My Christmas Mug

It is Christmas morning 2020. While Lily, our Border collie, and I have been outside in the darkness the coffee pot has been filling drip by drip. As I look up into the heavens and pray that my body will be a living sacrifice and my mind renewed on this Christmas Day (Romans 12:1-2), I am aware that the body will require coffee to lift the rocket alertly and joyfully off the ground.

Back in the kitchen, as I select my Christmas mug my vision moves to Christmas 1989, our first Christmas in Richmond, VA…thirty-one years past…could it have really been that long ago? But it isn’t just Christmas 1989 that I’m seeing, it is also a frigid night in February 1989; for without that frigid February night there would have been no Christmas mug.

I suppose I should say, lest you misconceive what this mug looks like, that it does not look like anything associated with Christmas. It is not green and red, it does not have Santa and reindeer or stockings and chimneys or snowmen and sleighs. We do indeed have mugs of that ilk that we display and use during Christmas. Our decorative Christmas mugs are packed and unpacked each year, but the Christmas mug is in the cupboard all yearlong and I use it throughout the year along with other old and comfortable mugs.

The Christmas mug is five inches tall and holds 16 ounces. It is ceramic with a light grey background, with two adult mallard ducks on one side and a smaller mallard on the other side. No one who sees this mug has any reason to associate it with Christmas; a mug-thief would not steal this mug for his Christmas collection.

On the February night in question, I received a phone call from the maintenance supervisor of a townhouse rental community I managed in the Lakeside section of metropolitan Richmond; he told me that most of the homes were suddenly without heat. Since the temperatures were below 20 degrees, this was an emergency. As I drove the approximately twenty miles from home to the property, I wondered what the problem could be. Had this been a high rise community with a central heating system we’d know where to begin, but each of these townhouses had individual gas furnaces, so why would they all stop working at once? I realized that the problem must be the fuel supply, it must be the natural gas, why weren’t the furnaces getting the gas to burn? Since I had only been on my job about three weeks and was still learning the properties in my portfolio, I would have to wait until I got to the community for investigate further.  

O my was it cold, as my great-great Aunt Martha would say, it was “bitter cold.” Cold and windy and snowy. By the time I arrived at the community, the City of Richmond’s natural gas utility department was there and had diagnosed the problem; the gas lines had frozen. Moisture in the exterior gas lines that fed the individual townhomes had frozen, blocking the flow of natural gas to the furnaces – this would be a long night under the blankets for the residents of the community. There was nothing we could do until the temperatures began rising in the morning.

The next day I was back at the property around 11:00 A.M., the gas service having been restored as soon as possible earlier in the morning. Restoring the service entailed more than simply waiting for the lines to thaw, it also meant going into each of the one hundred fifty homes and lighting the pilots on the stoves, furnaces, and water heaters. This was a two-person job, one of our employees working with an employee of the utility department.

As I was in the business office reviewing the situation with the property manager, the maintenance supervisor came in and said, “Bob, we have a problem with unit 423. When we went into the place to light the appliances we could hardly walk through the living room to the kitchen because there was so much stuff in the house; books and newspapers and magazines piled high from the floor so that there is only a narrow pathway to get from one end of the room to the other. When we got to the kitchen there were unwashed dishes and pots and pans piled high in the sink and on the counters; the stove was crusted over with food. Nothing looked like it had been cleaned in years.”

“Bob, the smell was so bad that we could hardly breathe. When we went back outside the Richmond utility worker vomited…it was that bad.”

When I was in property management and people asked me what I did, I never could explain it. I might say something like, “In the morning I may be in a meeting with bankers and in the afternoon I may be looking at raw sewage in a manhole.” Everyday had its own challenges, many of them unexpected, such as a community losing its natural gas fuel supply or finding out that one of your residents is a hoarder, a health risk, and a fire risk.

“What’s the resident’s name?” I asked.

“Mary Wells,” Frank the supervisor said.

I looked at the property manager and said, “Alice, would you please pull her file for me? Frank and I are going to visit her and I want to review it when I get back.”

I gave the door three light knocks and then was looking at Mary Wells. She was around forty-five years old, modestly dressed, and did not in any manner resemble a crazy-cat-lady.

“Good morning Miss Wells. I’m Bob Withers with King Properties, I imagine you know why we’re here. May we please come in?”

“Of course,” she replied as she stepped back into her living room and gestured for us to enter.

There was barely enough room for Frank, Ms. Wells, and me to stand together as I surveyed the first floor of her townhouse. From wall to wall, from floor but not quite to ceiling, were stacks of magazines, books, newspapers, paper bags, and boxes; with only a narrow walkway to get to the kitchen and to the stairs leading to the second floor.

I took a few moments to take it all in before saying, “Ms. Wells, this needs to be cleaned up within thirty days. I’ll be sending you a letter confirming this and we’ll be back in thirty days to inspect your home. As you are probably aware, this is a health hazard and a fire hazard.”

“I understand,” she said.

“Thank you,” I said as Frank and I left her home. There was no need for me to look at the kitchen, no need to prolong the uncomfortable visit, no need to embarrass the lady, no need to tread further into the private life of another person. And yet, the life of Mary Wells wasn’t private anymore because when you rent a place to live you make a covenant with the landlord to take reasonable care of the property and to not endanger the health and welfare of your neighbors.

Alice had Ms. Wells’ file ready for me when I returned to the rental office. As I sat and read through it I asked myself, “Who is this person? Who is she and why is her home in its current state?” Mary Wells had lived at Lakeside Manor for about fifteen years, she had always paid her rent on time and there had been no complaints about her from other residents or staff. Mary was an RN who had been with her current employer, Metropolitan Hospital, for eighteen years. Her nearest relative, the person to notify in case of emergency, was a daughter who lived in California.

As I thought about what I was reading, about what I had seen in her townhouse, and about the eyes of Mary Wells that I had looked into – not eyes of defiance, not even eyes of embarrassment, but rather eyes of resignation – I thought, “She is in emotional and psychological trouble and I don’t want this to push her over the edge. There is no way she can cleanup her home within thirty days by herself, or even within sixty days – I have to protect her neighbors from a health and fire hazard, but I also want to help her.” I knew that before Mary could climb the physical mountain of decluttering and cleaning her house, that she’d need help in climbing out of the emotional and mental abyss that had devoured her. She’d likely pursue both goals at the same time, but she couldn’t do it alone.

I made a copy of her file and took it with me as I returned to my office. Later that day, with her file open on my desk, I telephoned Metropolitan Hospital and asked for Human Resources. When HR answered my call I asked to speak to the director; after a short wait I began the conversation:

“Hi, I’m Bob Withers with King Properties here in Richmond. I realize this is a highly unusual call, but I’m calling you about a long-term employee of yours who needs your help.”

I then described the events of the past twenty-four hours, leaving out the part when the City of Richmond employee vomited as a result of the stench in Mary’s home. I explained that I had a legal and moral duty to ensure that Mary’s house was safe and sanitary and was not endangering the lives of her neighbors, but that I was also concerned that Mary would be unable to emotionally cope with the requirement that she make her home safe and habitable. I did not want Mary to go over the edge of whatever precipice she was on, and I was certain that Metropolitan Hospital did not want to lose a valued nurse.

The director of HR listened attentively, asked a few questions, and then thanked me for calling. Later that day I sent Mary a letter explaining that she needed to declutter her townhouse, clean it, and that we would inspect her home after thirty days. The letter also indicated that should Mary not comply, that her lease could be terminated. This was a legal notice in accordance with the terms of the lease and the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As much as I cared about Mary, I also cared about her neighbors, about the liability of the owner of the property, and about health and safety and fire codes – I had to fulfill a number of responsibilities in which “time was of the essence.”

About six weeks later I asked Alice and Frank to please inspect Mary’s townhouse. I had given Mary a couple of extra weeks to do what needed to be done, hoping that the news would be good. I was both thankful and relieved when Alice called to tell me that Mary’s home was cleaned and decluttered. Life in property management does not always work out so well, but we do what we can and hope that God will work in people’s lives.

As the year progressed, I didn’t think much about Mary, after all, I had multiple properties and hundreds of residents on my mind; and at any given time, numerous employees and residents were grabbing at me for attention – wanting me to address problems large and small. Plus, of course, the owner of our company expected me to provide good returns on his investments. Thanksgiving Day was sweet that year; Vickie and I and one of the property staffs cooked Thanksgiving dinner for the residents of a senior citizen community close to McGuire VA Medical Center – the local Methodist church let us use its kitchen and dining room - and there were plenty of leftovers for folks to take back to their apartments.

A few days before Christmas 1989, one afternoon as I walked into our corporate office the receptionist said, “Bob, a lady was here this morning and dropped something off for you, it’s in the conference room.”

 

On the conference table was a straw basket, within which was an assortment of hot chocolate mixes and teas, surrounding a tall mug with two adult mallards on the front and a small mallard on the back. A small envelope was in the basket, the note inside said, “Thank you. Mary Wells.”

Who can we give hope to during this season of upheaval and chaos? Who can we help? Who can we encourage? We can all make a difference in the lives of others, someway, somehow.

We often rightly emphasize the wonderful words of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” But what does this look like in our lives? This passage must be more than words, it must be about more than simply saying, “I believe John 3:16.” It must be reflected in our lives as we incarnationally live 1 John 3:16:

“We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”  Or, as Mark 12:29 – 31 teaches us, we are to love God with all that we are and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Now you know the story of my Christmas mug.

God Unveils His Masterpiece

 My friend George Bowers writes a weekly column for the Northern Virginia Daily. This is his offering for December 19, 2020:

 God Unveils His Masterpiece

Many museums and art galleries host unveilings to reveal new sculptures or paintings. A program is planned, the artist secured, refreshments prepared and invitations mailed. Meanwhile, the piece of exquisite art is covered with a sheet to prevent anyone from seeing it until the moment when it will be revealed with great fanfare.

 

When the day arrives, the Master of Ceremonies welcomes everyone and makes introductory remarks. The artist is introduced and applauded. And then, for the climax, the artist or emcee grasps a corner of the sheet and yanks it off revealing to all the brand new creative work!

 

Something very similar happened in Bethlehem roughly 2000 years ago. The Eternal God made all the arrangements for an event He had scheduled since Eden. He revealed the location through a prophet named Micah and the timing through Daniel. Through others, He issued press releases, teasing us along as to what His most magnificent work would be.

 

Although He made the reservations centuries before, He used a pagan Emperor to get the participants to the proper place and at proper time. Instead of many wealthy donors, He notified the only two people who needed to be present, and then arranged the circumstances for the unveiling of His greatest work. This little Child, meanwhile, was veiled inside the flesh of His mother awaiting the precise moment He would be revealed to the world.

 

And then it happened! On that dark night in a Bethlehem cave, surrounded not by prestigious guests of royalty and status, but by lowly barnyard animals, God grasped the corner of the sheet and yanked it off revealing to the world His Only Begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Mary and Joseph were the first to behold and marvel at the work of God’s art and heart lying in this manger. They comforted, wondered, snuggled and adored. They cuddled and they worshipped.

 

Then the Master of Ceremonies (and of the universe) delivered His invitations by brilliant angels to sleepy shepherds on a nearby hillside. “Come see this new work God has just unveiled!” Or in the literal wording of the invitation, "There is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." No street address, RSVP, or attire specified.

 

With fear, trembling, and much excitement, they made their way to that Bethlehem cave and were the first outsiders invited into the stable-turned-museum to see God’s extraordinary Master’s piece. They came, saw, adored, worshipped, returned, and proclaimed! They carried the Master’s invitations to others to see the newly revealed Work of Heart in yonder cave.

 

About a week later, Simeon and Anna beheld God’s living, moving, breathing sculpture. As they did, they prophesied over this Amazing Child and worshipped the One they held. For unlike most museum pieces that are roped off and untouchable, this One was to be handled and held, hugged and embraced, fed and changed.

 

Over the next 33 years, others beheld Him as well. Some on hillsides, others in the Temple, and still others on Galilee’s sea. He touched others, others touched Him. This living Sculpture of God, though made of flesh and bone instead of rock and stone, exhibited love and compassion like no other work in history’s museum.

 

Unfortunately, not all appreciated God’s handiwork and ultimately destroyed the sculpture. They rejected the Masterpiece and insulted the Artist. Only to be overwhelmed by His reassembly and resurrection three days later!

 

What will you do with God’s Masterpiece? As we celebrate His unveiling in Bethlehem when God pulled the sheet from His Son and introduced Him to the world, how will you respond? Will you criticize and reject Him? Or will you, like millions of others, marvel at His beauty, fall at His feet and worship? Let’s celebrate the unveiling of God’s truly unique Master’s piece this Christmas!

 

George Bowers is the Senior Pastor of Antioch Church of the Brethren and has authored sixteen books including Blessings Volume 3 which is a collection of these articles. It is available at Four Star Printing and Shenandoah Stuff. He can be reached through www.georgebowersministries.com or at gabowers@shentel.net.

 

Socks

 

Socks

 

Among my waking thoughts today were socks.

Not just any socks

But a particular pair of socks.

Warm, gray, wool socks

Lying on the floor next to my bed.

 

Below, down the stairs,

In the kitchen, the coffee maker beckoned.

This morning it would be robust coffee.

Not a medium roast,

But a roast worthy of pairing with thick wool socks.

 

Somewhere it is written,

“Having food and raiment, let us be content.”

From the congregation I respond,

“Having warm wool socks and robust coffee,

Let us also be content.”

 

For those who can receive it,

There is a sacramental warmth with

Coffee and socks, an appreciation of

The basic gifts of life, and an acknowledgement

That I don’t need as much as I think I need.

 

I have read and have been told that the homeless

Need good socks. All souls need a home,

All people need a home,

All feet need a home.

Socks are not to be taken lightly.

 

Like many I have pondered the mystery

Of socks gone missing.

I freely admit that in my sock drawer are

Socks awaiting the unlikely

Return of their mate.

 

In that same drawer are socks that probably

Should not be there, their time has

Come and gone; or more precisely

Their fabric and elastic have long since

Shown any sign of sock-life.

 

Should I be ashamed to admit that

A pair or two in the drawer are

Guaranteed to work themselves

Down below my ankles and into my shoes

Should I wear them?

 

People used to “darn” socks.

Perhaps this was more than simply being frugal

And good stewards? Perhaps it was also

An act of remembrance, pondering

Where one’s feet have been?

 

I’m not sure that it makes any sense to

Rejoice in great possessions,

Or to glory in great travels, or to

Find our security in investment and bank accounts.

But I am convinced that God is pleased when we are thankful for socks.

 

Robert L. Withers, 2020

Written wearing warm wool grey socks, while drinking robust coffee, with my dog Lily by my side.

The Stockhom Syndrome

 

Morning Ponderings, December 14, 2020

American Christianity reminds me of puppies chasing their tails, except it isn’t cute. The quote below is from the early 20^th century, how much more true it is today!

“Our modern Christian life so often lacks the poise and stability of the eternal. Religion has come so overmuch to occupy itself with the things of time that it catches the spirit of time. Its purposes turn fickle and unsteady; its methods become superficial and ephemeral; it alters its course so constantly; it borrows so readily from sources beneath itself, that it undermines its own prestige in matters pertaining to the eternal world. Where lies the remedy? It would be useless to seek it in withdrawal from the struggles of this present world. The true corrective lies in this, that we must learn again to carry a heaven-fed and heaven-centered spirit into our walk and work below.” Geerhardus Vos

--------------------

American Christianity is like Coney Island, a carnival midway; everyone hawking their wears; lots of pretty lights, junk food, noise, games to play.

---------------

When Jesus Christ isn’t enough for the professing church, we no longer have Biblical Christianity. O yes indeed we still have a story from the Bible, but it is the story of the promiscuous wife, the adulteress, the whore, not the story of the virgin Church.

-----------------

Those who are prisoners of heresies, such as Christian nationalism, must have the Stockholm syndrome; how else could they defend that which is contrary to the Gospel and the Bride of Christ?

---------------------

Have we forgotten (of course we have!), that the early Christians only needed to worship the Emperor and the State to avoid persecution? We won’t make that mistake…will we? Let’s worship both!

-------------------

It is amusing, in a pathetic fashion, when American Christians dramatically talk of coming persecution and of dying for Jesus Christ. For one thing we love money and comfort too much to be faithful in persecution. For another thing, if we aren’t living for Christ and others as a way of life, and if we aren’t taking up our cross and denying ourselves daily as a way of life, we are hardly going to confess Christ and deny ourselves should we be faced with the choice of physical life or death. In this sense, it is harder to live for Christ than to die for Christ…and if we have not learned what it is to “die daily” and to live for Christ daily, it is unlikely that we would “love not our lives unto death.”

What Do We Hear? What Do We See?

"The words of the wise heard in quietness are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. 

Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good."

Ecclesiastes 9:17 - 18 NASB

In The Ground

 

In The Ground

Robert L. Withers

December 7, 2020

 

Yesterday they put him in the ground.

I wasn’t there but I saw it.

I saw it the day before.

I saw it the day of…yesterday morning.

 

Yesterday morning I thought,

“Today they’re putting him in the ground.”

I saw his body in the box,

I saw the box lowered.

 

It was cold, I felt it.

The air, the body, the box.

Military honors…taps…

Can you hear the notes hanging in the air above the ground?

 

I know he isn’t there,

Not in the box, not in the body,

He ain’t there.

Why do I look for the living among the dead?

 

The angels marked “that one,” “that spot.”

“That one will be up again,” they said.

He is with our Lord, I know that.

But he ain’t with me, that’s the problem.

 

How did he get from Kensington, Maryland

To Fall Creek, Wisconsin?

His body was born in Maryland,

It was put in the ground in Wisconsin.

 

Was he born with an address label?

A routing slip that read,

“Destination Wisconsin”?

Was there an anticipated delivery date?

 

 

Why didn’t I know that our last conversation

Was our final conversation?

I was older on earth than he was,

Now he is older in heaven than I am.

 

Time collapses. He is a toddler,

A boy, a man, a husband,

A father, a grandpa,

A son of the Living God.

 

He is healthy, he is sick, he is more than sick.

Then he is healed before the Throne,

He radiates light,

Joy shines from his face.

 

 My brother the marathon runner

Has crossed the finish line.

It wasn’t the course he thought he’d run,

The finish line looked different than the photos.

 

But when the course changed,

His faith in Christ didn’t change.

They wrapped him in bandages those last few weeks,

They wrapped Christ in a burial shroud.

 

The tomb of Christ is empty,

He ain’t there, He done gone to live forever.

They put Jim’s body in the ground,

But Jim ain’t there either…he done gone to be with Christ.

 

But I’ll tell you what…I’ll tell you what to look for;

For a Day is coming when what has been put in the ground

Is coming out of that ground in a glory that defies imagination.

What was put in the ground, is coming up out of the ground!

 

O yes, that will be glory!

 

 

Where Is Our Treasure?

This morning our small group will be pondering Matthew 19:16 - 30, with a focus on the young man who owned a great many things. Maybe there is something here for you:

 

This is one of those passages that Christians have tried to explain away over the centuries – St. Francis of Assisi being a notable exception. In other words, we’ve tried, and we still try, to blunt the force of Jesus’ words to the young man who had “many things” or “many possessions” (19:22). Some teachers have gone so far as to say that Jesus didn’t mean a literal “needle” in verse 24, but that there was a gate in Jerusalem called “the needle’s eye” through which a camel had to kneel or bend down to get through; the problem with this is that there wasn’t any such thing – Jesus is talking about a literal camel and a literal needle, and unless the camel shrinks or the needle’s eye get a whole lot larger, people with “many things” ain’t entering the kingdom of heaven. (I think “many things” or “many possessions” is a better translation than “great wealth” or “much property”.) Thankfully we have verse 26, “…with God all things are possible.”

 

In considering this passage, note Matthew 6:19 – 24 and 7:13 – 14. Matthew 19:16 – 30 lines up with what Jesus has already been teaching and should be no surprise – Jesus actually expects us to act on what He teaches. Also please consider what comes before our passage, Jesus’ teaching, once again, about little children (19:13 – 15; also 18:2).    

 

Two or three weeks ago Steve asked a question of us about how we handled the expectations of the world, the pressures to provide for family, and the desire to be successful in our careers, in light of being followers of Jesus Christ. Not only was there silence, but we changed the subject. Why was there silence? I’ve been pondering this…and not wanting to waste this good question that Steve asked, I’ll build on it.

 

(But let me also put in a word for “silence” – silence is good and we ought not to fear it. Our Zoom meetings are not like radio in which dead spots are dangerous – we don’t have to fill space with words, if we need time to ponder a question like Steve’s then let’s ponder it – how else can the Holy Spirit speak to us? This is a downside of not meeting in person, it seems we’re more afraid of silence than usual).

 

Okay, now building on Steve’s question: How were we raised to think about money and possessions? How is our society raising children today in this respect? How have we lived our lives regarding money and possessions, in light of Matthew 6:19 – 24? Most importantly, how are we living today regarding money and possessions?

 

What are the true values of our society and churches?

 

As I pondered this passage I realized that I could easily preach a sermon series on it, it is that complex, and yet it is simple – because it penetrates our hearts (or should) and strips us naked…if we’re honest about it. What really matters? Where is our treasure? What are we teaching our children? What are our neighbors seeing in our lives? Our coworkers? Who are we really?

 

Are we more concerned about our children and grandchildren making money, or knowing Christ and becoming men and women of character?

 

In 19:21 Jesus uses the word “perfect” or “complete” – compare with Matthew 5:48. The Christian life is not about getting some eternal passport stamped – it is about becoming like our Father and Lord Jesus (Romans 8:29). What a shame that most Christians don’t “get” this.

 

In the Old Testament the idea of being perfect or complete carried with it the meaning of “undivided loyalty and full-hearted obedience.” In the case of this young rich guy, his money was competing with God…and as we’ve seen in previous passages, what Jesus demands is absolute radical discipleship.

 

D.A. Carson points out: “The condition Jesus now imposes not only reveals the man’s attachment to money but shows that all his formal compliance with the law is worthless because none of it entails absolute self-surrender. What the man needs is the triumph of grace; for as the next verses show, for him entering the kingdom of heaven is impossible. God, with whom all things are possible, must work…But the young man is deaf to it; he leaves because, if a choice must be made between money and Jesus, money wins.”

 

Dale Bruner notes that, “The god of making money is perhaps the most common god in the world…Jesus would save us from the curse and endless troubles of running after the god of money by teaching us in the Rich Young Ruler the joys of voluntary austerity, of simple living in following Jesus, and of “enough is enough.”

 

I think many Americans look at eternal life as just another “acquisition” – as if we want the “spiritual” as a complement to all the other things we have – we certainly see Christianity marketed this way – if we have the spiritual then we’ll be well-rounded.

 

Don’t overlook “the poor” in 19:21. As we saw in our study of the Minor Prophets, we have an obligation to the poor. How are we meeting that obligation? Proverbs 14:21, 31; 19:17; 21:13; 28:27; 29:7.

 

While we may not be “rich” in the sense of Bill Gates, we are all rich relative to most of the world and relative to many of our fellow citizens. Also, it is likely that we all have “many things” or “many possessions” – just try downsizing.

 

Dale Bruner has a nice observation which challenges me, “The gospel inevitably becomes economic…Jesus intends every disciple in every generation to hear this command to the rich man as a command to them to do something with their assets that will indicate that their discipleship to Jesus is real…All of us are addressed by Jesus in this story, at the point of our possessions and are asked to say, “Is it I, Lord?”

 

How is Christ speaking to me in this passage? To you?

 

In 19:21 – 22 Jesus is saying, “Live your life following me!” How are we living our lives?

 

Bruner points out, in a nice turn of phrase, that the young man “loses both eternal life and the adventure of a lifetime.”

 

How were we raised? How do we think about possessions? Money? Are we possessed by money and things?

 

Who are we? This question of who we are is critical – this is what we focused on in August. If we don’t know who we are then we will live as slaves. The irony is that the freedom and pleasure the world offers leads to slavery, we become slaves to pleasure, slaves to money, slaves to things, slaves to the values of the world, slaves to entertainment. We become economic and consumer zombies. Do we remember Christ’s words about self-denial in Matthew 16?

 

Have we become hypnotized by economics?

 

Consider that Americans have been made into “consumers”. Even our churches, rather than teaching the self-denial of Jesus Christ, are focused on people feeling good about themselves and having their wants and needs met, rather than surrendering to Christ and laying down our lives for others (1 John 3:16). This particular perversion of the Gospel is a recent historical phenomenon.

 

Since with God all things are possible, we can look to our Lord Jesus to speak to us through this passage and transform us into His image. What better time of life to put points on the board than the last season of life? What better season to beautifully become more like Jesus? What better time to stand out from the crowd as we walk with Jesus?

 

I’m going to close with a story from John Newton, the author of Amazing Grace. Newton went to visit a parishioner just after she had lost her fortune. He wasn’t surprised to find her in tears, but he was surprised at the reason she was crying. She said (and I’m putting this into modern English), “I suppose you think I’m crying for my loss, but that is not the case: I am now weeping to think I should feel so much anxiety about the loss.”

 

Newton said that after this visit, “I never heard her talk about her financial loss again as long as she lived.”

 

Then Newton wrote, “Now this is just as it should be. Suppose a man was going to York to take possession of a large estate, and his carriage should break down a mile before he got to the city, which meant that he had to walk the rest of the way; what a fool we would take him for, if we saw him wringing his hands, and blubbering out all the remaining mile, “My carriage is broken! My carriage is broken!”

 

As Jesus says, where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also.

 

What’s in our hearts?  

Reflections on Hebrews with Andrew Murray (9)

 

“God… has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the ages. Who being the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power…” (Hebrews 1:1 – 3).

 

Murray writes, “We know that whatever a man sets his heart on exercises a mighty influence on the life, and leaves its stamp upon his character…He that sets his heart upon the living God will find the living God take possession and fill the heart.”

 

Murray then says concerning Christ that we “should know Him aright and have our heart filled with all that God has revealed of Him. Our knowledge of Him will be the food of our faith…”

 

Again and again and again Murray points us to Jesus Christ; to seeing Christ, knowing Christ, being filled with Christ, feeding on Christ. As Jesus says (John 6:35), “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”

 

Reflecting on the above passage in Hebrews, Murray wants us to see that God appointed Jesus to be the Heir of all things. “The great object and aim of God in creation was to have an inheritance for His Son.” Let us make no mistake about this, for while we indeed have an inheritance, our inheritance is in Jesus Christ; more than that, our inheritance is Jesus Christ. As the Psalmist prays (Psa. 73:25), “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.”

 

As Paul writes (1Cor. 1:30 – 31) to those who are seeking philosophical enlightenment, as well as to those seeking supernatural experience, “But by His [God’s] doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, ‘Let him who boasts, boast in the LORD.’”

 

Murray wants us to see that the Son is “the Final Cause, the End of all things.” In Ephesians 1:10 we see that “in the fullness of the times” that all things will be summed up, brought together, rolled up, and find their completion, in Christ, “things in the heavens and things on the earth.”

 

The Son is also the beginning, for we see that the worlds and ages were made through Him. As Murray puts it, “He is the origin and Efficient Cause of all that exists.” As the Apostle John writes (John 1:3), “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”

 

Murray then points out that Jesus Christ is not only the reason and purpose for all things, not only is He the End of all things, not only is He be Beginning of all things, but that He is also the Middle of all things; for the Son, “upholds all things by the word of His power.” In Colossians 1:16 – 17 we read concerning Christ, “…all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

 

Do we see Jesus Christ as the, “Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Rev. 22:13)? Do we see Him as holding together all things, as sustaining all things, as giving us every breath we take, every sunrise, every drop of water; every sense of beauty, of truth, of goodness? Do we see Jesus Christ as the reason and purpose of our lives?

 

The person who would place Jesus Christ alongside any other person who has ever lived is a person who, no matter how well intentioned, has not seen Jesus Christ. Just as Moses was never the same after his encounter with God at the Burning Bush, so we can never the be same after we see Jesus.

 

But also, just as the Burning Bush inspired a desire within Moses to know God ever more intimately, so when we see Jesus Christ we are compelled to desire Him more and more. Moses desperately desired to see the Face of God, and as we know Christ Jesus, and are changed from glory to glory (2 Cor. 3:18), we continually cry out, “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship (communion, koinonia) of His sufferings, being conformed to His death…” (Phil. 3:10). We cry out that we might, “Press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14).

 

We cry that our Father and Lord Jesus might purify us, sanctity us, setting us apart unto God as living sacrifices, that we may see the Face of God (Matthew 5:8; Romans 12:1 – 2; Hebrews 12:14).

 

If I say that “Christ is all in all” what do I mean? If I mean that He is “my” all in all, that I love Him, and that I am praying to learn to love Him with all of my heart and soul and mind and strength; that is well and good…but it is not enough…for if that is all that I mean then I relegate and confine the “all in all-ness” of Christ to the personal – and what is solely personal eventually becomes so subjective that it loses its definition and articulation, for we make it subject to our “personal” whims and fancies.

 

Yes, I desire that Christ ever become my “all in all” in a personal and relational sense, but I must, I absolutely must, also behold Jesus Christ as the great I AM THAT I AM, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last – and my (hopefully) ever-increasing intimacy with Jesus Christ finds its nexus in my ever-increasing vision of Him as God of very God. As I bow before Him in the cosmic and transcendent grandeur and glory of His “all in all-ness” my personal life in Him is grounded before, and in, the Lamb of God and the Throne of God. Christ encompasses all of me as I behold Him encompassing all that there is.

 

Why does God in Christ reveal Himself through Revelation as the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last? Certainly it is, at least in part, to assure our first century brethren that nothing the Roman Empire can do to them can damage their souls. Certainly it is to assure them that fidelity to Christ and the Gospel is worth all that they are enduring. Certainly it is to encourage them to confess their sins, to purify their lives and their congregational teaching and practices. Certainly it is to call them out of Babylon. In other words, a vision of God in Christ as all encompassing is meant to transcend all the other visions and images of Revelation. If God is for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31)?

 

We do not need more books about the End Times (as popularly understood), O that we might be spared from such endless speculation and merchandising. What we do need are books and sermons about Him who is the Beginning and the End, that Christ is all in all.

 

Christ either is everything, or He is nothing.

 

Which is it?

 

 

Purity of Mind, Thought, and Vision

Below is a response to a brother regarding the movie The Blues Brothers. Maybe there is something here for you. What is impeding our vision of Jesus Christ?

Well...you know...I love the music in the movie, but I only watch the version that has the language cleaned up...I had gone years and never seen the version with the original language and when I did I was disappointed...but of course I shouldn't have been...this happens to me with books too, I'll download 5 books from the library onto my Kindle and end up sending 4 back because of the language or other content. I don't need toxic images in my head.

We've gone from immorality to amorality, and that is particularly frightening...and we see it throughout society and even in the professing church. Whether it's lying, covetousness, greed, blasphemy, lust, promise-breaking....the list seems endless...violence.

What we put in our hearts and minds molds and forms our souls. 

Hopefully we learn to desire to be holy as our Father is holy (1 Peter 1:13 - 15; 2 Cor. 6:14 - 7:1), to be living sacrifices to our Lord (Romans 12:1 - 2), and to have thought lives of purity (Philippians 4:4 - 9). Everyday we suit up for the game, and everyday life is a contact sport (1 Cor. 9:24 - 27). 

But you know, we are super-conquerors in Christ and greater is He  who is in us than he who is in the world (Romans 8:31 - 39; 1 John 4:4). 

Last night Vickie and I were watching a retrospective on UVA's Men's Basketball Championship. It began with 2018 when the Hoos lost in the first round to UMBC - the first time a #1 seed ever lost to a 16th seed.

Then the 2019 tournament was packed with OT and last-second games, and the boys kept saying to themselves when they were down, "It isn't going to end this way."  (Even though I knew they'd win in watching the retrospective, I still felt some tension - "How are they going to do this?" Reminds me of the Washington Nationals miracle season). 

So no matter how challenging life becomes, as men in Christ we can say, "It isn't going to end this way." (Philippians 1:6).

Rogers Hornsby, a HOF baseball player who hit .424 one year, never went to movies (this was in the early 20th century), he said he didn't go because he didn't want to hurt "his batting eye." When you think of how the "flicks" used to flicker it makes sense.

Isn't this the way we ought to be? We don't want to do anything that might hurt our vision of Jesus Christ? (Matthew 5:8; 6:22 - 23).

Well...you never know where a conversation or question will take you!

Much love,

Bob

A Dirty Secret – A Stinky Secret

 

Most Christians do not bathe regularly. They don’t take a shower or bath or even sponge down. Consequently, when they show up for church services they stink, but since most everyone stinks no one notices, except sometimes the pastor notices but he’s too polite to say anything. Sadly, some pastors give up trying to get their folks to practice Christian cleanliness and start to stink themselves.

 

But there’s hope, because there are all kinds of air fresheners on the market, plus perfumes and colognes.  After all, if you can’t smell then the stink the stink ain’t there…is it?

 

Paul writes of Jesus cleansing His People, His Church, “by the washing of water with the word” (Ephesians 5:26). Jesus says that we are clean through the word which He speaks to us (John 15:3) and He prays that we may be sanctified (made holy and consecrated to God) through the Word of God (John 17:17).

 

The Word of God cleanses us as we bathe in it, shower in it, and even take a sponge bath in it throughout the day (I’m thinking that meditation is a good sponge bath). God’s Word refreshes and renewals our minds, our hearts, our souls; it enlightens our eyes, and it continually unveils Jesus Christ to us, drawing us ever closer to Him and in Him.

 

But he who does not bathe stinks, no matter how often we may change our outward appearance, we will stink. No matter how we might change our programs, our music, our order of worship, our activities; no matter how much air freshener or perfume or cologne we may purchase or hype, we will still stink – for only God’s Word renews and cleanses a person or a people.

 

This is a challenge for preaching and teaching, because when people arrive for worship or teaching they do not come as people who have been bathing in God’s Word on a daily basis, but as people who have gone at least week without a bath – and they are stinky! They need to be washed up all over again, and by the time their hearts and minds are cleaned up a bit it is time to leave and get dirty and stinky all over again.

 

In other words, most people don’t arrive for corporate worship ready to worship and hear the Word of God because they don’t arrive having spent the week bathing in the Word of God, they arrive stinky. While many people look at going to church the way they look at filling up their vehicles with gasoline, the church isn’t meant to be a filling station, it is meant to be an overfilling station, a place where we come full so that we may leave fuller – fuller in order to share and give to others. As a rule, every Christian disciple who comes to church ought to arrive with a mentality of “giving” rather than “attending” and “consuming.” We ought to arrive with something to share with others, with praise and thanksgiving to God, with a song in our hearts.

 

We really ought to gather as a people who are cleansed daily in the Word of God. Have you taken a bath or shower today? Will you pass the sniff test this Sunday?

 

Now you know a dirty and stinky little secret.

 

 

Overwhelmed With Thanksgiving

 

I started writing this Monday morning as I pondered this Thanksgiving week, I finished it just now.

 

Sometimes when I awaken in the morning my immediate goal is to make it from our second-floor bedroom to the coffee pot in our first-floor kitchen. In the midst of this groggy journey I am saying, “Good morning” to my Father, the Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit; trying not to trip over our dog Lily or to fall down the stairs.

 

Then there are those other mornings in which I may awaken with a song in my heart; it may be an old glorious hymn, one of more recent vintage, or one birthed in my soul by our Lord for that particular morning.

 

But then…but then…there are those overwhelmingly glorious mornings when I awaken with fresh vision; a vision of Christ, a vision of His Word, a vision of His People, a vision of Others. To be sure, there are times when I wake up to a counterweight to this, to a burden for others, but burdens usually come a bit later in the day – I suppose our Lord knows that we can only bear so much and so He normally reserves the deep burdens and concerns for a bit later. These visionary mornings are exciting and overwhelming, my heart is alive, my soul has turned to spring – it is as if I am watching the first scenes of the Wizard of Oz straightway in Technicolor rather than black and white. This is one of those mornings.

 

This morning I have been seeing the many people I’ve known in my business career (multifamily management) who have been a blessing to work with, who have cared about others and who have made my life richer. I’ve been touching the texture of their lives, hearing their voices, seeing their smiles, tears, anxieties for others, concern for others and…yes…love for others. I have worked with people who have “rejoiced with those who have rejoiced, and who have wept with those who have wept,”

 

I have known people who, when presented with the opportunity to help others, have done so – all I needed to do was to ask, to show a client, the owner of an apartment community a need, and watch the response. I’ve had the honor of working for a man who built his company on a sincere desire to help others while providing his family and employees with a good living and his clients a good return on their investment. I have worked with countless good women and men, from the lowest paid to the highest paid in organizations, who have paid attention to others, tried to encourage others, and who have sought to make the lives of those around them just a little bit better. These are the people who have enriched my life. 

And the thing is, that much of whatever I’ve seen is only a small part of what has actually been there because I’ve always just been a visitor, always an outsider because of my organizational positions. A forty-hour workweek equates to 2,080 hours per year. If I spent one hour each week with each of my managers on their properties, that is 52 hours a year, 2.5% - a sliver of time, a window of time. As for the staffs of those managers, my interactions with them was more limited, but meaningful to me and I hope to them. Of course, as you weave a fabric of relationship with others you see patterns and depths, but you miss more than you’ll ever see or know about.

 

When I have seen studies of charitable giving over the years, one constant has been that “those who have less give more.” That is, people in states who have lower per capita income tend to give a greater percentage of their income to those in need. A long-time social worker once told me that this was very much her observation – whether it was financial giving or the sharing of other resources. I have seen this pattern in organizations too, those outside the corporate office tend to do more for others, tend to be more centered on others, than those closest to corporate power. Those in power tend to mouth the words, those in the nitty gritty of life don’t talk about giving to others, they just do it.  I imagine this is the way we are in society, including the church.

 

I write the above because I’m thinking about the time a resident was in the hospital and there was no one to take care of his dog, and the staff stepped up to the plate. I’m thinking about all the back-to-school backpacks I’ve seen filled by apartment community employees for the children in their communities. I’m picturing a manager deeply concerned over the care of a senior couple with disabilities, seeking help for them to transition to another living environment that would better suit their needs. There are the countless times people I have worked with have comforted their residents who have lost loved ones. The many times they have sought to provide food for others, especially during this season of the year. The times they have gathered around coworkers who have suffered the loss of family, collecting money for funerals.  

 

Then there has been the listening ear, the times when residents walk into a management office just to talk…because they may have no one else to talk to.

 

As for praying, in many of my apartment communities prayer was a way of life, it was natural for employees to pray with each other and with residents. This also meant that when I prayed with employees, or prayed with employees and residents, that I often wasn’t introducing anything new or novel into the work environment, I was simply doing what others were already doing.

 

The more I ponder all the people I am thankful for, the larger the group becomes – both within my business career and outside it. It is pretty much never-ending, for no sooner do I think of one person than I think of another. Yes, there are some particularly significant women and men, but then there is also the tapestry of them woven together.

 

As I write this at home, I’m reminded of the joy Vickie and I received from the last group of property managers I worked with before I retired. While I enjoyed being with each manager individually, I absolutely loved being with them as a group – I have never laughed with and enjoyed a group of people the way I laughed with and enjoyed this group – anywhere at any time – including in pastoral ministry – it was the best six or seven years I’ve ever had with a group of people.

 

I say “as I write this at home,” because we had them in our home many times over the years for breakfast, including the holidays – these were always special times with much laughter; yes we worked, but we worked in an atmosphere of joy. Whether we gathered in our home, in our corporate conference room, or in a restaurant, there was always laughter – what a memory to be thankful for!

 

I loved seeing them challenged, I loved seeing them grow, I loved seeing them interact with each other, encourage each other, and care about each other. I loved them, I really loved them. As a group I told them that I loved them. In fact, at other times when we had all of our employees together I told all of them that I loved them. God gave me a wonderful gift during those last few years before my retirement – he gave me a wonderful group of people to work with.

 

I think that I have always cared about the people who worked for me, but it wasn’t until those final years of my career that I came to deeply love people. This wasn’t my doing, it was the work of Christ, and particularly the work of Christ through others, and most especially the work of Christ through a colleague who has been a friend to Vickie and me over the years – a friend to me when I didn’t deserve it. As Jesus observed, “This one loves much because he/she has been forgiven much.” When we realize the depth of love that Christ gives us, both directly and through others, what else can we do but pass it on?

 

I have much to be thankful for today – most especially God’s gift of other people.

Reflections on Hebrews with Andrew Murray (8)

 

 

“God, having spoken long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son…” Hebrews 1:1 -2a.

 

In Murray’s second expositional meditation he wants us to see that it is, “The Son, who is God, [who] brings us into the very presence of God.”

 

“The one object of the Epistle is to set before us the heavenly priesthood of Christ and the heavenly life to which He in His divine power gives us access. It is this [which] gives the Epistle its inestimable value for all time, that it teaches us the way out of the elementary stage of the Christian life to that of full and perfect access to God.”

 

Christ is all, we are nothing outside of Christ. As the Epistle to the Hebrews teaches; Christ is greater than angels, greater than Moses, greater than Joshua, greater than the Levitical Priesthood, greater than our sins.

 

Later in Hebrews the author says, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food” (5:12).

 

The author of Hebrews will warn his readers about a number of things, he will point out areas in which his readers are falling short in their Christian lives, and he will present the same solution to each problem – “Look at Jesus! See Jesus! See Jesus as the Son. See Jesus as the Heir of all things. See Jesus as the Creator. See Jesus as our Apostle and High Priest. See Jesus as the One to Whom the house belongs. See Jesus as our Sabbath. See Jesus as the Author and Perfecter of our faith.”

 

As the sons and daughters of the Living God we are called to live a heavenly life here and now, but we can only live this life as we “see Jesus” in His unfolding beauty and glory. For you see, we cannot actually live this life, only One can live this life – and He desires to live this life, His Life, within us, his sons and daughters, His People (Galatians 2:20; John 15:1ff).

 

Our language and teaching are often, “One day I’ll live in His presence. One day I’ll have eternal life. One day I’ll know His fulness. One day I’ll build on the elementary principles of the oracles of God. One day I’ll know what it is to live in the heavens, to be heavenly – minded.” And yet the Bible teaches us that, in Christ, that Day has come…and is coming….even as Christ Jesus has come…and is coming…and will yet come again.

 

The writer of Hebrews does not intend to leave us with an excuse for not leaving behind the elementary principles of the Word of God and moving forward into growth and maturity in Jesus Christ. The author does not intend to leave us with an excuse for compromising with the world – system, nor with a legitimate reason for us to return to our old way of religious thinking with its perpetual consciousness of sin and guilt.

 

Indeed, the epistle’s author has us on a trajectory that will take us to Hebrews chapters 11, 12, and 13 – a life in the communion of the saints, with our eyes fixed on Jesus, the same yesterday, today, and forever; a life joyfully lived outside the camp, bearing His reproach. In Christ we are called to forget those things which are behind, and reach forward to that which lies ahead, the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:12ff).

 

The “one object” of the Epistle, the one object of all Christian preaching and teaching, the one object of our fellowship with one another – is to see Jesus, to behold Jesus, to know Jesus, to worship Jesus, to love Jesus, to belong to Jesus – for God has spoken to us in Jesus Christ, the Word has been made flesh and has lived among us…and is living within us.

 

A few years ago I was a guest speaker at a church in Richmond, VA. As I approached the pulpit to begin my message I looked down at a brass plate on top of the pulpit. The congregation could not see the plate, it was there to be seen by the speaker. Engraved on the plate were these words from John 12:21, “Sir, we would see Jesus.” That was a sobering reminder of what I was there for – that is a reminder of what we are all here for – to see Jesus and to make Jesus known to others.

 

Election Week Musings (7)

 John Piper writes in his article, Policies, Persons, and Paths to Ruin:

 

“Is it not baffling, then, that so many Christians seem to be sure that they are saving human lives and freedoms by treating as minimal the destructive effects of the spreading gangrene of high-profile, high-handed, culture-shaping sin?”

 

“Freedom and life are precious. We all want to live and be free to pursue happiness. But if our freedoms, and even our lives, are threatened or taken, the essence of our identity in Christ, the certainty of our everlasting joy with Christ, and the holiness and love for which we have been saved by Christ — none of these is lost with the loss of life and freedom.

 

“Therefore, Christians communicate a falsehood to unbelievers (who are also baffled!) when we act as if policies and laws that protect life and freedom are more precious than being a certain kind of person. The church is paying dearly, and will continue to pay, for our communicating this falsehood year after year.

 

“The justifications for ranking the destructive effects of persons below the destructive effects of policies ring hollow.

 

“I find it bewildering that Christians can be so sure that greater damage will be done by bad judges, bad laws, and bad policies than is being done by the culture-infecting spread of the gangrene of sinful self-exaltation, and boasting, and strife-stirring (eristikos).

 

“How do they know this? Seriously! Where do they get the sure knowledge that judges, laws, and policies are less destructive than boastful factiousness in high places?” John Piper.

 

While I agree with John Piper on what he has written above, I think he missed an important point, being pro-birth is not the same as being prolife, and therefore we need to weigh the total legislative agenda of a person or party when considering the sanctity of life. Of course, Piper’s thrust is elsewhere and no one can cover all the bases in an article, but I do want to point this out. If we are prolife, then healthcare matters, housing matters, employment matters, education matters, equitable economic policy matters. If we are prolife, then the arbiter for our decision making is not the dollar, it is truth and justice and righteousness and equity – and love for God and our neighbor…all of our neighbors. Regardless of the economic policies of the world, 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9 ought to be the economic policy of the Church.

 

We have made an idol of “freedom,” especially our personal freedom. Freedom has become license for unbridled sin and the rejection of God and our neighbor. As John Newton pointed out, the idol freedom has become our goddess Diana.

 

One attack on John Piper suggested that he wants us all to be martyrs. When we consider Mark 8:34 – 38, and the entire ethos of the Gospel, we are all called to be martyrs in the sense that our lives do not belong to us, our possessions do not belong to us, whatever political or economic “freedoms” we may have do not belong to us – for we have been bought with a price and we belong to Jesus Christ. We are not members of a club, we are the slaves of Jesus Christ, the property of Jesus Christ. Every day we are to live in the freedom that Christ gives us, not the freedom that the world gives us, and the freedom we have in Christ is the freedom to be obedient to Him, by His grace, and that means the imperative that we worship God and serve others…not serve ourselves.

 

One of the more heart – wrenching and troubling aspects of the identification of many Christians with the president, and sadly his party, over the past few years has been the promotion and fostering of racial divide and the belittling of minorities. This sickens me. The disciple of Jesus Christ is called to always stand by the least of Christ’s brethren – the least economically, the least educationally, the least racially, the least politically, the least with disabilities, the least regarding citizenship; wherever the least  is, that is where the follower of Jesus Christ ought to be.

 

This means, among other things, that if I am going to vote with the sanctity of life in mind, that I am going to vote to protect the least of those among us – whether they are in an inner city, Appalachia, living on a reservation, in an immigrant detention camp separated from parents or children, in a nursing home, or unemployed or homeless. If I love the least of those who are among us, then I will vote to protect them…and I will live in such a way, and teach and preach in such a way, as to protect them.

 

The least globally will also influence my vote and my life – if we can have Doctors Without Borders, certainly we must have Christians Without Borders…for we are called to serve the world…not our national interests. The interests of Jesus Christ are not the same as our national interests…occasionally they may coincide, but make no mistake, that it is occasional – and make no mistake, our national history testifies to this. To serve our nation is to call our nation to Christ, to live differently than our society in witness to Christ, and to live as strangers in a strange land while we seek the good of the land and its people. A sick physician is impaired in his healing ministry; so is a sick church.

 

I need not understand nor agree with the perspectives of my neighbors who come from different backgrounds, but something is deeply amiss if I do not stand with them when they are attacked and marginalized by the highest authority in our nation with the acquiescence of a significant element of the professing church. Perhaps we think we are exempt from Matthew 25:31 – 46, not to mention the Law and the Prophets. There ought to be a deep shame enveloping much of the “white” professing church, instead we revel in our deception.

 

John Piper is baffled, when he wrote his article he was clearly frustrated. I thank our Lord Jesus that there are some men and women who have a platform who are not afraid to say that the emperor is stark naked, that elements of the church are miserable and blind (Rev. 3:17). I have never sensed that Piper has wanted to make himself his message, that he has sought the centers of worldly power. I am sure that John Piper is not perfect and that he would be the first to say so – but I am also certain that God has something to say to us through John Piper.

 

It is, after all, a simple question, whose mark and image will we bear? That of the Lamb or that of the beastly system? (Revelation 13:16 – 14:5)

 

What is your answer? What is the answer of your congregation?

Election Week Musings (6)

 John Piper writes in his article, Policies, Persons, and Paths to Ruin:

 

“In fact, I think it is a drastic mistake to think that the deadly influences of a leader come only through his policies and not also through his person.

 

“Flagrant boastfulness, vulgarity, and factiousness are not only self-incriminating; they are nation-corrupting…

 

“This is true not only because flagrant boastfulness, vulgarity, immorality, and factiousness are self-incriminating, but also because they are nation-corrupting. They move out from centers of influence to infect whole cultures. The last five years bear vivid witness to this infection at almost every level of society.

 

“This truth is not uniquely Christian: “A little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6). “Bad company ruins good morals” (1 Corinthians 15:33). Whether you embrace that company in your house or on social media, it corrupts. There are sins that “lead people into more and more ungodliness” as “their talk [spreads] like gangrene” (2 Timothy 2:16–17).

 

“There is a character connection between rulers and subjects. When the Bible describes a king by saying, “He sinned and made Israel to sin” (1 Kings 14:16), it does not mean he twisted their arm. It means his influence shaped the people. That’s the calling of a leader. Take the lead in giving shape to the character of your people. So it happens. For good or for ill.”  John Piper

 

I am incredulous at the dismissal of Piper by many on this point. We saw this in the 2016 election, and we continue to see it. Can we not read and “see” the Scriptures? Just as truth and light and wisdom are personified, so are deceit and darkness and the counsels of wickedness (see Proverbs Chapter 9).

 

Consider these personifications:

 

“Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods…He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers…he will magnify himself above them all..” Daniel 11:36 – 37.

 

“There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies…and he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God” Revelation 13:5 – 6.

 

“Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself about every so-called god or object or worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:3 – 4.

 

To those who discount John Piper’s concern, please explain to me the apparent error in the Bible in the above verses, for if a ruler does not affect his people, and peoples beyond, then the above passages are foolish. (Of course Piper supplied other passages, but I want to take this to another level because of the blindness and deception prevalent in the professing church.)

 

Note what follows in 2 Thessalonians 2:11 – 12, “For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure in wickedness.” As Piper outlined in the beginning of his article (see previous post), what we are dealing with is sin, evil, and death-dealing wickedness.

 

We have Jezebel, Balaam, and the Nicolaitans in our midst and we arrogantly proclaim that we are “alive” and rich and have need of nothing (Revelation chapters 2 – 3). If Christ did not tolerate apostasy in the church 2,000 years ago, what makes us think that He will tolerate it today?

 

What happens when there are those who will not bow down to the images of the world (Daniel 3, Revelation 13)? What happens when those who are faithful to the True and Living God worship Him and not the images of the world and Satan?

 

Much of the American church is like Colonel Nicholson, played by Alec Guinness, in the Bridge over the River Kwai, who is transformed into an agent of the enemy, fanatically intent on building a bridge to defeat his very own people. Colonel Nicholson came to himself before it was too late…I’m not sure about the church in my own nation.