Has the Church been Halloweened?

It’s that time again: Halloween. One church announcement reads: “Mountains of candy. Crazy decorated trunks. Fire eaters, break dancers, jugglers. Come to Trunk-or-Treat this Thursday. Doors open at 5:30 pm.” And what else are we opening our doors to?

I know there are a ton of conservatives who will be throwing eggs at Christian halloweenies, convinced it is wrong to participate in a day whose origins are as pagan as witches, vampires, ghosts, and devils. Others will innocently claim we have moved far away from Halloween’s beginnings—just as we have from those of Christmas.

So let's put the question to the “redeeming values” test. Does Halloween have any redeeming value, that is, good qualities about something outweighing the bad things? Certainly Christmas has been redeemed from its pagan beginnings. But can the same be said for Hallows Eve, the night before “All Saints Day,” as it is called. Is this an unholy trick? Have we been halloweened!

160 Words can be Better than a Picture

This is my 1,000^th blog post. 1,000 ideas, yes, but 1,000 stimulating thoughts, or 1,000 inspirations?  You be the judge!  Some people think a “a picture is worth a thousand words.” But a blog post is more akin to the Chinese proverb, “1001 words is worth more than a picture” (only in my case, about 160).

I researched the number ‘1,000’ to find something splendidly symbolic about it. Wikipedia tells it tersely: 1,000 is the natural number that follows 999 and precedes 1001. Not so exciting. Then I read Peter’s words:  “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day; The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you” (2 Peter 3:8-9).

And therein lies the significance of ‘1,000’—the Patience of the Lord. Though you and I may fail 1,000 times, “He is a faithful God who shows it by keeping his covenant of unfailing love for 1,000 generations” (Deut. 7:9 edited). Not to worry; there are still lots of generations (and posts) yet to come!

Finishing with Joy

Many people are starting to think, with joy, about the Holidays. Conversely, for many it's been a hard year, and they are looking forward to its end, with hope for a better one ahead. While looking joyfully to what comes after hard times may be normal, remaining joyful while in them is the measure of true spiritual maturity.

At the end of a life of suffering for Christ, Paul declared, “I have finished the race, with joy, and kept the faith...” (1 Tim. 4:7; Acts 20:24 edited). Recently, I read that, after being diagnosed with a terminal illness, Bill Bright of Campus Crusade wrote a book called, “The Journey Home, Finishing with Joy”—in which he gave testimony to the goodness of God despite pain and suffering he was about to endure in his final days.

You may not be a “St. Paul” or a “Bill Bright” attempting to finish well at the end of your life, but still, your hard times are bringing you to the end of your self (you won't be finished until they do). The question remains, will you be able to say “I kept the faith, finished the race, and counted it pure joy?” (Ja. 1:2)

‘Born-agains’ that say "Whatever!"

Young American believers, according to a Probe Ministries survey, are moving away from a biblically-centered worldview. Specifically, only one in three believe Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. His survey also reveals that “born-agains,” as he calls them, have decreased by 22% since 1976. And, only 1 in 5 report they are wholeheartedly practicing their faith. Pretty alarming!?

But what is most disturbing is the suggestion that the two-thirds who do not believe Jesus is the only way are really born again. In Acts 16, Paul says to be born again one must “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” Perhaps some did at first, but allowed this “whatever-culture” to lead them away from the truth. If so, they are dangerously deceived, but (I believe) born again. However, the “born-agains” who never confessed Jesus as “the way, the truth, and the life” are not. Rather, they under the spell of an ambivalent culture that says, “Whatever!”

When Troubles abound, our Hearts Long for Home

It seems like everyone Altha and I know is experiencing severe distress: physical, financial, relational. Is it possible these increased troubles are evidence the Lord is pruning, purging, and purifying His church for His eminent return (1 Peter 4:12-13; 1 Cor. 11:31-32; Heb. 12:5-11)?

After all, isn't it the purpose of the Holy Spirit to prepare the Bride for the return of her Bridegroom? So He can present her to Christ, without spot, wrinkle, or blemish (Eph. 5:27).

If, in the end times, the love of many will grow cold (Matt. 24:12), doesn't it make sense He will do everything necessary to increase the longing of our heart for “home” and for “Him” (Phil. 1:21-23)? Is it possible the severity of our trials means His Return is near? Do you find yourself more often than you used to, looking at each other at the end of one of those hard days, and saying, “Is He coming soon”(Rev. 22:7, 20)? 

Patient, Impatient, Un-patient

This week I finished my radiation treatments. Now, all that remains is 2 months of chemo infusions. All of 2013, I've been someone's “patient.” I have also been often “impatient.” When my cancer treatments end in December, will I be an “un-patient?”

You’ll probably tell me I think too much (the bane of a writer who loves words), but have you ever considered the correlation between these two words: “patient” (a person receiving medical treatment) and “patient” (tolerating delays without becoming irritable)? Both words derive from the same Greek word pathos: suffering. A good patient (sufferer) must be patient (suffer well).

I've realized this year that we are all God’s patients (pruning comes to mind), and that God has graciously given us the gift of “patience” so we'll be able to suffer even as Christ did (Gal. 5:22; 1 Pet 4:1). Of the things I've learned as a patient in 2013, two stand out: 1) God desires patient patients, and 2) because I am under the care of a patient God, I could never be an “un-patient.”

Driving with Androids

When Greyhound Lines had a slogan, “Leave the driving to us,” I took a bus to Denver. But it took 40 hours (I could have driven it in 18). But Good News! We'll soon have an alternative: “Leave the driving to Androids.”

By next year, you will be able to purchase a hands-free car. While technology is still limited, fully driverless automatons will be ready by 2020. But I won’t. Putting myself in the hands of an android would drive me crazy. That said, however, relying on robots is something we must do if we are to survive in a world driven by computer chips.

How much more then should we trust God in the driver's seat. We have to believe our life is in His hands if we can be content in this world. Well, where the rubber meets the road is when He takes that first unexpected turn, or brakes suddenly. Will we grab the wheel away? Remember how hard it was on Israel when God 'drove' them out of the Promised Land? (Jer. 32:37). Maybe hands-on humans won't be so enamored with driverless autos after all.

Self-Discovery Day

All over the Americas today, it is Columbus Day. Some countries call it Discovery Day, the latter making me think Columbus’ death-defying passage was also a journey of self-discovery. Every healthy human travels this road called finding oneself, also known as individuation, or coincidentally, passages.

If you are over 18, you are already consciously aware of the journey. But if you are over 40, you are also watching younger adults—the millennial generation—make these perilous, but necessary passages. And what makes this journey particularly hazardous for the Millennials is the fast-changing, constant redefining of cultural norms and values.

On this day, let us pray for our Millennials to discover sooner than later the paradox their older generation has already learned (hopefully), “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 10:39). No one can find oneself apart from God:  Happy Discovery Day!

You cannot Live with a Tumor

In 2003 when a CT scan found a tumor in Steve Jobs’ pancreas, doctors urged him to have an operation, but Steve chose alternative remedies. Nine months later, when the tumor had grown, he agreed to surgery, but by then, the cancer had spread to his liver. Though a liver transplant bought him a few years, ultimately his battle strategy failed.

You will recall that God's strategy for dealing with cancerous idolatry in Canaan was total annihilation.  Sadly, Israel compromised, choosing alternative remedies. Fast forward 4,000 years, and we now have two generations of Americans who have grown up without another world war. Our strategy has been diplomacy: peace at all costs. However, recent unofficial talks by our government with Iran seem to be demonstrating a national naiveté that we can make peace with an avowed enemy.

Canaan illustrates the necessity of a good battle strategy against the enemies of our soul—both within and without.  Coincidentally, we are living at a time in history when God's People are being asked to make peace with a sensually-driven culture. But it is a strategy as perilous as living with a tumor.

Shutdown: Good or Bad?

We’re now into the second week of a stand-off between Republicans and Democrats that has shut down the Federal government. In and of itself, a “shutdown” can be a good thing. Everyone needs to power down occasionally. Even my computer does. A shutdown should equal “stillness”—all activity coming to a quiet halt.  But not this one. Everyone in D.C. is running around in a senseless angst.

But think about it. Is all this “disquiet” a metaphor? No one ever powers down anymore. Are media rich, always-on, multi-tasking persons capable of stillness? And if you could escape the cacophony, can “stillness” be found? Yes—but not in a place. In a Person. “Come unto me all you who are weary and burdened, and you will find rest (shutting off activity) for your souls” (Matt. 11:28-29).

Of course it will help you to set a time and place: “Can two walk together unless they have an appointment?” (Amos 3:3) The Bible says in the early morning while it was still dark (Mark 1:35), Jesus shut off the world, and shut Himself in with God (Ps. 46:10). Likewise, let us shut down; power down; shut ourselves in with Him. Now that would be a good shutdown!

At His Feet

One of the sweetest stories in the Gospels has to be when Jesus visited the home of Mary and Martha. While Martha had her ‘feet on the ground’—she was sensible and practical, Mary had her feet up, relatively speaking! While Martha fixated on festal foods, Mary yearned for finer fare at the feet of Jesus.

“Sitting at one’s feet” is a timeless idiom, meaning “pay worshipful attention to.” And while Mary was setting her mind on Jesus, a mortally-minded Martha was being held hostage to the familiar. This was Mary’s “break-out” moment—not to do great feats, but to love His.

“Falling at one’s feet” is another timeless idiom, with similar meaning. The Gospel writers record a number of times people fell at His feet and worshipped Him. I wonder how much more they would have done so, if they had known His feet would one day be nailed to a Cross for them. How different was their unrestrained expression from our Sunday morning church-goers sitting at the foot of a stage sipping coffee and eating doughnuts.

"Great Feets"

‘Herod the Great,’ King of Judea in Jesus’ lifetime, is known for his great feats. His name seems a metaphor for natural man, not only trying to be better, but Something-the-Great! Such is the appeal of Joel Osteen’s newest book, “Break Out,” an appeal to break free of all limitations—truly footloose—and dream big.

Was this not the appeal of Satan to Adam, and then to Jesus. If they could only think ‘bigger’ and ‘better’ of themselves, what great feat they would have. Of course, it caused Adam to ‘get off on the wrong foot,’ leaving a foul foot print on each of us. Fortunately, he couldn't fool Jesus who said, “the ruler of the world has nothing in Me,” i.e., he can't find a foothold (John 14:30).

Someone has said, “It is a long road to the end of ourselves.” And when we get there, we will not have sore feet, as some might imagine, but ‘happy feet.’ One step at a time, we will walk in the good works He prepared for us (Eph. 2:10; 3:20), or in the homophonic language of this post, we will have “Great Feets.”

Foot Washing

I find the practice of foot washing, practiced by some sincere believers today, puzzling, because it takes Jesus’ command to go and do likewise (John 13) so literally. Foot washing was not a symbolic act. People had dirty feet. And by relegating the task to lowly servants, it turned something very “personal” into something “impersonal.” But not that night!

That night, His earthly ministry was topped off by an act so personal it was almost embarrassing. Jesus had always embodied His principles: “I am the truth” (John 14:6). But that night He embodied love. No, it was not a principle that lived with them for 3 years. It was not a principle that washed their feet. It was not a principle that died on a Cross and rose from the dead. It was a Person; and it was very Personal.

I know some of you are going through almost unbearable trials. Though you've been sustained by biblical principles, the Personal Jesus seems elusive. Toward the last days, the love of many will grow cold (Matt. 24:12). Is this the result of hard times? Today, more than ever, we need to know Jesus Personally as the One who washes our weary feet with the water of His Word (Eph. 5:26).

Footsteps

In writing yesterday’s post, “Footprint,” I had a revelation that my footprint is God's to make, not mine. As a disciple, I am called to walk in Jesus' steps, or you could say, his shoes. On the other hand (or foot), as our forerunner, or fore-walker, Jesus did the proverbial walk a mile in our shoes.

The writer of Hebrews says, “He understands our weaknesses since He faced all of the same testings we do” (4:15). And it’s precisely because of that, we can go to Him “to receive His mercy, and find grace to help us when we need it most” (4:16).

Two days ago, I wrote this prayer in my journal: 
"Lord Jesus, lead me that I might be 'in step' with You. Give me grace to make the right steps, and mercy for my missteps." If it were not for a steady pace of grace and mercy, His shoes would be too big to fill.

Footprint

My carbon footprint is the amount of the earth’s resources I will consume in my lifetime. It’s a negative. On the other hand, what I have given ‘in time’ will leave behind my life's footprint. That’s a positive.

Every year, millions of tourists travel to our Nation’s capital to see the monuments to larger-than-life men and women whose influence lives beyond their mortality—their footprint. But is this appetite for perpetuity an evil part of human nature? Not at all. In fact, it is a divine quality turned inward. Solomon said, “God has put eternity in our hearts.” The natural man tries to satisfy this through immortality. But “immortality” —never dying— is not the same as “eternity” — always living.

None of us knows what footprint we will leave behind. But Jesus did. And though His feet may have touched the same ground we walk on, the footprint he left behind transcends time and space. He is not immortal; He is eternal. And now, as we walk with Him, each of us is a part of His footprint on the earth.

Lettuce Eat for Life

Last week I received a telephone call from the Blue Shield cancer-consultant, advising me she will, at the end of my treatments, prescribe a diet to build up my immunities. I'm anticipating a toxic-free regimen of organic, fibrous fruits and vegetables that will not, however, do well in my no-pancreas stomach.

Coincidentally, I happened to read an e-teaching about eating for life, claiming that godly eaters will be blessed with long life. I wondered how other people like me, who have been given a prognosis of a shortened life, would respond to his “godliness = long life” assertion.

After Jesus provided a free lunch to the 5,000, they all wanted to be His disciples-for-life. But He rebuked them, “You’re following me, not because of the miracles you saw Me do, which should have convinced you I am God, but because you think I can satisfy your sensual appetites” (John 6:26 paraphrase). Prescribing a better diet for life, He said, “Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53). Fruits and vegetables are good for the body. But lettuce eat for soul. Lettuce eat from the Tree of Life.

Have you Checked your Vital Signs Recently?

Having many doctor’s appointments this year, I've had my vital signs checked more than some people do in a lifetime! Yesterday, as I watched the nurse take my temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure, it occurred to me there are also corresponding vital signs of faith that determine our spiritual vitality.

Paul tells us that “In Christ, we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28), roughly translated “He is our life and breath.” Christ is the force of life coursing through our veins; our hearts beat with His; His Word is the air we breathe. Yes indeed, Christ is our life (Col. 3:3) but we can only experience such vitality to the degree we live by faith and not by our senses.

And absent His vitality, our hearts grow cold, our passion wanes, our prayers become lifeless, and our ministries stale. If we’ve been feeling spiritually anemic lately, or having shortness of breath (His), perhaps it is time to examine our vital signs to see whether we are in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5).