A Love that Conquers the World

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“The love for equals is a human thing–of friend for friend, brother for brother. It is to love what is loving and lovely. The world smiles.

The love for the less fortunate is a beautiful thing–the love for those who suffer, for those who are poor, the sick, the failures, the unlovely. This is compassion, and it touches the heart of the world.

The love for the more fortunate is a rare thing–to love those who succeed where we fail, to rejoice without envy with those who rejoice, the love of the poor for the rich, of the black man for the white man. The world is always bewildered by its saints.

And then there is the love for the enemy–love for the one who does not love you but mocks, threatens, and inflicts pain. The tortured’s love for the torturer. This is God’s love. It conquers the world” (Frederick Buechner, The Magnificent Defeat).

I think I know what kind of love I want. It’s the same kind of love that I need every single day. It’s the kind of love that infuriates the world, but also the kind of love that can save the world. Give me that kind of love.

A Friday Eve Prayer

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“O God, 
whose blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life: 

Grant that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves as he is pure; 

that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; 

where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, 
one God, 

for ever and ever. 
Amen.“

I still believe that God never intended for His people to fit in. He meant (and still means) for us to stand out. We’re the city on a hill. We’re the salt and the light. We’re the physical manifestation of Jesus on the earth until He returns. We hold the only cure for this disease of sin that has ravaged the entire planet.

I kept thinking about the passage in James 1:27 where it says that pure religion is to take care of widows and orphans, i.e. the disadvantaged and unprotected, and to keep ourselves unstained in the world. It’s not an either/or proposition. It’s both/and.

We need to be unstained from Hollywood and from politics. I don’t mean we can’t vote or be involved, but I think we stand outside of both political parties and owe allegiance ultimately and only to a King and a Kingdom rather than to a flag or a country or any platform.

We’re called to be a people who show grace, who love our enemies, and who forgive those who hurt us. We’re not called to argue people into heaven but to love them like God in Jesus loved us when He was not willing that we should stay lost in sin but that we should come to repentance in salvation.

I still think the call to American Christians is to come out from among them and be separate. That might mean leaving churches and denominations that have lost the gospel. That might mean not affiliating with Democrat or Republican. That might mean being willing to risk ridicule for standing up for biblical truth.

I’m praying for another Great Awakening. I’m begging God for another revival like the Jesus Revolution of the early 70s. That’s what it’s going to take. No politician or President can fix what’s wrong with this country. Only Jesus can.

The Big Picture

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I don’t know my Hebrew well enough to know if this is entirely accurate. I do know that I want it to be. I do believe that God orchestrates history to that level of detail. There are no accidents or coincidences when it comes to God.

God wasn’t taken aback when Adam and Eve sinned. There was no mad rush to formulate a Plan B. The Bible talks about Jesus slain from the foundation of the world. That was always the plan. God was aware of the frailty of humanity from the very beginning.

Just imagine that if God can arrange the history of the world in a way that declares His glory, think of what He can do in one ordinary life. Maybe your life. Maybe my life. The key is God works through surrendered and available lives.

Think of how history points to Jesus and how all kinds of prophecies about Him have already been fulfilled, with more to come. All that was God’s plan from the start. And to think that the same God loves and cares intimately for each of His children with that same attention to detail.

That’s still very good news.

Cup of Sorrow, Cup of Joy

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“When we are crushed like grapes, we cannot think of the wine we will become. The sorrow overwhelms us, makes us throw ourselves on the ground, facedown, and sweat drops of blood. Then we need to be reminded that our cup of sorrow is also our cup of joy and that one day we will be able to taste the joy as fully as we now taste the sorrow” (Henri Nouwen).

I love that imagery. I don’t necessarily think that we will at any point sweat drops of blood. That was something Jesus did in moments of extreme anxiety when facing the prospect of the cross. But I do think the sentiment about sorrow and joy is on point.

To think that as much as we taste sorrow now, we will one day taste joy is a joyful statement. As bad as some days are down here, they will be just as good up there. Actually, the worst we go through won’t be able to compete with the best that’s coming. Paul calls it a light and momentary affliction in contrast to the pure joy that awaits.

It’s easy to focus on the crushing and forget the wine that we will become. We can get caught up in how painful the refining process is and neglect that one day Jesus will see His pure reflection in us. What a day that will be. And even in the fire, God is with us.

Prayer in the Mornin’, Prayer in the Evenin’ . . .

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“This order and discipline must be sought and found in the morning prayer. It will stand the test at work. Prayer offered in early morning is decisive for the day. The wasted time we are ashamed of, the temptations we succumb to, the weakness and discouragement in our work, the disorder and lack of discipline in our thinking and in our dealings with other people․all these very frequently have their cause in our neglect of morning prayer. The ordering and scheduling of our time will become more secure when it comes from prayer” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer).

I think starting the day off with God’s Word and prayer is key. Even though I am decidedly not a morning person, I still want to begin the day the right way. It’s not a superstitious thing where my day will go off the rails if I don’t start with the Bible and prayer. I do know that there’s a subtle shift in my thinking when I miss my morning devotional time.

But I do it not because of any reward or benefit but because God deserves it. He deserves the firstfruits of my day. And I definitely understand those who save their quiet time for night or just before bed. It’s hard to read the Bible when you can’t keep your eyes open. I get it.

But the real key is to just do it. Carve out time that suits you best. Don’t let your lack of being a morning person deter you from spending time with God in His word and in prayer. So, to borrow the old Nike slogan, just do it!

God’s Will

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The older I get, the more I realize that there is nothing I want outside of the will of God. As I’ve heard before, having everything without God is nothing while having God plus nothing else is everything.

I can’t imagine life without God. Instead of owning stuff, my stuff would own me. I’d be a slave to my fears and my lusts and never know true joy. I’d always be the same broken and miserable person from day to day without any hope of change.

I’m learning that the best place to be is smack dab in the middle of God’s will. I can dream of some pretty wild scenarios, but no one out-dreams God. His plans for me and for the world are so much bigger and better than anything my puny mind can conceive or comprehend.

So I wait and I trust. I keep reciting the first part of the Lord’s prayer where it says, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” I pray that even if it means that my will be undone, as Elisabeth Elliott used to pray all the time.

I’d rather have my will undone than to get my heart’s desire and be undone by it. I know how people are destroyed by fame and fortune without the grounding to handle that kind of success. I know even the severe mercies of God are better than the praises of men and the rewards of a life apart from God.

So it’s God’s will. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing else. Period.

1 Degree of Andy

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Idon’t normally do shoutouts for podcasts, but I’ve been listening to 1 Degree of Andy, featuring Andy Chrisman, formerly of the group 4Him. He has conversations with many of the top artists, producers, musicians, and other influential people in the Christian music industry from its inception to the early 2000s.

Every single episode fit in my wheelhouse because I grew up listening to CCM (which is Contemporary Christian Music for those who didn’t grow up in church in the 80s and 90s). I recognize many of the names and bands represented. I love how they bring back so many memories for me of discovering new music and having God’s word instilled in my mind through great songs of faith.

I do think the 90s was the pinnacle of Christian music, although I have a growing appreciation for and love of Christian music from the 70s, especially the early Jesus music. A lot of what I hear today on Christian radio doesn’t move me the same way that music still does (though I am very thankful that Christian music still exists and still ministers to people all around the world.

The behind the scenes stories are always fascinating, and hearing how so many battled and overcame personal demons is truly inspiring. I have a greater appreciation for these artists after hearing about their human weaknesses and resilient faith that carried them through their struggles.

My favorite episodes so far are Russ Taff, Gary Chapman, and Twila Paris, but I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface of what’s available. I can’t wait to hear more stories from the road and what inspired some of the greatest songs in Christian music history.

Definitely check out 1 Degree of Andy on Youtube and Audible. You can even go to his website at andychrisman.com to subscribe to his newsletter and become a sponsor. And no, he didn’t pay me for the plug. I just like sharing what I like that I think others will like.

Vacation Mode

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There’s just something special about being on vacation, especially if it’s a familiar place like Gatlinburg. Sure, it’s gotten way more commercial over the years, but it’s still a location full of memories going back to early childhood for me.

It’s nice to be able to set your own pace and not have to be anywhere at all certain time. You can even sit on the balcony of your hotel room and just be. No agenda, no program.

This time, I didn’t have a list of everything that I had to see and do in order to qualify the vacation as successful. I rid myself of every expectation, and just decided to enjoy the moments. So far, so good.

I’m thankful for the means and the opportunity to get away for a bit, so I can rejoin the normal routine a little more energized and relaxed. Plus, I’m sure my cat will be happy to see me again.

Thursday Funnies

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I stole this from a friend’s Facebook post. Hope you like it:

“It helps to laugh … or at least chuckle… when things get stressful….

Under the category… You can’t make this up…These are real names of churches.

Drumroll please …

Entries in the culinary category:

Cookietown Baptist
Bean’s Corner Baptist
Greasy Creek Missionary

Violent-sounding names:

Flaming Sword of Deliverance
Slap Out UMC
Flippin Church of Christ
Hanging Dog Baptist
St. John’s Beheading (in Germany apparently)
Harsh Bible Church

These names are hot:

Saint Matthew’s Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God of the Americas
Fire Escape
Burnout Baptist

Some were just … gross:

Booger Hollow
Swamp Lutheran Church
Toadsuck Baptist

Others I’ll label “really?”

Zion Apostolic Ark Pentecostal Church
Thrice Baptized Three Seed in the Spirit Predestinarian Presbyterian
Hand of God Signs and Wonders

Not surprisingly

St. Nicholas Church in Northpole, Alaska

And finally, there were some that I’ll simply label “no comment”

Licking Christian Church
The Love Church
Big Bottom Missionary

Thanks to Drew Dyck for these”

Living on this Side of the Election

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  • “It’s not about how the worship music makes us feel on Sunday morning, but how we live poured-out lives of worship from Monday to Saturday.
  • It’s not about how many verses we can quote to defend our political viewpoints, but how well we embody the Word made flesh to our politically opposite next-door neighbors.
  • It’s not about how pious our prayers sound during Sunday School, but how our hearts hear the whisper of God both in our hidden rooms and in our lived-out interactions with others” (Asheritah Ciuciu).

Now that we’re past the dreaded elections (or at least they were for me), we can hopefully return to normal. We can hopefully reach out across party lines to embrace and love those who voted differently than we did. We can understand that there is room in the Kingdom of God for blue and red (as well as many other colors).

The point is that we’re called to love our enemies, period. It doesn’t say to love them if they show remorse for their bad behavior. It doesn’t say to love them if they promise to reform. It says to love them the way Jesus loved those who crucified Him. And how did He do that? He forgave them. He died for them.

We’re also called to honor our leaders, according to Romans 13. That doesn’t mean only those who share my political ideology. It doesn’t mean those we like and admire and can respect. Remember when Paul wrote those words, the ruler was Nero, who was just about as bad and corrupt as they come. Nero was responsible for the martyring of many followers of Jesus. But Paul said to honor him because God in His infinite purposes sets up rulers, good and bad, to accomplish His will.

Ultimately, it helps to remember that we’re all broken. The problem isn’t just out there. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and can share the blame for the problems of this country. We would be wise to drop those stones we want to throw at the Trumps and Harrises of the world and their followers unless we can prove that we’re sinless.

If we live out of love as citizens of a Kingdom more than of a country, we do well. Our ultimate allegiance isn’t to any president or to any flag or any political party or ideology. It’s to a King and a Kingdom. It’s to Jesus who will still be on His throne long after all the presidents and kings and emperors are long gone.