Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam

“What is a sunbeam?” you ask.

Well, just in case it’s been too long since you sang this song, here are the words (I’ll admit I only remembered the first verse):

 “Jesus wants me for a sunbeam,
To shine for Him each day;
In every way try to please Him,
At home, at school [at work], at play.
Refrain:
A sunbeam, a sunbeam,
Jesus wants me for a sunbeam;
A sunbeam, a sunbeam,
I’ll be a sunbeam for Him.
Jesus wants me to be loving,
And kind to all I see;
Showing how pleasant and happy,
His little one can be.
I will ask Jesus to help me
To keep my heart from sin;
Ever reflecting His goodness,
And always shine for Him.
I’ll be a sunbeam for Jesus,
I can if I but try;
Serving Him moment by moment,
Then live for Him on high.”[1]

(You can thank me later for getting that song stuck in your head.)

Well, so much for my plan to show up for church every week, sit in my spot, doze through the sermon and then go home to take a nap…now I’m supposed to be a sunbeam? What does that mean, anyway?

I’m thinking that a sunbeam is a blessing or an encouragement, does that sound right to you?

“Are you, with your whole soul, might, mind, and strength, loving and serving God in blessing others around you by leading them to the Light of the world?” (E.G. White, Testimony Treasures, Volume 2, page 188)

I know what you’re thinking. “That sounds like a full time job! I don’t have time for that.” or “How can I be a blessing to others when my life is still a mess?” But I think that we let Satan tell us that stuff when being a blessing (a sunbeam) is not one big thing we do, it’s a piece of everything we do.

One author talks about the moment she figured that out. 

“For years I never felt I measured up to all I thought the Lord wanted me to be, or all I thought I should be. Satan convinced me that since I wasn't "perfect," I had no right to minister to others. Then one day, my children brought me a bouquet of flowers they had picked. I hugged each child with joy. As I tried to arrange the flowers in a vase, I discovered my children had picked no stems, just blossoms. I laughed--I had been blessed with their gift of love, however imperfect. It was then I realized we don't have to be perfect to be a blessing. We are asked only to be real, trusting in Christ's perfection to cover our imperfection”.[2]

What a relief, right? One of the drawbacks, though, is that being a blessing is something that we have to do consciously, it’s probably not going to happen on its own, or ever our own. We have to have asked for God’s help to be a blessing to the people we meet.

I just got an email today that had a list of “random acts of kindness,” that look a whole lot like people being sunbeams. There was the Subway restaurant that welcomes the homeless for a free meal every Friday; the older couple who pays for the meal of a young couple trying to eat out with a one-year-old; the dollar bill taped to the snack machine with the note saying, “Your snack is on me. Enjoy your day.” There’s a mailman who drops encouraging notes into random mailboxes as he does his mail route and the person who left the money for another person’s parking ticket on their windshield. And then there’s this:

“The Crimson Tide’s starting kicker missed three field goals during the game, then was yanked with one second remaining in favor of redshirt freshman Adam Griffith, who ended up missing the 57-yard field goal that was returned 109 yards for a Tigers game-winning touchdown.
Foster received threats and horrible, awful messages on Twitter. His teammates stuck up for him though.”

You know that it was a really tough time for that kicker…death threats? really? over a college football game? Anyway, two and a half weeks after that horrible game, Cade Foster posted a picture of a very special letter he’d received on the social website, Instagram.

The letter said, 

“Dear Cade (#43), Life has its setbacks. I know! However you will be a stronger human with time. I wish you all the best – Sincerely – another 43 George Bush.”[3]

Those things only took a second or two and made so much difference for the recipients. Just knowing that someone else noticed you and cared enough to let you know they noticed is huge! It just takes a little thought and the willingness to respond to a nudge from the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes thought, I think it’s easier to do those kinds of things for strangers than it is to encourage people we know. Have you ever noticed that? We can smile and make a joke with the person at the cash register to brighten their day, but we don’t have anything nice to say to someone in our office, at church, or in our own family. We’re quick to criticize the people closest to us. They are often the people who need our encouragement the most.

“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25-26

As “the Day” approaches, what can we be doing for those closest to us to encourage them as we wait for Jesus to return? How can we make sure that they know that they matter to us? that we want to see them in Heaven? that we want to help them along the way?

Instead of criticizing, let’s encourage; instead of gossiping, let’s bless; instead of tearing down, let’s build up.

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:1-3

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[1] Nellie Talbot and Edwin O. Excell, Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam,  1851-1921

[2] Gigi Graham Tchividjian, "Heart to Heart," Today's Christian Woman.

[3] Zac Ellis, Alabama kicker Cade Foster receives handwritten note from George W. Bush, Sports Illustrated Campus Union, http://college-football.si.com/2013/12/11/cade-foster-george-w-bush-note/

And Justice for SOME

We humans are a funny bunch. We love to talk about fairness and justice and everybody getting what they deserve…just as long as we get to decide just what that means.

Jonah is a prime example. God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh and tell the folks there that if they don’t make some big changes, He’s going to destroy the whole place. Jonah’s response is to hop on a ship going as far in the other direction as possible. Why? Because he’s afraid to give them the bad news? Nope, because he knows that if the Ninevites actually do repent and change things around, God won’t punish them.

Huh. Why do you think Jonah was so anti-Ninevite?

The Bible doesn’t tell us much about it. Did a bully from Nineveh beat Jonah up and take away his lunch money every day? Did he get his heart broken by a Ninevite girl? Whatever it was, Jonah wanted them to get the punishment he thought they deserved – whether or not they repented.

Part of it may have been just plain, old-fashioned bigotry – those folks from Nineveh weren’t like the people around whom Jonah grew up. He didn’t know anything about them except what he’d heard…and what he’d heard was all bad.

Does that kind of prejudice effect the way we decide who gets the chance to hear about salvation and who doesn’t today? Do we have prejudices grown out of ignorance or past experiences that keep us from exposing certain groups of people to God’s mercy?

Harvard has put out the “Implicit Association Test,” or IAT (https://implicit.harvard.edu). It’s a test that attempts to answer certain questions about prejudice. The makers of this test aren’t looking to see if a person is or is not prejudice. They assume that everyone favors one group of people over another, and that is what they are measuring. Taking the IAT and receiving my results was very interesting – not at all what I expected.

According to Clayton McCleskey’s article in The Wall Street Journal, our biases can be based solely on a person’s accent.

“Most of us like to assume that we're enlightened, tolerant, and unprejudiced people. Unfortunately, a new study reveals many of us have a hidden bias against anyone with a foreign accent. … ‘The further from native-sounding an accent is, the harder we have to work, and the less trustworthy we perceive the information to be.’ It gets worse: ‘Researchers found that the heavier the accent, the more skeptical participants became.’ In other words, if it sounds like you're not from around here, my suspicion radar is on high alert. My bias about you isn't based on your character; it's based on the fact that you talk ‘different.’
“The researchers want to reassure us that we're not really racist or prejudiced (thank goodness). Apparently, we're just lazy. Well, again they don't want to pass judgment: we're not actually lazy; our brains are lazy. In the researcher's words, ‘Our brains prefer the path of least resistance.’
“That seems like a nice way to say that, despite our best intentions, we all have pockets of prejudice and bias. In biblical terms, we show favoritism toward people who resemble us. Perhaps this study shows why we need Jesus' help to uproot our partiality and love people who don't resemble us, especially people from different racial, ethnic or national groups.”[1]

So, to what extent are our prejudices shaping our ministry? Think about it – I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t support a mission trip to some third world country, but what about ministering to inmates in our county jails or state and federal prisons. What about sharing Jesus with the folks who live in homeless shelters, or the ones who aren’t lucky enough to live in a shelter. How many of us have considered ministering to the intellectually and/or physically challenged?

Paul reminds us that every human is the same in Jesus’ eyes.

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28

“God desires that we should have tender, sanctified regard one for another, and as dear children in his family, we need to have the pure love of Christ. O, shall not the seed that produces roots of bitterness and unseemly fruit be banished from our hearts, that we may cherish the heavenly plant of love? As mature Christians we shall love more and more, not less and less. We need the warmth and glow of Christ in our cold, stony hearts. We want our hearts broken by the love of Christ, and then we shall defend the characters of those who are giving their lives to the service of him who has died for them. We shall not then act the part of accusers, and treat our brethren and their labors as worthless. Let us daily pray that we may be led to a higher plane of thought and living, that we may love in sincerity and Christlike deeds.” (E.G. White, Review and Herald, October 24, 1893)

It’s important to remember that we aren’t the ones who decide who needs/deserves forgiveness. Technically, no one deserves mercy or forgiveness but we all need it! And no matter who we are, or what we’ve done, Jesus died to make sure it’s there if we want it.

“But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:21-26

Even at the end of the book of Jonah, Jonah is still bitter about having to share God’s mercy with the people of Nineveh. He reminds me of the Prodigal Son’s big brother. 

“Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.  And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’
“But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’
“And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’” Luke 15:25-31

Let’s not be like either Jonah or that older brother. Jesus died so that we could all spend eternity with Him. 

Let’s not miss it!

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[1] Clayton M. McCleskey, "Accentuating Bias," The Wall Street Journal (10-2-10)

Prodigal and Prostitute

“Forgiving the unforgivable is hard. So was the cross: hard words, hard wood, hard nails.”
William S. Stoddard

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8

You probably remember a man named Ted Kaczynski – the Unabomber. He’s the man who used to send mail bombs to people he didn’t like. He’s been in jail now for many years, but this week I read something I hadn’t known before.

After Kaczynski was put in prison, his mother, Wanda was interviewed by someone associated with the Chicago Tribune. She told the reporter that she wrote letters to her son, Ted, every month. She shared her most recent letter at that time with the reporter.

"I want you to know, Ted, that when a child is born, the parents give them the gift of unconditional love for a lifetime. This is true of you. No matter what happens, my love for you will be there for a lifetime. Love, Mother."

It must have been heartbreaking for her to write those letters because Ted had testified during his trial that she was a horrible person. In fact, he refused to even look at her as she sat in the courtroom. In spite of that, Wanda Kaczynski, wrote a letter to him every month telling him that she loved him.  That story reminds me of a couple of other stories.

One of the stories is in the book of Hosea, God tells Hosea to marry a prostitute. God gives people of Israel a living object lesson that demonstrates how they are treating God. They repeatedly wander away from God, spiritually, to worship the idols and false gods of the people who live around them. But, like Hosea, God is not only willing to forgive and take His people back over and over again, He’s willing to go and find them and lead them back to their true beliefs over and over again.

Can you imagine how difficulty that must have been for Hosea as he watched the woman he’d married destroying herself – not just once or twice either?

Have you ever know someone who repeatedly hurt themselves? Yes, most of us know someone who smokes or doesn’t exercise or overeats and those are self-destructive behaviors. But I’m talking about something more immediate.

Several of the folks I work with have a problem with picking at or pulling on their skin until they’ve made actual sores that hurt and bleed and potentially could become infected. One man has bitten his hands so many times that he wears braces to protect him from himself. One woman wears gloves all the time because without them she will pick at the skin around her fingernails until every finger is bleeding and sore. Even though these individuals know the pain that will come from their behavior, they continue to do it.

As staff, we often look at these individuals, shake our heads and ask, “Why don’t they just quit doing that? It must hurt. Why don’t they stop?” And then we clean, disinfect and bandage … and try to keep them from hurting themselves again.

When we read the Old Testament, we ask ourselves the same questions about the Israelites. “Why did they keep moving away from God and breaking His rules? Couldn’t they see that they were just going to end up being taken captive again?”

And yet, we very rarely ask those questions about our own behavior. “Why do I keep picking TV over reading my Bible? Why don’t I spend more time with God? Don’t I know that I’m damaging my relationship with God?”

Sin is self-destructive behavior that tears up our hearts and our spirits and separates us from God. But it doesn’t just hurt us. It hurts God, too. Even before we feel the pain of guilt and remorse, our behavior has broken God’s heart.

The other story I thought of was the parable that Jesus told about the prodigal son. Where Hosea chose someone who was already living a self-destructive lifestyle and, as an example of God’s redemption, loved her in spite of her behavior; in the story of the prodigal son, he was at least aware of his father’s love for him whether he chose to accept it or not.

 “… He did not know that the best place in the world is home; for the home atmosphere had become disagreeable to him, because he could not be as independent as he desired. Any place looked better to him than home. Evil companions helped to plunge him deeper and deeper into sin, and a false excitement was kept up, and he imagined that he was happy in being free from all restraint. He had no one now to say: ‘Do not do that; for you will do injury to yourself. Do this, because it is right.’ But when his means failed, and he was obliged to take time to consider, he found himself without the bare necessities of life; and, to make his situation more trying, a famine had come upon the land.
“Starvation stared him in the face, and he joined himself to a citizen of the place. He was sent to do the most menial of work,—to feed the swine. Although this to a Jew was the most disreputable of callings, yet he was willing to do anything, so great was his need. Miserable and suffering, he sat in the fields doing his task. Because he had been unwilling to submit to the restraint of home, he now had the place of the lowest of servants. He had left home for liberty, but his liberty had been turned into the lowest of drudgery. (E.G. White, Signs of the Times, January 29, 1894)

When the prodigal son finally decides he’s had enough and makes up his mind to go home, his father is there waiting for him and welcomes him back even though the son probably still smells like pigs. The father doesn’t care – his son has come home.

The question is, does God love anyone of us any less if we don’t come back to Him? The Israelites, as a nation, ultimately and finally rejected God…did He quit loving them?

In the final verses of Hosea, we read the promises of God through Hosea that confirm His love for not only the Jews, but all of humanity…no matter what.

I will be like the dew to Israel; He shall grow like the lily, And lengthen his roots like Lebanon. His branches shall spread; His beauty shall be like an olive tree, And his fragrance like Lebanon. Those who dwell under his shadow shall return; They shall be revived like grain, And grow like a vine. Their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.  “Ephraim shall say, ‘What have I to do anymore with idols?’ I have heard and observed him. I am like a green cypress tree; Your fruit is found in Me.
“Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right; The righteous walk in them, But transgressors stumble in them.” Hosea 14:5-9 

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:35-39

Full Metal Christian

Thoughts on the Sabbath School Lesson for 11.17.12

Every battle is won or lost before it is fought.[1]

“Opposition lawmakers and human rights groups are criticizing German Chancellor Angela Merkel for claiming that Christianity is ‘the most persecuted religion worldwide.’”[2]

Two questions: Do you agree with Angela Merkel? and Why do you think that statement upset so many people?

I have to say that I agree with Merkel, but on a whole different level. I believe that every Christian, no matter where they live, is persecuted. Now before you get too excited, I’m not necessarily talking about jack-booted thugs breaking down doors and burning Bibles, I’m talking about Satan and his angels and their constant harassment of the children of God.

In some times and places, Satan has actually used those jack booted thugs, but he’s rarely that obvious…to start with, anyway. Life would be much easier if we could see Satan coming, wouldn’t it?

What we get instead is a barrage of innocuous seeming “little things” in our daily lives that will, if we’re not properly protected, pull our attention away from God.

What’s our protection? Paul tells us in Ephesians.

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints” Ephesians 6:10-18

Wow! That’s a whole lot of protection. Some might say that Christianity isn’t for weaklings. But I believe that following Jesus Christ is only for weaklings, because only after we’ve given up every delusion that we can handle things ourselves are we able to accept the grace of Jesus – our only hope of winning this war.

“There is a warfare in which every soul must engage who ould have the crown of life. Inch by inch the overcomer must fight the good fight of faith, using the weapons of God’s word. He must meet the foe with, ‘It is written.’ He must keep the armory well supplied with, ‘It is written.’ In this way he must meet the advances of the enemy, and educate and train the soul for the still more severe attacks of the foe. Truth, the word of God, faith and righteousness, and the hope of salvation, must be the armor of the successful warrior, and his eyes must be anointed to be keen and sensitive to detect the devices of the enemy. … If God had not made provision by which you might be thoroughly equipped for your warfare with the powers of darkness, then these commands and promises would be but mockery to you, and would tantalize your soul; but our God is true. We may depend upon him under all circumstances. The word of God cannot fail, and in it we are to find our assurance.”[3]

Are you ready to stand for Jesus Christ? Do you have your armor on? Where do we get the armor?

The armor comes with our relationship and knowledge of Jesus Christ as our Savior. We can’t just give lip-service to being Christians and then go do our own thing. Putting on the armor of God can only be done when we accept His complete control over every part of our lives.

Contrary to what many people believe, becoming a Christian will not necessarily make our lives easier and more peaceful. Walking with Jesus brings us into the view of the enemy – the one who hates Jesus (and by extension, His followers) with the white hot hate of jealousy.

In the face of that, we want to be safe, but there is no safety apart from Jesus. Jesus is our only refuge from the wiles of the devil.

Author Erwin McManus writes:

“One summer Aaron went to a youth camp. He was just a little guy, and I was kind of glad because it was a church camp. I figured he wasn't going to hear all those ghost stories, because ghost stories can really cause a kid to have nightmares. But unfortunately, since it was a Christian camp and they didn't tell ghost stories, because we don't believe in ghosts, they told demon and Satan stories instead. And so when Aaron got home, he was terrified.
“‘Dad, don't turn off the light!’ he said before going to bed. ‘No, Daddy, could you stay here with me? Daddy, I'm afraid. They told all these stories about demons.’
“And I wanted to say, ‘They're not real.’
“He goes, ‘Daddy, Daddy, would you pray for me that I would be safe?’ I could feel it. I could feel warm-blanket Christianity beginning to wrap around him, a life of safety, safety, safety.
“I said, ‘Aaron, I will not pray for you to be safe. I will pray that God will make you dangerous, so dangerous that demons will flee when you enter the room.
“And he goes, ‘All right. But pray I would be really, really dangerous, Daddy.’
“Have you come to that place in your own life where you stop asking God to give you a safe life, and make you a dangerous follower of Jesus Christ?”[4]

Christianity is a rough and tumble contact sport. We can’t stand on the sidelines waiting for the game to be over. We have to be out there, in it…but not of it and the only way to do that is to put on the full armor of God and stand with God.

And remember, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” 1John 4:4

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[1]Sun Tzu, Chinese General and Strategist, in The Art of War, written in the late sixth-century BC

[2] Associated Press, Merkel's 'Christian Persecution' Comments Draw Ire, ABC News, November 6, 2012, http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/merkels-christian-persecution-comments-draw-ire-17651468#.UJzNQ03yofU

[3] E.G. White, Signs of the Times, December 3, 1894.

[4] Erwin McManus, "Seizing Your Divine Moment," Preaching Today, Issue 252

“Today,Today, & Today, Until He Comes”

Thoughts on the Sabbath School lesson for 9.1.12

I have a theory that the followers of God have always had a job to do – a mission to accomplish – and, following my tendency to oversimplify things, I have concluded that we can narrow all the possibilities down to three specific tasks.

From my perspective, the way the Bible tells God’s story fits pretty neatly into this framework.

The first role I believe God wants us to fill is that of Companion. God created us to be His friends and companions. In Eden, before sin, God spent time every day with Adam and Eve and they learned about Him. In the same way, Jesus and His disciples lived and worked together for three and a half years, while He was here on earth.  And, I believe Jesus calls us to spend that same kind of daily and prolonged time with Him.

The second role I believe we are called to is to be a Warrior. By that I mean someone whose task is to expand and protect God’s territory.  In Old Testament times, that was a much more physical task – David and other warriors of that time literally fought wars and battles to guard the edges of God’s territory. In the book of Acts we see the apostles and the early Christian church fighting the same battle with the help of the Holy Spirit. The war they fought may not have looked much like the ones David fought, but the result was just as deadly for some of God’s warriors.

I believe that we’re also called to be warriors for God – expanding the spiritual territory of God and defending His truth. Warrior is not a job for cowards, and it can’t be done correctly without first having spent considerable time as God’s companion and friend.

The third role I believe that God asks us to fill is the role of Prophet. By that I mean someone who point people to the coming of Jesus. The Old Testament prophets spent their time pointing the Jews to the coming of the Messiah. Almost all of the New Testament writings point to the Second Coming of Jesus. And for those of us living right now, we have to keep encouraging our brothers and sisters in Jesus to hang on until Jesus comes.

I don’t mean to say that these three jobs are separate and distinct. In actual practice, we need to do all three jobs all the time. They should overlap and intertwine with everything we do in our everyday lives.

I believe that maintaining the roles of Companion, Warrior and Prophet as we go about our daily lives will help us stay focused and ready for the final events that lead to Jesus’ Second Coming.

Paul wrote to the Thessalonians to urge them to not let their readiness slip.

“But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.” I Thessalonians 5:1-11

It is really difficult to maintain the appropriate level of readiness. It is so easy to “sleep” as Paul says when we should “watch and be sober.” It’d be a whole lot easier if we just had a date, wouldn’t it? Then we could make sure we were ready, right?

“The times and the seasons God has put in His own power. And why has not God given us this knowledge? Because we would not make a right use of it if He did. A condition of things would result from this knowledge among our people that would greatly retard the work of God in preparing a people to stand in the great day that is to come. We are not to live upon time excitement. We are not to be engrossed with speculations in regard to the times and the seasons which God has not revealed. Jesus has told His disciples to ‘watch,’ but not for a definite time. His followers are to be in the position of those who are listening for the orders of their Captain; they are to watch, wait, pray, and work, as they approach the time for the coming of the Lord; but no one will be able to predict just when that time will come; for ‘of that day and hour knoweth no man.’ You will not be able to say that He will come in one, two, or five years, neither are you to put off His coming by stating that it may not be for ten or twenty years.” (E.G. White, The Review and Herald, March 22, 1892)

I think the key to being ready is to keep working! We have to maintain our relationship with Jesus by spending time with Him as His companion. We have to let ourselves be led by the Holy Spirit to tell others about Jesus – expand God’s spiritual territory as a Warrior. And we have to point others to and help them be ready for Jesus’ Second Coming as a Prophet. If we do all those things, we won’t have time to get complacent.

You probably know the story of The Great Disappointment and William Miller who thought he’d figured out when Jesus was coming. When the date he had set came and went without Jesus return, many of us might have given up on God. Many of us might have moved away and become a recluse. William Miller didn’t do either of those things. He kept studying and believing that even though he didn’t understand, God was in control of the situation.

“After the passing of Oct. 22, 1844 - a date that Miller did not set, but accepted at the last moment - Miller wrote to Joshua Himes: ‘Although I have been twice disappointed, I am not yet cast down or discouraged….My hope in the coming of Christ is as strong as ever. I have done only what after years of sober consideration I felt to be my solemn duty to do….I have fixed my mind upon another time, and here I mean to stand until God gives me more light. - And that is Today, TODAY, and TODAY, until He comes, and I see HIM for whom my soul yearns’ (letter, Nov. 10, 1844, in The Midnight Cry, Dec. 5, 1844, pp. 179, 180).”[1]

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[1] Town of Hampton, New York, “William Miller: Herald of the Second Advent,”  http://hamptonny.org/William_Miller_Chapel.html

Is that Faith?

“Into the experience of all there come times of keen disappointment and utter discouragement—days when sorrow is the portion, and it is hard to believe that God is still the kind benefactor of His earthborn children; days when troubles harass the soul, till death seems preferable to life.  It is then that many lose their hold on God and are brought into the slavery of doubt, the bondage of unbelief.  Could we at such times discern with spiritual insight the meaning of God’s providences we should see angels seeking to save us from ourselves, striving to plant our feet upon a foundation more firm than the everlasting hills, and new faith, new life, would spring into being.”  E.G.White, Prophets and Kings, p. 162.

Looking at the troubles that come into the lives of Christians and the Christian response to those trials, I started to wonder about the line between faith and fatalism.  What got me thinking about this was a radio preacher who was talking about King David toward the end of his reign.  The story is in 2 Samuel 15 and 16.  Absalom has staged a coup and has forced David to retreat from Jerusalem.  As he’s moving out with his loyal soldiers the steward of Mephibosheth (Saul’s grandson, who has been being supported by David all these years) meets him with donkeys and food for the journey.  That’s the only bright spot in David’s day though because he finds out from the steward that Mephibosheth is back in Jerusalem in the hopes that Saul’s kingdom will be taken away from David and restored to him.  And then, David comes up to the next town, only to meet a guy named, Shimei who starts throwing rocks at David and his posse.  And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, Shimei starts shouting curses at David: 

“’Get out, get out, you man of blood, you scoundrel! The LORD has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The LORD has handed the kingdom over to your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a man of blood!’" 2 Samuel 16:7-8 

At that point, Abishai, one of King David’s men, offers to go over and lop off Shimei’s head. 

“But the king said, ‘What do you and I have in common, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the LORD said to him, “Curse David,'” who can ask, “Why do you do this?”’
“David then said to Abishai and all his officials, ‘My son, who is of my own flesh, is trying to take my life. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the LORD has told him to.  It may be that the LORD will see my distress and repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today.’
 “So David and his men continued along the road while Shimei was going along the hillside opposite him, cursing as he went and throwing stones at him and showering him with dirt.” 2 Samuel 16:10-13

When I first heard that, I thought, “That sounds like a man who has completely given up—who just doesn’t care anymore.  And who could blame him?  He had definitely reached a low point.

So how can we tell the difference between “the faith of a child” and fatalism?  Have you met a person who, on the surface, seems to have that complete, unwavering faith in God’s leading, but who really has ceased to take any responsibility for his (or her) own life.  No matter what happens, it was God’s will.  There’s a leak in the roof or a traffic jam on the expressway, but this person is unperturbed.  He’ll say, in a voice like Eeyore’s (Winnie the Pooh’s donkey friend), “Everything happens for a reason.”

Now, I know it’s not my job to decipher where another person is spiritually; that is totally God’s job, and He can have it.  My concern is that I will fall into fatalism and believe that I am resting in faith.  So I’ve spent some time trying to learn the difference between faith and fatalism.

In an essay called “Passivity, the Flip Side of Passion”, pastor Paul Anderson supplies a list of excellent comparisons between faith and fatalism.

“Faith has lips and legs; it makes statements and it takes steps.  Fatalism keeps us from moving anywhere or doing anything-because nothing matters anyway.

"Faith directs us to a preferable future.  Fatalism resigns us to an inferior present.
"Faith says ‘yes’ to the promises of God.  Fatalism says ‘yes’ to whatever blows through.
"Faith lays hold on the future with confidence.  Fatalism embraces the status quo with resignation.
"Faith brings the future to the present.  Fatalism cannot see the future because of the present.
"Faith places us on top of our circumstances.  Fatalism puts us under the circumstances.
"Faith pleases God.  Fatalism offends Him.
"Faith makes obedience essential.  Fatalism makes obedience (or disobedience) inconsequential.
"Faith responds to the faithfulness of God.  Fatalism gives in to a god who is distant and unknowable.
"Faith overcomes in trials; fatalism accepts it condition.
"Faith looks to what can be; fatalism accepts what is.
"Faith moves mountains; fatalism means that we get moved.
"Faith believes the best.  Fatalism accepts one’s fate, even if it is the worst.”

Believe it or not, fatalism is a very comfortable place to be because in that state we have no hopes, no desires, and whatever happens, happens.  Another author talked about this giant, beautifully built dome that the Buddhists built, but they don’t maintain it.  It’s called the stupa and is meant to decay.  The Buddhists teach, “that existence is pain, and like the dome suffers pain and ruin through whatever comes against it.  Ultimately, the goal is to become nothing, which is nirvana.”  Fatalism could be described much the same way.

But that’s not what the Bible says in Romans 8:28-39…or anywhere else for that matter.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
 "What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:  ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

I don’t know what books you read growing up, but in the ones I read, conquerors were never passive.  They were out there making a difference.  They may not have won every battle, but they never gave up until they got to where they thought they belonged.

Satan would love for us to sit back and let life wash over us, eroding our lives, our spirits and, ultimately, our relationships with Christ, all the while believing that we’re accepting what God has chosen to give us. 

“Man is allotted a part in this great struggle for everlasting life; he must respond to the working of the Holy Spirit. It will require a struggle to break through the powers of darkness, but the Spirit that works in him can and will accomplish this. But man is no passive instrument to be saved in indolence. He is called upon to strain every muscle in the struggle for immortality, yet it is God that supplies the efficiency.” E.G.White, Our High Calling (1961), page 91.

As it turns out, David hadn’t given up at all.  He had at least three loyal spies in Jerusalem making sure he knew what Absalom was up to.  He had just learned over the years he spent commanding armies, that some battles are more important than others.  The battle for his throne was important; some guy throwing rocks and dirt at him was not.  Another thing that David had learned was that even though sometimes standing on the sidelines is a whole lot harder than being in the battle (just watch a basketball coach sometime), it’s important to know when to stand and when to fight.  He’d learned to let God tell him which was which.

Are you fighting any battles right now?  Are they the right ones or are you worried about satan throwing rocks and insults?  Are you fighting God and fighting your way closer to Him? 

“’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.’"  Jeremiah 29:11-14

How can you argue with that?  He promises to bring us back from those difficult places and to hear us when we pray.  Amen!

Radical Commitment

What is your attitude toward obedience?

a.         I’ll do what I want.  I don’t care what God wants me to do.

b.        If God will give me what I want first, then I’ll give Him what He wants.

c.         I’ll give God what He wants first, with faith that He’ll give me what I want.

d.        I’ll give God what He wants, regardless of what He gives me.

I think most of us hover between c and d, right?  Well, I do anyway.  The problem is, though, that God isn’t asking us to “kinda, sorta, on my terms” commit to following Him.  He wants 100% commitment.

“As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’
 “Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.’        He said to another man, ‘Follow me.’“But the man replied, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’“ Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’
“Still another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.’
“Jesus replied, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.’”  Luke 9:57-62

That’s rough!  Are we sure we’re ready for that kind of commitment?  What would that look like in someone’s everyday life?  Can you picture it?

It’s sort of hard to picture isn’t it?  What with daily life getting in the way and all.  But try this:  Picture what the life of a committed Olympic athlete would look like?

That’s a little easier isn’t it?  Check out what some committed athletes do everyday.  All of them say they get up early, anywhere from 4:30 am to 6:30am; then breakfast.  But those are pretty much the easiest parts of their days.  One runner starts her training at 8:30 am (after she’s already taken her dog for a 20 minute walk) by meeting “up with a group of elite runners, for practice, which lasts anywhere from two to four hours and 10 to 24 miles.”  Which she follows with an ice-cold bath.  (that’s what I said!)  Then she does weight training and then runs another four to six miles.  She says she hates parts of what she does, the ice cold bath, specifically, but running is something that she’s committed to.

Here’s a typical day for a water polo player:

“7:30 Time for weights; we lift four days a week, two for upper body and two for lower.
9:00 After weights, a strength circuit; we use stability balls, medicine balls, a slide board, a Spinning bike and wooden boxes to jump on and off of. It's usually about seven exercises, and it's never the same thing twice. By the end of this session, I'm already tired--and we haven't even gotten in the pool yet.9:25 In the pool for a freestyle workout. Through a mix of sprints and longer-distance swims, we cover between 3,000 and 4,000 meters.10:30 We bust out the stretch cords and medicine ball to do a leg circuit in the water. Final drill: Drag a teammate, who is dead weight, across the pool.10:50 Done with first workout.
1:30 Out the door for second practice.2:00 Warm up: Do some laps, throw the ball a bit.2:30 Technique-oriented practice, which sounds easy, but it isn't. If we're working on counter-attacking skills, we'll be swimming back and forth for 90 minutes straight.5:00 Done for the day. I may or may not shower; after being in the water for more than three hours. I'm sick of being wet.”

Now that’s radical commitment!  But do you know any Christians with that kind of commitment to serving God?  People who are willing to get up early, do things they don’t necessarily enjoy doing, training, working, and exhausting themselves for God until the end of the day?  Paul comes to mind, or any of the disciples for that matter.  Even though David, Daniel and Moses weren’t technically Christians, they definitely shared a radical commitment to God.

Some would say that that kind of commitment isn’t possible any more.  We have to have “real” jobs and can’t just spend all day witnessing.  What do you think?  Was being completely committed to God easier during Bible times?  Does God have a different set of standards for us?

You know, like lesson plans:  “Lillianne will complete her sabbath school lesson study 80% of the time with 75% accuracy, with only two verbal or nonverbal reminders.”  Folks during Bible times were responsible for 100% commitment but since life’s harder and busier now, we’re only responsible for 75 to 80% commitment.

I don’t think so!  Do you know that there are people today who are totally committed to Fantasy Football, video games, basketball, or any number of other things.  So what’s stopping you and me from being completely committed to Christ?

Good question.  In the early 1900’s, Lenin set down four “totals” that would be evident in people who were totally committed to communism.  They were:  “total acceptance of the cause, total dedication to the cause, total discipline in the cause, and total action for the cause.”  Those seemed to have worked for Lenin, for a while anyway.  But look at them again, those for “totals” could work for almost anything, couldn’t they?   A committed Christian will display total acceptance of the mission of Jesus; totally dedication to the mission of Jesus; total discipline toward the mission of Jesus and total action for the mission of Jesus. 

Do you accept the word of God as the central force in your life?  Are you totally dedicated to seeing the Gospel preached?  Do you have the discipline to incorporate the Word of God into every aspect of your life?  Are you willing to do something everyday to share the love of Jesus with someone?

That actually sounds like something I could do!  What do you think?

Still not convinced?  Consider this:  Without a radical commitment to Jesus, what will happen when the trials, tribulations and general tough stuff comes along?  Aha!  That’s why we need to be fully committed now – to keep us steady in present and future suffering.  If we don’t have Jesus to hang onto, chances are excellent that we won’t make it!

 

In his book, Gulag Archipelago, Alexander Solzhenitsyn talked about how he hung on during the awful interrogations that he endured at the hands of the Soviets:

“So what is the answer?  How can you stand your ground when you are weak and sensitive to pain, when people you love are still alive, when you are unprepared?  What do you need to make you stronger than the interrogator and the whole trap?  From the moment you go to prison you must put your cozy past firmly behind you.  At the very threshold, you must say to yourself: ‘My life is over, a little early to be sure, but there’s nothing to be done about it.  I shall never return to freedom.  I am condemned to die—now or a little later.  But later on, in truth, it will be harder, and so the sooner the better.  I no longer have any property whatsoever.  For me those I love have died, and for them I have died.  From today on, my body is useless and alien to me.  Only my spirit and my conscience remain precious and important to me.’“Confronted by such a prisoner, the interrogator will tremble.  Only the man who has renounced everything can win that victory.”

Sound familiar?  “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”  Luke 14:33, and “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.   But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.  For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:” Philippians 1:20-23

Let’s make a radical commitment today to God’s word, God’s will and Jesus Christ so that when troubles and suffering come, we will be able to stand and not fall.

Persecution, Anyone?

Have you ever been persecuted for something you stood for?  I mean really persecuted, not just teased or laughed at – beat up, put in jail, threatened with death?

I’d have to say no.  I don’t believe I’ve ever even lost a job because of the Sabbath.  I’d ask if it was going to be a problem, and if the boss wouldn’t compromise, I just didn’t take the job.

In high school I used to take some heat from my band director and fellow band members because I didn’t march in the Friday night football games.  They always wanted to know why I couldn’t just get a note from my pastor telling me it was okay to march.  I’m not sure how that would have worked, really.  Who would I give the note to?  God?

“Please excuse Lillianne for breaking the Sabbath when she marches at half-time at the football game.  She’s still a good person.”

The thing that made that situation a tiny bit tougher to deal with was that my brother DID march in those games…so people did have a hard time understanding why he could and I couldn’t.  They didn’t realize it wasn’t an issue of could or couldn’t; it was an issue of would or wouldn’t.  And my brother and I both made our own choices.  And I wasn’t kicked out of the band or beat up because I wouldn’t march on Sabbath.  I have to say, though, in my whole life that is the biggest conflict I’ve ever experienced. 

That’s why I can admit, that when I think about persecution, I really can’t even imagine it, much less the concept of martyrdom.  Those are things that are completely foreign to me.  But, it isn’t to everyone, and it won’t always be to me.  2 Timothy 3:12 says, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”

Hang onto your seats!  That says ALL that follow Jesus SHALL be persecuted.  So, where does that leave you and me?  Have you ever seriously thought about what might be involved in standing up for what you believe in?  I don’t believe I have thought enough about it.

When I was in college at Keene, there was a boy there – I don’t even remember his name – who was probably the most intensely spiritual person I have ever met.  He thought a lot about “the time of trouble” and what that would mean to him personally.  What hardships he would have to experience.  And he wasn’t afraid; he spent every day getting ready for that time.

I have to say that the majority of us were not as spiritually minded as he was and we were kind of embarrassed by his intensity.  We weren’t particularly kind to him.  In retrospect, I wish I had gotten to know him.  He had the most recognizable “amen” on campus.  I’d be in assembly or church or prayer meeting, whatever, and from somewhere in the crowd I would hear his unmistakable “a-MON!”  And my friends and I would nudge each other and smile.  We were persecuting him, but the joke was on us.  He was always focused on Jesus…and we weren’t.  Who was the winner there?  Exactly.

When many of us think about persecuting we think of the early Christians being fed to the lions and then we jump to the time before Jesus comes, that thing we call, “the time of trouble”.  We don’t really think of persecution going on right now – it’s in the past and it’s in the future, but it doesn’t really have much to do with us, right now, right?

That’s not true.  A man named Thomas Hall states in an article that “More Christians died for their faith in the twentieth century than at any other time in history, says Christian Solidarity International. Global reports indicate that over 150,000 Christians were martyred last year,…”

Excuse me?  150,000 martyred Christians?  How can this be?  Why isn’t this on every news program all the time?  Where are these people?  Here are just a few of today’s headlines from a website called, oddly enough, The Persecution Times: 

•          Violence Against Christians on the Increase in Turkey

•          Breaking News: Pastors beaten up in Devgoan, Maharashtra

•          Christian Attorney’s Arrested and Tortured

•          Church Meeting Disrupted by Hindu Radicals

•          Compass Direct News : SUDAN - SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS YOUTHS IN CHURCH

•          New Cartoon Riots Kill Christians in Nigeria

•          Pastors beaten and arrested on charges of conversion

•          Church Ransacked and Desecrated in Karnataka state in India

•          Nine Christians killed following accusations of blasphemy in Nigeria

Now, maybe it’s just me, but did you know this much persecution was taking place?  Do you have as much trouble as I do imagining myself in these types of situations?

“To human wisdom, all this now seems impossible; but as the restraining Spirit of God shall be withdrawn from men, and they shall be under the control of Satan, . . . “ E.G. White, The Faith I Live By, page 330.

As we go through our every day lives, here in the United States, being imprisoned, harassed, beaten or even killed because we say were Christians seems totally impossible, doesn’t it?  But I’m worried that that is going to be a big part of our problem when we are challenged.  We have become so comfortable being quietly Christian that being openly Christian will be too hard for us.

Think about it.  How often do we just keep quiet when the subject of what church we belong to comes up?  Or when someone asks where we stand on a particular Christian topic?  Have we learned the lesson of compromise so well that we don’t know how to stand firm anymore?

“In the absence of the persecution there have drifted into our ranks men who appear sound and their Christianity unquestionable, but who, if persecution should arise, would go out from us”.--Ev 360 (1890).

Will we be among those who will “go out” when persecution begins?  I have to say that four years of explaining every single week during football season why I was not going to be marching in the half-time show led me to a rock solid understanding of why I keep the Sabbath.  But, nobody was slapping me or carrying me off to jail because of it.  Mostly folks just shrugged and said something along the lines of, “Bummer, see ya Monday.”  Not exactly painful on any level.

So, where does that leave me?  Am I willing to stand for Jesus even if it means that I will die?  Or will I compromise and walk away.  Am I more afraid of pain and death than I am of losing forever with Jesus?  If you’re like me, all this talk of persecution is really frightening, but read what Paul wrote in Romans 8:15-39.  It gives me a lot of hope for what is on the horizon.

“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.  Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.  And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The Bible tells us that the time is coming when it will be a crime to believe the way we do.  When we have to make the choice to follow man and live, or follow Jesus and die, what will you and I decide?  Maybe we need to start making those decisions today.