photo taken at Bishop's Castle, Rye, Colorado
Showing posts with label The Persecuted Church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Persecuted Church. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Never Laugh at Live Dragons.....
photo taken at Bishop's Castle, Rye, Colorado
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Wearing Out the Saints of the Most High
And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. Daniel 7:25
The prophet Daniel writes these words as he sees future events unfolding to him in a vision scarier
than a horror movie. He is greatly agitated because this is not a movie, but a warning and a preview
of what will happen in the latter days. Daniel sees the Antichrist rising, and he sees these two things:
that the Antichrist will "speak great words against the Most High" and "shall wear out the saints of the most High." These words are written for our benefit and we need to take heed to what it is they
are warning us about.
The enemy of our souls has many techniques that he uses against the saints of God. In this verse
it says that he shall "wear out" the saints of the most High. Life can be a long journey. We start
out well, but the question is, will we finish well? It is question we all must prepare to answer with a
resounding "yes!" It is the strategy of the devil, even now, to wear us out, bit by bit, without our
noticing how drained we have gotten. And from the looks of it, he is winning a lot of ground. Jesus tells us, in the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25), that five were very foolish and did not labor to prepare for the long period of darkness that came while they were waiting for the bridegroom. The darkness was longer than they expected and took more preparation then they realized
In this parable Jesus places both the responsibility of preparation and the blame of not preparing, on the virgins themselves. So in this it is important to see that while the devil is our enemy, we are the ones who decide what will happen to us.
The Antichrist (and the apostle John has told us that many antichrists are already in the world at work) will wear out or wear down the saints. Have you ever been so tired that you could make no
effort? Have you ever been so discouraged that you could not get up? God gives to His servants
all that they need to accomplish His will. But that impartation can be whittled away. How does this happen? In several ways! In the first part of verse 25 it says that the Antichrist will speak "great words against the most High."
Even now many words are spoken against the most high and we feel the affects of them. People live in godless ways and speak of godless things. In Ezekiel 13, God speaks against false prophets who speak in such a way that the righteous are made sad and discouraged: "Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life " (Ezekiel 13:7) . Here it is not even the heathen that are speaking with ungodliness but false prophets who say they are from God! Let the reader ponder this!
To hear things that grieve the heart of God, and to see things that grieve the heart of God wears
upon the souls of the godly. This exposure to evil is not going away and is promised to increase as we near the day of the Lord's victorious return, so we must learn to guard our hearts with the truth that God will soon blow away the wicked and His kingdom of goodness will be an everlasting one. The problem and effects of evil will be with us until the Lord's coming but we must see past the temporal and encourage our hearts in the eternal.
A second way that we are worn down is to spend our time and resources on that which does not
satisfy. God asks, "Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live (Isaiah 55: 2 &3).
God admonishes us to incline our ears to listen to Him and to delight ourselves in rich food!
I am sure that He does not mean cheesecake! We must feed upon the rich food of the Word,
upon meat and not milk. Milk is not meant to sustain an adult whether spiritually or naturally.
If we are only nibbling at empty tidbits and the words of men, rather than learning to eat for
ourselves from the grand buffet of God's meaty word, than we will soon be weak and thus, will
be worn out. Satan seeks to rob us by putting spiritual junk food in front of us. Thinking we are full we soon fall flat because we have no nutrients.
Another way that we get worn out is to do more than God has asked us to. Jesus said,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. (John 5:19).
So often we think that "more" is more valuable spiritually. So often we do not ask God if He
wants us to do something, we just do it thinking it is a good idea. So often we buy into the world's idea of what a full life is: to be busy is to be someone important and to be living life with gusto.
This will soon wear us down to a thread. Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing and
showing Him to do. And so often we are lured into busyness by the will of others and made to
feel bad if we do not pipe to their musical cacophony. So let us be careful.
There, also, are seasons in life when things swing out of control and we are thrown into situations that will wear us down and there is nothing we can do about it--but that should not be ALL of our life. God allows certain of these ordained seasons to see if we will draw on His strength. During these times we draw upon the wells of deep water in our spirits -- hours and days of time we have spent with God in quiet and confidence during quieter days and from the Holy Spirit who ministers grace in due season. It is that stockpile that carries us through.
These seasons are times of testing and times when we learn more fully to not trust in our own strength but in the merciful strength that God has planted within us for such a season. Later, when the trial is over, there is time when God gives us a chance to rest and we must take it and see its value as equally important to our busiest God-ordained movement. Our strength needs constant replenishing. If we let our strength run dry we will be like the foolish virgins whose lamp goes out just when it is most needed. This is the plan of the enemy and a most important consideration for all of us in these days.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Babylon is Fallen
this is sung in the Sacred Harp style....in the first part they are singing the tune by
means of phonetically written notes. Then....
BABYLON IS FALLEN (2)
Hail the day so long expected,
Hail the year of full release.
Zion's walls are now erected,
And her watchmen publish peace.
Through our Shiloh's wide dominion,
Hear the trumpet loudly roar,
Babylon is fallen to rise no more.
Babylon is fallen, fallen, fallen
Babylon is fallen, to rise no more.
All her merchants stand with wonder,
What is this that comes to pass:
Murm'ring like the distant thunder,
Crying, "Oh alas, alas."
Swell the sound, ye kings and nobles,
Priest and people, rich and poor;
Babylon is fallen to rise no more.
Blow the trumpet in Mount Zion,
Christ shall come a second time;
Ruling with a rod of iron
All who now as foes combine.
Babel's garments we've rejected,
And our fellowship is o'er,
Babylon is fallen to rise no more.
From Sacred Harp
Tune: W. E. Chute, 1878
Sunday, January 08, 2012
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise;
God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--
and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are,
so that no one may boast before him.
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has
become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."
( 1 Corinthians 1: 28-31)
(preacher in the marketplace, Abergavenny, Wales)
Monday, May 24, 2010
The Desire to Rule is the Beginning of Heresy
"The desire to rule is the beginning of heresy."
--John Chrysostom
photo taken in Colorado Springs, CO
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
What was feeble you cast away".....
For the Abbot must have the utmost solicitude
and exercise all prudence and diligence
lest he lose any of the sheep entrusted to him.
Let him know that what he has undertaken is
the care of weak souls and not a tyranny over
strong ones; and let him fear the Prophet's warning
through which God says, "What you saw to be fat
you took to yourselves, and what was feeble you cast
away" (Ezek. 34:3,4).
Let him rather imitate the loving example of the Good
Shepherd who left the ninety-nine sheep in the
mountains and went to look for the one sheep that
had gone astray, on whose weakness He had such
compassion that He deigned to place it on His
own sacred shoulders and thus carry it back to
the flock (Luke 15:4-5).
This is from the rule of St. Benedict, the most
well known rules created for Christians living
in community, and as contemporary and sensible
today as it was when it was written 1500 years ago!
It is an increasingly grievious time as those who
call themselves "Christian leaders" move farther
and farther away from the Shepherd-Heart
of Christ. I read these words today and wept
at their truth and wept because they described
more of the current state of the Church then we
want to know.
God had given me this same verse
from Ezekiel last year. It is sobering and heart
wrenching....let us be about our Great Shepherd's
business. Start where you are--shepherd
one, go after one lost one, strengthen the
feeble, feed the lambs....
Ezekiel 34:3,4
Rule of St. Benedict
spiritual corruption
false shepherds
and exercise all prudence and diligence
lest he lose any of the sheep entrusted to him.
Let him know that what he has undertaken is
the care of weak souls and not a tyranny over
strong ones; and let him fear the Prophet's warning
through which God says, "What you saw to be fat
you took to yourselves, and what was feeble you cast
away" (Ezek. 34:3,4).
Let him rather imitate the loving example of the Good
Shepherd who left the ninety-nine sheep in the
mountains and went to look for the one sheep that
had gone astray, on whose weakness He had such
compassion that He deigned to place it on His
own sacred shoulders and thus carry it back to
the flock (Luke 15:4-5).
This is from the rule of St. Benedict, the most
well known rules created for Christians living
in community, and as contemporary and sensible
today as it was when it was written 1500 years ago!
It is an increasingly grievious time as those who
call themselves "Christian leaders" move farther
and farther away from the Shepherd-Heart
of Christ. I read these words today and wept
at their truth and wept because they described
more of the current state of the Church then we
want to know.
God had given me this same verse
from Ezekiel last year. It is sobering and heart
wrenching....let us be about our Great Shepherd's
business. Start where you are--shepherd
one, go after one lost one, strengthen the
feeble, feed the lambs....
Ezekiel 34:3,4
Rule of St. Benedict
spiritual corruption
false shepherds
Friday, March 28, 2008
Barking under the Lord's Table: the Little Dogs and the Crumbs of Jesus
"But he answered and said, "I was not sent except
to the lost sheep of Israel." Then she came and
worshiped Him saying, "Lord, help me." But He
answered and said, "It is not good to take the
children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."
And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little
dogs eat the crumbs which fall from the
master's table." Then Jesus answered and said
to her, "O Woman, great is your faith! Let it
be done to you as you desire." (Matthew 15:24-28),
(also, Mark 7:24-30).
Jesus can say some politically incorrect doozies,
can't He? What is He really saying here?
The story unfolds this way: In Mark's gospel
the account reads that Jesus enters a house
and doesn't want anyone to know He is there.
A little peace and quiet is always a good thing, but
Jesus "could not be hidden" (Mark 7:24).
What an understatement this is! Perhaps all Jesus
wants is just a moment to rest in peace and
here comes someone else pestering Him.
Israel by herself had enough problems to keep
Him busy. On earth, unending human need can weary
even the Savior.
I just finished reading some well-written
commentary on this passage but the commentator
suggests that Jesus serves up a softball to
this feisty, foreign woman so that she might hit a
"spiritual" home run. No doubt Jesus was trying
to elicit a reaction, but it seems to me like
He was throwing this woman a screaming
fast inside pitch, chin music, something
well-nigh impossible to hit. Jesus, what
were You doing? The gospels seem to favorably
highlight the people, often outcasts or gentile,
that push way past their comfort zone to pursue
Jesus.
The woman, a Canaanite, and Greek to boot, comes
to Jesus seeking healing for her daughter, but He
seems to shut the door rudely in her face saying,
"Sorry, I only serve Jews." She and her daughter
certainly do not fit that description: they are
gentiles, goyim, heathen, dogs. No doubt she was
the stereotype of, well, I better not go there.
She needs help. Badly. The daughter is
demon-possessed. Even dogs recognize bad situations.
Jesus then makes it harder by painting
the scenario that healing her daughter would
be as crazy as feeding the dogs at the table
and letting the the children sit on the floor.
The dogs, in this case, being her and her
daughter! Excuse me?
She takes the chin music solidly on the chin
and then proceeds to throw Him her own sweet
brushback pitch! She announces to Him that in
any decent family there is food enough even
for the dogs, so what is the big deal?
Even if she has to sit on the floor and
beg, even a bread crumb will do the trick!
In fact, I think she astounds Him!
Do you realize what she is saying?
She gets something that the disciples
do not yet grasp: that God's salvation
is for everyone, and even a crumb off
God's table will heal us. All we need do
is press up to, or under, the Lord's Table.
Dear ones, we, as the gentile world,
are the "little dogs" of God. In Romans,
Paul calls us, "wild olive tree branches"
grafted in (Romans 11:17). In Peter's trance
we are wild boars, crawdads, lizards and
vultures to name a few lovelies (Acts 10:12).
"Little dogs" next to that is starting to
sound like a compliment.
If we Gentiles are only eating the crumbs
that fall from our Master's table, they
are magnificent crumbs! It is a glorious
banquet, where no-one goes away
hungry. The Master is throwing us
hand-picked scraps that suit each
one of us! Oh to be Jesus' little dog!
The woman keeps calling out after Jesus,
but He's mum as a mute. The "crumb" she
needs is quite substantial, probably
technically more than a "bite", but it is
all in the approach, no? You can demand a
bite by barking or you can sit and look hopeful.
She manages to do both at the same time.
The disciples assume that they know what
Jesus is thinking. They assume He will send
her away because she is annoying, much too bold,
a heathen Greek, a woman, an embarrassment
with an embarassing daughter. Are we
like the disciples or are we like the
woman? How do we look at people? How do
we think of Jesus?
There is a political incorrectness that also
abounds on our side of things. Disciples,
then and now, are trying to "protect" Jesus
from "dogs"--from people whose need makes
them desperate, from people who will embarrass
themselves and mostly embarrass what self-righteous
people seem to think is the "cause of Christ." As if
Jesus could be embarrassed! Is it not those
who are filled with themselves who get embarrassed
and project it on the Lord? After all, it is only
the "self" that gets embarrassed and Jesus' self
was dead to all but God.
What they don't realize that here He is about to
teach them several things: that those who refuse
to be embarrassed, or turned back in their total
pursuit of God, are the ones who are rewarded;
that Christ has come for the whole world; and that
the kingdom of God is about Jesus coming not for
those who think they are well, but for those who
are hopelessly hungry, flea-bitten, stray and mangy!
The disciples have no idea that He is come to be
the saviour of the whole world. He has
been dropping hints to the disciples
that are bigger than boulders (John 10:16;
John 4:22,23, Mat. 8:5-13) but, of course, they are
not getting it, how can they? It is not until
Pentecost that God truly unites all believers,
Jew & Gentile, by making the Holy Spirit of promise
available to us all.
It is way too big for them to get yet. Here, Jesus
plays off the request of a woman. He lets a woman
outpreach him and I'll bet that got the boys'
attention!
God is eager to provide for all that come to
Him. They must simply pursue Him doggedly with a
strong sense of their need. His provision is
abundant. He is not throwing gristle and stale
bread crusts over the side of the table, He is
throwing us fistloads of blessings, and buckets
of spiritual delicacies: all that makes our hearts
sing and our spiritual stomachs happy.
He is throwing us salvation, and healing, and
full inheritance as His sons and daughters.
The only thing that stops us is our pride so
if we can get past the "dog" thing, a lot
will start to come our way.
All any of us need is a crumb from the Master's
Table. It does not matter if we are dog or child--
there is abundance for all at God's table.
Thank God that He has made us His children. But
frankly, being a dog under Jesus' table would
still be fine with me. As long as I can sit
near Him, I don't mind what role I have. Avail
yourself of the Master's bread. It only takes a
crumb to bring you the healing, the grace,
the provision, that you need. Can you "sit" with
Jesus? Can you "stay" with Him? Can you "lay
down" at His feet? If so, abundance is coming at you.
the children's bread
lost sheep of Israel
great faith
Matthew 15:24-28
Mark 7:24-30
little dogs and Jesus
Jews and Gentiles
salvation
women and Jesus
to the lost sheep of Israel." Then she came and
worshiped Him saying, "Lord, help me." But He
answered and said, "It is not good to take the
children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."
And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little
dogs eat the crumbs which fall from the
master's table." Then Jesus answered and said
to her, "O Woman, great is your faith! Let it
be done to you as you desire." (Matthew 15:24-28),
(also, Mark 7:24-30).
Jesus can say some politically incorrect doozies,
can't He? What is He really saying here?
The story unfolds this way: In Mark's gospel
the account reads that Jesus enters a house
and doesn't want anyone to know He is there.
A little peace and quiet is always a good thing, but
Jesus "could not be hidden" (Mark 7:24).
What an understatement this is! Perhaps all Jesus
wants is just a moment to rest in peace and
here comes someone else pestering Him.
Israel by herself had enough problems to keep
Him busy. On earth, unending human need can weary
even the Savior.
I just finished reading some well-written
commentary on this passage but the commentator
suggests that Jesus serves up a softball to
this feisty, foreign woman so that she might hit a
"spiritual" home run. No doubt Jesus was trying
to elicit a reaction, but it seems to me like
He was throwing this woman a screaming
fast inside pitch, chin music, something
well-nigh impossible to hit. Jesus, what
were You doing? The gospels seem to favorably
highlight the people, often outcasts or gentile,
that push way past their comfort zone to pursue
Jesus.
The woman, a Canaanite, and Greek to boot, comes
to Jesus seeking healing for her daughter, but He
seems to shut the door rudely in her face saying,
"Sorry, I only serve Jews." She and her daughter
certainly do not fit that description: they are
gentiles, goyim, heathen, dogs. No doubt she was
the stereotype of, well, I better not go there.
She needs help. Badly. The daughter is
demon-possessed. Even dogs recognize bad situations.
Jesus then makes it harder by painting
the scenario that healing her daughter would
be as crazy as feeding the dogs at the table
and letting the the children sit on the floor.
The dogs, in this case, being her and her
daughter! Excuse me?
She takes the chin music solidly on the chin
and then proceeds to throw Him her own sweet
brushback pitch! She announces to Him that in
any decent family there is food enough even
for the dogs, so what is the big deal?
Even if she has to sit on the floor and
beg, even a bread crumb will do the trick!
In fact, I think she astounds Him!
Do you realize what she is saying?
She gets something that the disciples
do not yet grasp: that God's salvation
is for everyone, and even a crumb off
God's table will heal us. All we need do
is press up to, or under, the Lord's Table.
Dear ones, we, as the gentile world,
are the "little dogs" of God. In Romans,
Paul calls us, "wild olive tree branches"
grafted in (Romans 11:17). In Peter's trance
we are wild boars, crawdads, lizards and
vultures to name a few lovelies (Acts 10:12).
"Little dogs" next to that is starting to
sound like a compliment.
If we Gentiles are only eating the crumbs
that fall from our Master's table, they
are magnificent crumbs! It is a glorious
banquet, where no-one goes away
hungry. The Master is throwing us
hand-picked scraps that suit each
one of us! Oh to be Jesus' little dog!
The woman keeps calling out after Jesus,
but He's mum as a mute. The "crumb" she
needs is quite substantial, probably
technically more than a "bite", but it is
all in the approach, no? You can demand a
bite by barking or you can sit and look hopeful.
She manages to do both at the same time.
The disciples assume that they know what
Jesus is thinking. They assume He will send
her away because she is annoying, much too bold,
a heathen Greek, a woman, an embarrassment
with an embarassing daughter. Are we
like the disciples or are we like the
woman? How do we look at people? How do
we think of Jesus?
There is a political incorrectness that also
abounds on our side of things. Disciples,
then and now, are trying to "protect" Jesus
from "dogs"--from people whose need makes
them desperate, from people who will embarrass
themselves and mostly embarrass what self-righteous
people seem to think is the "cause of Christ." As if
Jesus could be embarrassed! Is it not those
who are filled with themselves who get embarrassed
and project it on the Lord? After all, it is only
the "self" that gets embarrassed and Jesus' self
was dead to all but God.
What they don't realize that here He is about to
teach them several things: that those who refuse
to be embarrassed, or turned back in their total
pursuit of God, are the ones who are rewarded;
that Christ has come for the whole world; and that
the kingdom of God is about Jesus coming not for
those who think they are well, but for those who
are hopelessly hungry, flea-bitten, stray and mangy!
The disciples have no idea that He is come to be
the saviour of the whole world. He has
been dropping hints to the disciples
that are bigger than boulders (John 10:16;
John 4:22,23, Mat. 8:5-13) but, of course, they are
not getting it, how can they? It is not until
Pentecost that God truly unites all believers,
Jew & Gentile, by making the Holy Spirit of promise
available to us all.
It is way too big for them to get yet. Here, Jesus
plays off the request of a woman. He lets a woman
outpreach him and I'll bet that got the boys'
attention!
God is eager to provide for all that come to
Him. They must simply pursue Him doggedly with a
strong sense of their need. His provision is
abundant. He is not throwing gristle and stale
bread crusts over the side of the table, He is
throwing us fistloads of blessings, and buckets
of spiritual delicacies: all that makes our hearts
sing and our spiritual stomachs happy.
He is throwing us salvation, and healing, and
full inheritance as His sons and daughters.
The only thing that stops us is our pride so
if we can get past the "dog" thing, a lot
will start to come our way.
All any of us need is a crumb from the Master's
Table. It does not matter if we are dog or child--
there is abundance for all at God's table.
Thank God that He has made us His children. But
frankly, being a dog under Jesus' table would
still be fine with me. As long as I can sit
near Him, I don't mind what role I have. Avail
yourself of the Master's bread. It only takes a
crumb to bring you the healing, the grace,
the provision, that you need. Can you "sit" with
Jesus? Can you "stay" with Him? Can you "lay
down" at His feet? If so, abundance is coming at you.
the children's bread
lost sheep of Israel
great faith
Matthew 15:24-28
Mark 7:24-30
little dogs and Jesus
Jews and Gentiles
salvation
women and Jesus
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
The Xenoiakian Syndrome: Homesickness for Heaven
I think I was born again with *Xenoiakian
Syndrome, but it sure does seem to have
gotten worse lately. If you travel alot, it is
quite common to wake up in a strange house
and wonder where you are. A kind of "If its
Tuesday, it must be Belgium" whirlwind of
road warrior displacement.
As Dorothy says, "There's no place like
home." No place like the comfort that
comes from living in the domicile you are
meant to inhabit in safe, cozy bliss.
No place like Kansas, sort of.
What seems to be happening with
me is that while I am away from
home I seem to have those "where
am I moments?" but when I come
home it seems to develop into
a full blown case of Xenoiakian
Syndrome.
And what is that you may ask?
It comes from the Greek word
Xenos meaning stranger or foreign,
and the greek workd oiakia, meaning
house. "Strange house" syndrome,
to be sure. In a capsule, one feels
not quite at ease in one's own home,
as if to be found in a strange house.
It happens the most when returning
home to my own house. A feeling
of not really feeling like I'm really
home. Homesick when home.
A feeling of distance in familiar
surroundings.
C.S. Lewis describes it thus in
The Weight of Glory:
"Our lifelong nostalgia, our longing to
be reunited with something in the universe
from which we now feel cut off, to be on
the inside of some door which we have
always seen from the outside, is no mere
neurotic fancy, but the truest index of
our real situation. And to be at last
summoned inside would be both glory and
honor beyond all our merits and also the
healing of that old ache.
Now grant you, my house is
perfectly cozy and this is
not Alzheimer's setting in. I know
where the silverware
is, and the towels, and I know
for absolute darn well sure where I
stash the chocolate. Yet even the
chocolate seems like cardboard
when I think of my true Home.
It's just that when I come home
and expect to sigh a "there's no place like
home" sigh, full of warm fuzzies, I feel,
instead, like I am strangely not at home.
I find it interesting, and absolutely,
positively, heartbreakingly comforting,
to know that Jesus spent some
of the last moments of His prime time
with His disciples talking about
Xenoiakian Syndrome.
"In My Father's house are many
mansions: if it were not so, I would
have told you. I go to prepare a place
for you. And where I go you know,
and the way you know" (John 14:
2 & 3).
I feel so comforted by the fact that
Jesus said, "I will not leave you
as orphans, as comfortless" (John
14:18). He, knowing what it
was like to be human, and yet
divinely far from Home, is making
all the preparations for us.
He anticipated all that we would
feel and all that we would need.
Just as a good host prepares
each detail for the coming guests.
Jesus said, "Oh, and I know how
you are going to feel. I had a
monumental case of Xenoiakian
Syndrome Myself. I am not
abandoning you, I am not leaving
you without comfort. Your home
is in My Father's house and you
will find all bed's less than perfect
until you arrive in the Home for
which you were made. But do not
doubt that such a perfect place
of rest exists.
Note that Jesus said, "If this was
not true, I would not have told
you." How interesting that Jesus
picks this point to reassure the
disciples that He is not lying or
exaggerating or speaking in
some metaphor that has no
basis in the grand Reality of
Heaven.
He did not spend time reassuring
us that certain creeds were indeed
correct in their minutiae or
going over the fine points of
how to best share the gospel.
He tenderly goes straight to
the deepest need of the human
heart: to find its home in God,
and to reassure you and I that
there is indeed a Place
called Home in His Kingdom.
You don't know how relieved
I feel. Well, maybe you do,
if you have Xenoiakian Syndrome
also. In T. S. Eliot's famous
poem, Return of the Magi,
the magi ponder this after they
have seen Jesus:
"We returned to our places, these
Kingdoms, But no longer at ease
here, in the old dispensation."
I tell you the truth, Xenoiakian
Syndrome is contracted from seeing
Jesus. For after You do see Him,
you will not be at ease in your
own home, however cozy;
in your own town, however quaint;
in your own church, however lovely;
in your own kingdom, however
impressive. Not really. Not completely.
Actually not at all.
Xenioakian Syndrome ruins all that.
The exiles of Israel, taken out of
their home to Babylon, had an
early but severe strain of XS.
"By the rivers of Babylon, we
sat down, yea, we wept, for
Zion. We hung our harps
on the willows there, for
those who carried us away
captive, required of us, a
a song, They that wasted us
required of us laughter,
saying "Sing of one of the
Songs of Zion."
How shall we sing the Lord's
songs, in a foreign land?
(Psalm 137: 1-4).
Indeed.
Further symptoms of Xenoiakian
Syndrome follow along in this
passage: inability to function
in one's giftings unless one is
mindful of Zion. This especially
affects the right hand. (Psalm
137: 4).
Also, a drought of soul that causes
the tongue to cleave to the
roof of one's mouth unless
one thinks of Jerusalem (Ps.
137:6).
In all a cases an extreme
case of homesickness develops
for a Home one has not yet
been to, making worldly
attachments difficult if
not impossible.
There is a known cure, but
one has to die to receive
it, making successful treatment,
while still on earth, impossible.
Yet one can find great comfort
in Jesus, the One who is the
Consolation of Israel (Luke
2:25). He is both the cause
and the cure of Xenoiakian
Syndrome. All we can do is
trust in Him and His Word
while He is busy with the
carpentry of what will cure
us.
Many have found support
groups for XS. Consult
your local church for
meetings in your area.
You will recognize others
who have it by that
faraway glint in their eyes,
by the holy manner of life
that they lead, and by
their inability to be
satisfied with anything
less than a full and
unimpeded vision of Christ
and a relentless homesickness
for a Home not yet seen
with human eyes.
I said earlier that Xenioakian
Syndrome is caused by seeing
Jesus. It is also cured by seeing Him.
Several hours in His Presence
will bring both relief from and
a predicted reoccurence of XS.
Do you have Xenoiakian Syndrome?
See your Doctor if you
experience any of the
aforementioned symptoms.
Temporary help is available
Eternal help is on its way.
*pronounced "zeenokian"
Xenoiakian Syndrome
Psalm 137
homesick for Heaven
In My Father's House are Many Mansions
new words
Syndrome, but it sure does seem to have
gotten worse lately. If you travel alot, it is
quite common to wake up in a strange house
and wonder where you are. A kind of "If its
Tuesday, it must be Belgium" whirlwind of
road warrior displacement.
As Dorothy says, "There's no place like
home." No place like the comfort that
comes from living in the domicile you are
meant to inhabit in safe, cozy bliss.
No place like Kansas, sort of.
What seems to be happening with
me is that while I am away from
home I seem to have those "where
am I moments?" but when I come
home it seems to develop into
a full blown case of Xenoiakian
Syndrome.
And what is that you may ask?
It comes from the Greek word
Xenos meaning stranger or foreign,
and the greek workd oiakia, meaning
house. "Strange house" syndrome,
to be sure. In a capsule, one feels
not quite at ease in one's own home,
as if to be found in a strange house.
It happens the most when returning
home to my own house. A feeling
of not really feeling like I'm really
home. Homesick when home.
A feeling of distance in familiar
surroundings.
C.S. Lewis describes it thus in
The Weight of Glory:
"Our lifelong nostalgia, our longing to
be reunited with something in the universe
from which we now feel cut off, to be on
the inside of some door which we have
always seen from the outside, is no mere
neurotic fancy, but the truest index of
our real situation. And to be at last
summoned inside would be both glory and
honor beyond all our merits and also the
healing of that old ache.
Now grant you, my house is
perfectly cozy and this is
not Alzheimer's setting in. I know
where the silverware
is, and the towels, and I know
for absolute darn well sure where I
stash the chocolate. Yet even the
chocolate seems like cardboard
when I think of my true Home.
It's just that when I come home
and expect to sigh a "there's no place like
home" sigh, full of warm fuzzies, I feel,
instead, like I am strangely not at home.
I find it interesting, and absolutely,
positively, heartbreakingly comforting,
to know that Jesus spent some
of the last moments of His prime time
with His disciples talking about
Xenoiakian Syndrome.
"In My Father's house are many
mansions: if it were not so, I would
have told you. I go to prepare a place
for you. And where I go you know,
and the way you know" (John 14:
2 & 3).
I feel so comforted by the fact that
Jesus said, "I will not leave you
as orphans, as comfortless" (John
14:18). He, knowing what it
was like to be human, and yet
divinely far from Home, is making
all the preparations for us.
He anticipated all that we would
feel and all that we would need.
Just as a good host prepares
each detail for the coming guests.
Jesus said, "Oh, and I know how
you are going to feel. I had a
monumental case of Xenoiakian
Syndrome Myself. I am not
abandoning you, I am not leaving
you without comfort. Your home
is in My Father's house and you
will find all bed's less than perfect
until you arrive in the Home for
which you were made. But do not
doubt that such a perfect place
of rest exists.
Note that Jesus said, "If this was
not true, I would not have told
you." How interesting that Jesus
picks this point to reassure the
disciples that He is not lying or
exaggerating or speaking in
some metaphor that has no
basis in the grand Reality of
Heaven.
He did not spend time reassuring
us that certain creeds were indeed
correct in their minutiae or
going over the fine points of
how to best share the gospel.
He tenderly goes straight to
the deepest need of the human
heart: to find its home in God,
and to reassure you and I that
there is indeed a Place
called Home in His Kingdom.
You don't know how relieved
I feel. Well, maybe you do,
if you have Xenoiakian Syndrome
also. In T. S. Eliot's famous
poem, Return of the Magi,
the magi ponder this after they
have seen Jesus:
"We returned to our places, these
Kingdoms, But no longer at ease
here, in the old dispensation."
I tell you the truth, Xenoiakian
Syndrome is contracted from seeing
Jesus. For after You do see Him,
you will not be at ease in your
own home, however cozy;
in your own town, however quaint;
in your own church, however lovely;
in your own kingdom, however
impressive. Not really. Not completely.
Actually not at all.
Xenioakian Syndrome ruins all that.
The exiles of Israel, taken out of
their home to Babylon, had an
early but severe strain of XS.
"By the rivers of Babylon, we
sat down, yea, we wept, for
Zion. We hung our harps
on the willows there, for
those who carried us away
captive, required of us, a
a song, They that wasted us
required of us laughter,
saying "Sing of one of the
Songs of Zion."
How shall we sing the Lord's
songs, in a foreign land?
(Psalm 137: 1-4).
Indeed.
Further symptoms of Xenoiakian
Syndrome follow along in this
passage: inability to function
in one's giftings unless one is
mindful of Zion. This especially
affects the right hand. (Psalm
137: 4).
Also, a drought of soul that causes
the tongue to cleave to the
roof of one's mouth unless
one thinks of Jerusalem (Ps.
137:6).
In all a cases an extreme
case of homesickness develops
for a Home one has not yet
been to, making worldly
attachments difficult if
not impossible.
There is a known cure, but
one has to die to receive
it, making successful treatment,
while still on earth, impossible.
Yet one can find great comfort
in Jesus, the One who is the
Consolation of Israel (Luke
2:25). He is both the cause
and the cure of Xenoiakian
Syndrome. All we can do is
trust in Him and His Word
while He is busy with the
carpentry of what will cure
us.
Many have found support
groups for XS. Consult
your local church for
meetings in your area.
You will recognize others
who have it by that
faraway glint in their eyes,
by the holy manner of life
that they lead, and by
their inability to be
satisfied with anything
less than a full and
unimpeded vision of Christ
and a relentless homesickness
for a Home not yet seen
with human eyes.
I said earlier that Xenioakian
Syndrome is caused by seeing
Jesus. It is also cured by seeing Him.
Several hours in His Presence
will bring both relief from and
a predicted reoccurence of XS.
Do you have Xenoiakian Syndrome?
See your Doctor if you
experience any of the
aforementioned symptoms.
Temporary help is available
Eternal help is on its way.
*pronounced "zeenokian"
Xenoiakian Syndrome
Psalm 137
homesick for Heaven
In My Father's House are Many Mansions
new words
Friday, December 28, 2007
Violence in The Church: Should Churches Have Armed Guards? Part 1
In the wake of the recent Colorado
Springs shootings in the church,
and nearby YWAM missionary society,
I have been thinking much about how
Christians should respond to
violence both on an an individual
and a congregational level.
This is the first of two articles
on my musings.
I have talked with a wide
variety of Christians about
this issue and have received
nothing but thoughtful, prayerful
answers. The answers do not come
to the same conclusions and I
am not saying that the conclusion
that I have come to is the conclusive
one. I urge you to take this matter
to the Lord, and if you are a
pastor or Christian leader, I
ask you to take it to the Lord
on behalf of your congregation.
I am here in Colorado Springs
for the holidays. My somewhat
uneducated opinion of Colorado
is that it still retains a bit
of the wild, wild West in it.
I sense that Coloradians value
their individual and corporate
rights and that many would be
willing to fight for those
rights. In this respect Coloradians
are like most Americans.
The church that experienced
the shootings in Colorado was
Ted Haggard's church. It already
had a history of controversy and
being such a large congregation
decided that it needed
armed guards for the safety of
its members and guests. Many
other churches, no doubt,
have decided the same thing.
The question is, is this what
Christ would have us to do?
Is our duty to protect the
people who come into our churches
or to uphold the high standards
of the gospel which might ask us
to respond in a different manner?
Does resorting to violence or
even the potential of
violence violate the spirit
of what Christ calls us to?
Today, large gatherings of people are
typically protected by armed
guards. If we go into a stadium
or a music event etc., there are
armed guards who are there to
protect us. Should the church
follow suit or are we different?
When the Amish school children were
murdered a few years ago, that
community held up a high testimony
to the world in how it handled
the violence. It forgave the murderer
and reached out the family of
the person who committed the crime.
Part of the calling of the Church
is to be set apart from the world
and to show the world that Christians
live by a different standard. We
should know and testify to the fact
that we are in God's hands, no
matter what.
If we use the world's methods to
protect the church, then how are
we different from the world?
What message are we sending--
that we need to help God out
in defending people? Or, because
the world is fallen, do we need
to have "common sense" about violence?
Even implicit in that last idea
is the idea that love is not
strong enough to meet with
violence and win. I ask you,
what is "winning"? If the church
resembles the world in all its
undertaking, then how is it still
the church?
Do you want your church to resort
to armed guards to protect you?
Do you want these guards to be members
of your own church or outside
agents? How would you or they
feel if a member of your church
had to shoot someone to protect
you? Or are you content to
put yourself in God's hands no
matter where you are, church
included, and simply trust God?
In the book of Daniel, when Daniel
and his three friends are faced
with the possibility of death
they respond thus, "God is able
to deliver us from the fiery
furnace,...but if not, let it
be known that we do not serve
your gods" (Daniel 3:17, 18).
When does there come a time
when the standard we uphold
is greater than life itself?
What exactly is the standard?
Is there a point that we as
the salt of the earth lose
our savor? Does a pastor have
a moral duty to protect
people, especially children,
or is that duty, in some
cases, superseded by a
higher standard? Do I have
the right to take another's
life even if he does me or
my family or congregation
harm?
Can we, and should we, be
employing non-violent means
to counter-attack violence?
What would these means be?
What are the weapons of
our warfare? Prayer?
Love? The Name of Jesus?
A couple of the people I
discussed this with had
had their lives threatened
in very real ways (both by
knives). Both felt they
used the authority that
God has given believers
to disarm the situation
(i.e. commanding them in
Christ's name to put down
the knife). Do we walk in
the authority that God has
given us or do we resort
to worldly tactics in the
heat of battle?
There is a highly debated
passage in the gospel of
Luke (22: 35-38). When
Jesus was nearing the
end of His earthly ministry
He revamps what He tells
His disciples. He asks them
if they ever lacked anything
when He sent them out without
purse or money or swords.
They said they had not lacked.
Then he tells them that now
it is time to get a purse,
and a knapsack, and "he who
has no sword, let him sell
his garment and buy one' (vs. 36).
He also makes this rather
interesting comment:
"For I say to you that this
which is written must still be
accomplished in Me": "and He was
numbered with the transgressors"
(vs. 37). Now I am sure that
Jesus is not just saying that
so that He can manipulate
the prophecy into being fulfilled!
Is he actually telling them that
they will need a sword? And why
does it seem that He is connecting
the getting of the swords with
being numbered with the transgressors?
Jesus is, no doubt telling them
that their lives are about to get
more turbulent and the possibility
of violence administered against them
greater. Until now, Jesus' presence
protected His disciples when He was
on earth, but the Bridegroom
was leaving and the protected season
was ending. Now the disciples would
find themselves in a hostile world
and must be prepared for persecution.
But must they defend themselves with
a sword? When the disciples started
to pick up on what Jesus was saying
they produced two swords and Jesus
told them, "It is enough" (vs. 38).
Jesus never transgressed the Law.
He never sinned. Yet this twisted
world "numbered him with the sinners."
If they would do this to Jesus, then
what could the disciples expect?
And yet, Jesus way is not the way
of violence. Shortly after this,
Peter lops off the ear of the
high priest and Jesus patches it back on.
There is no evidence that the disciples
used violent force to preserve their
lives. There is no account of the
early disciples killing others to save
their own lives. Stephen is the first
martyr, and he offers no resistance.
All the other disciples, except John,
end their lives as martyrs. Either they
were lousy at swordfights or they did
not use arms to defend themselves.
So what is Jesus saying? It is not
easy to answer. It certainly does
not appear that He is advocating
violence but making us aware of
what life will be like. It is possible
that He is not legislating the higher law
of Love, but letting His followers
find it for themselves. If He had told
them, "never fight back" it might turn
into a legalistic pronouncement
rather than the radical relationship
to Himself. The coming Agency
of the Holy Spirit would soon completely
catapult their thinking and behavior
into a new realm. There is grace like
no other grace when we are faced with
our own death. To surrender to Christ,
and to choose to love at the moment of
our death, even, or especially, at the
hands of violent men, is such a high
calling that it cannot be demanded, but
must be a free offering of the heart.
No-one wants to die, but faced with
death we can become more like Christ
than at any other moments because
the stakes are so high: our life!
Jesus said, "No-one takes My life from
Me, I lay it down (John 10:18)," In one
sense we cannot make that claim, but in
another sense, no-one takes our life from
us, even if we are killed, because
we are in God's hands and we have
a larger kind of life: eternal life.
Jesus said, "He who lives by the
sword, dies by the sword" (Mat. 26:52)
as Peter tries to defend Him when
He is taken in the garden. Jesus
appeals to this line of thought:
"Don't you think I can pray to the
Father and have Him send more than
12 legions of angels to aid Me, but
then how would the scriptures be
fulfilled? (v. 53,54). Christ is
content to do the Father's will,
even if it means violence coming
against Him. He knows the violence
can only take so much from Him, only go
so far, only be so victorious, in
fact, not victorious at all.
Ultimate victory and vindication
lay in doing the will of God and
letting God take care of things.
So how much, if at all, do we
put our hands to things?
(Part Two continues this topic)
(your prayerful comments are welcome)
Luke 22:35-38
Christians and violence
churches and violence
Christian persecution
non-violence and Christianity
American Christianity
compromised gospel
pacifism
Colorado Springs violence in churches
Springs shootings in the church,
and nearby YWAM missionary society,
I have been thinking much about how
Christians should respond to
violence both on an an individual
and a congregational level.
This is the first of two articles
on my musings.
I have talked with a wide
variety of Christians about
this issue and have received
nothing but thoughtful, prayerful
answers. The answers do not come
to the same conclusions and I
am not saying that the conclusion
that I have come to is the conclusive
one. I urge you to take this matter
to the Lord, and if you are a
pastor or Christian leader, I
ask you to take it to the Lord
on behalf of your congregation.
I am here in Colorado Springs
for the holidays. My somewhat
uneducated opinion of Colorado
is that it still retains a bit
of the wild, wild West in it.
I sense that Coloradians value
their individual and corporate
rights and that many would be
willing to fight for those
rights. In this respect Coloradians
are like most Americans.
The church that experienced
the shootings in Colorado was
Ted Haggard's church. It already
had a history of controversy and
being such a large congregation
decided that it needed
armed guards for the safety of
its members and guests. Many
other churches, no doubt,
have decided the same thing.
The question is, is this what
Christ would have us to do?
Is our duty to protect the
people who come into our churches
or to uphold the high standards
of the gospel which might ask us
to respond in a different manner?
Does resorting to violence or
even the potential of
violence violate the spirit
of what Christ calls us to?
Today, large gatherings of people are
typically protected by armed
guards. If we go into a stadium
or a music event etc., there are
armed guards who are there to
protect us. Should the church
follow suit or are we different?
When the Amish school children were
murdered a few years ago, that
community held up a high testimony
to the world in how it handled
the violence. It forgave the murderer
and reached out the family of
the person who committed the crime.
Part of the calling of the Church
is to be set apart from the world
and to show the world that Christians
live by a different standard. We
should know and testify to the fact
that we are in God's hands, no
matter what.
If we use the world's methods to
protect the church, then how are
we different from the world?
What message are we sending--
that we need to help God out
in defending people? Or, because
the world is fallen, do we need
to have "common sense" about violence?
Even implicit in that last idea
is the idea that love is not
strong enough to meet with
violence and win. I ask you,
what is "winning"? If the church
resembles the world in all its
undertaking, then how is it still
the church?
Do you want your church to resort
to armed guards to protect you?
Do you want these guards to be members
of your own church or outside
agents? How would you or they
feel if a member of your church
had to shoot someone to protect
you? Or are you content to
put yourself in God's hands no
matter where you are, church
included, and simply trust God?
In the book of Daniel, when Daniel
and his three friends are faced
with the possibility of death
they respond thus, "God is able
to deliver us from the fiery
furnace,...but if not, let it
be known that we do not serve
your gods" (Daniel 3:17, 18).
When does there come a time
when the standard we uphold
is greater than life itself?
What exactly is the standard?
Is there a point that we as
the salt of the earth lose
our savor? Does a pastor have
a moral duty to protect
people, especially children,
or is that duty, in some
cases, superseded by a
higher standard? Do I have
the right to take another's
life even if he does me or
my family or congregation
harm?
Can we, and should we, be
employing non-violent means
to counter-attack violence?
What would these means be?
What are the weapons of
our warfare? Prayer?
Love? The Name of Jesus?
A couple of the people I
discussed this with had
had their lives threatened
in very real ways (both by
knives). Both felt they
used the authority that
God has given believers
to disarm the situation
(i.e. commanding them in
Christ's name to put down
the knife). Do we walk in
the authority that God has
given us or do we resort
to worldly tactics in the
heat of battle?
There is a highly debated
passage in the gospel of
Luke (22: 35-38). When
Jesus was nearing the
end of His earthly ministry
He revamps what He tells
His disciples. He asks them
if they ever lacked anything
when He sent them out without
purse or money or swords.
They said they had not lacked.
Then he tells them that now
it is time to get a purse,
and a knapsack, and "he who
has no sword, let him sell
his garment and buy one' (vs. 36).
He also makes this rather
interesting comment:
"For I say to you that this
which is written must still be
accomplished in Me": "and He was
numbered with the transgressors"
(vs. 37). Now I am sure that
Jesus is not just saying that
so that He can manipulate
the prophecy into being fulfilled!
Is he actually telling them that
they will need a sword? And why
does it seem that He is connecting
the getting of the swords with
being numbered with the transgressors?
Jesus is, no doubt telling them
that their lives are about to get
more turbulent and the possibility
of violence administered against them
greater. Until now, Jesus' presence
protected His disciples when He was
on earth, but the Bridegroom
was leaving and the protected season
was ending. Now the disciples would
find themselves in a hostile world
and must be prepared for persecution.
But must they defend themselves with
a sword? When the disciples started
to pick up on what Jesus was saying
they produced two swords and Jesus
told them, "It is enough" (vs. 38).
Jesus never transgressed the Law.
He never sinned. Yet this twisted
world "numbered him with the sinners."
If they would do this to Jesus, then
what could the disciples expect?
And yet, Jesus way is not the way
of violence. Shortly after this,
Peter lops off the ear of the
high priest and Jesus patches it back on.
There is no evidence that the disciples
used violent force to preserve their
lives. There is no account of the
early disciples killing others to save
their own lives. Stephen is the first
martyr, and he offers no resistance.
All the other disciples, except John,
end their lives as martyrs. Either they
were lousy at swordfights or they did
not use arms to defend themselves.
So what is Jesus saying? It is not
easy to answer. It certainly does
not appear that He is advocating
violence but making us aware of
what life will be like. It is possible
that He is not legislating the higher law
of Love, but letting His followers
find it for themselves. If He had told
them, "never fight back" it might turn
into a legalistic pronouncement
rather than the radical relationship
to Himself. The coming Agency
of the Holy Spirit would soon completely
catapult their thinking and behavior
into a new realm. There is grace like
no other grace when we are faced with
our own death. To surrender to Christ,
and to choose to love at the moment of
our death, even, or especially, at the
hands of violent men, is such a high
calling that it cannot be demanded, but
must be a free offering of the heart.
No-one wants to die, but faced with
death we can become more like Christ
than at any other moments because
the stakes are so high: our life!
Jesus said, "No-one takes My life from
Me, I lay it down (John 10:18)," In one
sense we cannot make that claim, but in
another sense, no-one takes our life from
us, even if we are killed, because
we are in God's hands and we have
a larger kind of life: eternal life.
Jesus said, "He who lives by the
sword, dies by the sword" (Mat. 26:52)
as Peter tries to defend Him when
He is taken in the garden. Jesus
appeals to this line of thought:
"Don't you think I can pray to the
Father and have Him send more than
12 legions of angels to aid Me, but
then how would the scriptures be
fulfilled? (v. 53,54). Christ is
content to do the Father's will,
even if it means violence coming
against Him. He knows the violence
can only take so much from Him, only go
so far, only be so victorious, in
fact, not victorious at all.
Ultimate victory and vindication
lay in doing the will of God and
letting God take care of things.
So how much, if at all, do we
put our hands to things?
(Part Two continues this topic)
(your prayerful comments are welcome)
Luke 22:35-38
Christians and violence
churches and violence
Christian persecution
non-violence and Christianity
American Christianity
compromised gospel
pacifism
Colorado Springs violence in churches
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
The Pain of the Prophet: True Prophets vs. False Prophets
The Pain of the Prophet: True Prophets vs. False Prophets
There is so much that is tossed around in
the name of the prophetic today. That which
is truly prophetic is in a class by itself.
It is called total identification with
the heart of God.
The true prophet is birthed for a season of
calamity and lives set apart unto God.
His or her life is watermarked with pain,
for a prophet sees what will happen
if people cannot hear and obey God.
A prophet lives alone upon a hill, looking
for danger, for the first wisps of smoke
that spell only one thing: "Fire!" He
calls first for the fire of God to enliven
and purify through repentance. Unheeded, his
calls for fire will bring warning of the
fire of God that will burn in judgment.
The prophet, therefore, carries a message
that few would want to hear unless
they care for the state of their souls,
even their eternal lives.
One can ignore the cry of "Fire!" but
that does not make the fire cease its
burning or enable the prophet to cease
his commission. Indeed, for a prophet
to be proved right, a certain judgment
must fall, a sure chastisement administered,
a corrective work applied. If this is
not painful to the prophet then he is
not a true prophet and lacks the heart
of God for true restoration.
There are myriads of prophets who like
to pronounce gloom and doom, but which
of them has the heart to bear the pain
of interceding for a genuine repentance?
A true prophet must desire, above all,
that his or her clarion call will bring a
genuine return to God. It is easy to rail,
it is agony to stand and watch and call
people who are not listening back to
the Father.
It is a fearsome and holy task to enter
into the very heart of God as He calls
His people back to Himself. The
heart of the prophet must echo forth the
eternal love of God. There can be no
joy at the idea of judgment coming, even
when it appears inevitable, even when
the prophet himself is harmed or stoned
or even killed in the process.
God does not wish to punish. He takes
no pleasure in judgment. He does not
wait and watch for wrongdoing in
order to find pleasure in chastising
waywardness. A prophet MUST have this
tenor of heart or he does not stand
for God.
Consider Jonah. He understood God,
he understood the prophetic role,
but he did not have the heart of God.
He understood quite well that for God
to reap a family of restored hearts,
that he would have to be proved wrong.
And if the people of Nineveh did not turn to
God, Jonah should find no pleasure
in their chastisement.
Job failed on both points: he was not
willing to be proved wrong for the
sake of another. He was unwilling to
bear a message of judgment unless it
ended in judgment. He did not want mercy
to intervene for it would make him
appear lesser in the eyes of others.
He did not have the heart of God.
One gets the impression that he preferred
that the people be judged so he could
be proved "right." With "right" like that
I would hate to see what wrong might look
like.
How many prophets have this kind of
heart? How many prophets are unwilling
to bear the pain of their calling
because they are not able to identify
with God as He ever so patiently waits
for His people to return to Him?
God does not ask of a prophet something
He does not endure Himself. People
constantly accuse God of allowing evil
and not putting an end to suffering.
God waits and waits for us to return
to Him. If He was a God who delighted
in meting out punishment, the earth
would be devoid of human life for
all of us would have been destroyed.
That which the prophet speaks should
call people back to God. What becomes
of the prophet, what his reputation
is, what accolades or resistances
are thrown upon him, should matter
not one whit to him: it comes with the
territory of being a prophet.
The words of a prophet are born and
spearheaded out of his or her own
repentance, they are to be ministered in
humility. The true prophet takes no
pleasure in being right. For "being right"
is about words and reputations and
and pride. A true prophet must
bear great pain in a hidden place.
He must live and die for the
kind of reconcilation that Jesus
lived and died for. It is not
for the fainthearted.
The true prophet must be a deaf
and blind servant of the Lord.
The prophet who truly sees must
be blind to all that would
stop him from his mission.
The prophet who truly hears must
be deaf to the reasonings of man,
to the hurtful taunts that will fall
upon his ears, and the painful rejections
that will fall upon his life. He must
be able to accept the pain inflicted
on his heart by those who do not see,
or worse yet, do not want to see.
He must have one prayer:
"Father, forgive them, for they
do not know what they are doing."
This kind of pain is part and parcel
of the prophetic call. That is the
hard part. The glorious part is that
those prophets who identify with
the heart of God, get the heart
of God planted forever within
them. The medium becomes the
message. The prophet becomes
the priest. A heart of stone
is replaced with a heart of
flesh, and that heart is
a redeemed heart, made in
the image of the heart of
Jesus. That would make it all
worthwhile, wouldn't it?
So to all those true prophets
who happen upon this article,
to everyone who thinks
they have a prophetic message,
search deeply to see whether
you are able to administer
it with the heart of God.
You will know the answer
by the amount of pain that
surrounds its delivery. Let us
trust that you will share the
joy of watching the Lamb
receive the fruits of His
labor. Anything less is just not
good enough.
There is so much that is tossed around in
the name of the prophetic today. That which
is truly prophetic is in a class by itself.
It is called total identification with
the heart of God.
The true prophet is birthed for a season of
calamity and lives set apart unto God.
His or her life is watermarked with pain,
for a prophet sees what will happen
if people cannot hear and obey God.
A prophet lives alone upon a hill, looking
for danger, for the first wisps of smoke
that spell only one thing: "Fire!" He
calls first for the fire of God to enliven
and purify through repentance. Unheeded, his
calls for fire will bring warning of the
fire of God that will burn in judgment.
The prophet, therefore, carries a message
that few would want to hear unless
they care for the state of their souls,
even their eternal lives.
One can ignore the cry of "Fire!" but
that does not make the fire cease its
burning or enable the prophet to cease
his commission. Indeed, for a prophet
to be proved right, a certain judgment
must fall, a sure chastisement administered,
a corrective work applied. If this is
not painful to the prophet then he is
not a true prophet and lacks the heart
of God for true restoration.
There are myriads of prophets who like
to pronounce gloom and doom, but which
of them has the heart to bear the pain
of interceding for a genuine repentance?
A true prophet must desire, above all,
that his or her clarion call will bring a
genuine return to God. It is easy to rail,
it is agony to stand and watch and call
people who are not listening back to
the Father.
It is a fearsome and holy task to enter
into the very heart of God as He calls
His people back to Himself. The
heart of the prophet must echo forth the
eternal love of God. There can be no
joy at the idea of judgment coming, even
when it appears inevitable, even when
the prophet himself is harmed or stoned
or even killed in the process.
God does not wish to punish. He takes
no pleasure in judgment. He does not
wait and watch for wrongdoing in
order to find pleasure in chastising
waywardness. A prophet MUST have this
tenor of heart or he does not stand
for God.
Consider Jonah. He understood God,
he understood the prophetic role,
but he did not have the heart of God.
He understood quite well that for God
to reap a family of restored hearts,
that he would have to be proved wrong.
And if the people of Nineveh did not turn to
God, Jonah should find no pleasure
in their chastisement.
Job failed on both points: he was not
willing to be proved wrong for the
sake of another. He was unwilling to
bear a message of judgment unless it
ended in judgment. He did not want mercy
to intervene for it would make him
appear lesser in the eyes of others.
He did not have the heart of God.
One gets the impression that he preferred
that the people be judged so he could
be proved "right." With "right" like that
I would hate to see what wrong might look
like.
How many prophets have this kind of
heart? How many prophets are unwilling
to bear the pain of their calling
because they are not able to identify
with God as He ever so patiently waits
for His people to return to Him?
God does not ask of a prophet something
He does not endure Himself. People
constantly accuse God of allowing evil
and not putting an end to suffering.
God waits and waits for us to return
to Him. If He was a God who delighted
in meting out punishment, the earth
would be devoid of human life for
all of us would have been destroyed.
That which the prophet speaks should
call people back to God. What becomes
of the prophet, what his reputation
is, what accolades or resistances
are thrown upon him, should matter
not one whit to him: it comes with the
territory of being a prophet.
The words of a prophet are born and
spearheaded out of his or her own
repentance, they are to be ministered in
humility. The true prophet takes no
pleasure in being right. For "being right"
is about words and reputations and
and pride. A true prophet must
bear great pain in a hidden place.
He must live and die for the
kind of reconcilation that Jesus
lived and died for. It is not
for the fainthearted.
The true prophet must be a deaf
and blind servant of the Lord.
The prophet who truly sees must
be blind to all that would
stop him from his mission.
The prophet who truly hears must
be deaf to the reasonings of man,
to the hurtful taunts that will fall
upon his ears, and the painful rejections
that will fall upon his life. He must
be able to accept the pain inflicted
on his heart by those who do not see,
or worse yet, do not want to see.
He must have one prayer:
"Father, forgive them, for they
do not know what they are doing."
This kind of pain is part and parcel
of the prophetic call. That is the
hard part. The glorious part is that
those prophets who identify with
the heart of God, get the heart
of God planted forever within
them. The medium becomes the
message. The prophet becomes
the priest. A heart of stone
is replaced with a heart of
flesh, and that heart is
a redeemed heart, made in
the image of the heart of
Jesus. That would make it all
worthwhile, wouldn't it?
So to all those true prophets
who happen upon this article,
to everyone who thinks
they have a prophetic message,
search deeply to see whether
you are able to administer
it with the heart of God.
You will know the answer
by the amount of pain that
surrounds its delivery. Let us
trust that you will share the
joy of watching the Lamb
receive the fruits of His
labor. Anything less is just not
good enough.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
What is Happening to Iraqi Christians in Baghdad?
I just finished reading this article
on the persecution of Iraqi Christians
found in the Jewish World Review on June 14.
Here is one part that I found especially
interesting:
Taxes are inevitable, I kind of get that, but
it implies this tax was, for better or for worse,
instituted to protect Christians
and Jews. Protect from what? is the likely
question. The mafia, as I understand it, also
offers protection for money. I'm giving the
early Muslims the benefit of the doubt here
in thinking that they were providing protection
from persecution from militants, whether religious,
or political, to other monotheistic
traditions. Pagans and polytheists were on
their own!
Now, this tax has turned into some kind
of extortion money--it has become a threat
of violence and not a protection from it.
Iraqi Christians, with deep roots in their
faith communities in Baghdad, are facing
increasingly deadly threats of violence.
The article goes on to say,
Al-Quaida, perhaps, viewing Christians as
pacifists, sees an opportunity to gain
advantage. "Let the reader understand: “So
when you see standing in the holy place
'the abomination that causes desolation,'
spoken of through the prophet Daniel"
Matthew 24:15).
The only defender these poor Christians have
is the Lord, also thought, in various
quarters, to be a Pacifist, but Who will be
better known as a Valiant and Victorious
Warrior, when the time is right.
This is just the beginning.
Or is it the beginning of the end?
Pray for Iraqi Christians. Pray for the
persecuted church.
Baghdad
Iraqi Christians
current events
religious persecution
on the persecution of Iraqi Christians
found in the Jewish World Review on June 14.
Here is one part that I found especially
interesting:
"Still, early Muslims considered Christians,
along with Jews, to be "people of the book,"
as Muslims refer to followers of other
monotheistic religions, and believed they
were entitled to protection under Islamic rule,
in exchange for jizya, as the tax was called.
It was considered a substitute for the tax for
the poor, zakat, which Muslims pay annually."
Taxes are inevitable, I kind of get that, but
it implies this tax was, for better or for worse,
instituted to protect Christians
and Jews. Protect from what? is the likely
question. The mafia, as I understand it, also
offers protection for money. I'm giving the
early Muslims the benefit of the doubt here
in thinking that they were providing protection
from persecution from militants, whether religious,
or political, to other monotheistic
traditions. Pagans and polytheists were on
their own!
Now, this tax has turned into some kind
of extortion money--it has become a threat
of violence and not a protection from it.
Iraqi Christians, with deep roots in their
faith communities in Baghdad, are facing
increasingly deadly threats of violence.
The article goes on to say,
"At a church in Karada, a priest
shooed away a McClatchy correspondent. Nearby,
five black funeral banners graced with yellow
crosses fluttered in the wind.
Rumors abound. Residents said a priest and
an altar boy were killed on Wednesday and
their church was burned, but they refused
to say more. "We are afraid of retribution,"
one said. The U.S. military denied that the
incident occurred."
Al-Quaida, perhaps, viewing Christians as
pacifists, sees an opportunity to gain
advantage. "Let the reader understand: “So
when you see standing in the holy place
'the abomination that causes desolation,'
spoken of through the prophet Daniel"
Matthew 24:15).
The only defender these poor Christians have
is the Lord, also thought, in various
quarters, to be a Pacifist, but Who will be
better known as a Valiant and Victorious
Warrior, when the time is right.
This is just the beginning.
Or is it the beginning of the end?
Pray for Iraqi Christians. Pray for the
persecuted church.
Baghdad
Iraqi Christians
current events
religious persecution
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
The Call to Agape Love: the Searchings and Stretchings of God
The Call to Agape Love: the Searchings and
Stretchings of God
Is it me or are all who are unreservedly
seeking to go on with God being stretched
and searched to the utmost? For the last
six months or so it has seemed like I
am being audited by Lord.
If you think the IRS is thorough, try
having the Living God go through the files
of your life! If you think airport security
in Israel is able to find everything, consider
the God of Israel systematically examining
every thought and intent of your heart.
A to Z. Start to finish. Back to front.
Inside and out. Searched. Examined.
Strength-tested like a cardboard box
in a crush test.
If we are truly His then it is His
right, of course. We are His to examine,
His to judge. His to test. It is not my
imagination and I am not upset. I am,
however, on "High Alert" in the "are
my lamps full of oil?" category, and
also in the "live each day with
eternity in mind" category.
I know many different people who live in
many diverse "fields of the Lord." All
so completely different, yet they are
all saying the same thing: stretched
beyond measure, purged, "like nothing
they have ever seen or known."
The apostle Paul wrote, "For we do not
want you to be unaware, brethren, of our
affliction which came to us in Asia, that
we were so utterly weighed down and crushed,
so that we despaired even of life itself.
Indeed, we felt within ourselves that we
had received the very sentence of death,
but that was to keep us from trusting
in and depending on ourselves instead
of on God Who raises the dead.
For it is He who rescued and saved us
from such a perilous death, and He will
still rescue and save us; in and on Him
we have set our hope that He will
again deliver us from danger and
destruction and draw us to Himself."
(2 Cor 1:8-10)
Tea, anyone? God's put the kettle on
to boil, only we are the gold in
the kettle and all the impurities
are rising to the surface.
Part of what God seems to be
testing is what comes out when
pressure is applied to our not-
so-sweet spots. In baseball there
is that certain place on the bat
where the ball will go the farthest
if you hit it on that part of the
bat.
All of us have our strong points and
our weak ones. God seems to be testing
what will happen if He allows our
not-so-sweet spots to be hit. Will
we fly off the handle? I love that
phrase for it hits the nail right
on the head :). The phrase was
first used by Thomas Haliburton and
draws the picture of a loose axehead
flying off the ax handle. Indeed,
flying off to do much damage.
God needs to know, and we need to
find out, if we are going to be
the kind of people who look out
for others no matter what. When
I am hurt, it often becomes all
about me, and tending to "my"
hurt. Suddenly, the needs of
others, especially those who
have hurt me, can be far down
on my list of priorities.
Think of Jesus. In the middle of
His hurt and pain, He went on
winning our salvation. Amazing.
Never left his assignment. Never
turned back. Never gave up. Never
asked His Father to blow the
world to pieces.
Actually, in the hour of His
greatest need He is found tending
both God's heart and the eternal
destiny of his persecutors.
When he tells His Father,
"Forgive them, for
they do not know what they
are doing" He is reaching out
to His Father's heart. Could He
see such pain in His Father's
eyes, that He wondered if God
would go back on His plan and
do some real, and deserved,
damage to we who inflicted
such rejection, pain,and death
on His Only Son? Has
God already experienced what
He asks us to experience? You can
bet your eternal life on it.
Jesus was also reaching out
to reduce the judgment that would
fall on His persecutors. "They
do not know what they are doing."
Whatever is the nature of this kind
of love?
God triumphed the day Jesus gave
Himself up to His Father on the
cross. He triumphed in Himself,
and in the person of His
Son.
Jesus triumphed, also. He showed us
how strong agape love is,
how powerful, what a mighty force
it is! He holds that love up as a
standard for us. The kind
of love that walks not only the
second mile with its tormentors, but
the seventy-second mile. The kind
of love that turns cheek after
cheek to be slapped. How in the world
could this kind of love be the love that
saves the world? Paul calls it a scandal!
It is God's tour d'force.
For God to have a people who live
as He lives, He must incarnate His
agape love in us. He must test
us to find out what kind of love we have.
This kind of love is not for
the mushy or faint-hearted. This is
not "feel-good" love. It is agape love
displayed before principalities and
powers. It is saving love, and to get
it it must be supernaturally implanted
by the Spirit of God.
Every Christian martyr has had an
opportunity to enter into this kind
of love. The Jews, also, when confronted
with the horror of the Holocaust, were
offered an opportunity to begin to
enter into the kind of forgiving love
that only comes from God.
We, too, are being offered an opportunity
to enter into a new dimension of our
experience with God's agape Love.
Jesus calls us to this kind of love in
the face of great persecution by our
enemies: "You have heard that it was
said, 'Love (agape) your neighbor and hate
your enemy.' But I tell you: Love (agape)
your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you, that you may be sons of your Father
in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on
the evil and the good, and sends rain on
the righteous and the unrighteous. If you
love those who love you, what reward will
you get?" (Matthew 5:43-46)
What reward will I get? Yikes. Is it
getting hot in here or what? But I tell
you this. I know that there is a felt
knowledge of God--a knowing of God like
no other knowing, when we enter into
this kind of love. You see, you and
I are really all cramped up in self-
protection. We drive our puny little
car called "self-interest" around
and scream hate words if anyone
scratches the paint, or bangs the
fender.
We do not really know agape love.
We do not respect what it is
capable of. We misjudge its cover,
for it is clothed in humility.
We are like incredulous doubters,
an unbelieving generation where
Jesus can do but a few small
miracles because our unbelief in
His love is so great.
In our darkest hours we have the
opportunity to cast these shackles
off and love "like crazy." Love
supernaturally. Love way past any
human ability we have to love. Agape
love.
Is it going to hurt? Well, what
is going to hurt is letting go
of our old system of loving. And
we won't let go until we know
that that system is not just
inadequate but dysfunctional.
What if I am so hurt that I want
to love, but cannot? Rejoice.
You are just at the place where
you can experience the greatest
miracle of your life. A miracle
that will serve you well in
eternity. The thing is, can you
let go of that old love, now
totally drained,and more looking
like something that does not resemble
love at all? Hurt does that to us
as humans. It either kills our capacity
to love, or does us the favor of
killing what is keeping our love
on a human level so that we have
the opportunity to enter into
God's love.
Can you drop as dead as dead can
be into the arms of your Father
and let Him raise you, by HIS
love, into a new life? I assure
you that YOU do not have to
supply the love. He will. But
it will not run on the circuitry
of human love.
Do I know what I am talking about?
Just enough to know that its
true. There is no other way. I want
to know what that kind of love
is like and in the normal course
of events I won't be motivated
enough to sell all for the "pearl
of great price." Neither will you.
Let your grief, let your testings
and trials, sweep you into the
good arms of God. Is it a loss
of control? Absolutely! Might you
think it will sweep you toward
death and not life? No doubt. You
will not know that God's agape
is like no other love on earth
until you trust God and take the
plunge. God does not lead us
toward evil. He will give
us what need. A good dose of
agape. It heals what
ails not just your soul, but
the souls of the whole world.
Be all you can be: Agape your
enemies.
knowing God
agape
love
trials
difficult times
healing
suffering
the love of God
the Holocaust
forgiveness
Stretchings of God
Is it me or are all who are unreservedly
seeking to go on with God being stretched
and searched to the utmost? For the last
six months or so it has seemed like I
am being audited by Lord.
If you think the IRS is thorough, try
having the Living God go through the files
of your life! If you think airport security
in Israel is able to find everything, consider
the God of Israel systematically examining
every thought and intent of your heart.
A to Z. Start to finish. Back to front.
Inside and out. Searched. Examined.
Strength-tested like a cardboard box
in a crush test.
If we are truly His then it is His
right, of course. We are His to examine,
His to judge. His to test. It is not my
imagination and I am not upset. I am,
however, on "High Alert" in the "are
my lamps full of oil?" category, and
also in the "live each day with
eternity in mind" category.
I know many different people who live in
many diverse "fields of the Lord." All
so completely different, yet they are
all saying the same thing: stretched
beyond measure, purged, "like nothing
they have ever seen or known."
The apostle Paul wrote, "For we do not
want you to be unaware, brethren, of our
affliction which came to us in Asia, that
we were so utterly weighed down and crushed,
so that we despaired even of life itself.
Indeed, we felt within ourselves that we
had received the very sentence of death,
but that was to keep us from trusting
in and depending on ourselves instead
of on God Who raises the dead.
For it is He who rescued and saved us
from such a perilous death, and He will
still rescue and save us; in and on Him
we have set our hope that He will
again deliver us from danger and
destruction and draw us to Himself."
(2 Cor 1:8-10)
Tea, anyone? God's put the kettle on
to boil, only we are the gold in
the kettle and all the impurities
are rising to the surface.
Part of what God seems to be
testing is what comes out when
pressure is applied to our not-
so-sweet spots. In baseball there
is that certain place on the bat
where the ball will go the farthest
if you hit it on that part of the
bat.
All of us have our strong points and
our weak ones. God seems to be testing
what will happen if He allows our
not-so-sweet spots to be hit. Will
we fly off the handle? I love that
phrase for it hits the nail right
on the head :). The phrase was
first used by Thomas Haliburton and
draws the picture of a loose axehead
flying off the ax handle. Indeed,
flying off to do much damage.
God needs to know, and we need to
find out, if we are going to be
the kind of people who look out
for others no matter what. When
I am hurt, it often becomes all
about me, and tending to "my"
hurt. Suddenly, the needs of
others, especially those who
have hurt me, can be far down
on my list of priorities.
Think of Jesus. In the middle of
His hurt and pain, He went on
winning our salvation. Amazing.
Never left his assignment. Never
turned back. Never gave up. Never
asked His Father to blow the
world to pieces.
Actually, in the hour of His
greatest need He is found tending
both God's heart and the eternal
destiny of his persecutors.
When he tells His Father,
"Forgive them, for
they do not know what they
are doing" He is reaching out
to His Father's heart. Could He
see such pain in His Father's
eyes, that He wondered if God
would go back on His plan and
do some real, and deserved,
damage to we who inflicted
such rejection, pain,and death
on His Only Son? Has
God already experienced what
He asks us to experience? You can
bet your eternal life on it.
Jesus was also reaching out
to reduce the judgment that would
fall on His persecutors. "They
do not know what they are doing."
Whatever is the nature of this kind
of love?
God triumphed the day Jesus gave
Himself up to His Father on the
cross. He triumphed in Himself,
and in the person of His
Son.
Jesus triumphed, also. He showed us
how strong agape love is,
how powerful, what a mighty force
it is! He holds that love up as a
standard for us. The kind
of love that walks not only the
second mile with its tormentors, but
the seventy-second mile. The kind
of love that turns cheek after
cheek to be slapped. How in the world
could this kind of love be the love that
saves the world? Paul calls it a scandal!
It is God's tour d'force.
For God to have a people who live
as He lives, He must incarnate His
agape love in us. He must test
us to find out what kind of love we have.
This kind of love is not for
the mushy or faint-hearted. This is
not "feel-good" love. It is agape love
displayed before principalities and
powers. It is saving love, and to get
it it must be supernaturally implanted
by the Spirit of God.
Every Christian martyr has had an
opportunity to enter into this kind
of love. The Jews, also, when confronted
with the horror of the Holocaust, were
offered an opportunity to begin to
enter into the kind of forgiving love
that only comes from God.
We, too, are being offered an opportunity
to enter into a new dimension of our
experience with God's agape Love.
Jesus calls us to this kind of love in
the face of great persecution by our
enemies: "You have heard that it was
said, 'Love (agape) your neighbor and hate
your enemy.' But I tell you: Love (agape)
your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you, that you may be sons of your Father
in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on
the evil and the good, and sends rain on
the righteous and the unrighteous. If you
love those who love you, what reward will
you get?" (Matthew 5:43-46)
What reward will I get? Yikes. Is it
getting hot in here or what? But I tell
you this. I know that there is a felt
knowledge of God--a knowing of God like
no other knowing, when we enter into
this kind of love. You see, you and
I are really all cramped up in self-
protection. We drive our puny little
car called "self-interest" around
and scream hate words if anyone
scratches the paint, or bangs the
fender.
We do not really know agape love.
We do not respect what it is
capable of. We misjudge its cover,
for it is clothed in humility.
We are like incredulous doubters,
an unbelieving generation where
Jesus can do but a few small
miracles because our unbelief in
His love is so great.
In our darkest hours we have the
opportunity to cast these shackles
off and love "like crazy." Love
supernaturally. Love way past any
human ability we have to love. Agape
love.
Is it going to hurt? Well, what
is going to hurt is letting go
of our old system of loving. And
we won't let go until we know
that that system is not just
inadequate but dysfunctional.
What if I am so hurt that I want
to love, but cannot? Rejoice.
You are just at the place where
you can experience the greatest
miracle of your life. A miracle
that will serve you well in
eternity. The thing is, can you
let go of that old love, now
totally drained,and more looking
like something that does not resemble
love at all? Hurt does that to us
as humans. It either kills our capacity
to love, or does us the favor of
killing what is keeping our love
on a human level so that we have
the opportunity to enter into
God's love.
Can you drop as dead as dead can
be into the arms of your Father
and let Him raise you, by HIS
love, into a new life? I assure
you that YOU do not have to
supply the love. He will. But
it will not run on the circuitry
of human love.
Do I know what I am talking about?
Just enough to know that its
true. There is no other way. I want
to know what that kind of love
is like and in the normal course
of events I won't be motivated
enough to sell all for the "pearl
of great price." Neither will you.
Let your grief, let your testings
and trials, sweep you into the
good arms of God. Is it a loss
of control? Absolutely! Might you
think it will sweep you toward
death and not life? No doubt. You
will not know that God's agape
is like no other love on earth
until you trust God and take the
plunge. God does not lead us
toward evil. He will give
us what need. A good dose of
agape. It heals what
ails not just your soul, but
the souls of the whole world.
Be all you can be: Agape your
enemies.
knowing God
agape
love
trials
difficult times
healing
suffering
the love of God
the Holocaust
forgiveness
Friday, May 11, 2007
Martin Luther on the True Gospel
If our gospel were received in peace, it wouldn't
be the true gospel. --Martin Luther
This photo was taken, hand held, in Pecos, New Mexico with available light during the exact moment of a lightning flash.
Martin Luther
the gospel
resistance
Friday, May 04, 2007
In the Company of Jesus: A Noble Legacy of Man's Rejection and God's Acceptance
In the Company of Jesus: A Noble
Legacy of Man's Rejection
and God's Acceptance
Rejection is one of the hardest things for humans
to deal with. Perhaps it is for God, too, if we
can even say that anything is hard for God.
Perhaps it is so hard because God's intent
was for us to all be eternally united with
Him, and with each other through Him.
Sin ruined that. And now rejection is a part
of life. What came to me this morning were
the words, "a noble legacy of rejection."
Jesus was a cornerstone in that noble legacy
for it is said of Him, "the Stone which the
builders rejected has become the Cornerstone
(Matthew 21:42)."
If we were to trace the history of rejection
through the bible, we would see that the
very best of the Lord's company of
faithful ones experienced rejection.
We can also be sure that these rejected one's
experienced a great sense of the Lord's
company--the beyond words knowing of being
accepted by God.
You see, there are two kinds of rejection:
one is earthly rejection because
you do not fit in with a certain group or
idea. Anyone can experience this rejection
and literally everyone does in some way.
But there is another rejection, a rejection
born of identification with Jesus, the One
despised and rejected of men (Isaiah 53).
This is the rejection experienced by the
godly: by all who identify with and stand
with God in truth. The thing is this: it is
not up to us to judge what kind of rejection
we are experiencing, for in doing so we can
become ensnared to pride. Leave it,instead,
to God. It is our job to obey Him, to proclaim
His kingdom, to follow Him to our utmost,
and to leave whatever happens to us in His
hands.
He is seeking to form the Image of His
Dear Son in us. Let Him continue
His work. Beyond the wounds inflicted by
man, see the Lord's nail-scarred Hands
gently forming you. He understands pain
and rejection. He also understands
how they are able to aid you and I
if we do not become sidetracked by them.
God sent prophet after prophet, preacher
after preacher, herald after herald and
they were all rejected. "O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem! thou who murders the
Prophets and stones those who have
been sent to thee! how often have I
desired to gather thy children to me,
just as a hen gathers her chickens
under her wings, and you would not
come!"(Matthew 23:37).
Finally, He sent His Son, and as the
parable that Jesus tells remarks,
"surely they will reverence him
(Matthew 21:37)," but most surely
they did not.
Something deep in our hearts tells us
that that which is good and true and pure
should find happy acceptance. How cruelly
comes the truth to dash that human thinking!
The legacy of the godly, even the legacy
of God, is one born of rejection.
That is not the end of the story however.
The One and ones of whom this world is
not worthy is and shall become the
kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ,
and happily we will be accepted by Him
forever and ever.
Jesus says, "Haven't you read in the scriptures,
The stone which the builders rejected, the
same is become the cornerstone: this is the
Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in
our eyes?" May the Lord give us deep
wisdom into this most profound and sublime
of truths.
How could God pronounce the rejection
of His Son and the subsequent setting
of Him as that which is the cornerstone of
the whole Building of God, as marvelous?
Wouldn't you think that God would rather
not talk about the rejection part? Should
He not focus on the end result and not
what it took to get there? Obviously not.
God calls it all "marvelous." Hallelujah!
Perhaps Jesus is giving us insight
as He continues to say, "Therefore say I
unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken
from you, and given to a nation bringing forth
the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on
this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever
it shall fall, it will grind him to powder"
(Matthew 21:42-44) .
Dear ones, falling on the Stone includes
incarnationally knowing the kind of rejection
Christ knew. It is knowing Him not only in
the "power of His resurrection," but in "the
fellowship of His sufferings, and being
conformed to His death if by any means
we might attain to the resurrection
from the dead" (Philippians 3:10 &11).
In our minds we separate "the power of His
resurrection" as being the strong and desirable
part. God doesn't. The whole lot goes together:
power, suffering, and death conformation.
It is a different picture of power. One
that the world and the devil can't stomach. One
that is deeply marvelous in the Lord's eyes.
All of this so that "if by any means" we might
attain to the resurrection of the dead.
Paul is himself incredulous! If by any means
these apparent opposites can be joined to
produce life and salvation! Death and
resurrection are joined for a season.
Suffering and eternal life are connected for
a brief earthly moment. Rejection is linked
with eternal belonging in the Lord's kingdom.
How marvelous this is in the Lord's eyes!
May we ask God to make it marvelous in our
own--in the depths of our hearts when we
endure godly rejection.
It matters not if man rejects us, what matters
is whether God will accept or reject us.
And who does God accept? The humble in
heart, the ones who call upon Him, the
ones that are rejected for His sake.
"Blessed are you when men shall hate you,
and when they shall exclude and mock
you, and throw out your name as evil, for
the Son of Man's sake" (Luke 6:22).
If you are part of this noble legacy, the
Lord will bring you salvation and lift up
your head. Leave judgment in His hands.
Call upon His Name. Let Him prune and
sift you through the rejection of men.
Fall on the Rock. You shall never be
ashamed of putting your hope in Him.
You will be numbered in the company
of those of whom the world is not worthy.
Loving Arms hold you in your pain.
A cloud of heavenly witnesses stand
with you. You are not alone. You are
accepted in the Beloved.
I am so sure I am talking to someone
out there today. Know that the Lord
is reaching out His Hand to lift you up.
The world has rejected you, but He
has accepted you.
rejection
Christian persecution
stoning the prophets
rejecting the Cornerstone
failure
defeat
acceptance
Legacy of Man's Rejection
and God's Acceptance
Rejection is one of the hardest things for humans
to deal with. Perhaps it is for God, too, if we
can even say that anything is hard for God.
Perhaps it is so hard because God's intent
was for us to all be eternally united with
Him, and with each other through Him.
Sin ruined that. And now rejection is a part
of life. What came to me this morning were
the words, "a noble legacy of rejection."
Jesus was a cornerstone in that noble legacy
for it is said of Him, "the Stone which the
builders rejected has become the Cornerstone
(Matthew 21:42)."
If we were to trace the history of rejection
through the bible, we would see that the
very best of the Lord's company of
faithful ones experienced rejection.
We can also be sure that these rejected one's
experienced a great sense of the Lord's
company--the beyond words knowing of being
accepted by God.
You see, there are two kinds of rejection:
one is earthly rejection because
you do not fit in with a certain group or
idea. Anyone can experience this rejection
and literally everyone does in some way.
But there is another rejection, a rejection
born of identification with Jesus, the One
despised and rejected of men (Isaiah 53).
This is the rejection experienced by the
godly: by all who identify with and stand
with God in truth. The thing is this: it is
not up to us to judge what kind of rejection
we are experiencing, for in doing so we can
become ensnared to pride. Leave it,instead,
to God. It is our job to obey Him, to proclaim
His kingdom, to follow Him to our utmost,
and to leave whatever happens to us in His
hands.
He is seeking to form the Image of His
Dear Son in us. Let Him continue
His work. Beyond the wounds inflicted by
man, see the Lord's nail-scarred Hands
gently forming you. He understands pain
and rejection. He also understands
how they are able to aid you and I
if we do not become sidetracked by them.
God sent prophet after prophet, preacher
after preacher, herald after herald and
they were all rejected. "O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem! thou who murders the
Prophets and stones those who have
been sent to thee! how often have I
desired to gather thy children to me,
just as a hen gathers her chickens
under her wings, and you would not
come!"(Matthew 23:37).
Finally, He sent His Son, and as the
parable that Jesus tells remarks,
"surely they will reverence him
(Matthew 21:37)," but most surely
they did not.
Something deep in our hearts tells us
that that which is good and true and pure
should find happy acceptance. How cruelly
comes the truth to dash that human thinking!
The legacy of the godly, even the legacy
of God, is one born of rejection.
That is not the end of the story however.
The One and ones of whom this world is
not worthy is and shall become the
kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ,
and happily we will be accepted by Him
forever and ever.
Jesus says, "Haven't you read in the scriptures,
The stone which the builders rejected, the
same is become the cornerstone: this is the
Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in
our eyes?" May the Lord give us deep
wisdom into this most profound and sublime
of truths.
How could God pronounce the rejection
of His Son and the subsequent setting
of Him as that which is the cornerstone of
the whole Building of God, as marvelous?
Wouldn't you think that God would rather
not talk about the rejection part? Should
He not focus on the end result and not
what it took to get there? Obviously not.
God calls it all "marvelous." Hallelujah!
Perhaps Jesus is giving us insight
as He continues to say, "Therefore say I
unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken
from you, and given to a nation bringing forth
the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on
this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever
it shall fall, it will grind him to powder"
(Matthew 21:42-44) .
Dear ones, falling on the Stone includes
incarnationally knowing the kind of rejection
Christ knew. It is knowing Him not only in
the "power of His resurrection," but in "the
fellowship of His sufferings, and being
conformed to His death if by any means
we might attain to the resurrection
from the dead" (Philippians 3:10 &11).
In our minds we separate "the power of His
resurrection" as being the strong and desirable
part. God doesn't. The whole lot goes together:
power, suffering, and death conformation.
It is a different picture of power. One
that the world and the devil can't stomach. One
that is deeply marvelous in the Lord's eyes.
All of this so that "if by any means" we might
attain to the resurrection of the dead.
Paul is himself incredulous! If by any means
these apparent opposites can be joined to
produce life and salvation! Death and
resurrection are joined for a season.
Suffering and eternal life are connected for
a brief earthly moment. Rejection is linked
with eternal belonging in the Lord's kingdom.
How marvelous this is in the Lord's eyes!
May we ask God to make it marvelous in our
own--in the depths of our hearts when we
endure godly rejection.
It matters not if man rejects us, what matters
is whether God will accept or reject us.
And who does God accept? The humble in
heart, the ones who call upon Him, the
ones that are rejected for His sake.
"Blessed are you when men shall hate you,
and when they shall exclude and mock
you, and throw out your name as evil, for
the Son of Man's sake" (Luke 6:22).
If you are part of this noble legacy, the
Lord will bring you salvation and lift up
your head. Leave judgment in His hands.
Call upon His Name. Let Him prune and
sift you through the rejection of men.
Fall on the Rock. You shall never be
ashamed of putting your hope in Him.
You will be numbered in the company
of those of whom the world is not worthy.
Loving Arms hold you in your pain.
A cloud of heavenly witnesses stand
with you. You are not alone. You are
accepted in the Beloved.
I am so sure I am talking to someone
out there today. Know that the Lord
is reaching out His Hand to lift you up.
The world has rejected you, but He
has accepted you.
rejection
Christian persecution
stoning the prophets
rejecting the Cornerstone
failure
defeat
acceptance
Monday, April 23, 2007
Christians Murdered at Bible Publishing House in Turkey
Turkish Bible Publishing House Murders
Here is another wake-up call for Christians. Three
evangelical Christians were recently brutally
murdered at a Bible publishing house in Turkey.
Turkey is on my list of places to go
to see some of the ancient Christian historical
sites including Antioch, Tarsus, Cappodocia, and
the seven churches of Revelation. I have
hesitated even thinking about it because of the
increased persecution of Christians in Turkey.
These brutal murders of Christian workers
announce an increasingly downward spiral
in an increasingly militant and predominantly
Muslim country. Christians make up only
1% of the population in Turkey. Turkey has
applied for membership in the European
Union but some are afraid that Turkey would
not be able to protect religious minorities.
Indeed.
While certain factions of Islam become more
militant, and while the world in general
becomes increasingly intolerant to the
"offence" and "scandal" of the gospel,
we Christians must fight this battle
in the only way we are called to: on our knees.
With militant Islam firmly entrenching
itself even in London, France, and the corridors
of western Europe, we need to heed the signs
that more violence toward Christians is
most certainly on the way.
Pray for the persecuted church. Prepare
your heart for difficult times. We, in America,
may be, and most certainly will be, next.
Let him who has ears, hear. Let those with
a heart for the persecuted Church, pray.
current events
Turkey bible murders
persecution of Christians
religious persecution
Christianity
Here is another wake-up call for Christians. Three
evangelical Christians were recently brutally
murdered at a Bible publishing house in Turkey.
Turkey is on my list of places to go
to see some of the ancient Christian historical
sites including Antioch, Tarsus, Cappodocia, and
the seven churches of Revelation. I have
hesitated even thinking about it because of the
increased persecution of Christians in Turkey.
These brutal murders of Christian workers
announce an increasingly downward spiral
in an increasingly militant and predominantly
Muslim country. Christians make up only
1% of the population in Turkey. Turkey has
applied for membership in the European
Union but some are afraid that Turkey would
not be able to protect religious minorities.
Indeed.
While certain factions of Islam become more
militant, and while the world in general
becomes increasingly intolerant to the
"offence" and "scandal" of the gospel,
we Christians must fight this battle
in the only way we are called to: on our knees.
With militant Islam firmly entrenching
itself even in London, France, and the corridors
of western Europe, we need to heed the signs
that more violence toward Christians is
most certainly on the way.
Pray for the persecuted church. Prepare
your heart for difficult times. We, in America,
may be, and most certainly will be, next.
Let him who has ears, hear. Let those with
a heart for the persecuted Church, pray.
current events
Turkey bible murders
persecution of Christians
religious persecution
Christianity
Thursday, April 19, 2007
David Danced Before the Lord: True Worship, Pt. 2
True Worship & The Spirit of Mockery:
David Dancing before the Lord.
The spirit of mockery always trys to pass
off the fake, inauthentic, and even satanic
for the genuine. Its does so by casting
a shadow of doubt on the authentic.
In 2 Samuel 6:14-23 we have the well-known
story of David dancing before the ark of the
Lord. David's heart before God in worship
was genuine. He worshipped God with his
whole mind, heart, and body. David was not
worshipping to impress or shock men, he was
focused entirely on God. He had lost
self-conciousness--he was God-conscious.
Saul's daughter, and David's wife, Michal,
did not understand David's pure heart of
worship. The spirit of mockery, rising up
within, made her interpret David's actions
as foolish acts of the flesh. It was flesh
seeing the only thing it can see: flesh.
The fleshly man or woman cannot see
spiritual things (I Cor 2:14,15).
Only the spiritual person can discern that which
is of the Spirit. Michal's heart caused her to
judge David wrongly from her limited point of
view. It was not that she just observed and
did not understand, she observed and mocked
and her mockery led her to falsely judge.
The flesh opposes the Spirit to this day. Michal
was the flesh of Saul. Saul was everything
that the flesh admires: tall, handsome,
politically powerful, full of "bling."
When Saul found out that Michal was attracted
to David, he gave her gladly to David to
marry so that she might be a snare to him"
(I Samuel 19:21). There was already treachery
and mockery at work.
Perhaps Michal's initial attraction
to David was made in the flesh: perhaps she
saw him as an attractive man of war rather
than a man after God's heart. For when he
showed himself to be a man after God's heart
she despised and mocked him. Perhaps it was
tainted and wrong from the beginning or maybe
she caused it to go wrong by a process of
judging wrongly.
When true worship is witnessed the secrets
of people's hearts are revealed. Does
witnessing true worship cause true worship
to arise in us or is our response scorn?
Are we looking at the person worshipping
and and judging whether they are without
fault or are we looking at God?
Michal's history with David may have gotten
rather rocky. Much muddied water may have
gone over their marital bridge. Did
David's humanity cause her to stumble
into judgment? Did human shortcomings
in David's life cause contempt to
spill over and corrupt her ability to
discern a holy moment?
If God judged our humanity when we
worshipped then no one would stand
before Him. We cannot wink at sin
or hypocrisy but judging what a man
or woman offers to God, despite their
short comings, is none of our business
because of the snare that we then
set for ourselves.
A spirit of mockery will not humble
itself. David replies to her tauntings
by humbling himself even further:
"I will not just be a fool in your
sight, but in my own sight also,
and in the sight of everyone who
watches me" (vs.22).
He may be a fool in human terms
but David wisely makes a wonderful
acknowledgement of God's ultimate
sovreignty: "It was the Lord's
choosing over and above your
father's that chose and appointed
me as king and I will play(worship)
before Him".
David sees God above and in all things.
David acknowledges God over all
earthly powers. He knows what true
worship is: worshipping God alone, for
it is God who rules over all and by His
hand appoints the destinies of all men.
In true worship we see our shortcomings
compared to a perfect and holy God, but
in true worship we move past the knowledge
of ourselves to be lost in Him! All that
is of flesh is left behind, but if we
decide that we must hold onto judging
the flesh of another, then we can
never enter into true and holy
worship. The Holy of Holies is no place
to bring a self-consciousness of our own
flesh, or a judgment of another's. The
Holy of Holies is all about God alone.
Let God alone judge the hearts of those
worshipping Him. It is folly to ourselves
to judge with the eye of the flesh.
The story concludes with this statement:
"Michal, the daughter of Saul, had no child
to the day of her death" (verse 23).
The spirit of mockery is ultimately barren.
It does not give life nor does it receive
it. It is a spirit of death.
"Be not deceived: God is not mocked, what
a man soweth that shall he also reap. He
that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh
reap corruption but he that soweth to the
Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life
everlasting. So let us not be weary in
well-doing for in due season we shall reap,
if we faint not" (Galatians 6: 7-9).
Beloved, guard your hearts against a spirit
of mockery.
This is the second of three posts.
abandonment to God
true worship
apostasy
David
spiritual ignorance
dance and worship
David Dancing before the Lord.
The spirit of mockery always trys to pass
off the fake, inauthentic, and even satanic
for the genuine. Its does so by casting
a shadow of doubt on the authentic.
In 2 Samuel 6:14-23 we have the well-known
story of David dancing before the ark of the
Lord. David's heart before God in worship
was genuine. He worshipped God with his
whole mind, heart, and body. David was not
worshipping to impress or shock men, he was
focused entirely on God. He had lost
self-conciousness--he was God-conscious.
Saul's daughter, and David's wife, Michal,
did not understand David's pure heart of
worship. The spirit of mockery, rising up
within, made her interpret David's actions
as foolish acts of the flesh. It was flesh
seeing the only thing it can see: flesh.
The fleshly man or woman cannot see
spiritual things (I Cor 2:14,15).
Only the spiritual person can discern that which
is of the Spirit. Michal's heart caused her to
judge David wrongly from her limited point of
view. It was not that she just observed and
did not understand, she observed and mocked
and her mockery led her to falsely judge.
The flesh opposes the Spirit to this day. Michal
was the flesh of Saul. Saul was everything
that the flesh admires: tall, handsome,
politically powerful, full of "bling."
When Saul found out that Michal was attracted
to David, he gave her gladly to David to
marry so that she might be a snare to him"
(I Samuel 19:21). There was already treachery
and mockery at work.
Perhaps Michal's initial attraction
to David was made in the flesh: perhaps she
saw him as an attractive man of war rather
than a man after God's heart. For when he
showed himself to be a man after God's heart
she despised and mocked him. Perhaps it was
tainted and wrong from the beginning or maybe
she caused it to go wrong by a process of
judging wrongly.
When true worship is witnessed the secrets
of people's hearts are revealed. Does
witnessing true worship cause true worship
to arise in us or is our response scorn?
Are we looking at the person worshipping
and and judging whether they are without
fault or are we looking at God?
Michal's history with David may have gotten
rather rocky. Much muddied water may have
gone over their marital bridge. Did
David's humanity cause her to stumble
into judgment? Did human shortcomings
in David's life cause contempt to
spill over and corrupt her ability to
discern a holy moment?
If God judged our humanity when we
worshipped then no one would stand
before Him. We cannot wink at sin
or hypocrisy but judging what a man
or woman offers to God, despite their
short comings, is none of our business
because of the snare that we then
set for ourselves.
A spirit of mockery will not humble
itself. David replies to her tauntings
by humbling himself even further:
"I will not just be a fool in your
sight, but in my own sight also,
and in the sight of everyone who
watches me" (vs.22).
He may be a fool in human terms
but David wisely makes a wonderful
acknowledgement of God's ultimate
sovreignty: "It was the Lord's
choosing over and above your
father's that chose and appointed
me as king and I will play(worship)
before Him".
David sees God above and in all things.
David acknowledges God over all
earthly powers. He knows what true
worship is: worshipping God alone, for
it is God who rules over all and by His
hand appoints the destinies of all men.
In true worship we see our shortcomings
compared to a perfect and holy God, but
in true worship we move past the knowledge
of ourselves to be lost in Him! All that
is of flesh is left behind, but if we
decide that we must hold onto judging
the flesh of another, then we can
never enter into true and holy
worship. The Holy of Holies is no place
to bring a self-consciousness of our own
flesh, or a judgment of another's. The
Holy of Holies is all about God alone.
Let God alone judge the hearts of those
worshipping Him. It is folly to ourselves
to judge with the eye of the flesh.
The story concludes with this statement:
"Michal, the daughter of Saul, had no child
to the day of her death" (verse 23).
The spirit of mockery is ultimately barren.
It does not give life nor does it receive
it. It is a spirit of death.
"Be not deceived: God is not mocked, what
a man soweth that shall he also reap. He
that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh
reap corruption but he that soweth to the
Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life
everlasting. So let us not be weary in
well-doing for in due season we shall reap,
if we faint not" (Galatians 6: 7-9).
Beloved, guard your hearts against a spirit
of mockery.
This is the second of three posts.
abandonment to God
true worship
apostasy
David
spiritual ignorance
dance and worship
Thursday, March 15, 2007
The Persecuted Church: Grandmothers in Pennsylvania
I know that in many countries Christians have
it tough, very tough, but this article
caught my eye and I wanted to share it:
(please click here to read it
in its entirety)
Arrested for sharing the Gospel? An expected
outcome in North Korea, China or any Muslim
country on the globe. But in Pennsylvania? Yep.
Arlene Elshinnawy, a 75-year-old grandmother of
three, and Lynda Beckman, a 70-year-old
grandmother of 10 (along with nine others), were
arrested for sharing their faith on the public
sidewalk in Philadelphia, Pa., USA.
They faced 47 years (the rest of their lives) in
jail for spreading the Gospel because of a
Pennsylvania "hate crimes" law that is nearly
identical to H.R. 254 – the "hate crimes" bill
reintroduced in Congress and said to be on
the "fast track" in the House Judiciary Committee.
...Don't believe hate crimes will silence your
freedom of speech and freedom of religion? Think
again.
Pastors in Pennsylvania are now seeking
liability insurance to protect themselves
from being prosecuted under the "hate
speech" law.
Ok. I try to stay out of these kind of
conversations because ardent arguers often
get so entrenched in their positions that
they cannot see the forest for the trees.
I just want to point out that with
legislation such as this, it always
seems to be the good fish that get
caught in the dragnet, in this case
some brave grandmothers, and not
the hate-mongers that were supposed to
be rounded up. Legislation that is
supposed to help can end up hurting.
We ought to know by now that hate is
not something you can legislate against.
And unfortunately, truly hateful people
are often cunning enough to escape
the moral guards set out to restrain
them.
Instead, two grandmothers are
arrested for witnessing to their
faith on the streets of Philly,
while on these same streets
drug dealers destroy our teenagers;
child molesters prey on children;
terrorists, no doubt with murderous
intent, and radioactive dirty bombs
in their backpacks, can walk freely
and boldly in plain view of the
Liberty Bell. Why aren't we catching
them?
We can say, "our founding fathers
never would have wanted such a
thing to happen to these grandma's."
True, to a degree, but again, the
problem is deeper then anything
we can legislate and trying to
do so may catch the innocent
in a snare while leaving the
guilty to continue their plans
of destruction. Morality cannot
and should not be legislated by
politicians because that is not
their arena or their forte. The
founding fathers could see that
much clearly.
I live in Massachusetts, the original
bay colony of the Puritans, who came
here to escape religious persecution.
In Boston, I think smack dab in
front of the State House, stands a statue of
Mary Dyer, a sweet Quaker lady
hung by her neck for the dastardly
crime of being a Quaker in a Puritan
establishment. My same state
was the home of the Salem
Witch Trials, which was really
less about catching witches
then it was about politically
correct public opinion gone
absolutely wild.
Rev. Increase Mather, one of
the leading Puritan ministers,
recognizing the situation was
spinning out of control, said
this: "It were better that ten
suspected witches should
escape than one innocent person
should be condemned." I think
he could see that justice
might not be served by religiously
caffeinated people with an agenda.
After all was said and done, a lot
of people ended up dead by the
most cruel means, and its hard to know
if any of them were guilty of what
they had been accused of. Not to
say that there wasn't excess
religious caffeination on both
sides of the issues. There still is,
I might sadly add.
If this same scenario were to happen in
present day Massachusetts,
who might the persecuted parties be?
Christians, take heed...when you
see the abomination.....hmmmm...
I wildly speculate....
Biblical Christianity is already,
or is quickly becoming, not only
out of vogue in America,
but on the endangered list
as far as free practice.
I don't think that this is
what most Americans have
in mind, but never-the-less
that is where we could
quickly end up if we don't
watch out for how we try to deal
with the very real human problem
of hate. If the prevailing cultural
mindset determines what "moral"
is, then things can quickly
change as public opinion changes.
Politically speaking, it is usually
the ruling power that determines
what persecution is, and how it
will be dealt with. May I ask
who the ruling power is and what
might their agenda be? Just asking.
We as Christians are called to
love, not just our friends,
but our enemies. The last
vestiges of religious freedom
for a faith that includes
a pro-active evangelism plan,
or the desire to voice a
strong opinion about matters
that have been central to
the gospel since its inception,
seems to be facing certain
and quickly expedited govern-
mental punishment.
Is "middle of road" Christianity
the only faith the government is
willing to sanction?
Is a Christian faith that believes
in evangelism going to be put on the same
level as Islamic jihad? Then perhaps
we are just playing into the hands
of the terrorists. For they, too,
want us to outlaw the very thing
that can help us: a deeply held moral
conviction, but one that is rooted in
justice, freedom, and genuine love of
our neighbor. Our grannies don't have
suicide bombs in their purses. It
takes radical courage to stand up
for what you really value and believe.
Our enemies are committed to the
radical, are we? The only thing
middle-of-the-road about terrorists
is their bomb placement. If we
try to legislate against bad
passions then we might inadvertently
stifle the good passions needed
to overcome them.
Here is my thought: in times
of smooth sailing, God has
used Americans to proclaim
the gospel to just about
every land and nation. Where
we have failed to do it
purely, and in the meek Spirit
of Christ, even in our
own land, God will surely judge.
But we have done it and
I trust we shall continue
to do it in a way that
honors Christ. This is our
call as Christians.
Now that the seas are not
so smooth, and sailing may
not be a possibility, we
need to, for a season,
stay home and repair the
state of our own boat. It
is sinking fast.
For those of you who think
that Christians do better
as a persecuted minority,
you may get your chance
to test the theory personally.
Prepare yourself.
Pray for the persecuted church.
persecution of Christians
current events
religion
Christianity
religious persecution
separation of Church and State
spiritual testing
commentary
religion in Pennsylvania
preaching the gospel
terrorism
radical fundamentalism
it tough, very tough, but this article
caught my eye and I wanted to share it:
(please click here to read it
in its entirety)
Arrested for sharing the Gospel? An expected
outcome in North Korea, China or any Muslim
country on the globe. But in Pennsylvania? Yep.
Arlene Elshinnawy, a 75-year-old grandmother of
three, and Lynda Beckman, a 70-year-old
grandmother of 10 (along with nine others), were
arrested for sharing their faith on the public
sidewalk in Philadelphia, Pa., USA.
They faced 47 years (the rest of their lives) in
jail for spreading the Gospel because of a
Pennsylvania "hate crimes" law that is nearly
identical to H.R. 254 – the "hate crimes" bill
reintroduced in Congress and said to be on
the "fast track" in the House Judiciary Committee.
...Don't believe hate crimes will silence your
freedom of speech and freedom of religion? Think
again.
Pastors in Pennsylvania are now seeking
liability insurance to protect themselves
from being prosecuted under the "hate
speech" law.
Ok. I try to stay out of these kind of
conversations because ardent arguers often
get so entrenched in their positions that
they cannot see the forest for the trees.
I just want to point out that with
legislation such as this, it always
seems to be the good fish that get
caught in the dragnet, in this case
some brave grandmothers, and not
the hate-mongers that were supposed to
be rounded up. Legislation that is
supposed to help can end up hurting.
We ought to know by now that hate is
not something you can legislate against.
And unfortunately, truly hateful people
are often cunning enough to escape
the moral guards set out to restrain
them.
Instead, two grandmothers are
arrested for witnessing to their
faith on the streets of Philly,
while on these same streets
drug dealers destroy our teenagers;
child molesters prey on children;
terrorists, no doubt with murderous
intent, and radioactive dirty bombs
in their backpacks, can walk freely
and boldly in plain view of the
Liberty Bell. Why aren't we catching
them?
We can say, "our founding fathers
never would have wanted such a
thing to happen to these grandma's."
True, to a degree, but again, the
problem is deeper then anything
we can legislate and trying to
do so may catch the innocent
in a snare while leaving the
guilty to continue their plans
of destruction. Morality cannot
and should not be legislated by
politicians because that is not
their arena or their forte. The
founding fathers could see that
much clearly.
I live in Massachusetts, the original
bay colony of the Puritans, who came
here to escape religious persecution.
In Boston, I think smack dab in
front of the State House, stands a statue of
Mary Dyer, a sweet Quaker lady
hung by her neck for the dastardly
crime of being a Quaker in a Puritan
establishment. My same state
was the home of the Salem
Witch Trials, which was really
less about catching witches
then it was about politically
correct public opinion gone
absolutely wild.
Rev. Increase Mather, one of
the leading Puritan ministers,
recognizing the situation was
spinning out of control, said
this: "It were better that ten
suspected witches should
escape than one innocent person
should be condemned." I think
he could see that justice
might not be served by religiously
caffeinated people with an agenda.
After all was said and done, a lot
of people ended up dead by the
most cruel means, and its hard to know
if any of them were guilty of what
they had been accused of. Not to
say that there wasn't excess
religious caffeination on both
sides of the issues. There still is,
I might sadly add.
If this same scenario were to happen in
present day Massachusetts,
who might the persecuted parties be?
Christians, take heed...when you
see the abomination.....hmmmm...
I wildly speculate....
Biblical Christianity is already,
or is quickly becoming, not only
out of vogue in America,
but on the endangered list
as far as free practice.
I don't think that this is
what most Americans have
in mind, but never-the-less
that is where we could
quickly end up if we don't
watch out for how we try to deal
with the very real human problem
of hate. If the prevailing cultural
mindset determines what "moral"
is, then things can quickly
change as public opinion changes.
Politically speaking, it is usually
the ruling power that determines
what persecution is, and how it
will be dealt with. May I ask
who the ruling power is and what
might their agenda be? Just asking.
We as Christians are called to
love, not just our friends,
but our enemies. The last
vestiges of religious freedom
for a faith that includes
a pro-active evangelism plan,
or the desire to voice a
strong opinion about matters
that have been central to
the gospel since its inception,
seems to be facing certain
and quickly expedited govern-
mental punishment.
Is "middle of road" Christianity
the only faith the government is
willing to sanction?
Is a Christian faith that believes
in evangelism going to be put on the same
level as Islamic jihad? Then perhaps
we are just playing into the hands
of the terrorists. For they, too,
want us to outlaw the very thing
that can help us: a deeply held moral
conviction, but one that is rooted in
justice, freedom, and genuine love of
our neighbor. Our grannies don't have
suicide bombs in their purses. It
takes radical courage to stand up
for what you really value and believe.
Our enemies are committed to the
radical, are we? The only thing
middle-of-the-road about terrorists
is their bomb placement. If we
try to legislate against bad
passions then we might inadvertently
stifle the good passions needed
to overcome them.
Here is my thought: in times
of smooth sailing, God has
used Americans to proclaim
the gospel to just about
every land and nation. Where
we have failed to do it
purely, and in the meek Spirit
of Christ, even in our
own land, God will surely judge.
But we have done it and
I trust we shall continue
to do it in a way that
honors Christ. This is our
call as Christians.
Now that the seas are not
so smooth, and sailing may
not be a possibility, we
need to, for a season,
stay home and repair the
state of our own boat. It
is sinking fast.
For those of you who think
that Christians do better
as a persecuted minority,
you may get your chance
to test the theory personally.
Prepare yourself.
Pray for the persecuted church.
persecution of Christians
current events
religion
Christianity
religious persecution
separation of Church and State
spiritual testing
commentary
religion in Pennsylvania
preaching the gospel
terrorism
radical fundamentalism
Friday, February 09, 2007
On Prophets and Martyrs
Can you imagine
if you opened your mouth
or picked up your pen
and in your native accent,
or your peculiar handwriting,
God spoke--
but when people turned to look
all they heard was your voice
and all they saw was the
funny way you made your T's?
"Surely I was mistaken, I
could have sworn I heard God
speak, but it is just you that
I see here, surely I was mistaken."
What if some of the people
were used to God hiding in such
earthen forms
but others couldn't see it, or
didn't like it and wanted
God to come out in the open
and show Himself in His Own Form
or, really, the form they preferred
instead of yours.
What if some people heard what
you said,
or accepted what you wrote
but others just ignored it,
or got mad, really mad,
and blamed you.
Called you names. Lied.
Misunderstood on purpose.
Misunderstood your heart and
God's heart.
Made it hard to keep witnessing
or speaking
or writing,
Made it hard by hurling
insults or by
hurling rocks.
"Have they not known?
Have they not heard?"
Had they known they would
not have killed the Lord of
Glory
who then rose up, yes, rises up,
strong and alive in
a thousand different voices,
in a myriad of pens,
which can never really be silenced--
for the voices of the martyrs, and
of the prophets,
always and forever
cry out.
Their words echo, echo, echo:
"Our God is the Lord!
His Christ the Victor!"
Here is the life and death of His martyrs.
His witnesses. His prophets.
Here is the Head of the Church
glorified in
His Body.
Pray for the persecuted church.
Pray for the prophets.
Pray for the witness and the
witnesses of the Gospel of our God.
persecuted Christians,
witnessing
evangelism
the persecuted church,
if you opened your mouth
or picked up your pen
and in your native accent,
or your peculiar handwriting,
God spoke--
but when people turned to look
all they heard was your voice
and all they saw was the
funny way you made your T's?
"Surely I was mistaken, I
could have sworn I heard God
speak, but it is just you that
I see here, surely I was mistaken."
What if some of the people
were used to God hiding in such
earthen forms
but others couldn't see it, or
didn't like it and wanted
God to come out in the open
and show Himself in His Own Form
or, really, the form they preferred
instead of yours.
What if some people heard what
you said,
or accepted what you wrote
but others just ignored it,
or got mad, really mad,
and blamed you.
Called you names. Lied.
Misunderstood on purpose.
Misunderstood your heart and
God's heart.
Made it hard to keep witnessing
or speaking
or writing,
Made it hard by hurling
insults or by
hurling rocks.
"Have they not known?
Have they not heard?"
Had they known they would
not have killed the Lord of
Glory
who then rose up, yes, rises up,
strong and alive in
a thousand different voices,
in a myriad of pens,
which can never really be silenced--
for the voices of the martyrs, and
of the prophets,
always and forever
cry out.
Their words echo, echo, echo:
"Our God is the Lord!
His Christ the Victor!"
Here is the life and death of His martyrs.
His witnesses. His prophets.
Here is the Head of the Church
glorified in
His Body.
Pray for the persecuted church.
Pray for the prophets.
Pray for the witness and the
witnesses of the Gospel of our God.
persecuted Christians,
witnessing
evangelism
the persecuted church,
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Opening your Heart to the Persecuted
I was just reading of the news of the
finding of letters written by Otto Frank,
the father of Anne Frank, who wrote her
classic diary hiding in an attic during
World War II. The letters are said to be
concerned with Mr. Frank's attempts to
find a safe haven for his family before
they were forced to go into hiding. All
were eventually found out and sent to
concentrations camps. Only Mr. Frank
emerged alive.
I started to think about those letters.
Thought "What if it were me?" Me
writing to friends, acquaintances, anyone
really, who might help. Thought about
what it would be like to beg for help,
really beg for life, for that was what
was at stake. Beg not just for me, but
for my children, and spouse.
I know it is hard to think about the
persecuted, and in this case I am
writing on behalf of persecuted
Christians, but really this is about
any unfairly persecuted person. It is
hard because it is hard to think about
pain, it is hard to think that people
willingly inflict great pain, even
death on others for what they believe.
It is hard to think that kind of pain
could come to me. It is hard not to feel
so helpless that it seems better not to
hear, not to know.
But we are not called to the sidelines
of fear and we are not helpless. Our
God watches over the whole world and
is able to act. We who are Christians,
are the Body of Christ on the earth.
I may pray in America, in my warm house
in New England, I may even feel guilty
praying, but my prayer is still
heard by God and can allow another part of
His Body to be upheld. It may release a way
out, protection, comfort, strength or
deliverance.
The Frank family suffered because no-one
opened their heart to them in particular.We can
try to escape our duty to the persecuted because
we can so easily say, "It is hard to pray for
people I don't know. My life is busy. Let God use
someone else to help them." What if one day
God says to you, "Let me show you the people
you were called to pray for. Let me show you
what I could have done if you had prayed."
Prayed instead of ignored. Prayed instead of
looked the other way. Prayed instead of watching
re-runs on t.v. The job can seem to big, it can
appear to belong to someone else, but no, if you
belong to Christ, then a small part belongs to you.
It is easy, in the inner city, to walk by someone
begging for money on the street. How many
thoughts run through our head about why we should
not help. It is the discomfort of the whole thing,
it is not knowing what to do. Whether we should
actually help in such situations is something we
have to ask God about. But opening our hearts to
pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters is a
little more "cut and dried." "Bear each
other's burdens and so fulfill the Law of
Christ" (Galatians 6:2)." "Therefore as we
are given opportunity, let us do good to all
people, especially to those who belong to the
household of God" (Galatians 6:10)
I heartily encourage you to open your heart to the
persecuted part of the household of God. Opening
your heart will lead you to concern and concern
will lead you to pray. Our brothers and sisters are
depending on us. One day soon we may need them to
pray for us.
Visit Voice of the Martyrs
and The Persecution Blog
Current Events,
faith,
Anne Frank,
Persecuted Christians
prayer
finding of letters written by Otto Frank,
the father of Anne Frank, who wrote her
classic diary hiding in an attic during
World War II. The letters are said to be
concerned with Mr. Frank's attempts to
find a safe haven for his family before
they were forced to go into hiding. All
were eventually found out and sent to
concentrations camps. Only Mr. Frank
emerged alive.
I started to think about those letters.
Thought "What if it were me?" Me
writing to friends, acquaintances, anyone
really, who might help. Thought about
what it would be like to beg for help,
really beg for life, for that was what
was at stake. Beg not just for me, but
for my children, and spouse.
I know it is hard to think about the
persecuted, and in this case I am
writing on behalf of persecuted
Christians, but really this is about
any unfairly persecuted person. It is
hard because it is hard to think about
pain, it is hard to think that people
willingly inflict great pain, even
death on others for what they believe.
It is hard to think that kind of pain
could come to me. It is hard not to feel
so helpless that it seems better not to
hear, not to know.
But we are not called to the sidelines
of fear and we are not helpless. Our
God watches over the whole world and
is able to act. We who are Christians,
are the Body of Christ on the earth.
I may pray in America, in my warm house
in New England, I may even feel guilty
praying, but my prayer is still
heard by God and can allow another part of
His Body to be upheld. It may release a way
out, protection, comfort, strength or
deliverance.
The Frank family suffered because no-one
opened their heart to them in particular.We can
try to escape our duty to the persecuted because
we can so easily say, "It is hard to pray for
people I don't know. My life is busy. Let God use
someone else to help them." What if one day
God says to you, "Let me show you the people
you were called to pray for. Let me show you
what I could have done if you had prayed."
Prayed instead of ignored. Prayed instead of
looked the other way. Prayed instead of watching
re-runs on t.v. The job can seem to big, it can
appear to belong to someone else, but no, if you
belong to Christ, then a small part belongs to you.
It is easy, in the inner city, to walk by someone
begging for money on the street. How many
thoughts run through our head about why we should
not help. It is the discomfort of the whole thing,
it is not knowing what to do. Whether we should
actually help in such situations is something we
have to ask God about. But opening our hearts to
pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters is a
little more "cut and dried." "Bear each
other's burdens and so fulfill the Law of
Christ" (Galatians 6:2)." "Therefore as we
are given opportunity, let us do good to all
people, especially to those who belong to the
household of God" (Galatians 6:10)
I heartily encourage you to open your heart to the
persecuted part of the household of God. Opening
your heart will lead you to concern and concern
will lead you to pray. Our brothers and sisters are
depending on us. One day soon we may need them to
pray for us.
Visit Voice of the Martyrs
and The Persecution Blog
Current Events,
faith,
Anne Frank,
Persecuted Christians
prayer
Thursday, January 04, 2007
The Martyrdom of Polycarp
It's been a long time since I've read
any of the accounts of the early martyrs.
I'm sure you can understand why. But
since I've decided to post articles
for the persecuted church, today's
suggestion was to write about a martyr.
I have chosen Polycarp. After reading
this, I felt not horrified but inspired.
I hope you will, too. If we have to die
a martyr's death, may it be as worthy a
one as Polycarp's!
Tradition has it that Polycarp was a
disciple of the apostle John and lived
during the time that the first generation
of believers, the original apostles, etc,
were dying out. He was converted as child,
and was appointed Bishop of Smyrna in
Turkey by some of the original apostles.
Humility, unpretentiousness, and the ability
to speak directly coupled with a great sense
of humor were his traits. He tried to mediate
disputes about the correct date to celebrate
Easter and had a ministry to those who were
being lured toward gnosticism. We could have
used his ministry when the Da Vinci Code was
recently released. I trust he was notified
of our problem and was interceding.
At the ripe old age of 86 he found that Roman
officials headed to arrest him. Friends urged
him to hide, but Polycarp had apparently been
warned in a dream by God that he would be
burned at the stake. He did, at the requests
of friends, go outside the town into the
countryside to stay. Eventually, the Roman
soldiers found him. He offered no resistance
when he opened the door to them. "God's will
be done," he said.
He was interrogated by the proconsul, who at
first tried to get him to placate the
governmental charges by saying a few niceties
about the Roman leadership which would still
amount to blasphemy. Not. Below is an abridged
record of what happened from the second century
source "The Martyrdom of Polycarp":
..."Those who looked on marveled at his age
and constancy, and at how there should be such
zeal over the arrest of so old a man. ...He asked
them to give him an hour so that he might pray
undisturbed. And when they consented, he stood
and prayed—being so filled with the grace of God
that for two hours he could not hold his peace,
to the amazement of those who heard. And many
repented that they had come to get such a devout
old man...
When at last he had finished his prayer, in which
he remembered all who had met with him at any time,
they... brought him into the city. And there the
chief of the police, Herod, and his father, Nicetas,
met him and transferred him to their carriage, and
tried to persuade him, saying, "What harm is there
to say `Lord Caesar,' and to offer incense and all
that sort of thing, and to save yourself?"
At first he did not answer them. But when they
persisted, he said, "I am not going to do what
you advise me."
Then when they failed to persuade him, they uttered
dire threats and made him get out. He proceeded
swiftly, and was led into the arena, there being
such a tumult in the arena that no one could be
heard. But as Polycarp was entering the arena,
a voice from heaven came to him, saying, "Be
strong, Polycarp, and play the man." No one saw
the one speaking, but those of our people who
were present heard the voice.
And when finally he was brought up, there was
a great tumult on hearing that Polycarp had
been arrested. Therefore, when he was brought
before him, the proconsul asked him if he were
Polycarp. And when he confessed that he was,
he tried to persuade him to deny [the faith],
saying, "Have respect to your age"—and other
things that customarily follow this, such as,
"Swear by the fortune of Caesar;change your mind!"
But Polycarp looked with earnest face at the
whole crowd of lawless heathen in the arena,
and motioned to them with his hand. Then,
groaning and looking up to heaven, he said,
"Away with the atheists!"
But the proconsul was insistent and said:
"Take the oath, and I shall release you.
Curse Christ."
Polycarp said: "Eighty-six years I have
served him, and he never did me any wrong.
How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?"
And upon his persisting still and saying,
"Swear by the fortune of Caesar," he answered,
"If you vainly suppose that I shall swear by
the fortune of Caesar, as you say, and pretend
that you do not know who I am, listen plainly:
I am a Christian. But if you desire to learn
the teaching of Christianity, appoint a day
and give me a hearing."...
But the proconsul said: "I have wild beasts.
I shall throw you to them, if you do not
change your mind."
But he said: "Call them. For repentance from
the better to the worse is not permitted us;
but it is noble to change from what is evil
to what is righteous."
And again [he said] to him, "I shall have you
consumed with fire, if you despise the wild
beasts, unless you change your mind."
But Polycarp said: "The fire you threaten
burns but an hour and is quenched after a
little; for you do not know the fire of the
coming judgment and everlasting punishment
that is laid up for the impious. But why do
you delay? Come, do what you will."
And when he had said these things and many
more besides he was inspired with courage
and joy, and his face was full of grace, so
that not only did it not fall with dismay at
the things said to him, but on the contrary,
the proconsul was astonished, and sent his
own herald into the midst of the arena to
proclaim three times: "Polycarp has confessed
himself to be a Christian."
When this was said by the herald, the entire
crowd of heathen and Jews who lived in Smyrna
shouted with uncontrollable anger and a great
cry: "This one is the teacher of Asia, the
father of the Christians, the destroyer
of our gods, who teaches many not to sacrifice
nor to worship."
Then they decided to shout with one accord
that he burn Polycarp alive. For it was
necessary that the vision...should be
fulfilled, when he saw it burning while
he was praying, and turning around had
said prophetically to the faithful who
were with him, "I must be burned alive."
The fire was quickly prepared... And when
they were about to nail him also, he said:
"Leave me as I am. For he who grants me to
endure the fire will enable me also to
remain on the pyre unmoved, without the
security you desire from the nails."
So they did not nail him, but tied him.
And with his hands put behind him and tied,
like a noble ram out of a great flock ready
for sacrifice, a burnt offering ready and
acceptable to God, he looked up to heaven
and said:
"Lord God Almighty, Father of thy beloved
and blessed Servant Jesus Christ, through
whom we have received full knowledge of
thee, 'the God of angels and powers and
all creation' and of the whole race of
the righteous who live in thy presence:
I bless thee, because thou hast deemed me
worthy of this day and hour,to take my part
in the number of the martyrs, in the cup of
thy Christ, for 'resurrection to eternal
life', of soul and body in the immortality
of the Holy Spirit; among whom may I be
received in thy presence this day as a rich
and acceptable sacrifice, just as thou hast
prepared and revealed beforehand and fulfilled,
thou that art the true God without any
falsehood. For this and for everything I
praise thee, I bless thee, I glorify thee,
through the eternal and heavenly High Priest,
Jesus Christ, thy beloved Servant, through
whom be glory to thee with him and Holy Spirit
both now and unto the ages to come. Amen."
And when he had concluded the Amen and
finished his prayer, the men attending to
the fire lighted it. And when the flame
flashed forth, we saw a miracle, we to
whom it was given to see. And we are
preserved in order to relate to the rest
what happened. For the fire made the shape
of a vaulted chamber, like a ship's sail
filled by the wind, and made a wall around
the body of the martyr. And he was in the
midst, not as burning flesh, but as bread
baking or as gold and silver refined in a
furnace. And we perceived such a sweet aroma
as the breath of incense or some other
precious spice.
At length, when the lawless men saw that
his body could not be consumed by the fire,
they commanded an executioner to go to him
and stab him with a dagger. And when he did
this a great quantity of blood came forth,
so that the fire was quenched and the whole
crowd marveled that there should be such a
difference between the unbelievers and the
elect.
May God be glorified in the death of His saints!
Martyrdom of Polycarp,
Polycarp,
Persecution of Christians,
Faith,
Christianity
The Early Church,
Martyrdom
any of the accounts of the early martyrs.
I'm sure you can understand why. But
since I've decided to post articles
for the persecuted church, today's
suggestion was to write about a martyr.
I have chosen Polycarp. After reading
this, I felt not horrified but inspired.
I hope you will, too. If we have to die
a martyr's death, may it be as worthy a
one as Polycarp's!
Tradition has it that Polycarp was a
disciple of the apostle John and lived
during the time that the first generation
of believers, the original apostles, etc,
were dying out. He was converted as child,
and was appointed Bishop of Smyrna in
Turkey by some of the original apostles.
Humility, unpretentiousness, and the ability
to speak directly coupled with a great sense
of humor were his traits. He tried to mediate
disputes about the correct date to celebrate
Easter and had a ministry to those who were
being lured toward gnosticism. We could have
used his ministry when the Da Vinci Code was
recently released. I trust he was notified
of our problem and was interceding.
At the ripe old age of 86 he found that Roman
officials headed to arrest him. Friends urged
him to hide, but Polycarp had apparently been
warned in a dream by God that he would be
burned at the stake. He did, at the requests
of friends, go outside the town into the
countryside to stay. Eventually, the Roman
soldiers found him. He offered no resistance
when he opened the door to them. "God's will
be done," he said.
He was interrogated by the proconsul, who at
first tried to get him to placate the
governmental charges by saying a few niceties
about the Roman leadership which would still
amount to blasphemy. Not. Below is an abridged
record of what happened from the second century
source "The Martyrdom of Polycarp":
..."Those who looked on marveled at his age
and constancy, and at how there should be such
zeal over the arrest of so old a man. ...He asked
them to give him an hour so that he might pray
undisturbed. And when they consented, he stood
and prayed—being so filled with the grace of God
that for two hours he could not hold his peace,
to the amazement of those who heard. And many
repented that they had come to get such a devout
old man...
When at last he had finished his prayer, in which
he remembered all who had met with him at any time,
they... brought him into the city. And there the
chief of the police, Herod, and his father, Nicetas,
met him and transferred him to their carriage, and
tried to persuade him, saying, "What harm is there
to say `Lord Caesar,' and to offer incense and all
that sort of thing, and to save yourself?"
At first he did not answer them. But when they
persisted, he said, "I am not going to do what
you advise me."
Then when they failed to persuade him, they uttered
dire threats and made him get out. He proceeded
swiftly, and was led into the arena, there being
such a tumult in the arena that no one could be
heard. But as Polycarp was entering the arena,
a voice from heaven came to him, saying, "Be
strong, Polycarp, and play the man." No one saw
the one speaking, but those of our people who
were present heard the voice.
And when finally he was brought up, there was
a great tumult on hearing that Polycarp had
been arrested. Therefore, when he was brought
before him, the proconsul asked him if he were
Polycarp. And when he confessed that he was,
he tried to persuade him to deny [the faith],
saying, "Have respect to your age"—and other
things that customarily follow this, such as,
"Swear by the fortune of Caesar;change your mind!"
But Polycarp looked with earnest face at the
whole crowd of lawless heathen in the arena,
and motioned to them with his hand. Then,
groaning and looking up to heaven, he said,
"Away with the atheists!"
But the proconsul was insistent and said:
"Take the oath, and I shall release you.
Curse Christ."
Polycarp said: "Eighty-six years I have
served him, and he never did me any wrong.
How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?"
And upon his persisting still and saying,
"Swear by the fortune of Caesar," he answered,
"If you vainly suppose that I shall swear by
the fortune of Caesar, as you say, and pretend
that you do not know who I am, listen plainly:
I am a Christian. But if you desire to learn
the teaching of Christianity, appoint a day
and give me a hearing."...
But the proconsul said: "I have wild beasts.
I shall throw you to them, if you do not
change your mind."
But he said: "Call them. For repentance from
the better to the worse is not permitted us;
but it is noble to change from what is evil
to what is righteous."
And again [he said] to him, "I shall have you
consumed with fire, if you despise the wild
beasts, unless you change your mind."
But Polycarp said: "The fire you threaten
burns but an hour and is quenched after a
little; for you do not know the fire of the
coming judgment and everlasting punishment
that is laid up for the impious. But why do
you delay? Come, do what you will."
And when he had said these things and many
more besides he was inspired with courage
and joy, and his face was full of grace, so
that not only did it not fall with dismay at
the things said to him, but on the contrary,
the proconsul was astonished, and sent his
own herald into the midst of the arena to
proclaim three times: "Polycarp has confessed
himself to be a Christian."
When this was said by the herald, the entire
crowd of heathen and Jews who lived in Smyrna
shouted with uncontrollable anger and a great
cry: "This one is the teacher of Asia, the
father of the Christians, the destroyer
of our gods, who teaches many not to sacrifice
nor to worship."
Then they decided to shout with one accord
that he burn Polycarp alive. For it was
necessary that the vision...should be
fulfilled, when he saw it burning while
he was praying, and turning around had
said prophetically to the faithful who
were with him, "I must be burned alive."
The fire was quickly prepared... And when
they were about to nail him also, he said:
"Leave me as I am. For he who grants me to
endure the fire will enable me also to
remain on the pyre unmoved, without the
security you desire from the nails."
So they did not nail him, but tied him.
And with his hands put behind him and tied,
like a noble ram out of a great flock ready
for sacrifice, a burnt offering ready and
acceptable to God, he looked up to heaven
and said:
"Lord God Almighty, Father of thy beloved
and blessed Servant Jesus Christ, through
whom we have received full knowledge of
thee, 'the God of angels and powers and
all creation' and of the whole race of
the righteous who live in thy presence:
I bless thee, because thou hast deemed me
worthy of this day and hour,to take my part
in the number of the martyrs, in the cup of
thy Christ, for 'resurrection to eternal
life', of soul and body in the immortality
of the Holy Spirit; among whom may I be
received in thy presence this day as a rich
and acceptable sacrifice, just as thou hast
prepared and revealed beforehand and fulfilled,
thou that art the true God without any
falsehood. For this and for everything I
praise thee, I bless thee, I glorify thee,
through the eternal and heavenly High Priest,
Jesus Christ, thy beloved Servant, through
whom be glory to thee with him and Holy Spirit
both now and unto the ages to come. Amen."
And when he had concluded the Amen and
finished his prayer, the men attending to
the fire lighted it. And when the flame
flashed forth, we saw a miracle, we to
whom it was given to see. And we are
preserved in order to relate to the rest
what happened. For the fire made the shape
of a vaulted chamber, like a ship's sail
filled by the wind, and made a wall around
the body of the martyr. And he was in the
midst, not as burning flesh, but as bread
baking or as gold and silver refined in a
furnace. And we perceived such a sweet aroma
as the breath of incense or some other
precious spice.
At length, when the lawless men saw that
his body could not be consumed by the fire,
they commanded an executioner to go to him
and stab him with a dagger. And when he did
this a great quantity of blood came forth,
so that the fire was quenched and the whole
crowd marveled that there should be such a
difference between the unbelievers and the
elect.
May God be glorified in the death of His saints!
Martyrdom of Polycarp,
Polycarp,
Persecution of Christians,
Faith,
Christianity
The Early Church,
Martyrdom
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