The Wrong Type of Fast

Fasting becomes the wrong action when we combine it with sin. No amount of fasting makes up for wrongs in our life, nor should fasting be done in place of good works. A fast should be a time in which we remove sin from our lives. Our body physically cleanses itself during a fast. We should allow it to spiritually do the same. Examine your life when you fast. See what you need to change. Observe who you can help. That is the fast the Lord desires.

Isaiah 58
3 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?' 4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. 5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? 6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, 10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. 11 The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. 12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

13 "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, 14 then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Baptism?

I had wanted to post the 3rd entry regarding baptism, but have not completed it to my satisfaction. Look for it on Saturday or next Thursday. Sorry to all of you who waited with baited breath to see what I had to say about it.

What Are You Expecting?

Or do you even realize that you are expecting? There is a little life in you, and it is starting to show.

Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.

All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain roughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. (From The MESSAGE's rendition of Romans 8)

You are pregnant. You are expecting. But again, what are you expecting? Do you dare to expect to be different? Can you feel the stretching and kicking and know that a Christ-like life awaits?

For Cindie's second pregnancy, we did not find out which gender the baby would be through ultrasounds. We were shocked to find it out he was a boy. So shocked, we could barely breathe. We were not expecting that.

I've heard stories from fifty years ago about women being surprised to find out they had twins. They were not expecting to take two home.

I've even heard stories of people being unwittingly pregnant. They go into the hospital because of unknown pains and leave with new life. They weren't expecting anything.

What are you expecting? I wonder how many people enter the Christian faith aware of the coming pains of pregnancy. I wonder how often we feel the pains of contraction and think of it as a failure of our faith rather than the predecessor to our deliverance.

The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance.

How many know this is normal? How many are aware of the fruit of the pain?


Are you taking the necessary vitamins? Are you preparing your house? Are you aglow with the beautiful life within? Are you making yourself ready for the new life that is coming?

That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.

So, what shoud we be expecting? Pain. Yes, and lots of that. But after the pain, a new life. That baby is described like this:

He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him.

It's so hard to imagine what that will look like. Yet, it is so worth the pain.


And he gives us something for the pain too. No painkillers, this pain is too important. Instead, he gives the best midwife imaginable.

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

I write this to encourage you. Pregnancies almost always seem to last longer than they actually do. The pain will produce a joy so great, that you'll know it was all worth it. There is a glorious life growing in you. And it is beginning to show.

What She Said

"I think it's been very important to me to not position myself in opposition to Bush's Christianity or John Ashcroft's Christianity and to keep remembering that old Dylan song "With God on Our Side"-that keeps reminding me that we do create an image of God and then we're sure that's right. That's how you can tell you've created God in your own image is if he or she hates all the same people you do."

Anne Lamott, born-again Christian author, and liberal political activist, from an article on beliefnet.com, talking about finding a balance with her faith and politics.

Our Selfish Reasons for a King

This is Part 3 of my articles on kingship.

Part 1 (Principles for a King)
Part 2 (Ignoring the Principles)

Our Selfish Reasons For A King

Israel desired a king for what appears like three reasons. The judges that followed Samuel were corrupt and they wanted someone to rule over them rightly, all the other nations had one, and they wanted someone to fight their battles.

I think those are some of the same reasons we want formal leadership in our religious organizations. We get sick of the wrong decisions being made and feel that if we appoint a leader, then right decisions will be made. We feel that we need to look like all of the other organizations in our culture that are respected. And we don't want to struggle and do things on our own. We want our leaders to make our role as Christians easier to carry.

The thing is that God is willing to do those things for us already. God is at work in our midst without formal leaders. History has shown that having formal leaders brings about just as many - maybe even more - problems than not having them brought. Our structure will not be what gains us respect by those around us; it is faithfulness to God that should do that. If our faithfulness doesn't gain respect, then respect really isn't something that we should care about attaining. When it comes to our own battles, we can be assured that God is willing to make our burden just what we can carry. He states that he will be with us to take care of that burden when it becomes too much. We can trust God to rule over us rightly, to provide the proper structure for us, and to equip us to fight our battles.

God submitted his actions to the will of his people despite that will being wrong. That is an amazing and disturbing thing about God. When His people will something, He will let them attain what they will. He seems to hope that through attaining their wrong desires people's hearts will be transformed into desiring that which God really wants for them.

The people wanted a king. God did not want the people to have any other king besides Himself. In the end, God gave the people the king they wanted. I think the same has happened with the church in America. God has given us all of the wrong things we have desired in the hope that in the end we will desire what God wants us to desire. We are to be God's people under His leadership. We need no middlemen. We need no mammoth organizations that require us to have the leadership structures necessary to run them. We need to be a collection of people fully committed to being the people of God, bringing His will into our reality, and sharing His redeeming light to everyone around us. When we are the people of God all other things will line up into proper perspective.

Part 4 will be next week.

5-Minute Sermon

Barnabbas – Epitome of Encouragement
Preached by Sam Long at CHCC on August 26th, 2007

You can always tell who is going to be a hero can’t you? Heroes are often obvious. They are bold, daring, outspoken, and gifted leaders. They stand out and refuse to be looked upon as normal. They are go-getters. But are these the only heroes? Do you have to face immense persecution or be a talented speaker to be a hero of the faith? I think not. In fact, I believe the church is built not upon charismatic leaders, but upon the quiet workers who live out their faiths in simple, but very meaningful ways. And few people mentioned in the New Testament embody this sort of lifestyle more than Barnabas.

Barnabas was not one of the 12 apostles. He is not mentioned until we get to Acts. He may have hung out with Jesus. Tradition holds that he was one of the 70 sent out by Jesus, but we just don’t know much about what he did before the church began. But we do know what he did afterwards. Though his name was Joseph, the other apostles gave him a new name that was more fitting of his character. They gave him the nickname “Barnabas,” the name by which we know him better as. Luke interprets this word to mean “Son of Encouragement.” The word used here for “encouragement” is the same word Jesus used in John when he said, I will leave you a comforter. From this point on Joseph was known as Barnabas. And by his actions he lives up to the name and epitomizes the lifestyle of an encourager.

We start with Acts 4 verses 32-37. Luke describes the state of the early church and the amount of sharing that went on. He focuses especially on the sharing of money and wealth. And then he highlights Barnabas in verses 36 and 37:
“Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.”

The first thing we notice about Barnabas is that he was sacrificial. No doubt others were as well, but perhaps Barnabas was highlighted because of the extent of his sacrifice. At first read, perhaps selling a field may not be that big of a deal to us. But property in that time was often a symbol of family heritage. Property was passed down from generation to generation. And in the country of Israel land was a sign of the covenant with God. Thus by selling his property, Barnabas was making a clear statement that his church family was more important that his family heritage. Clearly, Barnabas was willing to make sacrifices to help his brothers and sisters in Christ.

The nature of Christianity has always been sacrificial. After all, if we are going to emulate the example of Christ how can we help but give up things for one another. Though there are plenty of financial needs that must be met, certainly there are others as well. There are those among us who because of their health are confined to their homes and are in desperate need of communication and fellowship. There are others who are longing to find a place of acceptance and love. There are still others that require help with their homes, their cars, their kids, or any number of needs that arise. And it doesn’t take a super hero to meet those needs. It just takes people who are willing to be sacrificial of their time and energy. If you want to encourage someone, do something tangible and sacrificial for them.

Well that is not the only story we find about Barnabas. They next major one can be found in 9:26-27. This story reveals a man who was accepting. It reads:
“When he (Saul) came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.”

When the converted Saul arrived in Jerusalem he was greeted with suspicion and doubt. After all, this was the same guy who had persecuted Christians, dragged them out of their homes, perhaps even participated in their murders. It would be easy to assume that he was a spy, looking for more information to use against Christians. But it was Barnabas who introduced him to the ‘pillar’ apostles and convinced them of his conversion and sincerity. Barnabas put his own reputation on the line when he told the apostles that Saul was okay. He vouched for Saul and received him when no one else would, and in so doing allowed God to use Saul and have a lasting impact upon so many lives. Just by simply saying, “This guy is okay. It’s time to forgive and forget.” Encouragers have a wonderful ability to let the past be the past and to start fresh right where you are. What an example for us today. How often do we let silly, petty things keep us from accepting one another? How often do we let miscommunication and misunderstandings hinder our fellowship? How often do we refuse to forgive and in so doing lose out on God using us or someone else?

Finally, Luke describes Barnabas in such a way that lets the reader know the source of all his actions. This last snippet is found in 11:22-25. Barnabas was sent to Antioch to see about these new believers. Upon arrival he found the grace of God and was excited to see their progress. Then Luke sums up Barnabas in a simple sentence: “He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith…”

The last quality that made Barnabas a hero was that he was Godly. We might call him a man after God’s own heart since he was full of the Holy Spirit and faith. He had the vision that God had. He saw the world for what it could be not for what it currently was. More than that he acted upon this vision. It was Barnabas who represented the apostles at Antioch when, for the first time, Gentiles had been evangelized in significant numbers. He saw the movement as a work of God—and as a fitting place for the forgotten Saul, whom he brought to share his labors. On their visiting Jerusalem with famine-relief, their call to Gentile missionary work was recognized. This may not seem like a lot, but it opened the door for God to work mightily through Paul. The journey with Paul found in Acts 13–14 resulted in a chain of Gentile churches far into Asia Minor. For the church and for Barnabas it was a milestone. All because Barnabas was a godly man who could see through the lenses of faith that are produced by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

God takes what we have and what we are willing to offer and through the power of the Holy Spirit multiplies it to make it effective. Do we see with lenses of faith? Do we see what God is doing and encourage the work by joining in? Or are we nay Sayers, citing all the reasons something won’t work? Because the church doesn’t need more cynicism and detraction. The church needs encouragers. The church needs more people like Barnabas. People who are Sacrificial, Accepting, and Godly. Where would the early church have been without Barnabas? We may not have even known the name “Paul.” Christianity may have remained just an offshoot of Judaism, never taking hold among the Gentiles. Who knows? But because of the lifestyle of Barnabas we as Christians and as the church are so much richer. Think about how that sort of lifestyle could transform this church, this area, and this world.

An Unuccessful Fast (Fasting is not a Christmas list to Santa)

Last week I shared some of the successful fasts in Scripture. To prevent us from reading only successful fasts in Scripture and begin using fasting as a lucky charm, today I am going to share an unsuccessful fast in Scripture.

2 Samuel 12
15 After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16 David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.

18 On the seventh day the child died. David's servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, "While the child was still living, we spoke to David but he would not listen to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate." 19 David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves and he realized the child was dead. "Is the child dead?" he asked. "Yes," they replied, "he is dead."

20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate. 21 His servants asked him, "Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!" 22 He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.' 23 But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." 24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved him; 25 and because the Lord loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah.

I find this to be an amazing story, but it is also a warning that fasting is not always successful.

Baptism - Part 2

This is the second installment on baptism. The first can be found here. This is just some more information regarding the history and evolution of baptism in the church. Hope you find it informative.

Apostolic period
The Bible gives accounts of baptisms performed before this period, in the lifetime of Jesus, by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, and through the disciples. In the apostolic period, it reports baptisms of about 3,000 persons in Jerusalem within a single day, that of Pentecost, of men and women in Samaria, of an Ethiopian eunuch, of Saul, who was later called Paul, of the household of Cornelius, of Lydia's household, of the Philippi jailer's household, of many Corinthians, of certain Corinthians baptized by Paul personally.

None of these accounts gives an exact description of how baptism was administered, but many scholars believe immersion, whether partial or complete, was the dominant mode of baptism in the early church. In imitation of the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, early Christians preferred rivers for performing baptisms, and this was also suitable for the baptism of large crowds. Since rivers were not available everywhere, some important writers of the second and third centuries (Justin, Clement, Victor I, and Tertullian) remarked that seas, lakes, ponds and springs are equally proper baptismal sites.

Outside of the Bible, probably the earliest known written instructions for administering baptism is that of the anonymous book of 16 short chapters known as the Didache, or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, which most scholars date to about the year 100. It gives the following instruction:

"Concerning baptism, baptize this way: Having first said all these things, baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in living water [that is, in running water, as in a river]. But if you have no living water, baptize into other water; and if you cannot do so in cold water, do so in warm. But if you have neither, pour out water three times upon the head into the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit."

Post-apostolic period
The following period of Early Christianity seems to have introduced little to no changes. Immersion continued to be the usual method of baptism for the remission of sins, and there is no evidence to suggest that the practice of the first century differed in any way from what is known more precisely from the second and third centuries. "In the case of the sick or dying, where immersion was impossible, the sacrament was then conferred by one of the other forms.

Subsequently, the twelfth through the fourteenth centuries of Western Christianity witnessed general changes from the apostolic immersion to pouring and finally to sprinkling. Throughout the middle ages, there was therefore considerable variation in the kind of facility required for baptism, from the baptismal pool large enough to immerse several adults simultaneously of the 13th century Baptistery at Pisa, to the half-metre deep basin in the 6th century baptistery of the old Cologne Cathedral.

By the time of John Calvin, some held that immersion in water for remission of sins (Acts 2:38), the "burial in baptism" used as a figure of speech in Romans 6:4 and Colossians 2:12, was not required in Christianity to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Instead, they posited a waterless "baptism in the spirit", citing , Jesus on the day of his Ascension in Acts 1:5: "For John baptized with water; but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit..."

This shift in thinking reveals a shift in theology as well. Just what does baptism symbolize? Is it required for salvation? What form is allowed? Such questions will be addressed next week in the 3rd installment.

***Again, thanks to Wikipedia for the majority of this information.***

Grace and Horror

I looked inside the bag. What was in there, made me a monster.

I was in the seventh grade, walking home from school. I saw the brown paper bag on the side of the road. Curiosity provoked me to see what was inside the brown bag. Curiosity killed my innocence.

I pulled out of the bag a pornographic magazine. I had never had one in hand before. I quickly put it back. "What if someone saw me? What if I get caught?" My heart began to race as lust laid siege.

I walked the rest of the way home. It was then that I experienced, for the first time, temptation that seemed to be bigger than my will. I got on my bike telling myself to stay home. The whole time I pedalled back to the bag, I berated myself for an wanting something so evil.

Within a week it was destroyed by rain, as I never had the courage to bring it inside the house. But it had already wreaked its havoc. It set a war off in me between God's Spirit and my monster eyes that left me miserable for about seven or eight years.

I was saved by grace. I was forgiven by blood of Jesus even while I was dragged low by demonic appetites. But that's not the full extent of what I mean. I was saved from that war, from those practices by God's grace.

That grace was delivered mostly through God's people. It came from his people who had the courage and the standards to call me out. It came from the support of literally hundreds of forgiving and supportive brothers and sisters in Christ who embraced me. It came from the good teaching and wise counsel of a few sage men. And it came through the constant and continued friendships that nurtured and challenged me. It came through people, but I have been saved from that hell by God's grace.

I am reminded of this by what happened today. I was pulling our of the church parking lot and noticed a pornographic magazine on the side of the road.

Middle school kids walk up and down this road all the time. I thought of them holding the magazine. I thought of the hold the magazine once had on me.

I had to do something, but I still try to avoid situations where I could be tempted. Bringing that into my car alone would not be wise.

I had to return to church and ask an elderly couple to intercede. I hated to even bring up the subject to them. I was irritated and panicked and horrified by its presence. They agreed to handle it, and I was (and potentially some young teens were) saved by God's grace delivered through his people.

What He Said... and him, and him...

"What matters, what heaven desires and hell fears, is precisely that
further step, out of our depth, out of our own control."

C.S. Lewis

"We do not have much power in our own wills, but we can choose whether we
will be resisters or conductors."

John Ortberg

"Let us remember, dear friend, that our sould occupation in life is please
God."

Brother Lawrence

"Because you say so, I will."

Peter

"As you wish."

Farm boy

Fussing over insignificant things

If you are waiting for part 3 & 4 of my series on kingship (which I am sure everyone is waiting in great expectation for), they will appear next week (I said that last week) and the week after.

I drove into town this morning to pick up some cat food and sponges for a painting project that Lindsay is undertaking. After having lived in a city for a while and being able to run into Meijer or Walmart at any point of the night or morning to pick up what I want, I became a little spoiled. I find myself needing to spend a little time at my parent's rather than to drive back out to my house in the country and then back into town again. So I am writing this post this week rather than posting what I have already written on kingship.

This morning I woke up early. I went to bed last night at seven due to not feeling well. A raging storm woke me up around five this morning. Trying to figure out something to do so early in the morning, I turned the television on. I was depressed to realize that which I already knew: Nothing is on early that is worth waking up for. I ended up watching a documentary on the hurricane center in Florida during hurricane season. It showed them having all sorts of meetings and how they predict where the hurricane will go. It was a pretty boring show, but I was too tired to do anything productive and just laid there watching.

One thing struck me during the show. There was a group of around eight hurricane specialists in a room. They were arguing over whether a storm in the gulf was remnants of Hurricane Ivan or whether it was a new storm. After much heated debate, they decided (albeit not all in agreement - it appeared that one was adamantly opposed) that it was remants of Ivan and would keep the name. To them, this seemed like an extremely important task. As an outsider, it seemed very irrelevant.

Then I thought of myself. I hate special and/or designated offerings. A special offering is when a church decides to do another offering to raise funds for something specific. A designated offering is when you can tell what you want your offering to go towards during the normal weekly offering. Both drive me crazy.

But then I thought that maybe I am just like those hurricane specialists. I am arguing over nothing important at all. All that matters is that the work of the Lord is getting done in church. Nothing else matters. How that gets done isn't all that important to whether it gets done.

I was previously going to not give in the special offering next week despite it being for a good cause. Or I was going to just put all of my offering check in the special offering and ignore the regular offering. I had not decided what I was going to do yet. I still really do not know what to do. We do stretch ourselves very thin already with what we give in the regular offering.

How are special offerings supposed to work? Are you supposed to give above and beyond what you regularly give? What if you really cannot afford to give anything above and beyond?

But I have decided that I will no longer argue against special offering and designated offerings. (Okay, part of me still wants to bring it up since I am in the leadership of the church and this was not decided on in a meeting. I wonder why something that is central to what a church should be about - meeting someone's financial need - is a special offering and not just something that is taken care of out of the regular budget.) I will continue to despise special offerings, but I will keep those feelings to myself. (Then again maybe not.) I do not want to be like those hurricane specialists fussing over insignificant things. (Are special offerings insignificant?)

5-Minute Sermon

My Sunday School class discussed the nature of War and Non-Violence yesterday. So I thought I would read about it, but from a different point of view:

War! War! War!
May 1, 1859
by C. H. SPURGEON

“Fight the battles of the Lord.” [1 Samuel 18:17]
We will not take these words in their literal sense, as they came from the lips of Saul, when he gave David his elder daughter, Merab, to marry; but will adapt the passage, and use it as an exhortation given to the church of Jesus Christ, and to every Soldier of Jesus: “Fight the battles of the Lord.” Although this exhortation is not found in the exact words, coming from the lips of Jesus, nevertheless the whole tenor of the Word of God says the same thing - “Fight the battles of the Lord.”

In the present crisis of our nation, the minds of men are extremely troubled with dreadful prospects of a terrible struggle. We do not know where this trouble may lead us. The signs of the times are dark and dreadful. We fear that the bowls of God’s wrath are about to be poured out, and that the earth will be flooded with blood. As long as there remains a hope, let us pray for peace, yes, even in the time of war let us still plead with the throne of God, crying, that he would “send us peace in our days.”

However, while we anxiously watch the contest, it would be good if we get involved in it ourselves. Not that this nation of England should touch it; God forbid. If tyrants fight, let them fight; let free men stand at a distance. Why should England have anything to do with all the coming battles? Just as God has cut us off from Europe by a rough and stormy sea, so let us be kept apart from all the clashes and turmoils into which tyrants and their slaves may engage in. When I speak about joining in the fight, I speak about a spiritual battle; I speak to the church of Jesus Christ. I say, “Let us join in the fight; let us have something to do. We cannot be neutral; we never have been. The Lord’s army is always in hostility to sin. “My voice is still for war.” The senate of Christ’s church can never talk of peace. For thus it is written: “The Lord will be at war.”

Now, What are these, “…battles of the Lord”? These are battles with sin, and battles with false doctrines, and battles with war. Fight these battles Christian and you will have enough to do.

Here I would observe that there are some people who are very fond of watching, and not fighting. Perhaps five out of every six of our church members do very little and only watch the battle. You go to see them, and you say, “Well, what is your church doing?” “Well, we bless God, we are doing a great deal; we have a Sunday school, with so many children; our minister preaches so many times a week, and so many members have been added to the churches. The sick are visited; the poor are fed and comforted.” And just then you interrupt them, and say, “Well, friend, I am glad to hear that your church is doing so much; but exactly which work is it that you do? Do you teach in the Sunday school?” “No.” “Do you preach?” “No.” “Do you visit the sick?” “No.” Do you assist in the discipline of the church?” “No.” “Do you contribute to the poor?” “No.” Then wait a minute, I thought you said you were doing so much. Step back, sir, if you please, you are doing nothing at all. Be ashamed! Your master does not say, “Watch the battles of the Lord;” but “Fight” them.

Dear brothers and sisters, look around and see what you can do, every one of you. Do something today. Don’t let this Sunday go by without every one of you trying to be the means of winning a soul to God. Go to your Sunday Schools; go to your Bible Studies; go to your neighborhoods; go to your families, your mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters; go home and do something today. “Fight the battles of the Lord.” You can do nothing by yourselves; but God will be with you. If you have the will to serve him, he will give you the power. Go today, and seek to heal some rift, to end some hostility, to defeat some sin, or to drive out some error; and God being with you, will make this a happier day to your soul, and a holier day to the world than you have seen in your entire life before.

Fasting Works

Last week, I wrote about the disappearance of fasting.

This week we are going to look at some of my favorite biblical examples of fasting.

Ezra 8
21 There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. 22 I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, "The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him." 23 So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.

This is a great story. We see that Ezra was just bragging about God's power to the king. He fasted that they would remain safe, not for their own sake, but for the glory of God. We see this a lot in biblical fasts. They are not specifically for ourselves, but for the glory of God. It seems to be best when those two objectives, our own personal safety or prosperity and the glory of God, align.

Another example is Esther 4:10-5:2. In this story we see the people of God (despite no direct mention of Him) fast for a miracle, and it works. It is an amazing story.

2 Chronicles
1 After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to make war on Jehoshaphat. 2 Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, "A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Sea. It is already in Hazazon Tamar" (that is, En Gedi). 3 Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 4 The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.

We see in the follow-up to this story that God indeed answered their fast and made them victorious without them even having to slay a single enemy.

1 Kings 21
25 (There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife. 26 He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the Lord drove out before Israel.) 27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly. 28 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: 29 "Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son."

God even listened to the fast of such a despicable man as Ahab.

Jonah 3
1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 "Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you." 3 Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very important city--a visit required three days. 4 On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned."

5 The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. 6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. 7 Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: 7 "By the decree of the king and his nobles: 8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish." 10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.

And here we see another fasting for repentance.

Lastly, the early church fasted for guidance.

Acts 13
1 In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

Acts 14
21 They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said. 23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.

Fasting appears to bring about the favor of God in protection, repentance, and guidance. It would never be harmful (unless your doctor disapproves) to fast for these purposes when we are in need of them. May we all be encouraged through the Scriptures to take seriously the spiritual discipline of fasting.

To keep fasting in perspective, next week we will look at one of my favorite stories in the Bible in which fasting failed to produce the desired result.

Baptism - Part 1

We here at ChiRhoLive were asked a while back to discuss baptism, including specifically the nature of baptism and even infant baptism. In an effort to appease our readers, this entry is Part 1 of a three part series on baptism. I hope it is enlightening, educational, perhaps even challenging. If you have anything to add please do post your comments.

Origin
Let us begin with the origin of the word. Baptism, is from Greek βαπτίζω (baptízô), typically meaning “dip, immerse, or plunge”. Most of the time it refers to a religious act of purification by water usually associated with admission to membership or fullness of membership of a religion. There is some speculation and debate as to whether Christian baptism utilized a previously established rite from the Graeco-Roman World or even from Judaism (this action would not be unique to baptism). Many cultures practice or have practiced rites similar to Christian baptism. One of the most interesting similarities comes from the Mystery religion initiation rites. Mystery religions were secret cults in which the uninitiated could not participate. Initiation and full admission was restricted to those who had gone through certain, secret rites. During these secret rites selected individuals were brought into a special relationship with a deity and assured of certain benefits. Apuleius, a second-century Roman writer, described his initiation into the mysteries of Isis in his book Metamorphoses (also called The Golden Ass):

“The priest brought me to the next baths, surrounded by the pious troop, and after I had had an ordinary bath, he prayed for the grace of the gods and cleansed me completely, sprinkling me with water from all sides.”

It may be noted that Apuleius' entry into the mysteries was accomplished only after a significant period of study to demonstrate his loyalty and trustworthiness.

In another mystery religion (Mithras), art work portrays an initiate being led to the ceremony naked. He would ten take an oath of secrecy before admission to the society. Then there was a laying on of hands, pouring on of water, striking with the leg of a bull, placing of a solar crown upon the head, and fire held close to the body. Possibly other “ordeals” followed.

Although the term "baptism" is not used to describe the Jewish rituals, the purification rites (or mikvah - ritual immersion) in Jewish laws and tradition have some similarity to baptism, and the two have been linked although their relationship is disputed. In the Hebrew Bible and other Jewish texts, immersion in water for ritual purification was established for restoration to a condition of "ritual purity" in specific circumstances. For example, Jews who (according to the Law of Moses) became ritually defiled by contact with a corpse had to use the mikvah before being allowed to participate in the Holy Temple. Immersion is required for converts to Judaism as part of their conversion to cleanse them from former practices. Immersion in the mikvah represents purification and restoration, and qualification for full religious participation in the life of the community, because the cleansed person will not impose uncleanness on property or its owners.

The point of such examples is that the use of water was common in other religions. But we must be careful to note that significance of each is quite different. All were initiation-type rituals but the mystery religions did it for purification and the benefits were based on the action of the initiate. The mikvah is a rite that is meant to be carried out repeatedly, and is thus essentially different from baptism, which has an unrepeatable character. Christian baptism has more spiritual value and the benefits are based on the grace of God (more on this in a later post).

It seems as though ritual purity through water cleansing was around long before Christians utilized it. In addition, the use of baptism as a sort of initiation rite was well established by the Mystery Religions. But Christians went a step further and added far more spiritual baggage to the action. This evolution and transformation will be discussed in the next journal entry.

**Credit to Wikipedia and an excellent volume by Everett Ferguson - Backgrounds of Early Christianity

Unkowingly Connected

We've all had those occasions, yet it always blows us away. My brother, Brandon, had become friends with one of his co-workers. They seemed to have a lot in common including a never-fading love for all things Stryper.

After several months of being rather good chums, his co-workers wife came into the store where they worked. Brandon was stunned. She was a step-cousin. We had not seen her since her dad (who had long been married to our aunt) passed away. We used to eat dinner with her every Christmas Eve. Her husband (Brandon's co-worker friend) had even been there. They were connected in a way they never realized.

Something similar happened to me recently. Cindie and I went to an Ethiopian restaurant to try to learn more about our daughter's native culture, and to prepare us for our trip to Ethiopia. We were quick to share with the waitress our interest in Ethiopia. This as abnormal for me. I do not open up to complete strangers very easily.

She was very excited. She works with a few Ethiopian missions including one that helps their orphans get adopted. (She does not usually work at the restaurant, but was just filling in for an aunt). We anticipated that whomever would be working there would have Ethiopian connections. What we did not anticipate was that we would find someone so passionate about serving the Lord by serving the Ethiopian people. We were kindred spirits.

We were so inspired by the providential meeting that we exchanged email addresses with the waitress. That's something I have never done before. It turns out that she will be in Addis Ababa at the same time we will, and she would like to see our baby.

Oh, and her husband Mike-e is a hip hop artist/poet/producer. When she found out I was a pastor she just gave us his album, which I am really loving.

And there have been more unbeknown connections. People who I did not even think liked me or respected me have stood beside me, upheld me. People I barely knew were praying for me daily. A guy helping me with a flat tire who was once a kid in Sam's youth group. I even had a five minute conversation with an uncle from a different school of Christian theology in which we spoke with a harmony that surprised us both, I think.


I'm beginning to think that Jesus' prayer in John 17: 23 may not be such a lost cause. "May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

Why am I surprised that God is working out the prayer of His preeminent Son? Well, the rest of his children have done plenty to undermine that effort to be sure. But we are his body. He HAS joined us together. We are linked in a very real way with millions of people that we do not even know.

What He Said

I did not forget to do this. I just did not have access to the magazine article that I wanted to quote yesterday. I will post it tonight.

Using the Manufacturer's Parts

I will continue my posts on kingship next week. I have something else to share today.

****

My mower was back to 100% today. I purchased the mower 3 years ago in the spring. During the winter after the first year, the blades rusted up (something that happens every year but I did not know that at the time). When I started the mower the following spring, the belt quickly smoked up and snapped. Now I know to loosen the blades by hand prior to starting it for the first time every year.

At that time, I looked into buying a replacement belt. The manufacturer's belt would have ran me $30. I decided against that and looked for ways to save money. I went to a local farmer's hardware and they sold me an industrial quality belt for $20. It was quicker to arrive than if I ordered the manufacturer's belt and cheaper too. It worked pretty well. The only problem was that the first few speed gears quit working, but overall it could do everything that my mower could do before.

Earlier this year, I mowed over a big stick. The stick got caught in the belt and ruined it. Goodbye industrial mower belt. I then proceeded to buy an even cheaper belt that ran me $12 at the local hardware. I got what I paid for. My mower would stall in tall grass if I took a week off mowing (something I do quite frequently - I am allowed this since I live in the country and only have bean fields as my neighbors).

I went on vacation. The grass was too tall when I returned for my cheap belt to get more than ten feet without stalling. Remembering how good my mower was when I first bought it, I went to the local hardware and ordered the manufacturer's belt. After paying $40 (it went up since it broke the first time) and spending a half hour installing it (which is incredible time for me), I now have the manufacturer's belt installed on my mower. This morning, my mower ran just like new. It cut through three weeks of growth and never showed a sign of stalling. It almost made me enjoy mowing.

While riding the mower, I thought about the church. In Acts 2, we see that the church lived in a life sharing the Apostle's teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer. If you looked around at churches today, I do not know if we could honestly describe them as sharing in those things. Churches all over the place focus on other things rather than these, and I think it is to their detriment. Churches can still prosper and keep going without focusing on these things; however, for optimal discipleship, they do need to live practicing the four pillars of the early church life.

For me, I used alternative belts because I wanted to save money and . For the church, it seems like we push the four pillars of church life to the side because we want to be more appealing, they are out of fashion, or they just seem irrelevant. It might creep in slowly. It did with my mower. First, I saved a little money and time. Then I saved even more money and my mower became useless. I actually did not even save the $12 on the final belt; it was wasted money. I was left needing a new belt for my mower or to just let my yard grow.

There is no such thing as cheap Christian community. It is costly. Each person involved needs to live sacrifically towards one another. We need to share meals together, to pray together, to share in the apostle's teachings together, and to be in fellowship with one another. Those are the belts of the church.

I think the church would be much more effective if we still used the manufacturer's parts. My mower is.

Sunday Sermon

A Passion for God
Author: Dr. Robert Chick
Date Created: 10/26/2004

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:5

We often consider gifts from God. Routinely our thoughts go to the Gifts of the Spirit as listed in Scripture. However, I believe there are innumerable gifts not listed in Scripture. These gifts serve to edify, encourage, and train the Body of Christ.

Passion is a word approached with fear by Christians. Our first thoughts are often towards physical passions and the dangers they bring. But passions are also gifts from God. Passions for the things of God and the work of the Body. We can inflame passions, quench passions, ignore passion and some try to kill passions. I believe it is within our passions that God often reveals the gifts he has provided.

Where are our passions today? What sits upon our heart and brings out emotions of love, desire and a need to accomplish? For me one of my God given passions is for music. I can be moved through well crafted and heart filled music. Where logic would fail to reach my heart, music waltzes in and moves my heart to dance.

As a pastoral student, many years ago, I began to quench my passion for music. I “learned” the place of music in a worship service. I was taught to “use” music to reach the goal of teaching or preaching. I have now come to learn teaching and preaching are not the end all goals of the Christian Life. Teaching and preaching tell us about God. These cornerstones of the present day church convince and guide but do not necessarily glorify God.

How powerful is music? Paul and Barnabas lifted the hearts of prisoners during the darkest night. So encouraged were the prisoners they attempted no escape when the prison doors were opened by God's earthquake. In an earlier era, David calmed the tortured heart of Saul providing solace from demons within.

Why do we sing an invitation after an inspiring message of salvation and dedication? To provide time to respond? Yes, but also to lift up the questioning heart with melody and music that stirs our inner souls to respond.

Let us open up to glorify and worship God using the passions He provides. Let us not do this without careful consideration and confirmation in the Word but yet with the fullness of our heart.

Let us realize, understand and accept we do not need a prayer time, Bible study or sermon to make a gathering for worship complete. We have worshiped God when He has been glorified in ourselves and in the Body of Christ.

What is your passion? How are you using this gift from God to glorify Him? Have you begun to seek after God not only with your head but also with your heart?

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:5

Where, oh where, has fasting gone?

For the next few weeks, we will be going over some of the history and principles of fasting.

Fasting is a mystery to me. Why does starving myself have anything to do with my prayers being more effective? Is it that I show I am more serious about my prayers by refusing to eat food? But does not God know my heart anyway? That is my line of thought when it comes to fasting.

But fasting is not based upon my logic. For some reason, our prayers do seem to be more effective when we fast.

Jesus said "when you fast" which followed sections in the Sermon on the Mount on giving of your finances and praying, yet we ignore fasting and still emphasize the others.

Richard Foster had this to say in regards to the disappearance of fasting:

What would account for this almost total disregard of a subject so frequently mentioned in Scripture and so ardently practiced by Christians through the centuries? Two things. First, fasting has developed a bad reputation as a result of the excessive ascetic practices of the Middle Ages. With the decline of the inward reality of the Christian faith, an increasing tendency to stress the only thing left, the outward form, developed. And whenever there is a form devoid of spiritual power, law will take over because law always carries with it a sense of security and manipulative power. Hence, fasting was subjected to the most rigid regulations and practiced with extreme self-mortification and flagellation. Modern culture reacts strongly to these excesses and tends to confuse fasting with mortification...

...Perhaps it is best to avoid the term "command" since in the strictest sense Jesus did not command fasting. But it is obvious that he proceeded on the principle that the children of the kingdom of God would fast. For the person longing for a more intimate walk with God, these statements of Jesus are drawing words.

Where are the people today who will respond to the call of Christ? Have we become so accustomed to "cheap grace" that we instinctively shy away from more demanding calls to obedience? "Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross." Why has the giving of money for example, been unquestionably recognized as an element in Christian devotion and fasting so disputed? Certainly we have as much, if not more, evidence from the Bible for fasting as we have for giving. Perhaps in our affluent society fasting involves a far larger sacrifice than the giving of money.

It Was Their Time

I know it is Shannon's day to post his thoughts, but this has been on my mind and will grow stale and disappear if I do not type it up. Since I am in the middle of a series on kingship, it would be a while before I posted it. So here it is. I am sure Shannon will be around later today with his thoughts on something else.

Tragedy recently struck where I live. An EMS crashed and exploded while running two people to the hospital. 5 people in the EMS died. It was terrible, and my thoughts on it should not be taken in any way as belittling to that tragedy and the feelings of those involved. People were hurt, lives were changed, and kids are left without parents. It's horrible.

One thing that struck me during this time of town mourning is that our society is Calvinistic at heart. Throughout the last few weeks, I often heard "It must have been their time." That line of thought is apparently comfortable to many people. To me, it seems like a copout because we always need to have answers. We are afraid of mystery. We need answers and saying that it was their time to go seems to be the only good answer outside of mystery for why people die when a bridge collapses or an EMS explodes.

The problem with this line of thinking is that we cannot be sure that the deaths were in fact God's will. We do not know why God intervenes and saves someone at some point and allows others to die at another time without an ounce of intervention.

God is completely in control whenever he wants to be, but we see throughout Scripture that he frequently does not intervene despite events going against his will. At the end of Hebrews 11 we see heroes of the faith that suffered death. It seems to be a warped faith that says God worked so that those faithful to him could be persecuted and killed, but that is what we are saying if we say "it must have been their time" in regards to every tragic death.

God desires the faithful to prosper. That does not mean that the faithful will always prosper. There will be rough times. We will all eventually die. Many Christians around the world face persecution. We live in a fallen world where sinners, sometimes even unrepentant sinners, are in control. Many Christians have been killed by corrupt leaders throughout history. I do not think we can conclude from the evidence that everything that happens is God's will. The big picture will always go God's way. In the end He will be victorious. In the meanwhile, we can be assured that every terrible event will be worked by God for the good of those who love Him. That should not be twisted to say that everything that happens is God's will.

I am reminded of John the Baptist rotting in a prison cell while wondering if this Jesus he proclaimed as the Messiah was really the Messiah. What sort of Messiah would let his herald suffer in jail? Deep despair started to grasp at John. He even began to second guess that which he knew for a fact due to the miracle at Jesus' baptism. During our times of despair, we sometimes do the same.

I wish I could say that things will always work out for our personal best, but they will not. John was beheaded. Jesus, Peter, and Paul were all crucified. Life seems to be more of a bed of rose bushes rather than a bed of roses. We cannot control whether we will suffer; that is a guarantee. We can only control how we respond.

Ethic in Question

The most common response we get when people find out that we are adopting from Ethiopia is "Why Ethiopia?"

It's easy when asked that to become a protective father. "We're adopting from Ethiopia, because that is where our daughter is." That response is designed to remind people that is none of their business, and cut the conversation short. But I know that is not usually very helpful.

Some people ask "Why Ethiopia," because they are simply curious about the process that led us to eliminate every other country that allows adoption in favor of Ethiopia. There is nothing harmful or offensive about such a response. In fact, it can be encouraging to have people take an interest.

Others ask "Why Ethiopia," because they want to know why not the U.S. This is not really offensive either. It can be annoying, because built into that question is the insinuation that they don't agree with our choice.

Behind this is an ethic that I have heard expressed by many people many times. The ethic: You take care of your own first.

I heard whispers of it years ago when our church increased its missions giving. "There are some needs closer to home." I heard it when a group from our church started feeding the homeless in Detroit (30 miles away) rather that the homeless in Pontiac (3 miles away). And now I've heard it about our adoption. "There are children in this country who need adopting, you know?"

I don't resonate with this ethic at all, so it is hard for me respond respectfully or intelligently. I'm tempted to call it xenophobia, selfishness, or maybe excuse for inaction. With our focus on what kind of meals our overweight children are eating 4 or 5 times a day, we never get to children are actually suffering from malnutrition. What I mean is we "start at home" and never leave.

I really do want to understand it, but I don't. I tend to look at the level of need.

Detroit has hundreds, perhaps thousands of homeless. I'd guess that Pontiac has a few dozen. We as the Church already spend the vast majority of dollars on ministry to this, the wealthiest nation in the world. Where is the bigger need.

With the adoption question, out of 250,000,000 Americans between 100,000 to 120,000 orphans in foster care at any time. That would make 1 out of 2,083 Americans an orphan in need of adoption (liberal estimate). Ethiopia has just 65, 300,000 people, about one fourth of the U.S. However, they have about 6,000,000 orphans in need of adoption. That is 50 to 60 times the number of orphans. More than 1 in 11 Ethiopians are orphans in need of adoption.

(UPDATE: According to UNICEF:The number of orphans in Ethiopia, Children (0-17 years) orphaned due to all causes, in 2005, is estimated at 4,800,000.Many other sites bring this current number closer to 6 million, which makes sense because this is only a 2005 estimate.So....The US census bureau estimates that there are 4,514,342 children under 18 living in New York state as of last year. So, you can safely say that if you take every child under 18 who lives in all of New York State and remove their parents you have roughly the number of orphans they estimated there were in Ethiopia 2 years ago...if you go by the more current estimates then you would have to add the state of Massachusetts at 1,448,884 kids under the age of 18 in 2006 and we are still about 100,000 kids shy...so lets add the District of Columbia with an estimate of 114,881 kids-So we would have to take all the kids under 18 in New York, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia - remove their parents and then you would have the number of children who are orphans in Ethiopia.) This courtesty of FLY AWAY HOME

Add to this that most adoptions are still domestic. Add to this that unadopted American orphans are still American citizens and live in the wealthiest country in the world. They have a chance. This is not the case for Ethiopian orphans. IF disease does not take them, poverty likely will.

Now, I'm ranting. Can someone offer a defense for the "Start at Home" ethic that I am missing?

Must Read

This article from ESPN.com about race and to a lesser extent Michael Vick.

What He Said

“We say a person is a person through other persons. You can’t be human in isolation. You are human only in relationships…

We say, “I need you to be all of who you are in order for me to be all that I am.” Because no human is totally self-sufficient. In fact, a self-sufficient human being is subhuman.”

South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu in Vanity Fair’s July 2007 about Africa.

Ignoring the Principles

Part I (Principles for a King) was posted last week.

The principles of leadership expressed in Deuteronomy seem to be very wise, yet all of those principles were ignored by the people of Israel. We see this throughout the book of Judges.

Judges 17:6
In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Judges 18:1
In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the people of Dan was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in, for until then no inheritance among the tribes of Israel had fallen to them.

Judges 19:1
In those days, when there was no king in Israel, a certain Levite was sojourning in the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, who took to himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.

Judges 21:25
In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

The people of Israel had "no king", but the problem was that they had the best king yet refused to acknowledge and obey Him. In practice they had no king, but the unseen reality was that God was working and desiring to be their king. The rejection of him caused all sorts of strife. We see a cycle throughout the book of Judges. Israel serves the Lord --> Israel falls into sin and idolatry --> Israel is enslaved --> Israel cries out to the Lord --> God raises up a judge --> Israel is delivered --> and the cycle starts all over again.

If only the people of Israel had remained faithful in serving the Lord, they would've avoided their desire to have an earthly king. Too often we make our major decisions when we are in the wrong place on the cycle. Many of our decisions, as was the nation of Israel's, are made when we are in sin and idolatry. The key to making wise decisions is to get out of this terrible cycle and keep God the king of our lives and make our major decision when we are faithfully serving the Lord.

1 Samuel 8
1 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.

4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations. 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8 According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 9 Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them. 10 So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him. 11 He said, These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. 12 And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. 15 He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. 16 He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18 And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day. 19 But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, No! But there shall be a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles. 21 And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. 22 And the Lord said to Samuel, Obey their voice and make them a king. Samuel then said to the men of Israel, Go every man to his city.

Here we see that God did not desire a king for Israel. Despite the regulations in Deuteronomy, setting apart an earthly king was not God's will. God points out to Samuel that the desire for a king was not a rejection of Samuel but a rejection of Himself. God was their king, yet they were blind to seeing it. They were living outside of His kingship. The people had become the people of themselves rather than the people of God.

Part 3 (Our Selfish Reasons for a King) will be next week.

Expanding Language to Expand Prayer

Excerpts of a Sermon by Cynthia Bauleke
First Congregational United Church of Christ, Bellingham, Washington

We live with voice mail, whether we like it or not, we have learned to listen with a discerning ear to determine if the voice on the other end of the line is live or recorded, and if it is important enough to us, we wait for the beep to leave our message. We may live with voice mail, but most of expect immediate attention from God when we pray.

Praying, communing with the Divine, is perhaps one of the most intimate things we do. Prayer is an act of love in which we can feel profoundly connected to God. Connecting with the Ground of our Being gives us a way to sort through and bring perspective to the happenings of our day. Prayer is a source of solace and peace, it can spark our creativity, or challenge us, or empower us to move beyond our comfortableness finding new ways to live our faith.

Language shapes worlds, it shapes the way we think. Because our human brains cannot contain the infiniteness of our Refuge and Strength, we cannot ever completely understand, or name, the One who used the name I am who I will be. Any language we use for God is a metaphor. We know God is not our father, but God in some ways, has the qualities and a relationship with us like a father. In some ways God has the qualities and a relationship to us as of a mother. No matter how profound, rich, or comforting our metaphors and names for God, they are not themselves God. By using a variety of names we expand our image of God.

Often we use metaphors retrieved from the Bible and from our tradition. In the Bible there are over a hundred different names used for God:

Creator, Light, Awesome, Steadfast,
Loving One, Keeper, Shelter from the Storm
Midwife, Mother, Womb, Mother Hen
Father, Lord, King and Prince of Peace

From our tradition we look to the mystics of the middle ages, where we find maternal imagery used for God as well as paternal metaphors. One of my favorites is Julian of Norwich who wrote of Christ our Mother. If I were truly radical, I might suggest we sometimes use only feminine images and pronouns for God. Most of us would agree that God is neither male nor female, so it shouldn’t make any difference if we refer to God as he or she, since we are limited by our English language.

The point is not to be trendy, or change for the sake of change, but rather to open up, to expand our understanding of God, how we view God, how we relate to God. It is possible that we will come nearer to God as we think about the ways in which we pray and imagine new metaphors reflecting our relationship.

Christ is a Light

This is the Canticle and Blessing from the Northumbria Community's daily prayer.

Canticle

Christ, as a light
illumine and guide me.
Christ, as a shield
overshadow me.
Christ under me;
Christ over me;
Christ beside me
on my left and my right.
This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Be in the heart of each to whom I speak;
in the mouth of each who speaks unto me.
This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Christ as a light;
Christ as a shield;
Christ beside me
on my left and my right.

Blessing

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you,
wherever He may send you.
May He guide you through the wilderness,
protect you through the storm.
May He bring you home rejoicing
at the wonders He has shown you.
May He bring you home rejoicing
once again into our doors.

New Orleans Trip - Part 2

It seems to me that the biggest problem to starting over – whether it is in hurricane stricken New Orleans, in inner cities across the countries, or even in our own sin torn lives – is the feeling of helplessness and futility that accompanies the effort. Where does one start? And even if a plan is enacted, where does one get the resources needed to accomplish the task?

Take for example the problem both in New Orleans and in many inner cities. Many people who are living in poverty would like to get out of the crime-ravaged areas and avoid lives of crime themselves. But they have no skills or marketable trades. They don’t have money to get those skills through college or classes. And they don’t have money to move out of the inner city to a better environment with better job possibilities.

They need to break the cycle. But this is so much easier said than actually done. Just as people who have dealt with addictions know, you cannot just change overnight. And when the resources are lacking, people continue to spiral downward into depression, ineffectiveness, and in many cases a life of crime or continuing in the life of whatever got them there. The cycle is never broken.

I witnessed this firsthand in New Orleans as people here 2 years after Hurricane Katrina attempt to put their lives back together. They want to rebuild, but they have no money. They want to make all of New Orleans beautiful and inhabitable (not just the city and the French Quarter), but they just don’t have the resources. Thankfully I was introduced to 2 organizations that are working diligently at breaking the cycle.

The first one is called Jericho Road (.pdf). Their mission statement contains the following quote:

The Jericho Road Episcopal Housing Initiative creates quality homes for low-income families in the City of New Orleans. Through its many financial and social service partners Jericho Road will help first time homebuyers create family wealth and transform communities.

The problem with rebuilding New Orleans lies in the inability to rebuild lots because the owners are deceased, relocated, missing, etc. Contractors can’t even purchase lots to work on. However, God is working through Jericho Road and allowing this group of lawyers access to these lots so that the restoration can continue. The two houses I worked on were being funded by this group. Then, once the lot is cleared and rebuilt they drastically cut the cost for the consumer. Each house we worked on would be worth $125,000 when completed. But through donations, grants, etc. they would make the house affordable at $65,000. It is a great ministry that meets real needs in that area.

Another organization is called “Café Reconciliation.” They were around before the hurricane and continue now afterwards. It looks and feels like a nice restaurant, but it is so more. It is a training ground for kids who have been ignored, discarded, and given up on. Through this restaurant kids learn the skills to become chefs, waiters, even mangers of restaurants. And I am not talking about the local greasy spoon, this is high quality stuff. The Shrimp Etouffee rivaled any that I have ever had. They have also teamed up with Crossroads Missions to get kids into learning building trades.

These are just two examples of groups of people trying to break the cycle. I believe the church should take note and follow. There are plenty of physical and spiritual needs that must be met if we want to truly transform the world. Some people have gotten themselves in the position. Others had little to do with it. But both need help to get out of the mire in which they are stuck. Let us look for ways to restore, reconcile, and renew this world and perhaps, in our own small ways, break the cycle of sin.

Biggest Loser Church

I've been brainstorming a church-wide diet. Here are some of the benefits I can see coming from this:

1. Most of us need to lose at least some weight.

2. Doing it together would provide motivation and accountability.

3. One more opportunity for our people to connect and love each other.

4. It would be a practice of solidarity for people who do not need to lose (They decline foods voluntarily because, others must).

5. The church is currently working against physical health with the food we usually provide.

6. There are mental, emotional, and spiritual problems that stem from being overweight and undisciplined.

7. It will give some people the confidence they need to address other problems.

The potential downfalls of such a program are these:

1. It could put too much emphasis on the physical life.

2. Wrongly handled, people could come away thinking that weight loss is exactly equal to good health.

3. People who are not ready to change may feel isolated from the body.

4. There could be a post-diet back-lash.

All in all, I think the potential rewards are worth the risks. (However, I will also try to counteract the risks).

I'm thinking it will work something like this:

Day One- We borrow a scale from a doctor's office to get accurate weights. Each individual weight will be confidential to the individual. Only that individual and a professional nutritionist will know. That nutritionist will help each individual set an attainable 90-day goal.

The nutritionist will give us a sum total of our current weight and and the sum total of the goal weight. This changes the perspective. Instead of me thinking about losing 15 lbs. for me (me, me, me) my focus will be us trying to ??? lbs.

Rules would be in place about food that is set out before and after church and even at pot lucks. Even people who elect to not be a part of the program can submit to the needs of the others.

We would have weigh-ins periodically (every 30 days?).

I'm not sure how the accountability will work. Pairing people up has gone badly in the past, because it only takes one person to tank two. I'm thinking of making it groups of five (probably gender specific).

The program will require each person to do weigh-ins, adhere to a diet, exercise, and provide consistent and persistent encouragement to others involved.

I'd love your input.