Articles

There are three words that are called articles. Two of them are a and the, as in a violin and the robin. Despite the unimpressive size of these words, when paired up with a more important word such as savior, they can cause a world of difference.

Is Jesus Christ a savior, or is he the Savior? According to his own teaching, Jesus Christ is the Savior. He said so and it wasn't an accident- he meant to.

The enlightened folks who bring us "politically correctness" are putting enormous pressure on Christians to believe and say that Jesus is only a savior- because it supposedly isn't "nice" to hold opinions with which others may not agree.

But wait a minute, it's still ok to hold political opinions that may differ from others: it's ok to hold opinions about sports or restaurants or music or a multitude of other things- that's not considered to be "insensitive" or rude. So what's the deal with the rule about having an opinion about Jesus that others may not like?

It's all about manipulation- they are trying to tell you how to speak and how to think. But you have a right to believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior and you have the right to say so if you want to- and to say so without feeling guilty or feeling that you're not a "nice" person.

Don't let them do it to you.

Brothers

Yesterday I had the chance to share breakfast with a brother and then share an afternoon snack with another brother. In middle age I am so enjoying the richness of friendships with other men who share a tenderness toward the Lord and the desire to know Christ more, and more. For the last couple of years, I've had opportunities to form friendships with fellows who are very different from me in so many ways- it wasn't easy at first and it sometimes felt strange.

But I have learned not to be put off by differences, but rather to enjoy chances to see things through the eyes of others. And it helps me to evaluate my opinions and thoughts in a different way, which sometimes results in change and sometime results in confirmation. But to share encouragement one with another is a gift from the Lord that brings richness and even a sense of wonder- to better understand and experience the Body of Christ as a living spiritual reality that includes so much and so many!

New York

Em and I were in New York for a couple of days. The weather was nice and midtown is all decked out for Christmas so it was fun to walk around. We spent Monday afternoon at the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum. In the evening we browsed around the East Village. Tuesday we went to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.

Do We Really Have to Know Why?

The following quote is from Donald Kraybill, an expert on the Amish- it is in reference to the recent murder of Amish children in Pennsylvania.

"...their [the Amish’s] faith sees even tragic events under the canopy of divine providence, having a higher purpose or meaning hidden from human sight at first glance. The Amish don't argue with God. They have an enormous capacity to absorb adversity- a willingness to yield to divine providence in the face of hostility. Such religious resolve enables them to move forward without the endless paralysis of analysis that asks why, letting the analysis rest in the hands of God."

Yes, and Amen

Does God providentially work out his plans in the world, or do humans have the ability to make true choices?

There is much in the scriptures that seems to support both ways of thinking, so I answer the question, "Yes, and Amen."

It's not one or the other, it's both.

I don't think that this is a cop-out or a contradiction- it is just a natural (and reasonable) response to 1) the limitations of the human mind and 2) the infinity of God's mind. I believe that there are many things about the Lord that seem like contradictions to us, but when we see as he sees (in eternity) we will find that the "contradictions" are not true contradictions.

Prayer Meeting

Today it was just Keith and I at the noon prayer meeting at the college, which is unusual- probably because it was an open registration day. We prayed for some ongoing medical situations involving folks who couldn't be at the meeting and also for the college administration. We started with Psalm 25. The psalm shows a humble and tender heart before the Lord- a worthy goal to seek to be like David.

But What Do I Know?

I used to think I knew what things were good and what things weren't good. But ... I'm not so sure anymore. The apostles thought it was a great tragedy for them and a victory for evil when the Christ was crucified. What they found out later was that it was a great victory for Christ, not for evil. They were wrong- they totally misunderstood. And, they had been living with Jesus and his teachings for three years.

We only see part of the picture- God sees it all. God is involved in every detail of every one of our days. Nothing can happen that he doesn't permit to happen. In fact, everything that happens, everything, is either caused or permitted by God- there are no other alternatives.

So I'm learning to not be so quick to think that I know what is right and what is wrong.

For example, we enjoy freedom of religion in this land. It's a wonderful blessing and it must be God's will that we not lose the freedom of religion granted to us by the Constitution, right? Or, is it?

Here's what I mean: the true church in China is growing tremendously under communism, where the official philosophy is atheism. Chinese believers have a zeal to spread the Gospel- they risk imprisonment and worse by living out their faith. New believers leave all and set out at great personal risk to spread the Good News of Christ. The church there is growing by leaps and bounds and they are living sacrificially to serve Christ. Compare that to the church in America- some have said that the America church is three thousand miles wide and one inch deep.

We know that only spiritual things will last forever; the things we can see are temporary. Of all the good things that can happen to a person, one and only one will last for eternity- salvation through Jesus Christ.

So, if the ultimate good is the growing and strengthening of the church, and if persecution by a totalitarian government lights a fire in the church that brings great revival and spreads the Gospel far and wide- if many, many more people turn the Lord, perhaps our temporal religious freedom is not necessarily the best thing, in terms of eternity.

How nice it is that we don't have to have all the answers- that we know the one who does.

The Low View

I'm not surprised to hear that a low view of scripture is showing up in some college-age Christians. It seems that there is increasing social pressure to avoid having opinions that exclude some others, especially for the generation that has grown up in the last 20 years.

Although, it's not just the younger folks.

We know middle-aged professing Christian folks who may not understand/believe what scripture is (and it seems they don't know that they don't know). Do they just blend the postmodern views of the pop culture with what they're taught about Christ and the Bible? I think many would probably be shocked to realize that the two views contradict each other.

I don't know if they can see the disconnect- maybe they're just not thinking.

It will be interesting to see what the Lord does in the years to come, as the problem will probably get worse. I hope it doesn't come to there being a small, marginalized remnant church that is outlawed and persecuted for it's "intolerance."