Membership Has Its Priveledge

There is something attractive about the other side of the fence, greener and all that. The allure to be a part of something that you are not can be overwhelming. We are driven to belong to something greater than ourselves. Isolation, though sometimes rewarding, for the average person isn't desirable, we like people.

We also like family. As dysfunctional as most of ours are, they provide a system of acceptance, security, companionship, and intimacy. Even when a home is abusive the members are drawn to stable families. We don't like being alone. 

God created us to be part of a family. Ever since the garden when God declared that it wasn't good for Adam to be alone, He established family as the best place to satisfy our deepest cravings. Even our relationship with God is more fully appreciated within the context of the family.

The larger context of family is the one of faith; the deep connection that we have as a result of a common faith, baptism, and Spirit. The people of God are members of the same family, the household of God.

As aliens and strangers, on the outside looking in, we longed to be a part of something bigger. Through faith in Jesus we, who were far away from the family, were brought near to God and included into His household. 

The result of this inclusion is the blessings of a son, the inheritance of the father, the community of the saints, and the destruction of walls that create isolation. I can go anywhere in the world and meet people of my family and have an immediate bond of faith and communion of the cross. 

Being a member of God's household means I have access to the Father, I am a recipient of His gifts, and I have the comfort, seal, and indwelling of His Spirit. There are responsibilities and chores as well, but they are not burdens. Rather, they are acts of love and appreciation for being accepted into God's household. I am thankful for being a member of such an awesome family (Epehsians 2:29)!   I'm just saying...

Citizen or Alien

Louis sat on the outside looking in, and he would have done anything to cross the border between his old life and the promise on the other side. Everyone over there looked happy, there were ample supplies, and they seemed to have everything. He couldn't understand them. He was as much a stranger to them as they were to him; he was an alien and the dream of being a citizen unattainable.

Once in a while someone from the other side would come over to help his people. They would bring food and clothing; scraps of their wonderful life, and encourage them that they too could have a wonderful life. Few, however, invited them to come, and the ones who did often spoke in a language he didn't understand.

One day, Louis was standing next to the barrier, his nose sticking through. He was trying to squeeze as much as he could onto the other side. A big man yelled at him to get back, he was doing it the wrong way. He needed to get inline, get cleaned up, and start talking the right language before he would be accepted as a citizen. 

Walking away Louis felt there would never be any hope. Until one day, a small kind, elderly women sat next to him. She was different then the people of his home. Her cloths weren't fancy and she spoke his language. Her presence made him feel a little uncomfortable, yet he was drawn to her gentle face.

"The king," she said. "Would like you to come to the other side."

"I can't." Louis replied. "I don't have the right cloths, speak the right language, and I don't know your customs."

"Don't worry, the king has taken care of those things. He just wants you to come." She offered again.

"But what of my family and friends?" Louis asked.

"They are welcomed too." She smiled. "Go and gather as many as you can and meet me by the gate." She stood and walked away, her step was slow, almost as if she were deliberately keeping a pace easy to follow.

Louis was excited and went to all his friends and family inviting them to join him in the beautiful country. He was disappointed when only a handful would join him. Most thought he was lying, others thought he was crazy, and still others said they didn't trust her and would find another way across.

His heart was heavy as he left his village, but the closer he came to the gate the higher his spirits rose. By the time he and his family reached the barrier, and the promise of a new life, the sadness of those who chose to stay behind vanished.

As promised the elderly woman met him at the gate. Louis stood as straight as he could, brushed the dirt off his cloths, and slicked back his hair. He wanted to present the best of himself.

She laughed and said, "you are fine the way your are, the King will provide everything that you will need." She welcomed the small band who came with Louis with the ease and grace of someone content and satisfied with life.

To his astonishment there were many others of her country who greeted them and embraced them warmly. Yet, he could see in the distance a few who wrinkled their noses at their shabby appearance, but they were in the minority. 

"What is this?" He asked as the woman handed him a card.

"It is your credential." She replied and seeing the confused look on his face continued. "It is free, the king has paid your way. You are home."

A tear rolled down Louis' cheek as he read the words, one on each side, "Citizen and Family." 

I'm just saying......

"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God," Eph 2:19

Wage Peace

Wars and rumors of wars, anger, hate, oppression, abuse, slavery, jealousy, rage, and hostility are the antithesis of peace. You hurt my feelings and I am offended. You contradict my worldview and I am outraged. You tit for my tat and and walls of isolation and resentment are built. 

We struggle to find answers to the conflicts that have spread across the world and in our backyards. We sacrifice and compromise but in the end the conflict still remains and peace is allusive.

The root cause of all hostility is sin, and no amount of negotiations will quell its ugly consequences. There may be moments of calm, but the animosity simmers beneath the surface and until the disease is cured all we ever deal with is its symptoms.

"And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father." Eph. 2:17-18 

Jesus said there would be trouble in the world, and the answer was in Him; he has overcome the world. We start to wage peace on the world by first being at peace with God. We have nothing more powerful to offer them then the gospel of peace.

We are to turn the other cheek, not because we enjoy abuse, but because retaliation does not provoke peace. We don't love our enemies because we like hate mongering and injustice, but because animosity doesn't provoke peace. We aren't to pray and love those who hate us because their actions are acceptable, but because it does provoke peace.

When we are at peace with God then the Spirit has something to work with to spread peace in the world. If you are at peace with God then you are His ambassadors of peace to a turbulent world. I'm just saying.

Because We Are Free -- The American Experience

The American experience is filled with incongruity because it is a society made up of different ethnic, philosophical, and religious people. There is but one document that binds us together and that is our constitution. When it no longer matters, when it is changed at the whim of political interests, then the union for which many have fought and died will fracture. 

There is always something that binds people together, and for a nation to stand the core of its unity must prevail. Opposing political and philosophical positions in the United Sates argue, protest, complain, sue, legislate, and relegislate in order to fashion this country according to the pattern of their beliefs. It is their/our right and obligation.

But if any group is allowed to run roughshod over the constitution, is allowed to coop its basic tenants, or allowed to change it because they believe it is no longer relevant then our core will fracture and along with it our unity.

The framers of our constitution made it difficult for the congress and the president to get anything done, not because they wished for impotent government, but because tyranny is easily established when power is concentrated in a single place. No matter how noble an individual the proverb remains true, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

What makes the American experience different then anything else in the world is not its perfection, but its ideals, its belief that all are created equal and deserve the freedom to peruse life as they see fit. Not as anarchists but within the framework of laws that protect the individual rights of its citizens. As a nation we have stumbled and treated individuals and people groups sinfully. We have caused misery and oppression. However this is not the fault of the ideals. It is the application of sinful men who pursue power. It is because of our ideals that we are able to self correct, repent, and make reparations. It is because of our ideals that we pull ourselves up and stand together and dispense justice for all.

WE THE PEOPLE are the recipients of this wonderful gift of self government. We the people have the responsibility to care for its preservation. We the people are in it together and we will stand or fall as one.

The American experience welcomes people from all over the world to join us in our pursuit of these ideals, as long as they are willing to live within the framework of our constitution and laws. This does not make us unsympathetic to the plight of people in other countries. We know that in order for people to lift themselves out of poverty or oppression they must seek ideals that support this aim. For us as a nation to change our ideals to accommodate the ideas of others who come to our shores is to see the crumbling of our core and the collapse of the American experience. We can allow this to happen, and put in its place something else, but the outcome will not be freedom and prosperity. Look around the world.

Today we celebrate our independence, and no matter who you are or where you have come from the ideals that shape the American experience has touched you. We celebrate the ideals, not the flaws. We celebrate freedom, not chaos. We celebrate the individual, who is not alone. We celebrate the rights that are endowed by our creator, not the 'rights' of selfish self promotion. We celebrate the freedom to pursue our dreams unfettered by government control. We celebrate our responsibility to care for the oppressed and down trodden. We celebrate because we are free. I'm just saying...

Cessation Of Hostilities

Ever since Moses brought the children of Israel out of slavery they have been conquered and persecuted. Some of it has been their fault, especially in biblical times when evil kings disobeyed God and He disciplined them using the strong hand of othere nations. Other times they were caught in the middle of world powers clashing on a strip of land between continents. Of course after being displaced from their country by the Romans in 70 A.D they have been the object of disdain and persecution by almost everyone. 

Being chosen by God has its perks, but it also comes at a price. You become the focus of Satan and his attempt the foster animosity between God's people and the Gentile world.

In Christ that wall of hostility is broken down. In Christ there is a meeting place between those under the law and those outside the law. In Christ peace is available and hostility is replaced with grace. In Christ the law is fulfilled for the Jew. In Christ the gentile is brought under the new law of love.

As a dispensationalist I believe that God has not set Israel aside and that He has something special planned for his chosen people. At the same time God has brought together both Jew and Gentile and made one nation, one people, one witness of His love and grace, because the true Israel are those who have come to the Father by faith in Jesus. 

As we watch world events, with wars and rumors of war, at some point Israel will be a focal point. We should support Israel and encourage her do do the right things, but pray for her to stand firm in opposition as the chosen of God. We should support Israel, not because she is better then anyone else, but because she will be persecuted above all others. 

In the process we should seek justice for all oppressed, help the impoverished of all nations, and share the redeeming love and grace of God with every person who has breath. In doing so we bring peace between the Jew and the Gentile. There is no other way. There are no other options. I'm just saying...

Ephesians 2:14-16

Far Away No More

The giggles are what I love the most; their laughter as they dance around singing and playing. Even their sad faces are endearing. These are the sights and sounds of the modern age as I see my grandchildren grow up through the wonder of Skype. They have grasped the technology and presence and distance are lost to them. That is until they ask, "can you come and play?" The distance is never more great then at that moment.

In fourteen days they will be back in the U.S. and my wife and I will pick them up at the train station. I am sure we will be there early, anxiously waiting, impatiently chastening the train to move faster. I am sure we will have something for them, some token of our love, but most importantly the hugs and kisses. I am sure that there time with us will be too short and their departure will come too quickly. But for now, that which is far away will be brought near and those we love will be the objects of our affection.

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." Eph. 2:13

We were lost and without hope. The distance, to the consolation of our souls, was too great to cross. We were far away, longing for something that the world could not satisfy. The Father provided a way, and he stands anxiously for us to act in faith. He has gifts to shower on us at our arrival. He is bringing those who were far away home. I'm just saying......

Disclaimer: our grandchildren are accompanied by their parents, and we are enthused to see them as well.

No Hope In The World

Hope sustains us when all else fails.

Hope gives us direction when the way is unclear.

Hope brightens the path in the darkness.

Hope gives light when the future is difficult to see.

We had no hope and were without God.

Paul reminds us that we were 

Seperated from Christ

Alienated from Israel

And strangers to God's promise

These are the answers to the basic cravings of our heart. We crave a spiritual experience that is only fulfilled in Christ. We crave relationships that is best met within the community of God. We crave significance found in God's promise to redeem our culture and the work of our hands.

When these cravings aren't met we are lost, we seek to fill them with what we can see, taste, and feel (the lust of the eyes the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life). But this world will never be able to satisfy our cravings, and we were without hope.

The old nature constantly tries to pull us back into the darkness. It is alluring, but empty. The evil one tells us that the chaos in the world proves there is no God, but all it proves is that there is no hope when God is not in the world. 

The evil one tempts us to believe that there is more pleasure apart from Christ, but in Christ all pleaser is more exciting because it doesn't seek itself.

The culture tells us that individualism and self determination are the bedrock of success, but without the community of God we are alone and isolated. In community we learn to love, serve, and care for one another.

I have seen the world in all of its ugliness. The veil of its delusion has been lifted. The darkness that prevails and the cruelty that ensues when God is absent has been made known. If God has not come into the world to provide hope, then we are truly lost.

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." I'm just saying....

"Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world." Epesians 2:12