See You At The Pole

I was very proud to watch our youth group show up at 7:00 am this morning to be a light at their school. It is powerful to see God working in the lives of young people, and I especially enjoyed watching our young people leading prayers, songs,and giving thoughts in the presence of their peers. As a kid growing up, I often felt alone in the world and didn't know if there were any other Christians out there. Today was such a powerful example that Christianity does still exist in schools, and there are those willing to stand up for their faith, no matter what others think.

The Lucifer Effect

So, what causes human beings to act in ways that are less than holy? Is there really a fine line between a saint and a sinner? Can people easily turn evil under certain circumstances? Psychologists addressed these questions in the 1970's at Stanford University. The results of their study were horrific, as "normal" students became either deviant monsters or oppressed slaves to one another. This Lord of the Flies experiment showed just how far humans can spiral down into ethical debauchery. Findings reflected those of the events seen in Guantanamo Bay, where average people took joy in torturing other human beings. Here is a video that does a good job offering an "edited" and "cleaned up" explanation of the study. While I know this is a little "too real," I still felt compelled to address the issue. There is a dark place within humanity. Christ wills to shed light upon such dark corners and illuminate hearts so that humans will never be dragged into the darkness as so many others have.

2 Corinthians 4:6
For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

For Those Who Hate Reading

Here is a video version of what I typed earlier about Polycarp. "Thank you YouTube!"

One Holy Holocaust

“Leave me as I am; for He that gives me strength to endure the fire, will also enable me, without your securing me by nails, to remain without moving in the pile.”

I’ve been reading a book about the earliest Christians and was touched by a story about Polycarp. For those who don’t know, Polycarp was a follower of the apostle John. As a faithful Christian, Polycarp became an anchor to early believers, and for this reason was martyred by Roman authorities.

Here is the historical account of Polycarp’s death in the Roman gladiator arena.

When he came near, the proconsul asked him whether he was Polycarp. On his confessing that he was, [the proconsul] sought to persuade him to deny [Christ], saying, Have respect to your old age, and other similar things, according to their custom, [such as], swear by the fortune of Cæsar; repent, and say, “Away with the Atheists.” But Polycarp, gazing with a stern countenance on all the multitude of the wicked heathen then in the stadium, and waving his hand towards them, while with groans he looked up to heaven, said, “Away with the Atheists.” Then, the proconsul urging him, and saying, Swear, and I will set you at liberty, reproach Christ; Polycarp declared, “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?” And when the proconsul yet again pressed him, and said, “Swear by the fortune of Cæsar”, he answered, “Since you are vainly urgent that, as you say, I should swear by the fortune of Cæsar, and pretendest not to know who and what I am, hear me declare with boldness, I am a Christian. And if you wish to learn what the doctrines of Christianity are, appoint me a day, and you shall hear them.” The proconsul replied, “Persuade the people.” But Polycarp said, “To you I have thought it right to offer an account [of my faith]; for we are taught to give all due honor (which entails no injury upon ourselves) to the powers and authorities which are ordained of God. But as for these, I do not deem them worthy of receiving any account from me.” The proconsul then said to him, “I have wild beasts at hand; to these will I cast you, unless you repent.” But he answered, “Call them then, for we are not accustomed to repent of what is good in order to adopt that which is evil; and it is well for me to be changed from what is evil to what is righteous.” But again the proconsul said to him, “I will cause you to be consumed by fire, seeing you despise the wild beasts, if you will not repent.” But Polycarp said, “You threaten me with fire which burns for an hour, and after a little is extinguished, but are ignorant of the fire of the coming judgment and of eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly. But why do you tarry? Bring forth what you will.”

Wow. Now that’s faith!


The Martyr of Polycarp. Translated by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0102.htm.

Turn This Rock Into A Plymouth

Here’s a cartoon that demonstrates well to me the futility of Satan’s trickery when tempting Christ. What kept Christ pure and sinless? Was it his continual walk with God? Was it the love he had for those he would save? Maybe too it was the realization that the things being offered could never add up to the great reward of heaven in the presence of God and those who had been redeemed. Regardless, isn’t it good news to know that Jesus never bought into what Satan was selling him?

see more comic strips here

God Pie

So, while I doubt God looks like this guy, I still get the point.

False Fasting

In Isaiah 58, we read an interesting little text speaking about fasting. The text begins with people crying to God “Why have we fasted and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?" I don’t know about you but there is a part of me that can totally relate to this text. Why is it that I feel as if God “owes me” when I am spiritual? When I sin against God, I am glad to tell him that I do not desire to be judged by my own righteousness, but by his alone. However, when I am spiritual, for some reason I do want to be judged by my works (go figure), and want God to take notice. In many of these cases, I feel I am owed his love, owed his acknowledgment, and owed his blessings. The fact is, I’ve gotten it all backwards. My prayer here reflects that of the Pharisee in Luke 18:11-12 “God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.” Thus, clearly I do not want to be justified by my own abilities and accomplishments, especially since there are more negatives in my life than positives.

However, this is what strikes me as interesting. God responds to these “holy men” and their “holy prayers” by saying, “On the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD ?” I wish I had a sound effect of a big “BOOM” right here! What a slam in my face! It is almost as if God is saying, “Ok Chris, so you fasted a time or two? Big deal! When you fast, you control the details. You say when you will start and when you will end. By the way, don’t you think I know all of those times you intended to fast and didn’t or stopped hours early for a meal? And what is with this moodiness anyway? You act ‘put out’ and ‘upset’ at the end of the day because you have given up a meal. Get over yourself buddy! Do you really think it pleases me that ‘every once in a while’ you skip lunch for a moment of humility?” Like I said, it hit me right between the eyes.

Now, listen to the rest of Isaiah 58. "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” Wow. There is the answer. Fasting in my life has looked so much like that of these sinful worshipers, when it should be so much more like God speaks of here. This text just blew me away and I felt the need to share it with you.

Accuser

In Genesis 3, we discover true evil as Satan slithers up to Adam and Eve and offers them his brand of Eden. The Devil says all manner of things to the couple, seeking to convince them that God is not worthy of their praise and obedience. Needless to say, Satan’s most powerful attribute is his ability to convince others that his way is right.

According to various Greek lexicons, the word Devil is defined as “prone to slander, slanderous, accusing falsely.” As I read these words, I keep thinking in my mind about the power of slander and the weapon it has become in so many modern churches. Most of us have felt the sting of being attacked verbally and know the hurt of having to defend one’s self against untrue accusations or unfounded gossip. While we know that God’s words are truth and his intention is always based on love, too often we buy into the attacks made against others. All too often I have given into vicious attacks or created accusations against another. The last thing on earth we should ever want to be called is an “accuser.” Those who accuse find themselves in poor company. Rather, we should strive to follow our father as members of Christ himself. Our goal should be to speak words of truth that all might be saved. Now there is an accusation I wouldn’t mind hearing, “He speaks the truth in love!”

click here to see more cartoons from the above artist

Life

Apart From Me There Is No Other

Have you ever been singing in worship a song like My Jesus, I love thee and wondered if it was "ok" to sing a song directly to Jesus? Right now I am reading through the book of Isaiah and recently ran across Isaiah 43:11. The text states, “I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.” Isaiah then goes on to show that there is none like God, calling him Israel’s king, redeemer, and Lord. Later in 44:8 Isaiah says, “There is no other rock.” Clearly God stands alone, as there is no other like him. In Acts 4:11-12, Peter speaking of Jesus calls him “the stone builders rejected, which has become the capstone” and then concludes with “salvation is found in no one else.” No wonder the Jews wanted to kill Jesus. Christ claimed in his ministry to be Israel’s only salvation, king, redeemer, Lord, and the rock.

A few years ago, a friend of mine went to visit a Jewish synagogue. While there, he talked with a rabbi who defensively spoke of Christ saying, “It’s not like we think Jesus was evil, he just wasn’t the Messiah. Jesus was a good man, just not God.” My friend in his youth responded bluntly “Then why did you kill him?” These are harsh words that convey a powerful truth. The fact is that if Jesus claimed to be our savior but was only a man, he was not good but rather either crazy or evil. This Jesus actually did deserve death! However, if Jesus is truly God, then the death of Jesus was the greatest human mistake in history. If Jesus is God, then he had a right to speak as he did and accept praise as he did. So, the next time you sing that song My Jesus, I love thee, know that it’s ok to be singing a song of prayer and praise to him. The reality is that JESUS IS LORD, AND THERE IS NO OTHER.