American Idolatry

"Because you have burned incense and have sinned against the Lord and have not obeyed him or followed his law or his decrees or his stipulations, this disaster has come upon you, as you now see." [Jeremiah 44:23]

The notion that God responds to and punishes nations for their sins is hardly unbiblical. Yet when presented in the wake of a national disaster, it meets with such vehement condemnation that preachers consider it too controversial to call people to repentance. The prophet Jeremiah was not afraid to place the blame in such a way as to call his people to repentance. He told the Jewish remnant in Egypt that their sin of idolatry and the same sin of their fathers was the sole cause for the overthrow of Judah by the Babylonians ... solely.

Why is idolatry so upsetting to God that He would he hand his Chosen People over to their enemies? Simply put, God cannot abide idolatry in HIS people because of his love for them.

"Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." [Exodus 34:14]

Jealousy is the most violent of all emotions. In sinful man, it usually leads to serious sin, such as Cain's slaying of Abel. In the holy God it leads to swift justice and wrath. God did not send plagues upon Israel when he was jealous of them. He simply handed them over to their enemies, who also worshiped idols, so they might experience the impotence of their idols to save them.

This is the same God who rules America and all nations today. He is just as jealous of our devotion as he ever was of Israel. And He will most certainly hand America over to her enemies if we do not tear down the idols from our hearts and from our land. The foremost of these enemies are the pagan worshipers of gods other than Jesus Christ. It is not the agnostic who makes war, but the fanatical followers of Mohamed, Marx or Mao. Most especially, the principal war-mongers are those who serve not God but Mammon. It is not surprising that the materialist-atheists are most likely to invade neighbors. That, I submit, is the false god America has enshrined: the god of Money, Mammon, the relatively superior god of Self to which money and mammon are but offerings.

And if Self is the god of America, Jesus has given the only cure:

"If anyone would come after me he must deny himself..." [Mark 8:34]

To tear down this idol, Self, is most painful. How to do it? "Deny himself." It is the starting point of faith, the prerequisite of the Christian life to deny myself.

But how many Christians truly deny themselves? I know only a handful, and I am not among them. The rest are proud, ambitious, shrewd and indomitable in getting whatever we want for ourselves, and unable to be kind and gentle to their kids, faithful to their spouse, pure before the computer monitor, or devoted to the mission of the Cross. Ambition, self-improvement and desire for recognition tend to be foremost in our minds. And it makes us wretched idolaters, not great or devoted Christians.

So the first task of the Christian is to tear down the idol of self and serve it no more, (I don't mean neglecting my basic needs, but neglecting my glory and name and status) and rather to live for the glorious Name of above all names, Jesus Christ, to see that his name is hallowed in our world through our lives, to echo the life-goal of John the Baptist,

"He must become greater; I must become less." [Jn 3:30]

How happy I am to know that as I deny myself to magnify him, sharing in his sufferings, I will one day share in his glory. Until then, O Lord, help me to deny myself and instead enjoy obscurity and rejection, in the company of Jesus, Jeremiah and John, that your name may be hallowed through my quiet life and labor here in my little vineyard Virginia.

Stress Relief Tip #1

My friend Brian sent me a list of 36 tips for combating stress. They are pretty good. I thought I might just print them out and paste them to the wall. As I started adding pictures to the document, it seemed maybe one of those cheesy PowerPoints would be nice. But I loathe PowerPoint in general. So I decided to blog my way through all of them.

#1 is "Pray."

If the list stopped here, it would be complete. For many people, once they've prayed, stress melts away and no further struggle is needed. Prayer is talking with God, and also listening to God. When you pray, you automatically do 7 other of the tips: #22, #23, #26, #32, #34, #35 and #36.

Alfred Lord Tennyson said,

“If thou shouldst never see my face again, pray for my soul. More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.”

To pray is not easy, though. And for some people, praying causes stress. It may be that if you don't really believe or trust God, prayer has the opposite effect as it does for believers. Prayer isn't a magic bullet or panacea. For example, someone who has a difficult decision to make still has to make the decision after praying---a decision which may mean disappointing someone.

Usually when we're extremely busy, prayer is also hard to fit in, meaning essentially that we're too stressed to de-stress. So while one prays, he is "dropping the ball" at that moment, which is, of course, stressful. There have been so many times when a short prayer was all I needed to get my inspiration going, or to jog my memory, or come up with a solution for some problem.

Once I was in a cold music room trying to practice piano. I adjusted the thermostat, but the room stayed cold. When my hands hurt from the cold and I couldn't play any more, I knelt as close to the radiator as I could get to pray, with my back to the radiator fins. I was praying for some warmth, or strength to endure the cold, so I might continue my practicing. As I dropped my hands, they lit upon a round thing that I recognized as the radiator control knob. Smiling, I turned the knob and my prayer was answered!

The serious times, of course, aren't so quaint. When a friend's mother was dying, I had to pray. It was perhaps the most stressful thing I've ever done, to pray for this dying woman. And she didn't sit up and say, "I feel better already." She died. In this case, my prayer wasn't for the cancer victim, but for the survivor. In any case, it is better than stressing and grieving and just asking "Why? Why?" God's answer is so simple: "Because it's just her time to die, my son. Now say good bye. She can't stay, but I'll will."

So prayer isn't a magic bullet for stress. Yet it is a place to stand, a solid Rock, which is our Faith. I haven't prayed very much, being the unspiritual boy I am. But I know the little prayer I do offer is not in vain. So I keep on praying, especially for all the things I can't solve without a Higher Power.

Lord, thank you that I can come before your throne and ask whatever I wish in the Name of Jesus. Thank you! Thank you! Praised be the Name of Jesus!

Jeremiah goes to Egypt

Reading Jeremiah 40-43 for last Sunday's message was genuinely moving, and unusually relevant. The writer must warn you, dear reader, that from time to time he is obliged to comment on the times, as God's servants did throughout the Bible. So does he in this article. If you are allergic or averse to political commentary, you may want to stop reading now.

In Jeremiah 42 the prophet solemnly warned the arrogant leaders of the Jewish remnant NOT to go down to Egypt. The leaders ignored him and even called him a liar---even after asking him to pray for them and swearing to obey God's will "whether favorable or unfavorable". It can't help but see the similarity to Congress. Instead of listening to The People whom they claim to represent, our Congress-critters seem to be representing the will of The Investors, that is, the rich, voting to lay upon The People a tax burden of hundreds of billions. It's unthinkable.

Jeremiah must have felt as frustrated when the leaders not only ignored and accused him of conspiracy for his denunciation of the plan to go to Egypt, but then took him with them! But he did not write any frustrations. It seems this insult didn't even surprise him. They considered that he was one of their subjects and compelled him, along with all the people, to go to Egypt, the very place the king of Babylon had not yet conquered, the very next place on his list.

And there, in Egypt, Jeremiah continued to warn them. So I must continue to warn the senators and congressmen under MY watch. I will not weep for them; they are arrogant. I do weep for the people who will suddenly be inundated with the kind of national collapse that has beset nations in recent years, Iceland, Japan, Argentina and Zimbabwe come to mind. The people who lead this country, and most of those who are following, have ignored all voices of reason, and long ago stopped reading history. I'm not sure many of them ever tried to discern God's will, not since Abe Lincoln's day.

But I will not bail on my country. I will pray and preach to the end. I am in the same boat. May God help me to preach the gospel in a time of political upheaval. For that is the only saving grace. May God give us wisdom to "store up treasure in heaven", instead of banks or 401-ks, where taxmen do not break in and steal, etc.

How's life?

Sometimes it sucks, even if I don't have any good complaints. You just don't feel like thanking God or anyone. The reality is: what you're looking for (happiness) is not so hard to find, if you look in the right place---spiritually, that would be in God's word.

For example, 1Thessalonians 5:16-18 says,

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

We can all find reasons to complain: The economy isn't good, the kids are disrespectful, the spouse is being difficult, my ankle is getting worse, ants are taking over my house, I have too much to do, my friends don't write--you get the idea. In these times, to be joyful always is an outright chore. To pray at all is hard enough.

But at the moment, giving thanks is easy. I still have a job, my kids are pretty decent, the ants aren't the biting kind and I have a faithful wife. So by reflecting on what I do have, I can find something to be thankful for. Giving thanks gives rise to prayer, and prayer to praise. Buy one, get three!

Why didn't someone teach me this when I was a teenager?! Maybe they tried. It helps to just stop here and write down a little each day, especially when I forget the things I'm supposed to already know.

Now is the Son of Man glorified

John 13:31-38

"When he was gone, Jesus said, `Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him.'"

Jesus did not consider his betrayal by Judas a personal tragedy. He saw it as the point at which he had turned the corner toward the cross, and would be glorified at once. By not stopping Judas, or somehow foiling Judas' plan to betray him, Jesus had accepted the rejection of the world and was now firmly on his way to Golgotha. He was resigned, he had surrendered to God's will, however unpleasant it was to be. NOW God was glorified in Jesus, and NOW God would glorify Jesus at once.

I can't say I understand this very well. But it is good to proclaim it, with or without understanding it. One thing I do understand, the glory that Jesus was seeking is very different from the worldly glory that I seek. I do not want people to reject and betray me. I don't know how to think of rejection as glory. But I must change my mind and accept hardship and suffering and sorrow as God's glory. So throughout the New Testament, there is a clearly defined doctrine of "sharing in Jesus' sufferings" given to us. Isaiah 52, Romans 8 are especially important. But 1Peter 4:13 sums it up well:

"But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed."

Peter wrote this much later. At the time, he wanted to die with Jesus. But Jesus didn't need Peter to die for him, at least not now. He needed Peter to live for Him. It meant, in fact, that Peter would have to die to his own self-esteem and personal glory-seeking mentality. This would happen when he denied Jesus. It was a trial that Jesus especially ordained for Peter to pass through. It would be painful, but later he would have a true appreciation for the glory of Jesus.

Suffering here in America is something you have to kind of go looking for. But going to the campus and bearing rejection and being stood up and such things are a kind of mild suffering. I suspect in the very near future many other kinds of sufferings will come to those of us who do this kind of direct ministry. May God grant us all the fervor and vision of Jesus: that our suffering is for the glory of God, and that it glorifies Him, and that it is His glory for us.

Introducing my weblog

This is my weblog. It really is personal, not intended for the public. If you stumble upon it, read on. But don't expect much.

I'm a Christian and a preacher and need a place for daily thoughts on the Bible and lots of other things. The Bible is written for the purpose of making God known to man. Such knowledge leads us to either love and praise Him, or the opposite. It requires a choice. That choice usually results in praise (laud).

I hope if you read my little cogitations here you might seek to know Him who loves you and gave Himself up for you.