Take Refuge

Every day we are reminded that the world can be a crazy place.  The global news is not real comforting.  Nuclear weapons in Iran.  Ramblings in North Korea.  Conflict is everywhere.  The news at home is not much better.  Rising unemployment.  Dropping home values.  The deficit is up and the economy is down.  And seemingly, the politicians do little to help because they are too busy making scandalous headlines.

International chaos.  Economic uncertainty.  Politics as usual.  It’s enough to make your head spin.  Fortunately, we have someone to whom we can turn who is above it all.  The psalmist says, “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  This I declare about the Lord:  He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him” (Psalm 91:1-2, NLT).  The only place we can really find security is in the God who created all that is.  He has made the provisions necessary for us to have a relationship with Him (Romans 3:21-26).  In the face of all the uncertainty, may we find refuge and shelter in the God who loves us more than anything (1 John 4:9-10).

It Doesn’t Add Up

I’m not an economist or a math major. With that said, however, I still have to scratch my head and wonder how in the world anyone with an ounce of common sense can pass a 600 billion dollar health care package (as a Senate Panel did Wednesday), and advocate subsidizing housing payments (as the White House is considering) while we have the largest deficit in our history?  These decisions continue to dig us deeper and deeper into a hole from which we cannot possibly get out.  Even if one can set aside the politics of it all, it’s still lousy math.

Strength to Endure

Fatigue.  We all deal with it.  We just get tired and worn out.  Our lives are so hectic, and the pace we lead takes its toll.  The Apostle Paul clearly understood this.  As he is praying for the Colossians believers, he asks for God to strengthen them.  He says, ”May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light” (Colossians 1:11-12, HCSB).

Fatigue is just one of the culprits that keep us from enduring.  In small ways, it keeps us from finishing life’s little tasks.  In bigger ways, it robs us of the ability to finish life strong.  Every aspect of our lives is impacted.  Emotionally, we become stressed and overwhelmed.  Physically, we just lack the gumption to get the job done.  Spiritually, we just give up and give in.  And, the more we try to overcome it in own power, the more frustrated and fatigued we get. 

We all need God’s strength to help us to endure.  We need Him to touch us physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  As a result, we are able to finish the race set before us with patience and thanksgiving (Hebrews 12:1).  That’s why Paul prayed for his Colossian brothers and sisters.  That’s also a prayer worth our consideration.  Life taking its toll on you?  Quit trying to to it on your own.  Let God empower you to finish well.  May we be strengthened by His grace and power to endure with patience, and finish well with a sense of thanksgiving.  May we not give up, but stand strong in Him and enjoy all that He has promised to those that have placed their faith in Him.

Celebrity-in-Chief

Does the president have to be on every station all the time.  Obviously, he dominates the news channels and the various C-Spans.  I have already commented to how frequently he’s on ESPN (you can read my thoughts here).  Tonight, he’s throwing out the first pitch at the All-Star game, and is even taking a turn in the booth.  What’s next, a Food Network special?  A rocking MTV countdown?  A special episode of ”White House Gadgets” on G4?  Enough already.  Is anyone really this narcissistic?  At times, the president seems more concerned with being a celebrity, and gaining all the perks that come with that status, than with leading the nation.  One would think that being the leader of the free world is enough.  Apparently, it’s not.  In addition to being the Commander-in-Chief, one must also strive to be the Captain of Cool and the Celebrity-in-Chief.  And, along the way, be on television twenty-four hours a day.

Let The Circus Begin

Confirmation hearings begin today for Judge Sonia Sotomayor.  In all probability, she will be confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court.  While I do not agree with the positions held by her honor, the real tragedy this week will be the characterization of her opponents.  Anyone who dares to question her rulings or statements will be dubbed a anti-woman, anti-Hispanic racist.  Thus, I’m sure that serious debate regarding this nominee will once again be muted, both by like-minded politicians and the mainstream media.  And, as usual, the media will show its glaring double standard.  It will do its part to victimize the nominee and villianize her opponents.

Working At Play

I am still on vacation.  In the last few days, I have seen tens of thousands of people.  Some poolside.  Some at the beach.  Some at the Disney theme parks.  My family and I have had a great time.  I do wonder, however, about the lengths to which we’ll go to entertain ourselves.  Are they greater than the lengths we’ll go to grow spiritually?  I’m afraid the answer to that question is yes.  I wonder what our world would be like if we put the same effort into becoming Christlike as we do recreating? I imagine we would be more obedient, more loving, more righteous, and more evangelistic than we currently are.  Paul writes,

“If you explain these things to the brothers and sisters, Timothy, you will be a worthy servant of Christ Jesus, one who is nourished by the message of faith and the good teaching you have followed.  Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales.  Instead, train yourself to be godly.  “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”  This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it.  This is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers” (1 Timothy 4:6-10, NLT, emphasis added).

Now, don’t get me wrong.  There is not a thing wrong with recreation or vacations.  I just wonder what the face of Christianity would look like if we put as much effort into it as we do the other areas of our lives.

The Disney Soundtrack

I’m on vacation, so this post won’t be very long.  I had the opportunity to go to Disney World yesterday.  My parents, my wife, and my kids spent the day in the Magic Kingdom.  One of the things that was amazing to me was that the sights and the sounds all jog a memory.  Hear a song, and you think of the first time you took your child to see that movie.  See a character, and you remember their reaction when they received a stuffed animal or video.  Maybe it’s just me getting older, but I don’t recall doing this the last time I was there.  I sort of just stood there amazed at the end of the night thinking to myself that in a way, much of what I heard was a soundtrack for my life.

The Declaration of Independence

I’ve traveled most of the day, so I know this is a little late coming.  It is, however, still a timely read, even these 233 years (and one day) later.

“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world….

…We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

Is The Future Now?

A casual reader of biblical prophecy must come to grips with a simple observation.  America is seemingly absent from the discussion.  That’s shocking to us who live here.  We tend to think we are the center of all that is.  We wonder how we could be left out of the discussion in favor of small countries nestled in the mid-east somewhere.

The times in which we live present an interesting question.  Is this the era that sees the United States step off of the world stage?  In recent times, we have seen a staggering collapse of our economy.  As a matter of fact, the case could be made that we have sold our economic souls to oil producing nations and to China.  In addition, we have seen a huge expansion in the power and reach of the federal government.  More and more freedoms seem to disappear every day.  Larger and larger segments of the society seem to fall under government control with each news cycle.  The politicians we elect seem determined to rush headfirst into disaster, while we simply look the other way and cry give us more. 

It’s easy to join the chorus of those that say the sky is falling.  The patriot/nationalist in me hopes that this is not the case.  I gripe and complain about all the stuff going on too (if you don’t believe me, click on the politics tag).  The Christ-follower in me, however, knows that God’s plan will unfold in His time and in His manner.  And I know, that I have to trust completely in Him.  Ultimately, we need to understand that our hope and confidence lies not in the halls of power, but in the hands of God.  The psalimst says, “God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne” (Psalm 47:8, ESV).  God rules the nations.  That includes ours.  While I know that God is sovereign, my hope and prayer is that God will grant us a great spiritual awakening of epic proportions.  I pray that the hearts of people will turn from trusting in the powerful, and will turn in repentance towards God (Psalm 20:7).  May God once again shed His grace on us.

The Product of Knowing God’s Will

Often in my life as a parent, one of my children will ask me a question.  I enjoy this time of give and take.  It’s a time when I can learn from them while they are learning from me.  With that said, however, some of their questions prompt me to ask “why?”  Why do you want to know that?  Why do you want permission to go there?  Why do you want money or the keys to the car?  Every parent can identify with that kind of conversation.

When Paul prayed for the Colossians, He prayed, that they “may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (Colossians 1:9,  HCSB).  Why?  What was his goal for them?  He prayed that they might know God’s will so they would, “walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing ⌊to Him⌋, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10, HCSB). 

Paul’s desire for the Colossians was not merely that they would accumulate more insight and wisdom.  Rather, his desire was that they would live out what they discerned to be God’s will.  Thus, Paul prays that his Colossian brothers and sisters would walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.  He wanted them to do what they knew God wanted them to do.  As they did, their lives would be pleasing to God, and demonstrate the fruit of that relationship.  And, the deeper their discipleship manifested itself, the more they would in turn grow in their knowledge God. 

Paul presents a beautiful symmetrical picture.  We grow in our understanding of God’s will, and thus we live right.  We live right, and thus we grow in our understanding of God.  It really is a glorious thought to pray on behalf of others, or to have prayed on our behalf.  The product of our increasing knowledge of God’s desire for our lives is a life worthy of Him.  We are not simply to continue to develop a spiritual checklist of all that God wants us to do.  We are to live those desires out in our lives.  That’s a life worthy and pleasing to God.  A devoted life is a productive life.  As we grow in our knowledge of God’s direction for our lives, may we live it out faithfully and triumphantly.  May all that we do please and honor Him.  May our lives bear the fruit only He can produce (John 15:7-8), and the knowledge only He can give (Ecclesiastes 2:26).