Eyes Half Open

I overheard the strangest conversation at Starbucks today. Two 50ish world-worn men sat with their coffee in the corner, in what at first appeared to be some kind of business meeting with folders and a binder sitting next to their cups. I heard snippets of conversation, something about calling CNN and investigations and trials. While waiting for my tall toffee-nut latte, my eavesdropping (if you could call it that, as they made no attempt to whisper) revealed that one of the men was trying to come to terms with his grandfather’s untimely and tragic murder some years ago.

I sat down with my latte and my Bible at the table farthest away, because I went to Starbucks to study God’s word about hope, not to listen to some personal story however compelling it may be. But strong words continued to drift my way — words like closure, random luck of the draw, wrong place at the wrong time. Gun shot wounds. Bullet fragments. The WHAT and WHEN and HOW questions of a family’s tragedy muddled up in the cold language of court reports, explosive wrenching pain of lives separated through death and sin. I listened with a curious, quiet empathy — all the while scanning Scripture for verses about hope.

Then the conversation turned somehow to personal exploits, and the same man who remained bewildered by his grandfather’s murder recounted with a chuckle the time he had a one-night stand with some hot woman from California and lied to his wife about it. When she found out, she confronted him and even punched him, but he continued to lie and she eventually believed his story. As the two men tossed their empty cups in the trash I heard him mutter something about even so, it was worth that one great evening. My empathy had long since been replaced by sadness.

I find it interesting that in a span of 30 minutes, this man recalled with near agony the pain caused to him by someone else’s sin and then tells the thrill of his own with no remorse for the pain he caused others. What is it about the human heart that so easily finds sin? But maybe I’m not so different. Try as I might, I still struggle with pride, arrogance, anger, bitterness, self-centeredness, fear, and the list goes on. The collateral damage of our lives piles up fairly quickly, don’t you think?

As humans we have no hope outside of Jesus. If you have been going through life as if sin doesn’t matter, your eyes are only half open.

“The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light… clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 13:11-12, 14.

No more fluffy church

A while back I heard a news program about a group of Las Vegas prostitutes who found salvation through Jesus and went into ministry helping other hookers to do the same. When asked why she felt called into that ministry, one of women said something to the effect of: “I escaped a burning building but others were still trapped. I had to go back and help them out.”

Have you ever been trapped in darkness? I have. It’s a terrible feeling — lost, lonely, condemned, sad, hopeless. And then when I met Jesus, the opposite feelings — found, loved, free, full of joy and hope.

Did you know that the enemy can take us back to those feelings of being trapped in darkness? He can’t take our salvation of course, but he can deceive us. And it’s happening everywhere — we’re just going to church to feel better about ourselves. Because inside we’re as lost as ever before, or at least it feels that way. It’s time to be real with each other and ourselves.
Church isn’t a stage rehearsal for heaven.

Lord let your sleeping giant rise / Catch the demons by surprise / Holy nation sanctified / Let this be our battlecry ~ Casting Crowns, “Until the Whole World Hears”

His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 3:10-11

The Opposition

Monday morning, and one glance at the headlines tells me we’re at war. Bill Clinton says it’s the vast right-wing conspiracy; FoxNews says its the liberal left. A preacher in Orlando thinks it’s all Bill Maher’s fault, and Bill Maher agrees with Sam Harris that it’s all religion’s fault. The gay and lesbian community blames centuries of prejudice and oppression on religious fundamentalism, while Christian conservatives blame those gays for the moral breakdown of our nation. And don’t even get me started on Iran.

I wonder what’s going to happen on Tuesday?

Whatever it is, let’s blame Oprah. Because it certainly won’t have anything to do with my own selfish heart, or the enemy who preys on it.

“So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to mankind.” 1 Corinthians 10:12-13

“Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written, Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.” Matthew 4:10-11

Thou Shalt Prepare? Part 2

Besides Noah, the Old Testament provides many examples of Spirit-filled preparation, but I want to move into the New Testament because there’s one verse that gets me every time:

“Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep.” Matthew 10:9.

Here Jesus sends out the 12 disciples with a direct command to NOT prepare physically ahead of time. They should be completely dependent on God’s ability to care for them.

This verse in combination with Matthew 6:25-34 (don’t worry, tomorrow will worry about itself) prevents many, many Christians from thinking seriously about preparedness. We say: when our time comes we will accept it. God will provide the solution, I just need to pray and trust.

Of course God will take care of your family! Definitely you should pray and trust! But here’s a question for you: HOW does God provide for his followers?

In the verse above, Jesus tells the apostles not to take extra things because “the worker is worth his keep.” They stayed in homes, ate food, and slept in beds provided by willing families. As a wife and mother I can easily imagine the preparation that went into housing one of Jesus’ apostles for a night, a week, a month, or longer.

God uses His people to provide for others. His people – that’s you and me! We should be ready and willing to help whenever possible, and that includes unforeseen emergencies and disasters.

Another point from the New Testament: at the end of Acts Chapter 11, we hear about some prophets who came to Antioch, predicting that a severe famine would spread over Rome. I’m sure this led them to pray and trust that God would provide for His people. But they also put action to their prayers: “The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.” Keep in mind – the famine had not yet begun. All they had was the word of some prophets, and they acted in faith.

PREPAREDNESS TIP #2: Practice being aware of others and their needs. In the aftermath of a disaster, the people around you will be all you have for a while until help arrives. Are they hurt? Do they need shelter? Water? First aid? Could you help people that are trapped nearby?

And before a disaster, the Holy Spirit may urge you prepare something for them ahead of time, as in Acts 11. (Please note here that listening to the Holy Spirit is critical. We can’t plan for every possible disaster and provide for everybody in need — the list would be endless. But because our Lord knows what awaits us, He can impart wisdom and guidance to us through the Spirit.)

HELPFUL RESOURCE: Christian Emergency Network. Formed after 9/11, the CEN operates under the premise that Christians should “BE AWARE of the times, Be Ready and then rally all Christians to BE THERE praying for the victims, caring for them in sensitive ways, and then sharing the Hope found only in Christ.” The CEN believes that caring for others includes attending to their physical needs in an emergency.