Whatever Happened to Common Sense?

After the attempted shoe bombing 10 years ago, TSA made everyone remove their shoes. Then last year, someone put a bomb in their underwear: the underwear bomber.  Thank God for ‘body scanners,” or who knows what new rules TSA might have implemented. But alas! This weekend, a 95-year old woman was made to remove her underwear—an adult diaper! And last month a 5-year old was given a pat-down. Everyone is wondering “what happened to common sense?” (Apparently, it got thrown out with the dirty diapers.) But this matter is not limited to TSA. What about the common sense of our elected officials? On what planet does it make sense to borrow and spend our way out of debt?

Considering the aforementioned, “common sense” seems to have been replaced by its alter ego, “collective insanity.” Let’s hope it is a temporary condition. But “temporary insanity” is not uncommon to fallen man. Adam had a spell of temporary insanity when he agreed to eat the “poison apple.” Wasn't David temporarily out of his mind when he slept with Bathsheba and tried to cover it up.  Centuries later, Paul asked the Galatians, “Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth” (3:1). And even Jesus gave witness to this malady in His story of the Prodigal son: “After he came to his senses, he returned to his father “(Luke 15:18). The prodigal had a bout of temporary insanity.

Satan’s strategy has always been to cast a spell of deception on the unwitting. I don’t have much hope for our nation’s “collective insanity.” But I do hope and pray that we in the 21st century American Church won’t wake up one day (come to our senses) and find that we’ve been deceived into a “pig pen” mindset, “just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent” (2 Cor. 11:3).

Jesus is Praying for You

In Matthew 14, Jesus, knowing the Disciples were going into a storm, constrained then to get into their boat and cross the Lake. He was not worried that they would be battered by waves and tossed about by the wind. Why? Because He was up on the mountain praying for them not to fail the test he knew they must go through. Before Peter was to face the trial of his life, Jesus told him: “I am praying for you that your faith won’t fail” (Luke 22:32).

Not only does Jesus pray for us, but He comforts us with His Presence. While the Disciples were straining to keep their boat afloat, they saw ‘someone’ walking on the water. It was Jesus coming to their aid. In Hebrews, we are given two promises of Jesus current ministry of Prayer and Presence (manifested). First in Hebrews 2:18 we are told “since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.” Then in Hebrews 7:25 we are told that Jesus “always lives to make intercession for [us].”

If you are feeling battered and tossed about today, take comfort. Jesus is praying for you and will come to your aid just as you are tempted to give up. His promise: "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).

Legalized Persecution

Last Friday, the U.N. Human Rights Council passed its first-ever resolution on the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons, the supporters of the resolution giving credit to the Obama administration’s push for gay rights at home and abroad.

Upon reading about the “gay rights” ruling, I wondered if the U. N. had ever endorsed a similar resolution to protect the rights of persecuted Christians. To my surprise, the U.N. has actually done the opposite. In 2009, they passed the Defamation of Religions Resolution which sanctions punishment of anyone who blasphemes or criticizes a country’s national religion. Many times in the last year, I have read stories of Christian converts in Muslim countries who were killed for committing blasphemy against Islam—simply by virtue of their confession of faith in Christ alone.

Even after the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime, still more than half of Iraq’s Christian population has been forced to flee their homes due to violence against Christians. And in Afghanistan, where Islam is the only recognized religion, Christian converts are still being killed by family members, who by law, must defend the family’s reputation against blasphemy by one of its members. Jesus spoke of a time when “brother will betray his brother to death, a father will betray his own child, and children will rebel against their parents and cause them to be killed.” (Mark 13:12). Fratricide and patricide now appear to be under the legal protection of the U.N.

Fighting the Culture of Defeat

We watched Ann Coulter’s interview on O’Reilly last night. Characteristically caustic, she said we can't succeed at “nation-building” in Afghanistan where they have more goats than flush toilets, and where 70% of the population is illiterate. Then, this morning, I read an editorial by Richard Cohen of the Washington Post who said a tad more eloquently, “Afghanistan is an odd place to get bogged down. We can kill terrorists but not the culture that produces them.”

This discussion is particularly timely because the President will announce his plans for troop withdrawal today. Having lived for two years in Afghanistan, I know that Richard Cohen’s perspective is right on. And so is Ann Coulter’s. Fighting the Taliban without changing the culture in which they thrive is futile. This is a principle of biblical origin. All believers are in a war—a war with their adversary the Devil (1 Pet. 5:8) and his evil forces. Satan’s primary strategy is to disguise his activities so that it appears that someone or something else is to blame, getting our attention on the "symptoms" not the "source."

We all know that a decongestant will help relieve a stuffy nose, but it will not cure a cold. Likewise, you can fight the symptoms of your problems, but you will not 'cure' them until you destroy the source. One time, after Jesus had cast out a devil, He explained that in order to overturn the works of the Devil, you must first bind him. "How can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?" (Matt. 12:29). All Christians must be aware that they will not realize true victory over specific sins until they destroy the strongholds underlying them. And God  has given us spiritual weapons to do this (2 Cor. 10:4), resulting in a cultural change: from one of defeat to one of victory.

Watch Out When You're Tired

“In the spring when kings go to war, David remained in Jerusalem” (2 Sam. 11:1). Since the Bible doesn't tell us why David chose to stay home instead of leading his men in battle, it leave us some room to wonder. Was he exhausted from years of warfare? Did he need R&R (rest and recuperation)? But whatever the reason, consider this: David had been saved from death on the battlefields only to lose miserably on the home front. And if David, a man who loved God with all his heart, could end up doing something he would regret for the rest of his life (remember Bathsheba?)…well, we’d better pay attention.

I think it shows how vulnerable we are when we’re tired (especially, after we've been doing warfare). Weariness can predispose us to a fall. Alcoholics Anonymous has an acronym they use to help people remember these vulnerabilities—it is "HALT" : Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired. When you are anyone of these things, you are open to temptation. I doubt if David was hungry, but was he angry? Was he tired?  And was he paying attention to his heart?

No wonder David’s son Solomon warned: “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” (Prov. 4:23 NLT) The idea is summed up by Paul: “we must pay much closer attention…so that we do not drift away...” (Heb. 2:1)

Is U.S. Occupying Afghanistan?

The American Ambassador to Afghanistan spoke out rather undiplomatically yesterday when Afghan President Hamid Karzai compared the U.S. military to “occupiers.” Considering that nearly 80% of the Afghans want us to leave their country and their President speaks out against our continued military presence, yet we refuse to leave, why should we be surprised that they see as “occupiers?”

The word “occupy” immediately made me think of Jesus’ words in Luke 19:13, “So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas, and said ‘Occupy till I come’.” Other translations say “Do business till I come;” “take what you have and put it to work;” “Make this money grow.” In spiritual currency, then, the word “occupy” means to do the work of the Kingdom with the gifts and calling He has given to you.

Jesus is telling us to “occupy” in the territory where God has planted us, to fulfill our God given destiny, to do the “greater things” (John 14:12) Jesus promised we would do. The question is ‘are we really occupying in our sphere?’ Israel is our example of failure to occupy. They were given Canaan and commanded to “occupy,” but they never did. Why? because of unbelief! (Heb 3:19).  

Perhaps, in that respect, you could say the U.S. soldiers really are “occupying”—they are fulfilling their destiny! Are we? Let us heed Paul’s warning: “Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest [occupying His Land] still stands, let us be careful that none of you...fall short of it [our destiny]” (Heb 4:1).

Take Time to be Holy?

Jesus addressed God as Holy Father (Matt. 6:9; John 17:11). John Calvin said, “That God's name should be hallowed is to say that God should have His own honor of which He is so worthy, so that men should never think or speak of Him without the greatest veneration.” A. W. Tozer said, “No religion has been greater than its idea of God.”

Warren Wiersbe tells the following experience as an example of people's poor understanding of God’s holiness.

'We will stand and sing hymn 325,’ announced the worship leader, ‘Take Time to Be Holy. We will sing verses one and four.’ If I had been sitting with the congregation instead of on the platform, I might have laughed out loud. Imagine a Christian congregation singing “Take Time to Be Holy” and not even taking time to sing the entire song! If we can’t take the time (less than four minutes) to sing a song about holiness, we’re not likely to take time to devote ourselves to “perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Cor. 7:1).

Don't be Afraid of the Mouse

I have a cousin who was a Safeway checker. She tells the story of a befuddled middle-aged woman who was using her debit card for the first time. After the woman had entered the PIN, the ATM machine waited for her to push the button for “cash back.” Not knowing what to do, my cousin told her “tell it [the ATM machine] you don’t want any cash back.” So the woman bent down toward the ATM machine, speaking loudly and clearly, said, “I don’t want any cash back.” It’s not really so funny as it is touching: have you forgotten when you first learned to use a mouse? (“Just point and click,” they said!)

Being intimidated by new gizmos and gadgets is nothing new. Since the invention of the printing press, horseless carriages, telephones and transistor radios, PCs and IPods, people have had to overcome their fear of change.

But more to the point, each of these ‘inventions’ resulted in far-reaching cultural changes. And now, in 2011, it is not only that we are looking down the barrel of huge cultural change, but it is the exponential acceleration of these changes. One has to wonder how much change the collective human psyche can endure.   With the exponential spread of technology, it seems we could reasonably conclude that the world is on the brink of an unprecedented cultural revolution. Could this be what Daniel meant when he said at “the time of the end… knowledge shall increase"? (12:4)

Fatal Mistakes

James said “We all make many mistakes” (3:2). Al Franken said “Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way, unless it's a fatal mistake, which, at least, others can learn from.”

When I reflected on Al Franken’s words, it dawned on me that the phrase “fatal mistake” is a spiritual paradox. Hurtful mistakes are a catalyst for radical change: “I’ll never do that again,” we say.  In a real sense then, mistakes should be fatal errors—painful actions that result in the death of bad behavior or attitude. 

Jesus also affirmed the value of mistakes when He said to Peter (who was about to make the biggest mistake of his life), “I have pleaded in prayer for you that your faith should not fail; so when you have repented and turned to me again [you will be able to] strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:32 edited). Peter's mistake made him aware of his horrible pride, and only afterward, was he fully useful to Jesus ("Feed My sheep").  A fatal mistake is one that kills you—“putting to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you” (Colossians 3:5).

Thrill Seekers and Risk Takers

Have you seen this bumper sticker: “Live to ride. Ride to live”? It is the bikers’ motto.  This is, of course, an attitude that expresses a greater human ideal—living for what you love to do.

We all have to do a job to make a living, but it may not be what we love to do. So we live for the moments we get to spend on what we love to do–gardening, carpentry, hang gliding, rock climbing, skydiving, etc. To call them hobbies or leisure pursuits falls short—these are passions.

Some of these activities are risky, and,  however unfortunate, people sometimes die for the love of doing them: the private pilot’s small plane crashes; the rock climber’s ascent up a mountain peak proves to be fatal; the thrill-seeker’s parachute doesn’t open (last year we held our breath and prayed a lot when our daughter jumped out of an airplane for her 25th birthday!). What is it about human nature that makes people willing to risk death for what they love to do?

Is there a challenge here for us who claim to be willing to die for our faith? Jim Elliot, martyred missionary to the Auca Indians of Ecuador, took a risk for something he loved—sharing Christ with those who had never heard the Gospel. Shortly before his death, he said: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." But I think the question is not so much are we willing to die for Christ. It is, rather, are we dying to live for Christ?

Who is Mother Nature and Why is She doing This?

Extreme weather has become the lead story on the “evening news” this year—hasn’t it! With unprecedented floods along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers and the worst tornado season since the 50s, Mother Nature’s name is evoked more and more. This female personification of nature is rooted in pagan worship. From Greeks to Aztecs, every culture had its earth goddess. That begs the question: For Christians, where does God fit in the picture? Well, the answer to that formidable question would take more than a blog post. But here’s something to ponder on your next rainy day.

When God created the world, it was perfect—it was all good! But when sin entered the world, things began to work differently, the way a body deteriorates from cancer. The Fall of man affected the earth. Paul says as much when he writes that we humans are not the only ones in bondage due to sin. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God's curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay. (Rom. 8:19-21 NLT)

So there you have it: the earth is waiting to be released from the affects of sin! So Satan, who is called the god (or goddess?) of this world, is behind these destructive forces in nature (that doesn’t mean, however, that God doesn't use it for His purposes—Romans 8:28). I find it very interesting, then, that when people make Mother Nature responsible, they really are putting the blame right where it belongs: on the goddess of this world!

What is Normal?

We’re living in an era of rapid change, aren’t we! By now you’ve heard that Oprah has left the building, Regis is retiring, Katie has vacated CBS’s news anchor chair, and soap operas are now an endangered species. Oh, but those are not the changes that will shatter your world.  Right?  No, the real psychological upheavals are changes in “NORMs” (defined as beliefs that are normal to the majority of the population).

For example, the marriage “norm” has changed radically in the last 50 years. When I grew up in the 50s, divorce was still a rarity, pre-marital sex was frowned on (at least, overtly), and co-habitation was uncommon, if not reprehensible—the American “norms” were still pretty much a “10-Commandment/Judeo-Christian” thing. But, last week a government survey showed that unmarried couples (does anyone remember when we called it “living in sin”?) make up 12 percent of U.S. households, up 25 percent since 2000. And in the same survey, over 50 percent said they support the legalization of same-sex marriage. There’s even a new name for these non-traditional “live-in” relationships—“domestic partners.”

How did these cultural norms and expectations change? Largely, by a world-wide media (TV, movies, the Internet) that is challenging time-honored norms and propagating new ideas faster than light. The result: a worldwide cultural revolution unlike anything before known to mankind. We are living in a point in time that challenges us to continually evaluate what it means to live a Christian life, one that is based on biblical precepts, not on cultural norms.

Let's Make it Personal

We hired some painters last month to do our living room and kitchen. One of them was Luis. I discerned that he was sensitive in spirit. I asked him if he was a Christian and he said “I am Catholic.” To which I responded “it doesn’t matter if you are a Catholic; what matters is that you love Jesus.” To which he responded, ‘yes, I do.’ To make a long story short, on the last day he was at our house, I explained to him that being born again meant having a personal relationship with Jesus. Luis is now a born-again Christian. Luis knew about Jesus. But Luis did not know that Jesus was personal.

Have you noticed that in all the talk about faith today (from Oprah to Glenn Beck or Presidents Bush and Obama) the discussions are always in the abstract—never about the Person of Jesus? For example, as I mentioned last week, an article in USA Today about the future of faith in America did not once mention the name of Jesus. Don’t let people suck you into the abstract discussions. Talk about Jesus! When the Pharisees tried to talk about religion and morality in the abstract, Jesus made it personal by asking “who do you say I am?” (Mark 8:29)

Spring is Sprung and Summer’s Begun

I always think of June as the beginning of summer. I know that is not the official start, but it has a feeling of change. The weather turns hot, the school year is over, children will begin their summer break, and families will take vacations. May/June has an “ending and beginning” feel to it. The parallel spiritual principle is this: one season must end before a new one can begin.

In Scott Peck’s book, “The Road Less Travelled,” he articulates this principle through his eyes as a psychiatrist. When people come to the therapist for treatment of depression, he says they are “involved in a giving-up, or growth process,” that is, their depression is signaling that a major change is needed for them to be cured. But most people don’t really want to change—they just want things to be the way they used to be. With remarkably spiritual insight, Peck goes on to say, patients are not yet consciously willing or ready to recognize that the “old self” and “the way things used to be” are outdated. Unwilling to let go of the old things, their depression is prolonged.

Before Jesus’ ministry, John the Baptist announced the new thing that was about to happen—the beginning of a new season: the Kingdom of God. He said “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” Jesus began His ministry He said the same thing (Matthew 3:2; 4:17). Paul reiterated this principle: “Put off the old self which is being corrupted… and put on the new self” (Eph 4:22, 24). Maybe someone reading this today needs to ask God "what needs to change in my life before I can begin this new season?"