Signs of the Apocalypse

It's official. The end is near. Don't buy any green bananas. The world is about to end.

How do I know this, you ask?

It's simple if you read the signs.

First, read this story. It seems that if you are short and commit felonies against children in Nebraska, you get probation. The lack of height is sufficient reason to avoid a jail sentence in that great state. I thought it was crazy when Debra Lafave got 3 years of house arrest for molesting a young boy. But she is pretty, and pretty people can't be sent to jail. Now short people can't go either. I guess only regular schlubs go to jail for molesting kids.

Second, as of May 26, 2006 the Detroit Tigers have the best record in baseball. I can't even begin to describe how ridiculous this sounds to a long-suffering fan. You had to be there for the last 13 years. You just had to be there.

Third, Pat Robertson has leg-pressed 2000 pounds, or so he says. You know my love for the goofy stuff that comes out of Pat's mouth. This one is a doozy. This ranks up with Chia-head Kim Jung-Il, who has made a series of similarly preposterous claims over the years. It seems that both of them have left reality and have entered another plane of existence. Let's pray that they stop making public pronouncements.

Otherwise, the world will come to an end. Very soon.

Ralphie

I was trolling through Glenn Beck's website and saw a picture of him on the "On Television" tab that looks like a 40-year old version of Ralphie, the kid from A Christmas Story. Can it be true that Glenn really is a grown up version of the kid who wanted a BB Gun?

Look at the photos and tell me if you agree.

Pearls

I love the comic strip Pearls Before Swine. Aside from the obvious biblical references, it is a dark and funny strip with some great characters. Take a look at this recent strip:
As is the law of nature, the crocodiles are always trying to kill the zebra who lives next door. But what I find amusing is their penchant for false piety to try to trick the zebra. It always backfires on them, as this strip humorously depicts.

But there is a caution for us here too. Just because someone claims to be a believer doesn't mean their motives are pure. There are many snakes posing as Christians, and many good and Godly people have been hurt by them. We need to take Jesus' words in Luke 16:8 to heart.

8 "The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.

I almost lean to following Ronald Reagan's advice to "trust but verify" when dealing with people. Whether they claim to be a Christian or not. I've been burned by Christians who behave no differently than the culture at large. Maybe that is why I find the crocs so funny.

Border issues

Here we go again. The furor over illegal immigration has reached a point where the U.S. Senate may have to act, and tonight President Bush is preparing to announce that National Guard troops will be placed in support roles along the border with Mexico. Predictably there are many in favor of this and many opposed to the plan. President Fox is concerned about the militarization of the border. Of course, his country takes in billions each year from illegal immigrants sending money back to Mexico, so he has a vested interest in keeping the status quo in place.

One of the most intriguing comments comes from Senator Chuck Hagel (R- Nebraska) who said the proper way to do this is to double the Border Patrol during the next five years, but opposes using National Guard troops during the intervening 5 years. So, is it a free-for-all during that time? This makes no sense to me.

I have nothing against immigrants. But I am terrified of a porous border when we are at war with fanatics who recruit all over the world. Unfortunately the Mexican citizens trying to get into this country get caught in the blowback.

Stillness

Take, take till there's nothing, nothing to turn to.
Nothing when you get through.
Won't you break, scatter pieces of all I've been.
Bowing to all I've been running to.

Where are you?
Where are you?

Did you leave me unbreakable?
Leave me frozen?
I've never felt so cold.
I thought you were silent.
And I thought you left me for the wreckage and the waste.
On an empty beach of faith.
Was it true?

Cause I, I got a question, I got a question- Where are you?

Scream, deeper I wanna scream.
I want you to hear me, I want you to find me.
Cause I, I want to believe but all I pray is wrong and all
I claim is gone.

And I, I got a question, I got a question- Where are you?

lyrics from Silence by Jars of Clay

That's where I am today.  I'm reaching out for God to tell me
what he wants me to do with my life, my vocation, and the
seminary education I am acquiring.

But there seem to be more questions than answers.

Then along comes a chapel podcast on Be still and Know.
Whack! (sound of 2x4 hitting skull)

Read Psalm 46 with me

1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.

6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah 8 Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. 10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." 11 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah (emphasis added)

Pray for me to be still. If you know me, you know how difficult that is. I want to know it all now, and it doesn't work that way. But I want to know because there is a restlessness in my soul that I cannot explain.

Time

I'm at the Sci-Fi thing again. This week's episode of Dr. Who was about Rose going back in time to see the scene when her father died. She was an infant when this happened. Unfortunately Rose ignores the Dr.'s instructions and intervenes and sets off a calamitous chain of events because of the breach in the time continuum. This got me to thinking about what would I like to go back in time to see. There is so much.

I would love to see the Exodus live. All 40+ years of it if I could. I envy Moses for the relationship he had with God. The signs and wonders he saw had to be mind-boggling. Yet he faithfully soldiered on.

I would also like to see Solomon's Temple when the Lord moved in. To see the presence of the Lord inhabit a place would be the most awe-inspiring thing I can imagine. To viscerally feel the presence of the Lord Almighty, to see, hear, smell and feel His presence would probably cause me to completely lose my composure. Yet I would love that opportunity.

Rome in it's heyday is something I want to see. It was a city of 1 million people, a feat that was not equalled in the West until the 19th Century. Rome had it going on, and seeing that would be an incredible scene

I want to hear Jesus teach. I'd love to be with him and the disciples as they walk from town to town. To hear the banter, admonition, jokes and teaching that went on between the Son of God and his followers would give me insight into a person who is hard to get my head around.

Where would you like to go? Anything you would like to see? Let me know if you have the time.

How has it come to this?

A few years ago I attended a conference on USA/Canada Missions in Nashville, TN. The conference, sponsored by the Church of the Nazarene, had nearly 5000 participants focused on how to evangelize the United States and Canada. The M3 refers to the 3^rd Millennium of Christianity, which we are now in.

Am I the only one to cringe at the concept of having to have a conference on how to evangelize our “Christian” nation? I used to make fun of the Jews because they “just didn’t get it” when they had the Messiah in their midst. In Acts 1:4,8 Jesus tells his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they have received the Holy Spirit and that “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth.” People, our Jerusalem is all around us.

Look at your community with God’s eyes. Who is hurting? Who needs a friend? Who needs food? Shelter. A lift out of addiction? Freedom from fear from an abusive spouse? Who are the widows, orphans and poor that God cares so deeply about? And how can we help them?

I am reminded of King Theoden, sovereign of Rohan in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, whom, when surveying the evil that surrounds his nation, asks, “How has it come to this?” (In case you didn’t know, I am a huge fan of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the Hobbit) How has it come to the Church of Jesus Christ having to make a concerted effort to see the needs of the hurting? When did our eyes stop seeing the hurt, the loneliness, and the needs in people? When did a church so rooted in serving the poor, turn its heart away from those that need Jesus? I can’t answer that, but it has been that way for a while.

I have good news. The Church of the Nazarene has reaffirmed its commitment to serving the needs of all God’s children, not just those who look like us. Speaker after speaker talked about how we need to reach out, and how we can reach out to the lost in our communities. Since 1998, more than 500 new churches have been started in the United States and Canada, and 1,000 more will be started by 2008. More than 300 of those new churches will be primarily Hispanic congregations. The church has identified leaders to reach nearly every ethnic group imaginable with these church plants. The commitment to those who are not “pale-skinned” resonated throughout all the speakers, culminating in the address of General Superintendent Dr. Middendorf, who told us this is our time, God has been ready, and now we are ready to go where he wants us to go.

Pray that we will be obedient to God’s leading in these issues. We need to be prepared to reach people who do not look like us, act like us, or are even the kinds of people we like to be around. We are all sinners, some of us are saved by Grace, and others are waiting for that opportunity. God loves these people, and we need to be obedient to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them. That may mean a church plant, opening a Compassionate Ministry Center, or implementing outreach efforts to show Christ’s love to them. Or something that we haven’t even imagined. Mercifully, God is not limited by our imaginations.

Pray with me that God will lead us to follow His direction. We can’t be passive, but we need to be obedient. Pray with us, come with us, and work with us to reach the lost for Jesus.

Easter

Wow! What a weekend that was. It started out with a moving Stations of the Cross service on Good Friday followed by the Eucharist. Since we meet in a school, it was kind of a linear mode, but it was very well done and it spoke to many hearts.

Sunday was a great day as well. We had an all-church breakfast at 10, service at 11 and an egg hunt at 12:30. We had more than 100 people for the first time on Sunday and 45 children for the egg hunt.

Our message was about Thomas, and how he is stereotypically known as "Doubting Thomas." There is more to the man as Pastor Sam pointed out, but he also encouraged us to lay down our doubts. I know I have my share.

I doubt whether God still intervenes in the daily lives of people. Then I remember a kindly gentleman, and I use that term in its most positive manner, named Howard Carroll who was told to go home and prepare to die because his cancer was untreatable. More than 10 years later, he had become a hospital chaplain and he was there to explain to my 9 year old daughter how God does heal people. Her grandfather had recently had what we thought were strokes, and she was having a hard time praying with any belief. I told her about Howard and she started firing questions at him (if you know her you can imagine the scene) about his story. Afterward she was comforted and more confident in her God, because she heard first-hand how he intervenes in people's lives.

I repeat that story for myself for those times when my business is down, I am discouraged, or feel like roadkill. God still intervenes in our lives, and He cares about us. That is the message of Easter. God cared enough to rescue us from the pit of despair. And he still does that today. Celebrate it with me.

Cubans

More on the immigration debate.

Remember Elian Gonzalez? The little Cuban boy forcibly removed by federal agents and sent back to communist Cuba? If he had been Mexican, none of that would have happened. I'm not trying to stir hatred toward anyone (except maybe the potatoheads in DC) but there is an obvious double standard. Our Immigration service practices catch and release for illegals flooding the Southern Border. They don't automatically send them back.

But any Cuban who doesn't reach U.S. soil is summarily sent back to Cuba, without even a hearing. There is something inherently wrong here.

Protests

I really don't know what to make of the recent wave of protests about illegal immigration. As someone born and raised in this country, I have a hard time understanding what the illegal immigrants must go through. They live in fear of deportation, and are reluctant to turn to the authorities when they are mistreated for fear of being deported if their status is discovered. The Bible clearly calls on believers to take care of the less fortunate and defenseless in our land. And they qualify as defenseless in many ways.

The prophet Jeremiah summed it up pretty well how important the defenseless are to God in chapter 7 of his book: ' 5 "For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a man and his neighbor, 6 {if} you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your own ruin, 7 then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.

All of the groups highlighted in v6 were defenseless in that era. There were not many methods of recourse for them if they were mistreated, and so God made a special point of instructing Israel to take care of them.

But what do we do with people who broke the law to get here? There are 12 million or so of them in this country right now, and our border is so porous that one could smuggle just about anything over it. Social services in border states are overwhelmed with the workload, and many Mexican women are coming to the U.S. to give birth so that their child will be a U.S. citizen. Hospitals in Arizona, New Mexico, California and Texas are closing because they are not reimbursed for the care given to illegals.

I see church leaders leading the protests, and I sympathize with them. I see the leaders of the House of Representatives taking an enforcement tack, and I empathize with them. I hear the calls for amnesty, and I fear that will just open the floodgates unless the border is secured. And who knows what Al Qaeda will bring across the border.

This is a vexing problem that defies easy answers. This may be one of the cases where the church and the government's interests diverge. God help us to make the right decision. Lives do depend on it.

Apocalypse

I'm A Sci-Fi fan. I love the Sci-Fi channel, and it is probably the one I watch the most. I know it's a bit geeky, but hey, it fits.

Last week a new series, Dr. Who, premiered. Click on the link for the storylines if you want. I wanted to comment on the episode "The end of the world" which aired on March 17. In this episode Dr. Who, our time-travelling alien, takes Rose, an typical British young lady, 5 billion years into the future to see the end of the Earth, when the Sun expands. Much goes on that we don't need to discuss, but at the end Rose makes a telling statement.

She says "We were so busy saving our own lives that no one watched the end" or something to that effect. Then Rose is transported back to present-day earth and she stands among the pedestrians on a London street watching the people go about their lives. And she knows they have no idea of the coming apocalypse.

This resonated with me and the church. We know of the coming apocalypse. We just don't know the date. Yet so many of us, myself included, are so busy saving (and living) our own lives that we will miss it. And those around us will miss it if we don't do something.

I'm not advocating street-corner fire and brimstone preaching, but we do need a sense of urgency to tell others about Christ's love and how they can enter the kingdom of God right now. Not fear, but love. Urgent. pressing love that tells people that the Sovereign of the Heavens loves them. And wants to spend eternity with them.

People who have stared death in the face through illness, accident or war have an altered perspective on life. They often have a new respect for the mundane things others take for granted. Christians should be like that as well. We have received a pardon from a death sentence. And we need to show our gratitude.

God forgive us for our spiritual inaction. John the Baptist had a sense of urgency, as did Paul, Jesus and the disciples. We should have no less. Lord, help us.

Max

CBS is about to finally announce a replacement for the disgraced Dan Rather. It appears that Katie Couric, the perky diva from NBC's Today show, is the heir apparent to the chair that Walter Cronkite once held. And the CBS staff apparently is not in favor of the move.

I'm not going to get into the politics, or my like or dislike of Ms. Couric and her style of journalism. My bigger question is "Does it really matter who sits in the big chair?" Do Americans ascribe validity to the information they receive based on the talking head reading it off of a teleprompter? Seriously, do news anchors do any real reporting? Do they go out and beat the bushes for news? No. They read what their producers put on the teleprompter and they make inane chatter with the correspondents whose pieces are being used on the newscast.

I vote for bringing back Max Headroom. The folks who created him were way ahead of their time. If the news we receive is just some talking head reading off a script, why not have an animated character and save a boatload of cash? Plus, Max doesn't have bad hair days and he doesn't have attitude problems, like Mr. Rather's famous walking off the set incident.

Vive le Max!

Bridges

Sometimes a picture really does say it all. This is a bridge in Honduras that lost its purpose after Hurricane Mitch struck that country several years ago. In case it isn't clear, the bridge goes to nowhere because the river moved. The tremendous rainfall and flooding from the hurricane changed the channel of the river, and what is a magnificently constructed piece of engineering has no purpose.

Ever been to a church like that? It has a beautiful edifice, strong, stately columns, flying buttresses for support and by all measures it is a prime specimen of craftsmanship. But it is empty most of the time. Like the bridge, it is well constructed but not useful.

Rev. Jim Garlow, pastor of Skyline Wesleyan Church, pointed this out to me in a chapel message he delivered at Asbury Seminary. Podcasts are available here. He spoke of the church being primed to fight the last war, the war on modernity. We have our columns of proof texts, legions of trained apologists, and an army of witnesses to go tell people that the Bible is not in conflict with science. Problem is, Modernity is dead, like the old Soviet Empire.

In its place, we have a world where proof texts are pointless, when the person you are talking to is biblically ignorant and apathetic. We have an army primed to fight the last war, and the new one is upon us.

In the new battle, we have to "win the hearts and minds" of the culture. We are no longer the favored player. Quite the opposite is true. Every religion but Christianity seems to get a better shake from the culture. So we have to start over and try to win people to Christ through our love, our lives, not our words.

Garlow challenged us not to become like the bridge in the photo. We can build bridges, but we have to be prepared for the ground to shift underneath us. Or we end up looking like a sad relic from the past.

Hurt

Wow. I just finished watching one of the most visually powerful videos I have seen in quite some time. It is Johnny Cash's rendition of "Hurt", the old Nine Inch Nails song. Click on the link to take a moment and watch it.

The song, albeit written by someone else, still expresses the deep sense of regret that Cash has for the lifetime of bad decisions he has made. In a voice sapped of its volume, he speaks more clearly than I've ever heard him about his faith, his life and the regrets he has at the end of his life. I was in tears as I watched this moving performance.

What spoke to me most was his sense of regret. For all the hurt he had caused others. I share that too, and hopefully I am not near the end of my days. There are a lot of things I regret - things I've said, not said, done and not done.

What really spoke to me was our ability to change that life of regret before we get old and broken down. If we turn from our own path and follow what God has for us, we can begin to live a life we will not regret. It will still have hurts, but we have One who can heal the hurts walking with us.

Fun

Have you followed the antics of the elected officials in Detroit lately? After successfully hosting a Super Bowl, they have managed to regress to schoolyard antics in just two weeks. And the public is outraged, as evidenced by their comments.

It seems that Detroit has a $300 million budget shortfall. So, the Detroit Zoological Society agreed to take the operations of the Detroit Zoo off of the city's budget. The state of Michigan offered a $4 million grant to help with the process.

Here is where it gets really weird. According to news reports, the mayor's office took months to get the plan to the City Council. The plan arrived to the Council late Friday and they debated the issue well into Saturday before voting 7-2 to not turn over control. The grant offer expired Sunday morning and the Mayor's office immediately announced that they would begin closing the zoo.

Public outrage ensued.

Then race entered the picture. Quoting from the Detroit News:
Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson stoked the fire by saying the council itself should be placed in a zoo. Councilwoman Barbara-Rose Collins said white people don't own black people anymore. Patterson said he'd rather own a 1948 Buick than Collins.

You can't make this stuff up.

Let me get this straight. You (Detroit) can't afford the zoo. Group offers to run zoo, take over operating costs. You reject offer because it didn't meet your timetable. Then you invoke slavery?

The Detroit City Council needs a new motto. I propose "City Council - putting the fun back in dysfunctional."

This is so embarrassing.

Enough

Enough of Fred Phelps and his crazy, homophobic congregation. Enough of this self-described minister adding to the grief of the family of slain soldiers. You can read about them here.

Mr. Phelps has a congregation that believes it is their job to run around to the funerals of soldiers who gave their life for the country and tell the grieving family that their son/daughter died because God is judging the U.S. because of the "don't ask- don't tell" policy on homosexuals in the military.

How is this helpful? How does it help more people get into the kingdom of God? How does it portray the love of Christ to the world?

Mr. Phelps and his band of haters do more to damage the cause of Christ than I can imagine. But I have no idea how to stop them.

Friction

fric·tion n.

1. The rubbing of one object or surface against another.
2. Conflict, as between persons having dissimilar ideas or interests; clash.
3. Physics. A force that resists the relative motion or tendency to such motion of two bodies in contact.

Friction is one of those morally neutral things that drive us crazy. Friction is good, as in iron sharpening iron. It's bad when it's ball bearings screeching to a halt. We like it when it helps our tires grip the road surface, we don't when it creates static electricity and shocks us when we open the door.

Friction is everywhere. It is why the jet stream is faster than surface winds. It is why the center of a river channel generally flows faster than the area near the edges. Friction is what slows our snow sleds on the hills, unless we pull a Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation and use some super lubricant to reduce friction.

Friction also exists in our lives in less abstract ways. Friction occurs when you have competing ideas and visions. The two sides may not agree on a particular approach to a subject, but one will carry the day. How that process is handled is extraordinarly important.

If there is no lubricant between the two sides, things can heat up quickly. Just forget to add oil to your engine once to get an idea of what can happen. Heat builds up to a failure point. In relationships the failure point can be words spoken in anger, rash decisions, or a decision to go negative and backbite and gossip about the other person.

Properly managed friction can produce a relationship where the two sides pull together and work for the common good and purpose. In a machine, liberal application of a lubricant such as oil usually does the trick. With people, oil is much less effective.

The lubricants of choice would be love, grace and humilty. Putting those together can make a number of things go much more smoothly. Remembering that the other person is a child of God is always helpful. If the question comes down to purely personal choice, e.g there is no clear right and wrong, then humility needs to be applied. And grace covers a number of bumps along the way.

I say this knowing that I have not always done this. But God continues to work on me to mold me into something useful to him. A pastor once called me "hard-headed and tender-hearted." I took it as a compliment, but realized that the hard-headed needs to be tempered with humility. And God is really good at humbling people.

I know.

@&%#%%&!

Wow. It used to be that cartoons made you laugh most of the time. Aside from the Doonesbury types who seem profoundly cynical AND negative, as opposed to just one of the two, most cartoons and comics are designed to make the reader chuckle. And most cartoonists used the characters at the top to express cursing and frustration. Given that knowledge, it appears that the Danish press missed the memo that their Muslim readers don't have much of a sense of humor. At least when Mohammed is the target of the humor.

I'm sure you have seen the stories about the rioting, killing and street protests across Europe and the Middle East since the cartoons were reprinted. Several things strike me here. First, the cartoons were in poor taste. Not that taste has been at its zenith lately, but they were unnecessary. Second, this kind of "art" has been done to Christians and Jews for some time. A crucifix in a jar of urine passed for art in New York last decade. Jews are frequently depicted in a very negative manner in the US, European and Arab press. Third, what is it about insulting their prophet that makes Muslims want to riot? I still do not understand their religion.

There was no reason for these cartoons to be reprinted. But Muslims need to realize that in the this era, nothing is sacred. Especially a religion. Welcome to the Post-Modern world.

Death and Politics

It used to be that the only two things you could count on were death and taxes. But I think political enmity can be added to the mix. To wit, read this story about the sinking of an Egyptian Ferry. It seems that the Egyptian Government would rather let it's people drown than accept help from the Israeli or American governments. Both countries offered air assets to help with the search and rescue operations, and were rebuffed.

It's sad when hatred and political posturing cost innocent lives. Especially when it is so unnecessary.

Pray for these people. They need it.

As you wish

In the movie The Princess Bride, the character Westley responds to Buttercup, who is his employer with "As you wish" whenever she asks him to do something. That thought has struck me recently as an attitude that I have lost toward my Lord and Savior.

In the Lord's Prayer, we say "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" without really thinking about what that means. We are in effect saying, "As you wish" to God. In the Princess Bride, Westley does this out of deference to his employer because that is what servants do. Are we not servants of God? If so, we need to be far more deferential to the Lord.

If he asks us to move and take a new job - As you wish
If he asks us to change our ministry within the church - As you wish
If he says no to our requests for healing - As you wish

As you wish

As you wish

As you wish.

That is my theme this year. To say "As you wish" to whatever the Lord has in store for me. I know He loves me and does things for His Glory. Let me be an instrument of His Glory this year.

Peace,

Roy