiah are two different things. It was either presumptuous, ignorance, or insensitivity on the parents part to call this young child "Messiah." In a non-religious context this would be like giving a child the first name "president." Yet another example of parents needing a lesson on social graces. I wonder how many First Nation parents have tried to call their baby boy, "Chief"? Or any Arabs by the name of Allah?

"Messiah" means "anointed one." It is a title given to Jesus as God's one and only Son and therefore is a nomenclature reserved for Him and Him alone in the Christian faith. 

Names do mean something. The Jewish people were careful to give their children names that connected to God or to events. In the book of Hosea we see God actually giving names to Hosea's children that were actually prophetic. My first name, "Daniel" means "God judges." 

These days parents are thinking about how "cool" it would be to give their child a name that will stand out and be unique from every one else (probably because they have such low hopes for their children). News flash! Seven hundred and sixty-two babies have already been named "Messiah." Seven hundred and sixty-two children are going to have to live up to a pretty high standard. 

I guess from a Christian perspective I'm tired of the world highjacking words and titles so that they gut them of their meaning, trivialize the meaning, or...make the word or title something contrary to their original meaning. 

If I were to have kids again I would probably try Dr. Seuss (Thing One and Thing Two) or some bizarre made up name. Perhaps I would try some of the non-letter names like the pop artist Prince chose (?, *,&, $, @) or better yet, just randomly choose something from Wingdings. 

What's in a name? Everything or apparently nothing except "cool". Your kid will have to deal with it for the rest of his or her life. Choose well. Choose with dignity and honor. Choose honorably. Choose graciously. Choose prophetically. Choose reverently. 

This has been a regal word from the Very Rev. Dr. (to be) King Daniel DeWayne Lute the 1st or as I'm known around the corn fields of Indiana, "Danny." Oh...and for those reading this and completely lost...my first name isn't "Pastor."

An Unholy Blemish

"Just as the Lord put aside the riches of His divinity, and by His poverty enriched man, offering to him the 'abundance' of His life and love, so too, man sets aside everything that has become life for him in this world, so as to establish all his being in readiness to be a dwelling-place for God."

In my recent research of evangelism techniques and revivals I have 
been amazed at the statistics the bear out the inflated successes of many of the so called "evangelism crusades" or "revival services." We have denomination records that bear hundreds of thousands of people who "claim" to have accepted Christ but not more than a month later the churches are still as empty. When contacted for discipleship opportunities they are disinterested and even hostile. Denominational cosmetology. 

There are those who will say that they made a decision out of emotional manipulation and others who will say that they honestly accepted Jesus but didn't know the package deal that it came with. In other words, embracing Jesus was simply an addition to the other gods in one's life. They didn't understand that embracing Jesus is not an addition to one's life but a radical replacement of one's life. It is moving from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. It is moving from the walking dead who stumble to the awakened who step with clarity. It is changing one's "make-up."

The more that I study and meditate on the real meaning of being "born again" and systems of thought to convey that meaning I find that I, too, have retained some unholy blemishes that I have sought to cover up. There are areas where I have brought in the gaunt, stillborn child and have not seen the rebirth, the new creation of God. 

I have tried to visualize this for motivational

purposes and it helps me quickly realize that I don't want to look like this in the spiritual realm. It is a mutation of what God desires for me. After all, what is a partially born-again person but one that is self-deceived. As the old saying goes, "You can't be a little pregnant. You either are or you're not." 

Embracing Jesus' wonderful love and sacrifice is the easy part. It is giving up the other gods that tend to be so difficult. It is a willingness to be seen without the cosmetics, the spiritual facades. 

May God grant us an awareness of our spiritual complexion. May we look into the divine mirror and find that which is dead and rotting. Deceived, we still believe that things will change, that we can transform the disease, that the same spiritual cream we've been using will eventually bring about the desired result. But it simply acts as make-up does - to conceal. May God grant us dissatisfaction until we experience the cure - a true change in our "make-up."

Dispassionate

"What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short.  From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away." 

"Dispassion." This is a word that many of my Eastern Orthodox authors use to describe what our goal should be in this world. It is a place where our complete satisfaction is in being united with God. It means that my sole "passion" should be God himself. 

In my study of Eastern Orthodoxy I have also been doing some deep research into the book of Genesis again. From another angle I'm trying to understand the clear teaching of who I am in the sight of God and what I have been created to be. 

One of the teachings of the Orthodox Church is that man is composed of three parts ("tripartite"):  body, soul, and spirit. Man was designed to be governed by the highest part of his composition, the eye of the soul, the mind of the soul, the spirit. This is different than our common reason or intellect. It is the way of seeing all of creation through the Creator's eyes, to understand it through His eyes. It is a Christian worldview and it keeps an ungodly attachment to earthly things from taking place. 

The sin of mankind was that they chose to be "like" God through the lower part of their being. They chose to be "god" through their base intellect, reason, and their lower earthly passions. Eve saw and it was pleasing; it was desirable and...they ate. They didn't view the tree through spiritual eyes. The point of the tree of knowledge and evil was to allow them to see that a tree is not the source for true knowledge but the Creator God who put it there. The tree was not there to meet their needs but to display their reliance on God for such knowledge. 

From the Fall onward humanity now struggles to be what God designed them to be, to see in the way that God sees. They seek but only through base reason and understanding. They desire but only through selfish passions. Think with me about how much of your energy is based on consuming that which does not satisfy or brings short term satisfaction. How many during the Great Depression and even during our recent Great Recession took their lives because they lost their "stuff".  How many are consumed with alcohol, drugs, sex, pornography, video games, the stock market, etc...because it is the only reasonable path to satisfaction. Perhaps a reminder from the great theologian, Mick Jagger, would help us. "I can't get no....satisfaction." 

I have been led to memorize 2 Corinthians 5:16 of late. "So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer." 

My prayer is that God would continue to restore my mind - not my rational capabilities, but my ability to see things the way that God created me to see them - through His eyes and for His glory. 

Since I have been meditating and rehearsing this verse in practical ways, I have found myself becoming more and more detached from the things of this world. I am becoming less consumed by worldly events and how they will affect me, and I am looking at my world through the eyes of Christ. I am looking at people differently as well. People are not objects of consumerism or passionate lust. They are not created for my sinful pleasure or usage. And my heart grieves for those whom this world still has in its grips. I believe that many who name the name of Jesus should examine themselves in this area even as it pertains to the person of Jesus. Am I passionate about Him or is He simply another object to use for my own personal desire. I am asking the Holy Spirit to give me the gift of wisdom and knowledge to understand my own heart and the times for His glory and honor. 

How can I be used to reach others for Jesus? How will God use my passion for his word and His Word in this dying and decaying world? How am I at present being transformed into the likeness of Jesus so as to present to others a different path, the only Way? 

I must admit that I do not have a clear answer to this question yet. For now God has me in a local church where I get the privilege of teaching and proclaiming the Kingdom of God to those who willfully come, a place where I can work out my own salvation with trembling and fear. To that task I wholeheartedly run but realizing that other spiritual tributaries have not yet been disclosed. 

I am reading Randy Alcorn's new work (a comic Book) called "Eternity." And it is a beautiful reminder that this world is not my home; I'm just passing through." To think of Lazarus running into the arms of Father Abraham...to know that in this world he was simply a diseased beggar but in the next he was a guest of the King...

May we be passionate about being dispassionate regarding the things of this world and let us set our hope on things to come. By the way...I'm not suggesting that we "check out" but that we "check in" and live out our hope of living in the Kingdom where our sole passion is God and that which He is passionate about - His creation. 

Workin' it out

"Keep thy mind in hell, and despair not." 

The words of Fr. Sophrony have been rolling around in my spirit for a number of weeks. 

I've been trying to understand the connection that our repentance has to our becoming the image and likeness of God. 

Fr. Sophrony suggests that our repentance comes on two levels. In the first level we try, in our own strength, to change our thinking and actions and move toward the desires and character of God. This moves us in the right direction but as life will certainly manifest, sin continues to resurrect itself. 

The second level is the grace that God grants us to actually be transformed in the depth of our spirit. The latter provides the needed spiritual healing that brings us into a position of being like Him. 

The quote above is dealing with the first. It tells us to stay in the place where we are constantly being shown the darkness of our hearts. It is a place where not only the blackness of spirit is revealed but it is also the place where the beauty and light of God's holiness is revealed. The more we see and confess who we truly are the more God reveals who He truly is. This is the basis for our humility before God and before man. 

"Keep thy mind in hell and despair not" is a call to all of us who are fed up with this world, who are growing increasingly dissatisfied with what this world has to offer, and who long to be in the presence of God. It is not a morbid death wish. It is the appropriate yearning for a spiritual traveler looking to his final destination. It is a person who has introspectively seen the vileness of his nature and has lifted up his head toward the heavens to his great and wonderful salvation. 

May the present purging of that which is not of God be a reminder of the promise of ultimately being made in His likeness, not detached from this world but looking at it from the place of Jesus. When we finally get beyond our imperfections we begin to see the depravity of humanity from His perspective, and instead of desiring to escape it, we weep for it. We take on the true likeness of Jesus and commit to serving a humanity that needs to "keep their minds in hell, and yet not despair." 

In the words of the Apostle Paul to Timothy, "...may God grant repentance [to all of us] leading [us] to a knowledge of the truth, and that [we] will come to [our] senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken [us]captive to do his will." 

In Christ

"If anyone be in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come." 

First, my apologies for not consistently writing. I am in the midst of my doctoral dissertation and all other writing assignments have become secondary.

Today I write in response to a thought that I had not previously had or if I did, it has long been forgotten and not ingrained in my soul. 

I have been reading the work of Archimandrite Zacharias (pictured first) called "Christ, Our Way and Our Life."  It is an theological review of the work of Archimandrite Sophrony (pictured underneath).

My doctorate is focused on a alternative evangelism strategy for
this upcoming generation that is based on the Eastern Orthodox central principle of Theosis and the image of God. (I have just lost my readership with this paragraph I'm sure). 

To try and regain your brain...I have been thinking about what it means to truly be made in the image of God and its connection to a person's conversion to Jesus. Thus far in my own journey I have been focusing on what it means to be God. Perhaps that is why I struggle and stumble so much in my own life. It  seems to be an impossibility for me and yet the Scriptures are clear that one day I shall see Him as He is for I will be like Him. I know that this verse speaks of the parousia, the Second Coming of Jesus, but their are other Scriptures, "be ye holy", for example, that compel me to be like Jesus in character in this world. 

For many years I have been looking up toward a potential divinity but this week I was reminded that to be "in Christ," to be like Jesus is also to be like him in his humanity. Jesus was 100 % God and 100% Man.  This was called the "hypostatic union of Christ" by the early church fathers and simply acknowledges the math challenge for those of us trying to figure out how anything can be 200%. But if you think about it what we are really talking about is a person who was perfect in every way. He is perfect as God and yet in humanity he is perfect as well. 

Father Sophrony said that in order to be perfectly converted one must be like Jesus not only in rising to the point of being divine (like Him) but we must also rise to the point where we are totally absorbed in our love for man and for the restoration of creation. 

To be like Jesus I must be totally abandoned and obedient to the Father and ready and willing to sacrifice for the healing and restoration of a broken humanity. It is the fullness of being "in Christ." 

Am I there yet? No. But I'm praying that my journey leads me ever closer. May the Holy Spirit of God that lives within me crucify these earthly passions that distract me from such noble cause and leave me dead to myself and yet fully alive in Jesus. 

Alone again, naturally

"To think that only yesterday I was cheerful, bright and gay
Looking forward to well wouldn’t do
The role I was about to play
But as if to knock me down
Reality came around
And without so much, as a mere touch
Cut me into little pieces
Leaving me to doubt
Talk about God and His mercy
Or if He really does exist
Why did He desert me in my hour of need
I truly am indeed Alone again, naturally."

Anyone remember Gilbert O'Sullivan?  He wrote a popular song in the 1970's called, "Alone Again, Naturally." This song tells the story of him being jilted at the altar and trying to figure out why. I find it interesting that his perception of the heart-wrenching event was that God left him. 

Our belief system is only as strong as our experiences. If we believe that God is good, then...nothing bad will happen to us. If we believe that God is ever-present, then we will never feel alone. And when the bad things come and the lonely times creep in, we either have to rethink who our God is or...rethink our circumstances in light of who he is. If bad things come and my God is good, then I need to rethink my description of what is bad. It is bad in terms of something not going well, hurtful, or difficult but it may be for my good in the long run. 

I am reminded of the Scripture that says, "Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?" (Lam. 3:38). In this passage Jeremiah reminds us that we should be thankful for any good that comes from the hand of God because we are all sinners deserving the calamity. 

It's hard to rationalize this when you think your doing your best to please Him. But maybe that's the problem. Perhaps equating God's mercy with my works is the wrong equation. "God will have mercy on whom he will have mercy..." The judge does what he wants according to his perfect justice and in spite of my understanding of it. It's why it's called "mercy."I'm not getting what I deserve nor what I understand to be justice (in a positive way).

So for all you Gilberts who are trying to figure out why things are going so badly, look for the mercy of God and know that He is with you. God does, indeed, work together  for the good of those who love Him and are called to be conformed into the image of Jesus.

May God have mercy, naturally.  

Blind Spot

Matthew 6:22-23, "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness."

I have been reading a book called, "The Illness and Cure of the Soul in the Orthodox Tradition" by Archim. Hierotheos Vlachos and it has given me pause to think about Genesis 1-3 from a different perspective. 

First of all, the Orthodox Tradition has been in my heart and mind for the last four years. I have studied it personally and now professionally with a zeal to understand a faith that, quite frankly, I was never told about in all my years of education (now going on 185 or so it feels that way) and if any of their mysterious doctrines  came to the surface they were quickly dismissed or aligned with Roman Catholicism. I was never encouraged to examine them or to  investigate them lest I should be theologically swayed to heresy. But what I am finding out is that a church tradition that is linked to first century Christianity has a lot to teach me about my faith. While not embracing all of their theology, I am growing to appreciate much of it. It has opened up the Scriptures for me and given me a deeper understanding. 

I have always wondered what the above verse in Matthew was talking about. At best it was metaphorical. But the Church Fathers seem to indicate that the soul is made up of three parts:  the nous (mind), reason (understanding), and spirit (love). What I find interesting is that the mind is more of...as we would say idiomatically, the mind's eye. It is the ability or potentiality to "see" God. It is spiritual illumination. 

When Adam and Eve sinned we run to the legal aspects of this and say that they broke the law of God. God said don't do this and if you do then death will happen. It becomes what we call forensic or legal in nature. In fact, John in his epistle tells us that sin is a violation of the Law. However, that is not the only way of looking at what transpired. 

The Eastern Orthodox view this quite differently. Sin is a brokenness of spirit, a brokenness of relationships. The soul has become sick; it has become spiritually dark. And the cure is illumination of the soul again. It is to put man back into his proper relational place but even further, to move him to be divine. 

So when I read the words of Jesus they make sense to me now. If

my eye, my spiritual gate of illumination is good then my whole being will be good for it sees as God sees; it sees God and it sees what is not of God (in this context it is equated with greed). But if my eyes are bad, if they are blinded by the darkness of sin, then my whole being will reflect that darkness. 

Jesus, instead of being my cosmic Lawyer who stands before the Judge, is viewed as the divine Physician who brings the cure to my soul. He is the Light of the world and calls me out of a world of darkness. 

I still struggle with what this all means in my Protestant context. If I have embraced Jesus as my Savior and yet still struggle with an eye that seems to be dark in certain areas, have I truly applied the cure? Perhaps its as simply as this is a journey and not an event. I guess I'm not blind but for some  reason I haven't taken the sunglasses off. It takes a while to look directly at the son without going blind. Ironic isn't it. 

Lincoln

"The greatest among you will be your servant." (Matt. 23:11)

A boring Saturday night gave rise to a Red Box visit at our local

McDonalds and an opportunity to view the movie, "Lincoln." It is a docu-drama about the last 4 months of Lincoln's life and his attempt to pass the 13th Ammendment that made slavery illegal in the United States. 

For my wife, who is not a history fan, it was a bit drawn out, but for myself, it was incredibly interesting. 

I can't imagine the horrors of the civil war and the weight of signing hundreds of Confederate prisoners of war death orders each day. It must have been a horrible burden. 

On top of this put the grief of losing a child and a crazy wife and you have an opportunity for a mental breakdown. 

I didn't like the film in that it demolished my pristine image of a man for whom I found to be next to Jesus. He was a politician. And as politicians go he was just as corrupt as those who had gone before him. We could say that his was a just corruption or the ends justifies the means but honest Abe wasn't so honest after all. 

A couple of lessons the film taught me was that greatness comes at a high price. And that truly great people don't seek it. Greatness finds them as they pursue something greater than themselves. 

I have often prayed that I would do great things for the Lord, and this film reminded me of the above two things: that it often comes at a high price and that it will only come when I pursue something or someone greater than myself. 

There is a reason I avoid the theatre and rent from Red Box. 

Guilty as Charged

In honor of Mother's Day...

It's interesting to look at this cartoon and see the truth in this for many people. Instead of a relationship being one of mutual respect and love, it is one of manipulation. It is sad because the desire is the same...to be loved, to be needed, to be appreciated. 

I think as kids we all feel a bit of guilt in regards to our parents. I'm not sure if it is a guilt laid upon us from the Holy Spirit or our culture/society, but none-the-less it is there. It is all those "I wish I would haves or wish I could haves" that we go to our own graves with and that our children will probably bear as well. 

I have been talking about Genesis 1-3 of late. And I posed a question to a seminary professor today. "What is the difference between guilt and conviction?'  When someone says, "I feel convicted about something," what does that mean? Are they saying that they feel guilty over something?" It could be in that context. It could be a synonym. It could be that conviction is the inner pricking of the conscience by God - good or bad - and innocence or guilt is established based on the evidence.  Here is where my conversation would like to take a turn. 

The normal pattern of thought would be, "I feel convicted because I

have violated a law of God. If taken to the holy courtroom, I would be found guilty." In our Protestant theology this is where Jesus comes in to play. I am guilty and yet Jesus takes my punishment. I believe this. I believe in the substitutionary atonement of Jesus for my sin. But then I sin again. And Jesus' precious blood covers me ...each and every time. 

But it keeps me in a guilt system. I am and will always be guilty and feel guilty over past, present, and future sins. 

What if we approached this differently? What if instead of starting at Genesis 3 where everything is broken and Adam and Eve are guilty...what if we start instead with Genesis 1 and 2. 

Humanity's history does not begin with the Fall. It begins with being made in the image of God - we are created to imitate and reflect our Creator God. 

What if we think in these terms rather than the guilt issue terms. When I sin it clearly is a violation of God's holy Law - the  law of the heart (Rom. 2) and the Law given to Israel. I am not denying this. But...we tend to forget that sin is also a re-imaging of ourselves. When we sin we move away from what we have been created to be and begin to image and reflect the opposite of God. Sin in not just transgressing the Law but moving away from our intended purpose - to be the very image of a holy God. In this case its not an issue of guilty or not guilty; its an issue of directionality and proximity. 

The questions become, "Are you heading toward the very purpose for which God created you - to be in His image?" "Or are you moving away from that image?" "If you are heading toward that image, where are you in proximity to that perfect image of Jesus?" 

Jesus paid it all for me and cleansed me with his redeeming blood.

It is no longer and issue of guilt but of image, reflection, nearness. Do I fail and return to sin in my life? More often than I would care to admit. But I'm on the continuum, and after I confess that reversal I press on toward the mark of the high calling of God - to be made in his image and likeness. 

I might still be convicted by the Holy Spirit but it will be because He is working on transforming me into the likeness of the Son not because He desires to confirm my guilt. 

And by the way...mom...I'll be sad when you leave this old broken world, but not guilty...O.K., O.K....I'll call more often...I'll try and visit you more often.... I'm a bad son. 

Innocence

Genesis 3:22, "And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." 

"A group of sex education 'experts' has suggested that pupils should be taught in school about pornography, on the grounds that it is not “all bad” and can even be “helpful” to them.

Yes, you read that right.

The Sex Education Forum says in a new publication for 
schools that pornography should be taught in terms of 
'media literacy and representation, gender, sexual behavior 
and body image.'” [from the Philadelphia Trumpet - which I do not subscribe to theologically (Armstrongism) but who have some pretty sharp European culture watchers.] 

By the way this is to be taught to 13 and 14 year old young people.

What stupidity. 

My dad and I were in a paint store one day and one of the store employees heard that I had never been to a bar and had a good

"drink." He proceeded to playfully harass me until the Lord gave me a good lead into the conversation.

I said to the gentlemen, "Have you ever put your hand down a known rattlesnake hole?"

He said, "No...why in the world would I want to do something stupid like that?" 

"Nor have I," I replied. 

"I don't have to try something that I know is going to bite me in the end." 

The point was made with a smile. 

Where has our sense of innocence gone? 

In discussing this passage in Genesis with a brother in Christ he told me that he never really knew that anyone died until he was almost 9 years of age. 

I long for those days of blissful ignorance. 

Think about what it must have been like to be Adam and Eve: Living in Paradise, walking with God in the cool of the evenings, having your hands always produce the best yield, complete harmony with your world. You have no knowledge of evil or wicked things. 

It was how God created you to be. 

You have no knowledge of the destructive nature of pornography or war or famine or disease. You have no knowledge of what inhumanities man can do to humanity. 

It continues to be a lingering prayer and biblical hope for all things to be restored to their original innocence. 

I believe that is the blessing of the book of Revelation. Some day...some day soon, I hope...my Jesus will come and fully restore all things to the Father as they were in Paradise so many years ago. When John describes living with God he says that this is a place where there is no tears, no sadness, no death. This is a place of restored innocence. It's why its called "Heaven." 

I think we are in store for a world described aptly by the prophet Isaiah - where people call good evil and evil good. We have lost our moral boundaries but...more than that, we have lost our moral compass. Our world has acquired what the Apostle Paul deemed "seared consciences" and "gods of their bellies." It represents stupid decisions by school boards to allow such things. 

Yes...I know that some kids are having sex before they are 12 years old. It's the same old mantra of "they're going to do it anyway so we might as well keep them safe or teach them appropriately." 

How about saying, "It's wrong. It's not what God wants for you. Don't give up what God has graciously given you by way of your innocence." 

I'm not talking about naivete. Naivete will not help you navigate your world but you don't have to participate in it. 

Don't lose hope. It must get worse before it gets better or should I say, "It must get worse before it becomes perfect." 

Perhaps the Lord will grant us a little returned innocence in the meantime, if only in our minds. 

Live in hope and keep your hands away from known rattlesnake holes.