Politics, Faith, and Unity

On a stage with ideas bouncing around left, and right, pundits and politicians seek to influence the populace to throw their weight behind them. Sometimes, they say what they think the people want to hear so that the people will vote for them. Others seek to sway the voter to their ideas, making convincing arguments to bring the people to their line of thinking. To the voter, it can be a confusing time. So many topics and each politician with a different view. To confuse things further, each citizen's life may be impacted differently by the issues at hand, which makes ranking the priority of the issues difficult. One person's pursuit of happiness may collide with that of another. Another person seeks liberty and freedom at the expense of someone else. How does one weigh the issues fairly and prioritize them rightly?
If we are to take our own individual interests as the measure, others who reflect our demographic concerns will line up with us. We will separate into voting blocks according to interests and concerns that match our own. What we end up with is a lot of self interested groups who align with each other.
Some of these groups promote and prioritize under a banner, and align behind a party that reflects their commonality. Minorities, feminists, immigrants, evangelicals, gun rights advocates, to name a few, can bring great pressure to bear on the political scene. Elections are influenced and candidates position themselves to receive the greatest gain they can from each of these political factions. The individual voter is left trying to figure out which candidate fits the criteria that matches his demographic and interests. It is not an easy task.
If we take our faith as the guide, we are often not much better off, as each group seeks to claim moral high ground. Some hot topics like abortion and religious expression may sway us in one direction, but candidates who may stand opposed to our faith in these areas may line up with us in others, like helping the impoverished and oppressed. Honest Christian brothers and sisters may go to the same church, but disagree on which candidate best represents their faith. They may prioritize the issues differently. They may not agree on the veracity of the candidates. Personal history and family background feed into lives differently to inform and influence. Disagreements arise as issues and interests divide us.
My plea for those caught up in the election process is to put faith above politics. Our disagreements in reality, are often precisely because we believe strongly. But that does not mean we have to part company. Faith should rise above party bickering. The one who demands loyalty above all others calls us to unify around our faith. The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth which was divided among party lines. Some aligned behind one party figure, while others untied behind another. He warned them against division and called them to unite under one head (1 Cor. 1:10-13). Addressing this division he writes,"Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf" (1 Cor. 10:17). He writes the Ephesian church to unify them under "one Lord, one faith, one baptism" (Eph. 4:3-6). To the Phillippian church, he writes to encourage them to stand firm "in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel" and that they "be of the same mind, having the same love" (Phil. 1:27, 2:2). He calls the Galatians to unify under their faith (Gal 3:26-29).
As we think about our country, we are called to be a light to a dark world. That is hard to do if we are divided along party lines. But if in spite of our divisions, we unite as one loving family of faith we will do much more than influence an election. We may actually influence our country.

Fear And Trust

We are told to cast all our anxiety on Him because he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). While it is nice to be loved, it is who loves us that can make all the difference. If it is someone who can not protect me, the fact that they love me does not ease my anxiety in the face of danger. To be loved by a pauper does not relieve anxiety over financial distress. Health can decline, but unless the one who loves you can heal you, your anxiety over your sickness is not reduced. The relationship between anxiety and caring is affected directly by who it is who cares for us.

When the One who cares for me is able to protect me and shield me from harm (Psalm 11:1; 32:7), the fact that he cares for me reduces anxiety. I need not fear because He is with me (Joshua 1:9). If the one who cares for me is a rich and generous, I need not fear hunger or poverty (Deuteronomy 8:18, Haggai 2:8). There is no need to be anxious about sickness if a healer cares for me (Psalm 103:3, Jeremiah 17:14). Even death need not be feared if the resurrection and the life is the one who cares for you (John 11:25-26).

Anxiety is caused by not trusting the one who cares for you in the area you are feeling stressed. You may trust God with your finances, but still be anxious over health issues. You can trust God to protect you from harm from enemies, but become anxious over an empty cupboard. Anxiety comes because our area of stress is not matched by our area of trust. In order to be free from anxiety we have to realize the one who cares for us CAN care for us in everything. We have to have complete trust in Him (Proverbs 3:5, Isaiah 26:4). Anxiety comes from not trusting, and complete trust removes all fear. Trust Him to care for you in everything, and you will fear nothing (Psalm 56:3, Isaiah 12:2).

Hallelujah Blues

You say that your tired, kinda let down

A little bit broken, wearing a frown

no joy, feeling blue, alone, set afloat

let down, Kinda sad, or sunk like a boat

Your get up and go has got up and gone

Your feet lost their dance, your voice no more song

Your emotions are raw, and blinking back tears

Your days feel like months, and the months feel like years

You put on a smile, trying to hide

The sad lonely feeling your feeling inside

you tuck them away, but you know they are there 

Like the beat of your heart, and with each breath of air

Who understands, who feels your pain

The one who made sunshine, also made rain

Who knows your suffering, what you've been through

There is one who knows, Because He suffered too

He hung on a cross, felt the disgrace

carried the burden for the whole human race

betrayed and alone, battered and bruised

Jesus knows what its like to be used.

You may feel alone, but he’s always there

You may think no one does, but Jesus, He cares

Your smile can’t hide the pain from Him

Jesus sees all that is outside, and in

He is the answer for every tear

Every heartache, and every fear

He can reach the darkest place

Infuse it with light, fill it with grace

So don’t be ashamed to carry a cross

Its okay to be sad, feel alone, suffer loss

Feeling down in the dumps, alone, kinda blue

That is okay, Jesus cried too.

But joy in the morning, comes after the night

The grave in the darkness was answered with light

The blind man was blind, before he could see

And jesus will answer the sadness in me

Be Still!

Life gets busy. There are a thousand voices. A phone call, a doctor's appointment, the garbage needs taken out, children are fighting, husband/wife, TV blaring, chores, outdoors. There are so many things calling for our attention. Our mind races. No wonder we feel overwhelmed, drained, tired. 

God calls us to "Be Still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). Why does He tell us to be still, and what does that have to do with Knowing God? Perhaps it is in our stillness that we can actually hear God speak. Our attention has to be undivided and other voices have to be silenced. In the stillness and the quiet, away from all the other voices, we can hear His voice and feel His Presence. Maybe if we slow down, filter out all the other noise, sit still, and just listen. But we become uncomfortable in the quiet. We turn on music, or television, or play a video. We flip open the phone and check mesages, facebook, or play games. 

STOP!

TIME OUT!

BE STILL!

It has to be intentional. We have to listen to God alone. Drown out everything else. Take a break from life to hear it's Author speak. He is able to bring peace to chaotic lives and raw emotions. Our spirits can find rest and peace in His presence. "He will quiet you with His love and rejoice over you with singing" (Zephaniah 3:17). 

The Joy Of Holiness

When holiness is mentioned to the vast majority of people in the cultural milieu of today the mental images that emerge are cold and gray. The stereotype of straight laced stern faced individuals populate the imagination. However, Scripture, and experience both paint a very different picture. When confronted with his sin, king David asks for a clean heart, with the hope that his joy would be restored (Psalm 51:10-12). In the days of Nehemiah, when the people read the Word of God and began to understand their sin, they were filled with sorrow, but because they turned their hearts from sin and turned to God, they were told to share good food and celebrate for the joy of the Lord was their strength (Neh. 8:9-10). In the book of Acts, the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit at the same time they were filled with joy (Acts 13:52). The righteous and upright in heart shall exult and shout for joy (Psalm 32:11, 64:10). Jesus calls those who are pure in heart blessed (Matthew 5:8). Anyone who has had their heart cleansed from sin by the Holy Spirit knows the testimony of Scripture to be true. They have found the joy of holiness.

Just as false as the joyless face of the “holy roller” is the stereotypical face of those who revel in sin. The person who indulges in sin is often portrayed as fun loving, playful, and having the time of their lives. Many a ruined life, however, matches more closely to the testimony of scripture. Sin kills (Gen 2:17; Rom. 6:23). A sinful lifestyle has unhappy consequences. Sin is a poison that seems sweet (Job 20:12-14), but in reality it crushes us (Psalm 51:8). Those who give themselves to sin may find it pleasurable for a while, but they find themselves in bondage (Prov. 5:22; Heb 11:25). It is a trap to be avoided (Psalm 141:9).


In the end the wicked are cursed, but the righteous are blessed (Prov. 3:33). “Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1, NIV)

The Message

The message was strong and the words came with clout.

You must change. Stop your sin. You must cut it out!

The world pulls you in, you stink of its sin, God says be holy, its true!

The message was clear, but without ears to hear, the people said , This will not do!

Lighten up about sin, talk softly and then maybe we will listen to you.

Its not very nice to speak of our vice and make us feel bad for the things that we do.

Tell us of love and of heaven above, but not about hell and the fire.

You never will reach our ears if you preach a message against our desires.

I cannot said the voice. Overcome! Make your choice, be true to the claims of God.

Stand apart from the crowd, take your cross, live out loud, do not be afraid to be odd.

How dare you speak out, close your mouth,  hush your voice.

I will do what I want, Its my life and my choice!

Your message needs sweetened, it burns on our ears.

Tune your message to us and we’ll give you a cheer.

But I can’t change the message. I speak what I've heard.

When God says to speak, I must speak His Word.

I give warning, take heed. God is love, that is true.

But he also takes seriously the sin that you do.

He won’t take your sin along with your soul.

He wants you holy, made clean, made whole.

You seem to think I am cramping your style.

 But God is coming in just a little while.

Suddenly a trumpet was heard to blare,

people were separated, some here, and some there.

The Heavens  were opened and God did appear.

To the sheep of his flock the Lord said Come here.

The goats were cast out in the sulfurous air

They complained to the Lord, let us in, its not fair.

Oh yes said the Lord, My justice is true.

You made fun of the preacher that I sent to you.

I warned you of sin, and called you to turn.

If you refused,  you were told that you’d burn.

To those who may read this, the message is clear.

When God gives a message, be careful to hear.

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He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Influence

Christians are called to make a difference in society. They are called to be salt, and light (Matthew 5:13-14). Our  life of faith in Jesus Christ should penetrate and illuminate those around us. We should be a positive influence on society. Unfortunately, the influence can also go the other way. Unless we are careful, instead of influencing others for the good, we may be influenced for the bad (Psalm 26:4; 1 Corinthians 15:33). Peer pressure can be a strong persuader, especially if you are in a group. Before you know it you can be following the wrong crowd (Exodus 23:2).

The best way to maintain our witness and influence others for the Good is to keep the influence coming from the right direction (John 8:23). If our influence comes from the world, we will be influenced, but if the flow of influence is from above, we will influence others for the good as a result of our being influenced from above.When the direction of influence is from above, others recognize the source and God gets the credit (Matthew 5:16). Likewise, when you have been influenced by evil, the credit goes back to the source (John 8:44).

You cannot take your cues from the the devil and claim the name of Christ. It is a sham that everyone can see through (Jeremiah 7:9-11). On the other hand, when we are true to the Lord, He is glorified in us (2 Thess. 1:12). If you want to influence others for the good, you have to guard your heart and mind (Proverbs 4:23; Romans 8:6-7). The Bible tells us that only when we are delivered from sin and live by the Spirit can we have our minds set on what the spirit desires. We must no longer conform to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). Then we can influence others because we ourselves have been transformed.

Rest For Your Soul

Nature provides many analogies for spiritual truth. Jesus used many examples from nature to teach his disciples. He used the soil to illustrate the principles of receptivity (Matthew 13:3-8). He used wind to illustrate the work of the Holy Spirit in the new birth (John 3:8). He used trees and their fruit to show us that what is in our heart will show in our lives (Luke 6:43-45). The fact that nature and God’s Truth are illustrative of each other should not surprise us, because God is the source of both. The author of creation is the author of salvation.

With this in mind, it seems to me that we can use nature to illustrate the need for rest. Just as God provided a season of rest for nature, so we would be wise to see God’s design for rest in our own lives. Trees and plants have seasons of dormancy, or rest so that when the rest is over, and spring comes, they can burst forth with vitality. When considering the soil, we see that a period of rest is beneficial. God commands that the land be given rest from the demands of productivity for a time to afford it restoration (Lev. 25:4).

In the same way, we were designed to have seasons of refreshing through designated periods of rest (Deut. 5:14). Rest was not only a command to obey, but a needed reprieve to enjoy. It is a needed relief from those things that burden us (Matthew 11:29), and a source of refreshing (Exodus 23:12).If we fail to get the required rest we run the risk of becoming physically and spiritually drained.

The world today is a busy place. So much to do and so little time. Our busyness spills over into our rest. Is it any wonder we are tired? Take a lesson from nature. God created all there is and then ceased from his work. He then commanded a Sabbath Rest for his creation. It  is not that God wants to steal our time and burden us with less time to get our work done. It is that we were created with a need for rest. We ignore it to our own detriment (Isaiah 28:12), but when we turn back to God seek His ways we find rest for our souls (Jeremiah 6:16; Matt. 11:29).

Radicals

Many people do not like the notion of being called a radical. Extremist is a label that has been shunned by many. The moderate is seen as the one who is reasonable, not too pushy, and not too outspoken. The moderate is not likely to bluster unpopular views. They are less likely to be an embarrassment in mixed company. The extremist is seen as intolerant, and the radical is viewed as close minded and unwilling to compromise.

Radicals have been around for a long time. History’s timeline is punctuated frequently with extremists who have made their mark. Seen through the negative lens we in the west often target people like Hitler, Genghis Kahn, Osama Ben Laden, or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as radicals. But the truth is that there are those we see in a positive light that were seen as radicals in their time. Copernicus and Galileo were seen as radicals in their time, as were Martin Luther and John Wesley. The idea that the earth is round was radical to those who, along with the status quo, believed the earth to be flat. And wasn’t it extreme to place the earth in an orbit around the sun when we all knew it to be the center of the universe? It was a radical Martin Luther that nailed his views challenging the status quo in the Roman Catholic church to the door of Wittenberg castle, and so extreme was John Wesley in his day that he was refused a pulpit in the church only to preach to the masses a message that would challenge the tepid religion of his day with a message of a transformed heart.

In the Bible there were radicals as well. We think of Judas as a radical zealot. Herod was so extreme as to kill all the children in Bethlehem in order to ward off a challenge to his throne. The Pharisees were radical in observing the particulars of Jewish religious practices (Matthew 23:15). But because we have taken such a negative view of the label “radical” we tend to forget the positive side of radicalism.

John the Baptist was extreme (Matthew 3:4-5). The Apostle Paul suffered for his radical views and was considered out of his mind (Acts 26:24). After the resurrection, the disciples were so radicalized that they would rather be beaten and whipped rather than be silenced (Acts 5:40-42). And the most radical of all is Jesus, who was considered out of his mind by some (Mark 3:21) and was crucified for his radicalism.

We tend to shy away from those who rock the boat. Fanatics are shunned. We don’t want to go to far because we will offend someone who has a different view. Who wants to be an embarrassment? But then again, who should be ashamed? Jesus said that he would be ashamed of those who are ashamed of Him (Mark 8:38). He calls us to be zealous in our faith (Romans 12:11). 

It is not so much that radicalism is bad in itself, but what side we take. If we refuse to take a position, that is a position in itself (Matthew 12:30). We can try to be moderate, and ride the fence, but that too is a weak position to take. It is time to take a stand. Jesus was so radical that His cross not only spit history in two, but it opened up eternity. If we want to make a difference in our time, we have to be willing to take a stand for Jesus, even if it means being labeled a “radical.”

Rules and Regulations

We live in a society of rules. There are laws that we live by. Without them it would be chaos, and anarchy. Any society that values freedom must also value law. Though it is often viewed negatively, we are blessed to have a society that protects its citizens through a system of law (Deuteronomy 4:8; Psalm 94:12; Proverbs 29:18).
The Ten Commandments were given to a nation as part of a covenant blessed by God (Exodus 20:1-17). The law given to Moses on Mt. Sinai was part of that blessing. It set in stone an outline of relationship between God and others. How God expects us to relate to Him, and how we are to relate to others is the subject of the Ten Commandments. Rules and regulations have corresponding rights and responsibilities.The rule not to steal corresponds to the right of ownership. Not to lie carries the responsibility and right of truth telling.
Many view law as a negative thing. It is God’s way of cramping our style, raining on our parade, and generally ruining any chance for fun we might have. Rightly viewed however, it is a blessing provided out of love and a desire to protect us. The laws of God are meant to enhance our life experience, not hinder free expression. Every “Thou Shalt Not” carries blessing. Every society that follows the principles of the Ten Commandments find order, safety, and security. Alternatively, a nation without law is a nation in distress.
The Ten Commandments give us rules not only to tell us how to live with one another, they tell us how to live in relationship with God. God commands us to worship Him alone (Exodus 20:3) because he knows that worship of any other thing degrades us. He commands us to revere His name (Exodus 20:7) because He knows that failure to hallow the name of God is symptomatic of people void of the sense of the truly sacred. The command to keep a day of rest (Exodus 20:8) is given as a blessing to us, for apart from rest and worship we unravel (Isaiah 58:13-14).
When asked what was the greatest law, Jesus summed up the whole of God’s rules and regulations with two commands. Love God, and Love your fellow man (Matthew 22:36-40). The two are interrelated. If we fail to love our brother, we really do not love God (1 John 3:10, 4:20-21). The whole of the law is applied in its many parts under the grand heading of Love. Love and law go hand in hand. It was God’s love that gave us the law. Our expression of love to God and neighbor is seen in how we keep the particulars of the law (Romans 13:10).