KDs are designed/developed/inspired/mused/auto-suggested/indigested to make folks think; an especially uncommon experience among Democrats, Republicans, and jingoistic mainline denominationalists who continue to discourage dissent with their ever-threatening thought police.
Exhortation/Encouragement...depending upon the Spirit.
Like all of us in
some way, both need healing.
Like all of us in
some way, I often wonder if they really want to be...
No, I do not
understand the Biblical paradox of predestination/volition.
I have a hard
enough time trying to understand peanuts.
Yes, I do believe
in predestination.
Yes, I do believe
in volition.
Considering
predestination is more about His business than mine, I concentrate on volition.
And unless proven
wrong by somebody who actually reads the Bible more than Arminius or Calvin,
I'm gonna take full responsiblity for the consequences of my choices and urge
others to the same.
I ain't gonna
blame predestination or poor potty training for the consequences of my bad
choices.
But, uh, I do
give God all the praise and thanks for the graces that have overcome the
consequences of my bad choices...and urge others to the same.
@#$%
I am convinced
until proven otherwise by
the book not books about the book that it's no secret in the book
when it comes to experiencing His better in
time before His best in
a heavenly kinda way.
It's simple if
it's by the book.
It's no secret.
Lest we forget,
God wants everybody to be saved in
an existential as well as eternal kinda way.
The texting
follows...
@#$%
Jesus asked,
"Do you want to be healed?"
1 Samuel 2:30:
"Those who honor Me, I will honor. Those who despise Me shall be
lightly esteemed."
2 Samuel 23:5:
"Is not my house right with God? Has He not made with me an
everlasting covenant, arranged and secured in every part? Will He not
bring to fruition my salvation and grant me my every desire?"
Something inside
cheers whenever I enter a restaurant and see people praying before digging in.
Of course, I
can't keep it/Him to myself.
You know how
that/He goes: "You will tell everybody about Me...here, there, and
everywhere!"
Really, if we're
really convinced He is who He says He is, we can't keep our mouths shut about
Him.
All of that
nonsensical talk about faith being a private matter was started by people who
really aren't convinced He is who He says He is which is why they have so
little to say about Him.
Let me be
precise.
A religion about
Jesus is a private matter; for it is knowing something about Him without really
knowing Him on a personal level.
A relationship
with Jesus cannot be contained in the privacy of the heart or mind because it
overflows into conversations, conduct, and countenance.
So getting back
to those inside cheers whenever I enter a restaurant and see people praying
before digging in, I'll often blurt, "Outstanding! You must really
love Jesus!"
Now here's the
really, really, really revealing realities of the immediate responses to my
outside not able to contain what's on the inside when I see people praying in a
restaurant and draw everybody's attention in earshot to 'em.
The people who
really love Jesus smile and nod and get almost gitty about it/Him.
The people who
have no clue about Jesus just sit and look like their steak turned out to be
liver.
Annnnnnnd the people who
don't really love Jesus - the posers - along with the people who are His
enemies - the antagonists - squirm and scowl and sometimes even scorn.
From as early as
I can remember as a believer then undershepherd,
the best way to take a person or group's spiritual temperature is to start
talking about Jesus by name.
Talk about
separating the sheep from the goats!
It's like the
cartoon that hangs on the door to my study.
It depicts two
guys waiting for a bus with one sporting a T-shirt that blurts, "Let's
Talk About Jesus!" He says to the fellow in more conventional
attire, "It guarantees me an entire seat to myself."
Truth is the Church
(authentic believers) as opposed to church (posers) consists of people
who are just like Paul: "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the
power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also
to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith
for faith, as it is written, ''The righteous shall live by faith.'"
That's the theme
of the apostle's letter to the Romans.
That's the theme
of Christianity.
We are not
ashamed of Jesus!
We can't keep our
mouths shut about Him because He is Lord and Savior and the path to personal
peace here and now and forevermore!
Like Paul when he
got it/Him, we're psyched to tell people about Jesus because He is the saving
power of God: "the power of God for salvation to everyone who
believes."
Like Paul when he
got it/Him, we're psyched in knowing Jesus is for all not just some of the
people: "the Jew first and also the Greek."
In other words,
Jesus is Lord and Savior of all who believe in Him as Lord and Savior without
any partiality or favoritism for color, class, or culture.
That
faith/confidence/trust enables us to live confidently in the assurance of
eternal life: "The righteous shall live by faith."
Because of Jesus,
we are not afraid of anyone or anything here and now and forevermore!
That's the theme
of this letter!
That's the theme
of Christianity!
Feel the
supernatural excitement of knowing Him as Lord and Savior as translated
and paraphrased by other versions of the Bible!
Go ahead!
Get out your
multiple translations/paraphrases or google Romans 1:16-17.
That's why
Christians are sooooooo psyched.
We're not afraid!
We have Jesus!
That's why
Christians like Paul could/would/must write/speak/act so boldly and fearlessly
and convincingly and compellingly.
No fear!
Only awesome reverence for God!
That's why
Christians like Paul could/would/must write/speak/act so boldly and fearlessly
and convincingly and compellingly about the only thing that matters, as he
wrote in his letter to the Galatians, "is faith expressing/proving itself
in/through love."
That's why
Christians like Paul cold/would/must write/speak/act so boldly and fearlessly
and convincingly and compellingly about behaviors not saving us here and now
and forevermore but showing
how we're saved here and now and forevermore.
Many people read
Paul's letters and say, "He's all over the place. I can't pick up
any consistent theme to what he's trying to get across."
Yes, his letters
read like letters: more emotive and energizing than orderly and systematic.
Let me put it
this way.
His letters are
more about a relationship with Jesus than a religion about Jesus.
And it
all hangs together here and now and forevermore because of the absolutely
clear and conclusive theme of Christianity so concisely summarized in the
opening chapter of Romans.
David remains the greatest king in Israel's history.
Shepherd boy. Giant slayer. Songwriter.
King.
Adulterer. Murderer.
He confessed and repented. He was restored.
A precursor to his/our most important relative, he longed
for God's people to enflesh the united way.
"How wonderful, how beautiful when brothers and sisters
get along!
That's where God commands the blessing!"
@#$%
While I know the
United Way stirs ideological spasms of affirmation/antagonism from the aisles,
the Boone County, Illinois version enables lots of good stuff.
So I felt good
about being asked to sub for who they really wanted to pray at their annual
breakfast kick-off on 9/19 at 7:00 a.m.
Besides(1), I was
headed to the Boone County Jail after breakfast and the United Way of Boone
County provides counseling, mentoring, and educational opportunities for
gals/guys locked up in that joint.
Besides(2), when
I was a 1st year seminarian, Dr. David Watermulder, president of the seminary's
board of trustees and senior undershepherd
of one of the franchise's most "important" churches, advised, "No
matter who they are and if it doesn't conflict with your church's calendar,
take every opportunity to speak because it's another chance to spread the
gospel."
I prayed; then as
I was leaving for the jail, a few attendees asked for a copy of the prayer.
That's been a
problem since I was in my early years of undershepherding
ministry; for I think I heard Him say as I began to pray a prayer on
Sunday that I'd written on Friday, "Bob, we went over that on
Friday. Don't you have anything new to talk about? Truly, this is
supposed to be a conversation not a script. Prayer is not a show or
recital. Let's talk."
I promised to
post a summary here from what I can recollect.
Of course, most
of this prayer has been obsessing my prayers for months; so I think what
follows is pretty close to what I prayed earlier.
Repeating...until...
Yeah, I'll bet in a Christian kinda way that
I pray it again on 9/22 at both services with the second one broadcast live via
www.bnnsradio.com at 10:00 a.m.
@#$%
These are
dangerous days, Lord.
Hosea is our
contemporary: "There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no
knowledge of God in the land. There is swearing, lying, murder, stealing,
and committing adultery. They break all bounds and bloodshed follows
bloodshed. Therefore, the land...[America]...mourns."
When we peer into
confessional candor's mirror, we see we are often more part of the disease than
remedy by our prejudices, pettiness, party loyalties, vain idolatries
masquerading as virtuous ideologies and denominational allegiances, competing
ministries, barking, biting, beating, and butchering.
Selfishness, the
deadly dark virus from the pit of hell, is rationalized and enabled at the
expense of Your commanding call, "Love each other just as much as I have
loved you" with grace,
mercy, and forgiveness.
The golden rule -
love others as much as you love yourself and do for them as you want them to do
for you - has been polluted/poisoned by self before service and the demonically
inspired obsession with "my" rights, needs, feelings, opinions, and
concerns.
Even churches and
community organizations that should know Him better and have, at least, heard
about confirming Godly belief with Godly behavior are sooooooo sorely divided
and, therefore, ineffective as well as grotesquely hypocritical in telling
others how to get along and cooperate and care for each other when they don't because of
their passions for segregating and separating and enabling disaffections and
disunity as Democrats and Republicans, Bears and Packers, Cubs and White Sox,
Bucs and Thunder, Baptists, Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists,
Lutherans, Pentecostals, and other schismatics in defiance of Your high
priestly prayer that all may be one through You so that the world will believe
and then behave like believers with invitation, inclusion, welcome, and agape.
Maybe, today,
right here, right now, we will stop going through the motions of faith and
start living faith and modeling Someone better.
The united way.
The world,
nation, states, communities, churches, and all
of the below are starving for Someone better.
Maybe, today,
right here, right now, we can start reflecting that Someone's selfless caring
and bearing and sharing with generous hearts and helping hands.
Maybe, today,
right here, right now, we can take David's longing and enflesh it in our lives:
"How blessed it is when people are united."
Really.
No more skits and
shows and drama and theater...and posing.
Really.
Now.
From now on.
No more
compromises and accommodations with naysayers and nitpickers and the naughty
who say and do little nice.
Now.
From now on.
"Let there
be peace on earth as it is
in heaven...Let it begin with me/us..."
Right here.
Right now.
From now on.
As prescribed in
Holy Scripture.
As perfectly
patterned by Jesus in whose name we pray.
I refer
to 'em almost every Sunday in worship; because most mainline pewsitters
and pulpiteers are geezers because
most non-geezers have gone elsewhere or nowhere for too many
reasons to catalogue right here right now.
O.K., three
reasons: (1) unconverted clergy; (2) unconvinced laity; and (3) reincarnations
of the Pharisees/Sadducees. You can read about that in the
non-best-selling Fifteen
Secrets for Life and Ministry that's available via www.amazon.com for about 99 cents; or just go
to Matthew 15, 23.
Anyway, I heard a
definition of geezers on some rock radio station a few days ago while driving
to nursing homes to visit, uh, geezers.
Not young anymore.
Not dead yet.
Geezers, like
leaven that Jesus noted metaphorically, can be good, bad, ugly, or innocuous
(which, really, fits into one of the first three categories in a Sartreian
kinda way).
They mix in to
make things/countries/communities/churches better or worse or...
@#$%
A geezer like me
was in my study last week and asked if "we're" getting old.
Response:
"When we're riding our ponies less and moving in cages more, we'll be old."
Jesus said we can
be new wineskins that stretch and expand to make room for His new and improved
ways/opportunities/experiences/charismata.
Jesus said we can
be born again and
from above.
Jesus never said,
"Behold, I make all things/people old."
Jesus never
mentioned DOBs.
Jesus talked
about our relationship with Him that determines the spirit/Spirit in us.
Considering Jesus
created us as one with Father and Spirit - una
substantia et tres personae - He should, uh, does know all about our
potential/possibilities.
From everything
that I've read that He said in those red letters in the big and best book about
Him not books about the book that are often just whining/toning/watering down
rationalizations of egocentrism over Theocentrism/Christocentrism, Jesus says
we can be forever young in emotional, intellectual, and spiritual ways even if
we have regular sessions with the chiro.
Cool.
@#$%
Of course, and I
hope I'm wrong and trust you'll tell me, I think too many geezers like being,
uh, old/rigid/frigid.
I think too many
geezers really like being miserable; bantering and moaning about
just about everyone and everything to make them feel better about their
miserable lives.
Calvin concluded that part of total depravity goes back to the garden;
while hell comes to my inferior intellect.
Doesn't matter.
Geezers don't
have to be miserable.
Jesus: "Come
to Me, all of you who...[in essence]...are miserable...and I will give life to
you...[in essence]...here and now and forevermore!"
Cool.
@#$%
What's not cool
is how sooooooo many
geezers just wanna stay...miserable.
Their choice with no apologies
to the hyper-Calvinists.
I love being a
geezer and know many who like being geezers because
we know we can be forever young by getting/staying closer and closer and closer
to our Source, Starter, Sovereign, and Savior.
That's why I'm
good for another decade or two on the corner of Lincoln and Main to the
encouragement of family and friends while dashing the hopes of my foes.
@#$%
I thought about
that last night and early this morning while Kopper took me for a walk.
I spent the
weekend as Billy's caddie in the Illinois Special Olympics State Golf
Championship.
He won.
Yeah, he won by score and, like all
of the Special Olympians, he won
by attitude.
He never bantered
and moaned about the weather, competition, score, or if his deodorant would
keep him dry throughout the weekend.
He was not
"miserable" like...
Well, I'm back in
the saddle right now after a weekend with "abnormally"
emotional/intellectual/spiritual people who are not like their
"normal" counterparts who are sooooooo
miserable about sooooooo much;
and I'm gonna listen/counsel/entertain/enable those miserable
parochial/ecumenical/agnostic people just about everywhere I go/meet until
my next Special Olympics thing...unless
I have enough gutsy agape love left in me to tell 'em to get their
"normal" heads out of their miserable, uh, attitudes, take
Jesus' hand while inviting Him into their hearts, and become, as C.S. Lewis
prescribed, "surprised" by a joy that Special Olympians get and
the "normally" miserable don't.
O.K., here it is.
Take it/Him or
leave it/Him.
If you're
miserable, it's because you have chosen someone/something other than Jesus.
If you're not
miserable, it's because you're closer to Jesus than miserable people and
experiencing less miserableness in your life as you increase intimacy with Him.
If you're
miserable, you have no divine right to do your worst to make other people as
miserable as you are.
If you're not
miserable, point the miserable people in your life to Jesus.
You can't help
'em.
Only Jesus can
help 'em.
And without
Jesus, they'll keep going/staying to/in hell.
Luke wrote two
books of the Bible: the gospel named after him and Acts.
The gospel
according to Luke is a very detailed account of what Jesus said and did as Lord
and Savior; more biographically informative than the other synoptics (viz.,
Matthew and Mark) while not being as profoundly theological as John and, in my scratching estimate,
more ethically expansive - especially
when it comes to our responsibility to care for the world's have nots to prove
we are Christian - than the other three: "In my first
book, I recounted the events of Jesus' life - His actions, His teachings - from
the beginning of His life until He was taken up into heaven."
Acts records the
earliest responses of the earliest followers of Jesus to what He said and did
as Lord and Savior as the Son joined the Father in heaven yet remained as
promised as Holy Spirit to encourage and enable followers to expand the Kingdom
of God on earth as it is in
heaven: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on
you...You will be My witnesses...to the farthest places on earth."
It reminds me of
how Dr. Macleod, our worship and homiletics professor in seminary, often said,
"God acts. We
respond. God
acts for our
salvation in Jesus and we respond
accordingly as thankful recipients of His grace." Then
he'd often quote Richard Davidson: "Common worship is what we say and what
we do when we stand together before God, realizing in high degree who He is and
who we are."
Sooooooo it seems to me
that the best way for today's church to figure out its identity and mission is
to go back to the earliest followers of Jesus and reincarnate their life and
ministry in response to what Jesus said and did as Lord and Savior.
Parenthetically,
truly Biblical people - not people who read books about the Bible but people
who read the Bible mostly and primarily or, even better in my estimate, solely as the best way to
know God and His will for life and ministry - often say, after reading the book
instead of books about the book, any connection between too many of today's
churches and Jesus is purely coincidental; or as Tozer wrote, "Christ, not
society...[is]...the pattern of the Christian life." Jesus was
categorically stern about it in cautioning us against the sin of the Pharisees
and Sadducees who elevated "the traditions of men to the commandments of
God" (which, by the way, is as close to blasphemy against the Holy Spirit
as one can tread).
Sooooooo, again, I'm
convinced the best way to learn how to follow Jesus is to read what He said
about following Him in all four of the gospeling accounts and follow Him as those
closest to Him in time followed Him.
Again, it's
Christianity by the book instead
of a "kinda" watered/toned down version of Christianity as
rationalized by books about the best book on Christianity.
Truly, I have
never understood why anyone who wants to follow Jesus would go to secondary
sources when we've got the primary one.
Sooooooo I've been scratching the surface of Acts to learn how to follow Jesus by the book and discovered
at least five distinguishing character traits of people who follow Him, again, by the book.
While I'm not
claiming this list as exhaustive and admit there's lots of room for
improvement, Acts shows how those most intimate with the real not
imagined/reimagined Jesus of the book are consistently, compellingly, and
categorically clear in their confession of Jesus, countenance because of Jesus,
conduct to confirm commitment to Jesus, communion with other followers of Jesus
as proof of following Jesus, and courage to look up, stand up, speak up, and
act up for Jesus.
Followers of Jesus are consistently,
compellingly, and categorically clear in their confession of Jesus as Lord and
Savior:
"Everyone who calls on the name of Jesus shall be
saved...There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under
heaven given among men by which we must be saved...Believe in the Lord Jesus,
and you will be saved, you and your household."
Followers of Jesus have a consistent,
compelling, and categorically clear countenance because of Jesus: "When
they...[not followers of Jesus]...saw the boldness of Peter and John, and
perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished.
And they recognized that they had been with Jesus...[As Stephen talked about
Jesus]...all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an
angel...[As antagonists to Jesus and followers of Jesus were stoning
Stephen]...he called out, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit...Lord, do not hold
this sin against them.'"
Followers of Jesus conduct themselves
in ways that confirm commitment to Jesus: "We must obey
God rather than men."
Followers of Jesus love Jesus by
loving like Jesus through holy communion with each other: "They devoted
themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of
bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and
signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were
together and had all things in common. And they were selling their
possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had
need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in
their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising
God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their
number day by day those who were being saved."
Followers of Jesus have courage to
look up, stand up, speak up, and act up for Jesus: "If we have to
choose between obedience to God and obedience to any human authority, then we
must obey God."
Indeed, following the example of
Jesus to the cross, the earliest followers of Jesus were beaten, battered, and
butchered for looking up, standing up, speaking up, and acting up for
Him. They believed Jesus: "If you die in time for Me, you will live
forever with Me!"
Getting back to
Luke, the first book that bears his name records what Jesus said and did and
the second book called Acts recounts how the earliest followers of Jesus acted as a faithful
response to His example by exemplifying Him in their lives.
Today's
Christians who really want to follow Jesus by
the book can turn to those earliest Christians and see how
following Jesus includes a consistently, compellingly, and categorically clear
confession of Jesus as Lord and Savior, a countenance or appearance of intimacy
with Jesus, conduct confirming commitment to Jesus, holy communion with other
followers of Jesus, and courage to be for Jesus in all things at all times in
all places with all people.
Let me put this Actsual Christianity
another way.
Open your Bible
to Acts 29.
That's right!
Acts 29 is not in
your Bible.
That's because
you are joining other followers of Jesus who are writing it right now.
While I may be
wrong, I'm convinced selfishness
is killing America and sooooooo
many churches.
Specifically,
it's the me-me-me refrain
of a spoiled generation of American "Christians" who think
selfishness is not absolutely antithetical to everything known about Jesus and
following Him by the book.
It's the OCDish
personality punctuations: "My rights...concerns...feelings...needs...opinions..."
It reaches its
highest insult to His holiness in this attitude so often acted out if not
articulated: "I know that's what Jesus and the Bible say but I think..."
@#$%
If we're not on
the same page right now, we've been reading different books...or books about
the book...but not the book itself.
@#$%
More
specifically, the disease is often heard with these exclamations: "The
sanctuary is too warm/cold for
me...The music is too soft/loud for
me...I, I, I do/don't like..."
@#$%
While we will
find no comfort, consolation, or confirmation for selfishness in Jesus or the
book about Him, that character flaw continuing from the garden is often enabled
in America and too many churches.
Truth is many
so-called "Christians" in so-called "churches" are sooooooo egocentric rather
than Theo/Christocentric that they really aren't self-aware to their
selfishness.
They look into
the mirror and see a...god.
@#$%
Truth is too many
churches are diseased by so-called "Christians" who are really,
really, really comfortable in their selfish sickness aka sin and don't wanna
get better.
They like their
sickness aka sin.
That's why they
are dying.
That's why
America is dying.
That's why sooooooo many churches are
dying.
There are
exceptions; but, generally speaking, selfishness is killing America and sooooooo many churches because they just don't wanna get
better.
@#$%
John 5:1-9 comes
to mind.
You know the
story; but read it once more in the aforementioned contemporary context.
Sick guy lying by
the side of the pool for a very, very, very long time - nearly four decades.
Sick guy lying by
the side of the pool and waiting for nearly four decades for somebody to take
care of him - help him into the pool that superstition says can heal.
Sick guy just
waiting and waiting and waiting for...someone, something, anyone, anything...to
take him for a swim after such a long time of life against the current.
Jesus sees him,
knows he's just been lying there forever, and asks, "Do you want to get
well/healed?"
"I got
nobody to help me," the man protests.
Instead of
enabling his continuing sickness, Jesus commands, "Get up, get moving,
follow Me, and you'll get well/healed!"
Report: "And
at once the man was healed, and he...walked."
@#$%
Now I'm not gonna
exegete all of the traditio-historical stuff; 'cause you can't build a theology
or spirituality or faith or trust on broken pickle jars.
But I am going to
scratch the surface of a very deep promise from God that's sooooooo blindingly
obvious.
Here it is.
If we really want to get better,
we listen to Jesus and do what He says without hesitation or equivocation.
@#$%
Jesus did not
enable the man's selfishness of waiting for someone else to pick him up and
carry him through life.
Jesus did not
enable the man's infidelities or inflexibilities or anything like that.
Jesus did not
remain silent when the Word was needed to heal.
Jesus simply told
the man, in essence, that if he really
wanted to get well, all he had to do was listen to Him: "Get
up, get moving, follow Me, and you'll get well/healed!"
@#$%
America and too
many of her pathetically egocentric me-me-me
churches will never get better until they listen to Jesus and let
Him lead; and if they're not willing to listen to Jesus and let Him lead, they
don't really want to get
well/healed...and
won't.
@#$%
Recently, I was
talking to a friend about somebody who's always sick and complaining...or sick
and complaining about someone or something...or sick and...
You know the
kind.
There are sooooooo many of 'em
around; which, again, is why America and sooooooo
many churches are dying.
My friend said,
"She/he is addicted to sickness."
I added,
"And our church has been enabling her/him for years."
@#$%
Truth is some
folks and churches just
don't want to get better.
But that's no excuse for enabling them
to stay sick!
If we're really
getting better because we're really listening to Jesus and letting Him lead, we
have a privilege as well as responsibility to tell people that it is possible
to get better.
It is possible
for America to get well/healed.
It is possible
for churches to turn around and get healthy.
Listen to Him!
Let Him lead!
Stop enabling those who don't wanna
get well/healed.
@#$%
If we enable
people who don't wanna get well/healed, that means we don't really want 'em to get
well/healed which means we don't really
want America and churches to get well/healed which means we are as sick as...
@#$%
Everybody's sick
in some way.
I am...just ask
my wife...and congregation...and, uh, anybody who's ever spent any significant
time avec moi.
That's why Jesus
comes to us as Lord and Savior.
Buuuuuuut only those who
wanna remain sick don't listen to Him and let Him lead.
@#$%
I almost forgot
something.
This
identified/isolated sickness aka sin in John 5 can be temporary or permanent.
C.S. Lewis wrote,
"I do not think that all who choose wrong roads perish; but their rescue
consists in being put back on the right road...Evil can be undone, but it
cannot 'develop' into good...If we insist on keeping hell, we shall not see
heaven..."
@#$%
Sick or saved.
While I'm not
about to take on the hyper-Calvinists and hyper-Arminians, it's a choice in a predestined kinda way.
What do we really want?
To be
well/healed?
If we really wanna get
well/healed, there's really only
one way.
