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I start with an apology to Robert who thinks I use too many country songs for the iPod Devotional Series. I will point out defensively that I have recently featured rock (The Animals and Beatles, inspirational (Casting Crowns) and opera (???). So perhaps I have earned another foray into country. The song is by an artist I have featured in an earlier post. Tracy Lawrence has a simple yet thought provoking song called “As Easy As Our Blessings.” Here is the opening stanza:

Lately I’ve been having more nights that I can’t sleep
Storms of life keep blowing in sometimes it gets so heavy
It drives me to my knees and it’s coming down again
Then a voice inside reminds me of the roof over my head
And my wife and kids are tucked away warmly in their beds

I have written often about Satan’s strategy to rob us of our joy. When we spend our time regretting the past  or living in fear of the future we cannot live in peace in the moment. Paul addressed the syndrome in his letter to the church at Philippi.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4 NIV

Perhaps the most insidious tactic of the enemy is to suggest that troubles demonstrate that God is not there or that He has abandoned us. I think one of the dangerous and maybe even deceitful things that Christians communicate is that coming to faith in Jesus will make your life trouble free. Perhaps we should have a warning label with every presentation of the gospel.

       Caution – “In this world you will have trouble”.  (Read the small print in Mark and John, this truth IS in the brochure)

Coming to faith does not remove the trouble from our lives. Jesus is not a money back guarantee for perfect health, unlimited prosperity, and non-stop giddiness. Trouble is a part of life. Problems refine or ruin us. That is where Jesus comes in.

I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue  to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.  The Message  John 16

That is what I have discovered in my journey with Jesus. When life delivers the inevitable I can be assured, deeply at peace, and even unshakable. NBA star Alonzo Manning faced a career ending illness but his response was interesting. “Adversity introduces a man to himself.” I would suggest that adversity introduces a person to their faith. Does it stand up to the hard times? Real faith does. Jesus came to give us real life and to help us get through the risks that living life brings.

Part of that strategy is always taking a step back and remembering all of the blessings that we have in our lives. Tracy Lawrence asks a question that my not be theologically correct but it is thought provoking.

Up in heaven sometimes I wonder if God sits there and listens
To all his children thinking it’d be nice if we’d forget our troubles as easy as our blessings

I doubt that God sits there and thinks how nice it would be if we’d forget our troubles. I suspect He is saddened by our lack of trust in Him. Paul has a prayer about how we can experience the joy and peace that we long to feel.

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.  (Romans 15, NLT)

Recognize that God is the source of hope and then trust in Him to meet your need. The second stanza of Tracy Lawrence’s song suggests that keeping an up to date accounting of our blessings is another key to joy.

Suddenly I don’t feel like counting what I need
So I start counting what I have when times are at their toughest
My wife still stands by me and my children make me laugh
Then I crawl back in bed and start to think as I lay there
Could it be that he’s already heard and answered all my prayers

The chorus sums it up.

It’d be nice if we’d forget our troubles as easy as our blessings.

Human nature likely makes that impossible. But it is possible to remember the source of our blessings and to remember that God will fill us completely with joy and peace if we trust Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. I know what my friend Mike Thompson would say to that message.

“That’ll work!”

And it will.

I have had some e-mails asking how Joni is doing. Thanks for caring and especially thanks for praying! She is doing really well. Joni looks fantastic and she is feeling better everyday. She is getting comfortable with New Hair – Version 2.0. We just got back from a little family trip to Florida this past weekend and this shot is from our balcony.

There are still a couple of areas for prayer. The chemotherapy did do some damage to Joni’s heart function but we hope that will recover in the next few months. To that end Joni has embarked on a walking program and is walking in the 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk in Dallas/Ft.Worth at the end of October. Joni, her sister Gayla and a couple thousand new friends will be walking 20 miles per day for three days to raise money for breast cancer research. You can check out Joni’s 3 Day Walk Webpage by clicking here. Yeah, I know. She is amazing.

This Saturday I am joining her on a nine-mile “test walk” around White Rock Lake in Dallas. You can pray that I will make it to church on Sunday. Thanks again for asking about my bride. We are blessed and grateful that God has allowed Joni to live and serve. We don’t take that for granted and we are determined to live each day for Him. Her prognosis is good but the reality of the disease makes us realize that every moment is a gift. To keep the iPod Devotional thing going I will finish with some lyrics from a Rascal Flatts’ song called “When the Sand Runs Out.”

I’m gonna stop lookin’ back and start movin’ on
Learn how to face my fears
Love with all of my heart, make my mark
I wanna leave something here

Go out on a ledge, with out any net
That’s what I’m gonna be about
Yeah I wanna be runnin’
When the sand runs out

If the Lord wills we both want to be runnin’ when the sand runs out on our time here. Cancer has changed both of us. We don’t have time to sweat the small stuff. So many times I have told myself that I will live for today and then I get caught up in stupid minutiae. Cancer makes living in the moment more of a priority. The song lyrics talk about the difficulty of living each day fully.

‘Cause people do it everyday
Promise themselves they’re gonna change
I’ve been there, but I’m changin’ from the inside out

That was then and this is now
I’m a new man, yeah, I’m a brand new man
And when they carve my stone they’ll write these words
“Here lies a man who lived life for all that its worth”

That would be okay for my stone. But what I really hope is that I can echo the words of Paul when my sand runs out.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (2 Timothy 4, NIV)

Warning: The following post may (or, sadly, may not) contain humor. This blog was produced in a program where irony and satire are processed. May contain sarcasm fragments. If you are allergic to humor or attempts at humor please avoid this product.

Richard Dawkins is an atheist who loves to denigrate Christian intellect. In fact, for Dawkins the very phrase “Christian intellect” would be oxymoronic. When asked what the main difference between believers and atheists was, Dawkins had a quick answer: “Well, we’re bright.”

I took that as I hope Dawkins intended it. I laughed. Because he surely does not believe that every single Christian in the world is dim-witted. Then again, perhaps he does. If Richard Dawkins genuinely believes that Christians are that intellectually challenged perhaps he should start a business geared toward people of faith. When we struggle with the difficult tasks of life like getting dressed or balancing a checkbook we could simply go to www.we-are-bright.com (not an actual site for any believers reading this) and get a real atheist to help us figure it out. Sample weblog…

Believer: “Help me bright people. I am locked out of my convertible, it is starting to rain, and the top is down!”
Bright Person: “No problem, still learning to walk upright religious person. Just reach inside and unlock the door.”
Believer: “Oh thank you, smarter than me person!”

Dawkins is not alone in believing that the average Christian is a nugget or two short of a Happy Meal. Here are some titles from blogs and websites (my comments in italics). Many I could not use because this is a family blog.

• Stupid Christians index – Didn’t make the list…note to self…try harder
• GOP operatives exploiting stupid Christians…That is so not true. Isn’t that right, Mr.Rove?
• All Christians are idiots – Maybe today Diogenes the Cynic would be carrying his lantern looking for one smart Christian instead of an honest man.
• Amazingly Stupid Christians – Premiering next week on Fox!
• I am sick and tired of stupid Christians – Me too.
• Stupid Christians are ruining the world – Don’t look now but they are getting lots of help.
• 101 Reasons to Hate Those Stupid Christians – My favorite. This guy is calling Christians stupid and he has 12 reasons listed on a website entitled 101 reasons. Hmmm. Perhaps he could also get some help from the folks at we-are-bright.com.

I do have one observation from visiting these websites. Get spell check! I began to think the cows from the Chick-fil-a billboards were typing these blogs and posts. Not a lot of communication is going on at most of these sites. Here is a typical exchange:

“You are a stupid (bleeping) Christian!”
“Well, I may be stupid but at least I am not going to hell.”

That is some helpful interchange going on there! That passes for debate at most of these sites.

CNSNews.com reported that some of the leading spokespeople for atheism recently gathered at a convention in Northern Virginia. The consensus was that science must ultimately destroy organized religion.

I hope they mean intellectually.

In his speech, Richard Dawkins portrayed a black-and-white intellectual battle between atheism and religion. He denounced the “preposterous nonsense of religious customs” and compared religion to racism. He also gave no quarter to moderate or liberal believers, asserting that “so-called moderate Christianity is simply an evasion.”

“If you’ve been taught to believe it by moderates, what’s to stop you from taking the next step and blowing yourself up?” he said.

Perhaps one overpowering reason is that no where in the teachings of Jesus does it ever say that I should blow myself up. Exactly when or where was the most recent Christian who blew themselves up for their faith? Oddly enough, author Sam Harris was a voice of moderation.

While Harris said he believed science must ultimately destroy religion, he also discussed spirituality and mysticism and called for a greater understanding of allegedly spiritual phenomena. He also cautioned the audience against lumping all religions together.

“The refrain that all religions have their extremists is bull-t,” Harris said. “All religions do not have their extremists. Some religions have never had their extremists.”

While the audience gave Dawkins a standing ovation, Harris received only polite applause. One questioner later declared herself “very disappointed” in Harris’s talk.

Here is a heartbreaking but predictable sidebar to the story reported at Crosswalk.com.

Many of the attendees seemed to have developed an aversion to religion from conservative, Protestant Christians. Several of the atheists Cybercast News Service spoke to complained of living under fundamentalist parents who frowned upon any questioning of the Bible or any activity condemned in Scripture.

“It wasn’t easy [telling my parents I was an atheist],” one said. “I still haven’t entirely told them. I just say I’m a humanist, which they don’t seem to mind.”

That makes me sad but I am not surprised. Much of my book “When Bad Christians Happen to Good People” deals with legalism and the failure of many in the church to communicate grace and love. That type of legalistic religion has done immeasurable damage. Jesus was the harshest critic of “religious” hypocrites.

Not much has really changed in the past couple of hundred years. The great preacher Charles M. Spurgeon wrote in the 19th century that “if you follow Christ, all the hounds of the world will yelp at your heels. Count on this, if you live for Jesus Christ, the world will not speak well of you.”

I wish that was not true. I wish I could discuss my faith with civility and grace with everyone. I wish that everyone would view my attempts and desire to communicate my faith as genuine and caring. I am saddened that a group that prides itself on reason is so prone to use ugly stereotypes and ridiculous generalizations. But throwing me under the moron bus won’t change my hope of communicating the message of Christ to you. Sadly, hateful responses have been going on for some time.

So don’t be surprised, friends, when the world hates you. This has been going on a long time. The way we know we’ve been transferred from death to life is that we love our brothers and sisters. (I John 3, The Message)

To those who disagree with my beliefs I can only say that I hope you don’t hate me. I do not hate you. I hope you don’t think I am stupid. I certainly don’t think you are stupid (at least until I get to know you and you demonstrate that fact beyond a shadow of a doubt). I do think some of you have a little anger issue but that is another topic. Perhaps if I can implement the words of James I can enter into civil dialogue with some of you.

Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.  (James 3 – The Message)

That seems like a good place to start for me and my not so bright friends.

 

I miss Rich Mullins. It was just over ten years ago that Mullins was killed in a car accident in Illinois. His music is all over my iPod and one of his songs is the subject of today’s devotional. The song is called “We Are Not As Strong As We Think We Are” and it opens with this stanza.

Well, it took the hand of God Almighty
To part the waters of the sea
But it only took one little lie
To separate you and me
Oh, we are not as strong as we think we are.

If only we could acknowledge that we are not as strong as we think we are and then live accordingly. I believe we would see an amazing difference. Yet pride tells me that I am able to handle the situation. Fear tells me that telling the truth in love will only make it worse. So one little lie or misunderstanding dealt with in my own strength negates the strength of a God who could part the waters of the seas.

Recently a major food company had to recall thousands of cans of chili that were tainted with deadly toxins. A later follow-up to that story told about cans of chili exploding as the pressure built up inside the containers.

That seemed like a messy and disgusting but apt metaphor for how we deal with the toxins of gossip, slander and hurt. We seal them up and store them away hoping that the canning process will deal with the toxin. But the toxins of gossip and slander have not been killed, only compartmentalized. The pain continues to grow, slowly and inexorably. Finally the pressure builds to the point of explosion. But there is a better way.

James wrote these words to the early church:

It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. (James 3:6, The Message)

James doesn’t pull any punches, does he? One good way to cling to unity is by not believing the gossip that is spread about our fellow Christians. And we certainly shouldn’t spread it any further. Gossip is a parasite that requires a host organism to survive; don’t give gossip a place to live. Think of how many times you have believed something to be true only to find out the information was mostly or even totally wrong. The threat of a libel or slander lawsuit causes some us to be cautious in our written remarks about others. But we’re not so careful about our discussing our brothers and sisters in Christ. Are we really more concerned about the People’s Court than the Kingdom’s Court?

God is serious about how we communicate about others in the flock. Peter writes:

Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless—that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing. (1 Peter 3:8-9, The Message)

So there is an added bonus for your godly communication: a blessing at no extra charge. Rich Mullin’s wrote this in the chorus of the song.

We are frail
We are fearfully and wonderfully made
Forged in the fires of human passion
Choking on the fumes of selfish rage
And with these our hells and our heavens
So few inches apart
We must be awfully small
And not as strong as we think we are.

No, we are not as strong as we think we are. Recently I wrote about our need to be in unbroken connection to Christ to make this whole Christian thing work. That connection to the spiritual source of power is the difference for Christians living a life of joy and peace. Rich Mullins wrote another song that you undoubtedly know. 

Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power, and love
Our God is an awesome God.

We need to acknowledge that He is God and we are not and leave our pride at the altar. Because we are not as strong as we think we are.

Today the iPod shuffle landed on a melancholy song by The Beatles. To be honest, the song fit my mood of recent days. The iPod landed on The Long and Winding Road. The lyrics express a feeling of futility.

The long and winding road
That leads to your door
Will never disappear…

Paul McCartney talked about the song in a 1994 interview. “It’s rather a sad song. I like writing sad songs, it’s a good bag to get into because you can actually acknowledge some deeper feelings of your own and put them in it. It’s a good vehicle, it saves having to go to a psychiatrist … It’s a sad song because it’s all about the unattainable; the door you never quite reach. This is the road that you never get to the end of.”

I talk to and hear from so many people who can relate to McCartney’s pessimistic words. They feel like they are on a road to the unattainable. They strive to enter a door they never quite reach. The song continues:

The wild and windy night
That a rain washed away
Has left a pool of tears
Crying for the day.
Why leave me standing here?
Let me know the way.

John the Baptist talked about a crooked road as he prepared the way for Jesus to begin His ministry. He devoted his life to letting people know that God would let us know the way. Luke recorded John the Baptist’s words in his Gospel account.

He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
   “A voice of one calling in the desert,
   ‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
      make straight paths for him. 
 Every valley shall be filled in,
      every mountain and hill made low.
   The crooked roads shall become straight,
      the rough ways smooth. 
 And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’ ” (Luke 3, NIV)

That salvation is in Jesus. Life is a long and winding road. Jesus gives the journey meaning and eternal significance. I hope that I can grow in Christ and be able to echo the words of Paul that he wrote to the early church.

I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace. (Acts 20, NIV)

That is the reason to stay steadfast on the long and winding road. I want to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me. I am grateful that God has not, to quote the lyrics above, left me standing here. He has let me know the way. The road may be long but it is never without hope.

The iPod shuffle landed on a song by The Animals that brought back memories of a childhood lived in black and white. I remembered Ed Sullivan awkwardly introducing “The Animals” on his show many years ago. Forty-two years if anyone is counting. After watching the clip again it was even more awkward than I remembered. The song is called “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” and it produced a surprising time of reflection and prayer. Are you telling me that you don’t have your quiet times around songs by The Animals?

The song is an apology and explanation to a love interest. The writer wants her (in this case) to know that he means well and sometimes he is just human. He makes mistakes.

If I seem edgy I want you to know
That I never mean to take it out on you
Life has it’s problems and I get my share
And that’s one thing I never meant to do
Because I love you…

Oh, Oh baby don’t you know I’m human
Have thoughts like any other one
Sometimes I find myself long regretting
Some foolish thing some little simple thing I’ve done.

But the lyric that caught my eye and heart is the chorus.

But I’m just a soul whose intentions are good,
Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood.

Yes, I’m just a soul whose intentions are good,
Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood.

It feels a little odd to be praying a prayer based on the vocals of Eric Burdon. But those words express a desire of my heart. I want to represent Jesus well. I want others to know that my intentions are good. I want people to see the grace of the Lord Jesus. When I leave my house as a representative of Christ I do no want my words or actions to be misunderstood.

I fear that I give myself a pass because I do believe that my intentions are good. But if I am not showing the love of Jesus and displaying the Fruit of the Spirit then I run a good chance of being misunderstood. The world is suspicious of Christians. We talk about Jesus and how He has changed our lives but then we live our lives just like everyone else.

Sorry I was a little edgy BUT I was really stressed…
And my least favorite rationalization…I’m not perfect, I’m just forgiven. AHHHHHHHH!

Yes, you are forgiven. But you are also an ambassador of Christ and with that comes responsibility. Paul outlined that responsibility to the believers in Corinth.

God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin,so that we could be made right with God through Christ.  (2 Corinthians 5, NLT)

I am tired of excuses. God has given us the resources to be His ambassador. It is not enough to just have good intentions. That is the paving material for the road to Hades. A life lived in unbroken connection with Christ will produce His fruit. 

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

If I meditate on those traits I suspect I will not be misunderstood when I talk about Jesus.

 

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad questioned the official version of the Sept. 11 attacks and defended the right to cast doubt on the Holocaust in a tense appearance Monday at Columbia University. Ahmadinejad made the amazing assertation that there needs to be more research to validate the Holocaust. Maybe we should do more research on gravity. 

His comments about the Holocaust reminded me of our visit to the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem on a memorable Thanksgiving Day. Here is that piece written a couple of years ago. I am pretty sure after visiting Yad Veshem that there has been enough “research” to document this horrible example of the potential evil of mankind.

I knew that this family Thanksgiving would be a bit different. We were in the midst of a whirlwind tour of Israel when Turkey Day arrived. As the day dawned in Jerusalem I remembered past Thanksgivings with family all around. Watching the Macy’s Parade while the tantalizing aromas of roasting turkey and pumpkin pie and fresh baked bread filled the house. Watching the football games, eating way too much, and  then the afternoon lapse into semi-consciousness known as the traditional Thanksgiving day nap. I knew that this year would be a little different but I had no idea how much.

When I heard our schedule I knew this would be a Thanksgiving like no other. Our final activity for this day would be a visit to the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. My first reaction was “no, no, not today”. But then I reconsidered. What better reminder of how very much I have to be thankful for than to relive this abomination of history.

We pulled up to impressive facility and began the tour. My heart was pierced within the first moments when I read a display about the deadening silence of the Christian church during much of this evil genocide. I recalled the haunting words of Elie Wiesel who said, “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.”  I prayed that I would never allow my convenience and comfort to overcome the responsibility to speak out.

I wanted to look away from the pictures of smiling children innocently and unknowingly being resigned to death. I struggled to absorb the depth of evil as I looked at the hollow eyes of death camp prisoners. I saw Jews and Christians weeping side by side as testimonies of the horrors were recounted by survivors.

I was overwhelmed by the Hall of Names…a giant repository containing millions of names and testimonies. My heart ached as I walked through the Children’s Memorial dedicated to the 1.5 million children who perished. I tried to grasp the enormity of that number. Dallas has a population of about 1.2 million. What if Dallas were exterminated? Yet that would fall 300,000 short of the children who died at the hands of these monsters.

I left the Yad Veshem (Holocaust Museum) in contemplative silence.

Fast forward to home. And I pick up this story from USA Today….

The leader of the largest branch of American Judaism blasted conservative religious activists in a speech Saturday, calling them “zealots” who claim a “monopoly on God” while promoting anti-gay policies akin to Adolf Hitler’s. Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the liberal Union for Reform Judaism, said “religious right” leaders believe “unless you attend my church, accept my God and study my sacred text you cannot be a moral person.”

I believe Mr.Yoffie comments border on hate speech at worst and ignorance at best. I am part of the evangelical “religious right”. I have NEVER said that unless you attend my church, accept my God, or study my sacred text that you cannot be a moral person. I know moral people who are agnostics and Christians and Jews and Buddhists and Muslims and you name it. No religion has the exclusive franchise on morality. I can find only a handful of extreme nutcases who would say such things out of the sixty million or so who call themselves evangelical Christians. In a later interview Mr. Yoffie said he meant to include all conservative faith activists including Jews. I have to take him at his word although in context his remarks seemed to be targeted toward the Christian right.

“We cannot forget that when Hitler came to power in 1933, one of the first things that he did was ban gay organizations,” Yoffie said.

I noted sadly that another thing that Hitler did early on was to begin to euthanize the disabled and mentally challenged. Under the banner of the greater good for all and quality of life these souls were snuffed out. Tomorrow we will address a man named Peter Singer who is making the same argument from Princeton University.

But he said, overall, conservatives too narrowly define family values, making a “frozen embryo in a fertility clinic” more important than a child, and ignoring poverty and other social ills.

Who is saying that? I believe the message is that life is sacred and man is a poor arbitrator of when it can or should be ended.

You would think a Rabbi would understand better than most the slippery slope of value judgments on life that are based on prevailing cultural shifts. Perhaps a review of the Torah would be instructive.

Listen to me, you islands;
       hear this, you distant nations:
       Before I was born the LORD called me;
       from my birth he has made mention of my name.  Isaiah 49

The word of the LORD came to me, saying,  “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
       before you were born I set you apart;    Jeremiah 1

God seems to indicate that life began for Isaiah or Jeremiah before they were “viable”.

After leaving the Yad Veshem I decided to never again call anyone Hitler or any group Nazis. Can we agree to disagree without invoking such polarizing and inflammatory rhetoric? There is no Hitler that I have seen in the religious right. No one in that group deserves to be called Nazis. You have every right to argue with them and dispute their views. You hurt the cause with the name calling.

And one more thing. I left the Yad Vesham feeling deeply thankful for how much God has blessed me. It was a tough way to spend Thanksgiving. But I am grateful that I did. There is an inscription on the wall at Dachau concentration camp that says simply, “Never Again”. Amen.