Revived

 "Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself. 18 Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name. 19 Restore us, LORD God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved." (Ps. 80:17-19 NIV)

I had the privilege of being a speaker in a week-long community revival. I was night one, speaker two. The theme: unity. The difficulty: out of the fourteen speakers, I only knew two. Well, "knew" as in recognized. A few were from Logansport. Most from outlying churches. A few of us are full-time. Most are bi-vocational caring for small country churches holding on until the last person is buried out the back door. At least they have a cemetery. 

It was called a "revival" but technically it is a "renewal" service. To "revive" something is to bring it back to life. As far as I know we're not dead...yet. 

It's been nice to hear brothers and one sister share the words of the Holy Spirit on this topic. I have been amazed at the direction each of us has taken and the styles in which we present.  

It has been exhilarating. It has been exhausting. It has reminded me that we are not in this fight alone. It has reminded me that there is only so much that we can do together. Unity is a nice theological desire but the practical outworking of it is incredibly difficult. Honestly, I'm not sure what the end desire was to be. It's not like we were fighting with each other. 

I have a feeling many in our congregations think that unity is not just the absence of conflict but the desire to serve one another, encourage one another, support one another. They would be correct. But dividing issues can still be present in separation over "pen and pencil" issues as one speaker put it. 

Blood binds us but pen and pencil issues separate us or should I say, creates limiting barriers. Even then I'm not sure that I am in agreement that this is a bad thing. Unity is not uniformity. Unity is oneness in diversity. I think we have shown that this week. We are not going to come to an agreement to close down all our churches and meet in the high school gym and share speaking responsibilities. It's not feasible nor is it desirable. 

I have an old Puritan preacher in my library, John Owens, who said that when a church gets close to a hundred people start another one. One man can only care for around a hundred people. 

I think this is what was missing in the conversation. It's really not about the preaching. It's about the care. 

Was I revived? No. Was I renewed? No. Did I gain from meeting new pastors and new brothers and sisters in Christ? Absolutely. Perhaps this was the divine purpose all along. Perhaps there will be a greater purpose as things get more difficult for the Body of Christ. This is my prophetic internal rumbling. 

The week was a good reminder of the old hymn: 

"We praise thee O God, for the Son of thy love,

For Jesus who died and is now gone above. 

Hallelujah, Thine the glory! Hallelujah, amen!

 Hallelujah, Thine the glory! Revive us again." 

"Will you not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You." Psalm 85:6. 

It has, indeed, been a week of joy but also a hint of prophetic anticipation. 

 

Penny

 "Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" (Matt. 6:25-26 NIV)

"Value." Definition: "The worth of something"...to someone. I love wrestling with word definitions like this. The value of something is not found in its worth intrinsically (of itself) but extrinsically (outwardly). 

During the reign of King Solomon, silver and gold were as common as road stones (1 Chronicles 1:14). Fragrant spices were of more demand - more value. 

I had two value moments this past week. The first was on my daily morning walk. Traveling at almost the speed of light my eagle eye caught something shiny in the middle of the street. A treasure. Why has no one else seen this? Why has no one else picked this up and claimed it for themselves? A new penny. As I say to my bride, "One cent closer to our Hawaii trip." Now if I could only find a Buffalo Nickel and a J. F. K. half dollar my summer would be complete. 

Is a penny worth anything? Of course. One cent. One tenth of a dime. One one-hundredth of a dollar. Is a penny worth anything...to someone else? For most...probably not. Not worth the effort of bending over and picking something up. 

Perhaps I grew up in a time where even pennies had value, a time where you didn't waste food, where you wore out your clothes and then patched them. Does anyone else remember going down to the local grocery store and buying, "penny candy"? 

Do pennies have value? If nothing more than to put them on the railroad track and smash them (which I found out later was a felony crime - I was in hiding until Junior High from the Treasury department). 

I still have some of my penny collection books. Part of my massive inheritance that will be left to my daughters. Fifty or so coins that have an estimated value of around fifty or so cents. But it is the thought that counts. I won't even mention my stamp collection that is in some cigar box that my grandpa gave me. 

Value. 

My second moment was on a bike trail with my granddaughter this past weekend. She was telling me about her latest read, "Charlotte's Web." She's ten. 

She told me the whole story. I asked questions. "What did the spider spell out in her web?" "Why did she do that?"

"To save the pig, grandpa. But then she dies in the end after she lays her eggs."  

"So what do you think was the point of the story?" I asked. 

I could tell that she had never been asked the question before. Parroting facts is the standard pedagogy at present. Not much thought goes into "why" something was written. What's the point?

"I don't know, grandpa." "It's really hard to communicate." "I think it's about the value of friendship." 

Value. 

"So, what about it was of value?" 

"Well, she was a spider and he was a pig so that's not a normal friendship. So, maybe being friends with people that aren't like you is important. Maybe caring for people that aren't like you that are in trouble is important. Maybe that's why the story was written." 

Value. 

A penny and a story. 

A penny and a conversation with a young girl about things that matter. 

By the way...there's still a coin shortage. My penny is up to $100 (Biden inflation adjustment = I owe the government $5). 

By the way...there's a conversation shortage.

Priceless. 

Evil

 "The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground-- trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." (Gen. 2:9 NIV)

My writing this week reflects two things: the murder of children and a book that I'm reading called, "Defeating Sin: Overcoming Our Passions and Changing Forever" by Fr. Joseph David Huneycutt (Eastern Orthodox). 

The first time we see the word "evil" in the Bible is Genesis 2:9. Nothing "evil" has happened...yet. Nothing to connect the word to any event or thought or action. It is simply listed as part of the dual fruit of one tree: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat from this tree.  But why? I'll get to that in a moment. For right now, I want you to simply consider that it existed. In the beginning God created and everything was good, including this tree. I'm not saying that evil is good or good is evil. We are living in such confusion at present. 

In the beginning God created and everything was good, including a tree where knowledge could be derived about moral issues: the tree of the knowledge...of good and evil. Knowledge is good. The source of knowledge is God. God is good. The determiner of what is good and evil is God's character. 

If knowledge is good, then why were Adam and Eve forbidden to partake of it? We are not told directly, but many of the early Church Fathers taught that Adam and Eve were in a state of untested innocence. Adults but immature. They were not ready for such knowledge. Which is why we don't educate our Kindergarteners on human sexuality or the atrocities of Auschwitz. 

Walking with the Lord over the years, understanding Him, understanding the world through His eyes...all this would prepare them for the knowledge of good and the absence of it - which is what evil essentially is - the absence of good, the absence of God. 

The question may be asked, "If knowledge of evil was part of the tree, then where did it exist? In another world? No. In another dimension. Yes. Most scholars believe that soon after the creation of the world, Satan rebelled taking one-third of the angels with him. It is this divine awareness of God, this evil, that he is trying to protect Adam and Eve from. 

But of course, man's free will and God's sovereign allowance of the Tempter to tempt would enter into paradise, and with dire consequences for all of humanity. What they were to understand in theory, they now understand in personal reality. 

No, they didn't murder or steal or commit adultery or lie. They coveted. They wanted something they were told they couldn't have. They fell and took us with them. Sounds benign. Spoiled children. No. Evil. The character of Satan. 

Father Honeycutt expounds on the two-tree concept originally written in a theological poem by St. Seraphim the Syrian. But in this example, he uses the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and juxtaposes it with the tree of Calvary - the tree of life that sprouted once again for Jesus. 

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil promises life but brings you death. Remember that there was a "Tree of Life" and Adam and Eve were quickly removed from it lest they eat and live in perpetual, eternal separation from God (Hell). 

This was a tree of moral awareness. However, the tree is not the issue; it is anything forbidden for our safety and for our well-being. We think with more information we become wise, but instead we deny it and become fools. What we think as light is perpetual night. 

The tree of life that came through the crucifixion promises life only if we die to ourselves. We think of that horrible affliction on the cross as humanity's darkest hour, but it becomes perpetual light. And no one who walks in the light will ever stumble. 

Evil. Killing a teacher and nineteen eight to ten year-olds just attending school. Sometimes its a simple as that. No excuses. Evil. 

The absence of good. 

The absence of God. 

Rotten

 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. (Matt. 23:27 NIV)

Deb and I were out working in the yard last Friday. Ninety degrees. Potential heat stroke. I was hand sawing tree limbs and doing an overall lifting up of a neglected forest canopy. I mentioned to Deb that this should keep the trees healthy and around, Lord willing, until our repose or the Rapture. (Perhaps today, Lord! Perhaps today!) 

As soon as I said this, I heard a crack and then a cracking, and then that horrible noise of something falling followed by a thud. For a moment I thought my words were prophetic and to be immediately fulfilled, but the sound was not above or near. It was the second section of my neighbor's tree. The first section had fallen over the winter. The other half left to wonder when it too would succumb to gravity and the illness undiagnosed. 

Weird. Weird because if you looked at that tree you would have never known that something was wrong with it. Leaves of green. Beautiful shape. Not crowded out by anything next to it. No child or pet abuse. Alone. Strong. Deceptive. It was dying and no one knew it. It reminds me of the person who goes to the doctor just not feeling well and leaves being told they have stage four inoperable cancer. How does that happen? 

Jesus alluded to this in the spirit world. People. Religious people. Those with the education, the flowing robes, the community praise and adoration. White-washed tombs that look clean and shining on the outside but are full of dead men's bones on the inside. Self-deceived. Undiagnosed. A spiritual stage 4. 

But I think Jesus' words are given not for "them" but for us, for me. Self-examination. Self-deception. I might look good on the outside but is there some rot at the center. Is there still something that I am excusing, something not addressed, something neglected that makes everything else that is good -weak? 

I have been studying for my devotions, "The Departure of the Soul According to the teaching of the Orthodox Church." It is a massive two-inch exhaustive work on what happens when you die. I would argue against its biblical veracity and assign it to church tradition and saint testimony. However, it has provoked me to more consistent confession of sins and repentance - a good thing. 

Their belief is that when you die and your soul separates from your body, the soul must go through at least twenty "toll-houses" where at each stop the demons accuse you of things done and things not done in order to take your soul to hell. Your Guardian Angel accompanies you and gives testimony of your contrition, your repentance, and your good deeds, much like a spiritual shield until you are finally escorted into the presence of Jesus himself - the ultimate Judge. 

Theirs is a works/faith salvation so I disagree with their understanding of judgment. I trust in nothing but the blood of Jesus who has cleansed me from all my sin - past, present, and future. 

However, it has made more aware of the rot that still tries to work its way into my life. It reminds me to keep short accounts with a Savior who died for me and covers me with his sacrificial blood. For such exhortations, I am truly thankful. 

If a tree is going to fall...let it be in my neighbor's yard and not mine. If you know what I mean....

Sabina

 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Col. 3:13 NIV)

It's getting to that point in the year when all the shows you love to watch are ending or being cancelled. So, it was a surprise when Deb and I were finishing a particular show, beginning to scroll, but stopped as a new movie was about to start. "Sabina - Tortured for Christ: the Nazi years." [You can find it on-line for free]. 

This was the story of Sabina Wurmbrand. Her husband, Richard, was a former Jewish atheist turned Lutheran follower/pastor of Christ during the Nazi invasion of Romania and then under the communist dictatorship of Ceausescu. They both established what is now known as The Voice of the Martyrs. Richard would spend over seventeen years in prison, being tortured, being humiliated, for one reason: being a follower of Jesus. But Sabina would have her own story. 

Maybe it's the human spirit to survive. Maybe it's the constant amazement of man's inhumanity toward man. Maybe it's the wonder of how some people turn toward God in terrible times while others cast him aside. Whatever it is, I am drawn to such stories. 

The subtitle of the movie is "The Heart of the Gospel is Forgiveness." I won't go into all the details in case you would like to watch it on your own, but it provoked me to think about my own willingness to forgive. 

It's a normal response for me. One:  Oh God, please don't let that happen to me. Two: Oh God, if it does, please let me respond in such a Christ-like way. 

At the conclusion of the movie Deb said to me, "Do you think you could do that?" My response was, "I hope that I would." 

When I think about Sabina's ordeal, although slightly different, I am reminded of Daniel in the Bible. He was captured and taken into exile, brought into the elite group to learn the language, the culture, the plan. But he never lost who he was even through persecution. 

So, I think, "I hope that I would" reflects and inner desire to be prepared, to do the hard work now of being like Jesus, of responding in tumultuous times like he responded. 

I think, "I hope that I would" realizes that true Christ-like character does not show up on a written quiz. It's not a school exam, pass or fail. In fact, you may never know if you've understood what it means to follow Jesus until you have to put it into practice. 

A dear friend of mine, teaching on faith, said, "Dan, faith is just a noun, a word, until it is tested; then it becomes a verb. 

You'll never know if you are a true follower of Jesus until you are severely tested. Until then, we prepare and when asked if we could forgive our enemy, our torturers, we respond, "I hope that I would." 

"Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing?"

Praying. 

Pretty Woman

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate."
(Prov. 31:30-31 NIV)

Post-Mother's Day. I've had a smile on my face for a number of Sundays. A little girl has been coming to church...maybe 9 or 10...not sure...but going on 20. She's been coming in her mother's high heels and in fancy dresses with bright lipstick. Her little brother is dressed to the hilt as well. She has this big smile when she comes in. I wave. She beams shyly and finds her pew. They're usually late, so it's a grand entrance and exit as they leave to go downstairs for Jr. Church.

I'm sure some think it's cute while others think maybe a bit of parenting should be involved. I mean if your kid wants to eat ice cream for breakfast, would you let him? I'm not sure how its much different than sugar coated cereal or Pop-Tarts but that's for another blog. I eat broccoli with my oatmeal. Don't ask. But my cholesterol levels are wonderful.

I don't care that she dresses that way, and I'll tell you why. That little girl is why her whole family is coming to church. She wants to be here. And as a family in a bit of chaos, I say, "Thank you, Lord, for pretty little women who have that much influence in their home for good." "Thank you, Lord, that in a culture of ripped jeans and sweatshirts, that someone wants to put her best on for the Lord." 

So, bring on the high heels, the princess dresses, and the bright red lipstick. She's already a beautiful little girl in her spirit. Oh, that we would all be so fortunate. 

 

Seasons

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." (1 Pet. 3:3-4 NIV)

Abraham Lincoln once quipped, "The Lord must love common-looking people because he made so many of them." 

A cosmetic salesperson was demonstrating how a certain makeup would change the appearance of a woman's face. A middle-aged woman who was very plain came up to her and asked, "Do you think that it would make me radiant?" She replied, "The only way that a woman is truly radiant is if it comes from within, but I'd be glad to sell you whatever you want as a backup." 

I was talking with my bride this week about how beautiful our yard was at this time of year. We have several Eastern Redbud trees - dark purple, light purple, pinkish red. We have a few Magnolias, a Flowering Dogwood, some Red River Birch, and a Blooming Pear (which she hates because it stinks). My comment was, "It's such a shame that their beauty fades so quickly." What starts out with such brilliant color quickly turns to green leaves. 

But upon further thought, if those flowers did not turn, then where would the needed summer shade be? It turns out that beauty comes in different forms and in different seasons. Just as I know in about five months another type of beauty will unfold with orange, and reds, and browns, and burnt yellows. My favorite time of the year. 

As I reflect on Mother's Day this weekend, I am reminded of the many seasons that I have observed in my mother's life. When I was little, I used to love to go into my mother's room as she was preparing to go out for the night with my dad. Putting on her earrings and necklace - a little perfume. I used to love to look at her in the mirror and look down at her senior picture that she kept on her dresser drawer. I can remember saying, "You were pretty when you were young." A compliment...I thought. She knew what I meant. Seasons. 

Now she is in her twilight years but still going strong. Kids all grown. Grandkids and great grandkids getting there as well. Memories of Fourth of July's, Grandma's porch, listening to the organ and piano, playing cards, working in the garden, mowing the yard with that unique orange John Deere riding mower, hanging up laundry outside, roast on the stove, caregiver, newlywed, bowling, Bachi ball player...

My mother was beautiful when she was young. She still is. It's just Fall ~ that's all. My favorite time of the year. 

Happy Mother's Day to all the ladies in my life! May the Lord grant you beautiful seasons.