The myth of the neat little boxes

Right next door to my grandmother’s home was the home of Mr. and Mrs. Crawford. He was a nice old man that would let me strike the match to light his pipe. One thing I remember from Mr. Crawford’s house was a room where he kept all of his tools. He had this one particular drawer that had all these little boxes in them that were filled with screws and nuts of various sizes and shapes. It was so orderly, it was intoxicating!

Although the screws may be easy to find for Mr. Crawford, a drawer like that carries appeal for many because a lot of us like neat little boxes to separate things. (Some of us to the point that we may need counseling because we are obsessive compulsive.)

But neat little boxes may work for separating screws but they don’t work very well for organizing your life. I think men, in particular, struggle with this. I remember hearing Dr. Gary Rosberg say that men are like waffles and women are like spaghetti. Men like the neat rows of spaces where everything is in order and everything has its place. But women are a big gooey pile of noodles where everything is connected to everything else.

That may be funny, but spaghetti is a closer picture of reality for all of us. We like to try to keep certain things in their proper place. So we say things like, “Don’t bring work home.” But how well do we actually do that? We haven’t found the magic bullet to stop thinking about work or even dreaming about it.

It is certainly a worthwhile goal to not be so over-focused on work that you minimalize your time with your family. But I believe a very dangerous myth for the Christ follower is the myth that our faith can be kept in a neat little box.

We don’t want to mix “politics with religion.” We want to make sure that we do church stuff at church. And when I go vote, I do so completely void of religious influence…because those two boxes should not be mixed.

But the problem is that faith bleeds. It is fluid. It cannot be contained. Even though there are many in our culture who want to make sure we do everything we can to maintain that invisible wall of separation of church and state, the fact is, wherever there are people of faith, their faith will always be in the public sphere.

To keep one’s faith separate from work or politics or school is like trying to command the outside air from invading the inside of your home. How do you do that?

We are commanded by our Lord to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16). We have been given an ultimatum by God to not only take our faith with us into our work environment or our classroom or the polling place, but to make sure that we are ever vigilant at it.

We may try to fool ourselves into thinking that we can put our faith in a neat little box…but a person of true faith knows how foolish that truly is. Faith is not a light switch that can be turned off or on at will.

I believe that one of my callings as a minister of the gospel is to help the congregation I serve to filter absolutely all of life through the lens of Scripture. We must begin to think biblically about every situation we face.

To hold a particular political candidate for office and his or her views up to the light of Scripture is exactly what a person of faith is supposed to do. A person of faith should evaluate every task at the workplace, every classroom assignment, and every relationship through a biblical lens.

Asking what does Scripture say concerning this or that is how a Christian navigates all of life. It is a myth to think that a Christian can approach life any other way. Neat little boxes may work for organizing nuts and bolts but it is impossible to try to keep faith separate from the rest of one’s life.

Can a Christian vote for a woman for President?

I recently was given an article outlining the biblical support for not voting for a woman for the office of civil magistrate. You can read that article here. Apparently this is the defining article on the issue. After reading the article, all Christians are summarily compelled to only vote for a man in any preceding election.

Honestly, there was much in the article I agreed with, but I believe there are some conclusions of the author that are not warranted and other issues that are not even addressed or dealt with.

Let me begin by saying this...I believe that male chauvinism is just as wrong and sinful as militant feminism. And what has been allowed to occur in the church is that women are denigrated and, at times, oppressed because of the kind of hermeneutic displayed in that article.

Let's begin with this understanding in Christ, that there is neither male nor female. We are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28). Now saying that, I am not trying to wipe away any gender differences. But what I am saying is that in terms of salvation, we have a new distinction and identity in Christ alone.

When one does a study of the role of women throughout Scripture, one can see quite an array of roles. I want to look at women in Jesus' ministry as well as in the life of the Apostolic Church.

If you study Judaism at the time of Christ you would see that the Rabbis of Jesus' day considered that a woman's part in religion was restricted to personal piety and periodic attendance at worship. The ministry of Jesus sets aside such rabbinic views and practices at many points.

Jesus considered his teaching to be for women as well as men, and at times, Jesus pointedly sought to teach women. Jesus ignored customary separations in situations in which his ministry would be hampered by them. When you read the gospels, it seems as though the Gospel writers give particular concern to women.

For example, Luke 8:1-3, gives insight into the entourage which followed Christ. This appears to be his close circle. These were women who benefitted from the ministry of Jesus and contributed to the support of that ministry. They were traveling companions and not concubines (as some have suggested) or apostles (as others have suggested).

The presence of these women must have been a source of considerable comment as Jesus traveled. It was not uncommon that a rabbi should have a band of followers; it was most unusual that the followers should include women.

The accounts of the crucifixion and resurrection give us more detail about these women. Matthew and Mark comment on the presence of Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James the younger and Joseph, standing at a distance watching the crucifixion. Also mentioned are Salome and the mother of the sons of Zebedee (Matthew 27:55-56; Mark 15:40).

Mark adds in his gospel that Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph watched him (Jesus) being placed in the tomb and returned after the Sabbath to annoint his body, becoming the first witnesses to the resurrection (Mark 15:40-16:7). John's account notes that Jesus appeared to Mary directly (John 20:10-18).

The reason this is significant is that Jewish law prohibited women from acting as witnesses court rulings in the civil or religious sphere and yet it was women who were made the first witnesses to the resurrection!

I want it to be understood that Jesus view of and interactions with women should not be understood as a reaction to the Judaism of his day. Jesus taught with personal authority and grounded his teaching in his understanding of the Old Testament and of the kingdom's mode of arrival.

Another important side-note is that some of the most important discourses Jesus had were with women. The lengthiest discourse we have on what worship is and how it should be done was given to a woman (John 4:4-26).

The role of women in the teaching and community life of the church is also a very important aspect for the Christian to consider when thinking about this subject.

Something to understand is that women are highly visible and active in the life of the church. You see right from the start that women were playing a significant part in the life of this new community (Acts 1:13-14). In Acts 2, after Pentecost, Peter explains that women are a part of the new kingdom with as much standing as any man (Acts 2:17-18).

It seems that Luke, in his account of the expanding church, took pains to make it clear that women were included. The apostles continued in their Lord's example in the inclusion of women.

We see women participating in worship vocally (1 Corinthians 11:5), bringing their offerings (Acts 5:7-10), performing ministries of mercy and hospitality (1 Timothy 5:10), performing ministry to the poor (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts%209&version=NIV). Women also housed churches (Acts 12:12; 1 Corinthians 16:19).

The apostle Paul considered women "fellow workers" and in Romans chapter 16, eight of the twenty-six persons mentioned are women and six of these receive specific comment.

Priscilla (or the more formal - Prisca) enters the biblical narrative in Acts 18:2. They (Priscilla and her husband) become traveling companions of Paul. We next read about them in Romans 16:3-5.

In Philippians 4:3 we learn about Euodia and Syntyche. These two women were quarreling. But Paul warmly identifies both of them as having worked by his side. The reason this quarrel was so detrimental was that, having been "fellow workers" with Paul, these two women would have held a very prominent role in the church. The conflict then needed to be resolved.

The point in going through this study is to see that with Christ and the ministry of the apostles, women were held in a new light. They were extremely active and participated in all arenas of the life of the church.

The article I referenced at the beginning of this study, describes three God-ordained institutions: the family, the church, and government (or as he references it, the state). I believe that God has designed man to be the responsible leader in the family. You cannot argue any other point from Scripture(1 Corinthians 11:8-9). Paul's appeal to the created order supercedes any reason to think that this was merely a cultural statement for Paul's day.

The same implications are clear in reference to the design for the church. Men are to the the responsible leaders in the overseeing of the church (1 Timothy 3:1-7).

And I agree by extension that the same implications exist for government. But there is no clear "thus saith the Lord" on this part. It is through inference and Old Testament examples that the author of the referenced article makes this point. (But let me be clear, I do not disagree with him on this point).

What the author of the article does not address, however, is the reality of a man who abdicates his role and responsibility as the spiritual leader, either in his home, or his church, or his government. What happens then?

When a man decides that he will not lead his family to the Lord and he slides into a selfish, carnal pursuit without God in his life, what should happen to the wife and children of this man? Does this wife dare not lead spiritually because that goes against the clear design of Scripture?

Or does she lead spiritually, in "quietness and reverence for Christ"? I believe, as I have witnessed many times in ministry, that where men abdicate their responsibility, women are used of God to lead spiritually.

This isn't the design. It is not what the Lord intended, but God uses women in the home, nonetheless, to help bring the light and presence of Christ to the family when a man fails to do so.

Sadly, the same is true in some churches. Now, I am not naive enough to think that every church that has women running it is because all the men have abdicated their responsibility. Unfortunately, there is also the fact that some women have usurped their roles and have taken charge where they clearly have no place or business to do so.

But there are some circumstances where there simply are no men to lead. I am thinking about a dear friend of our family who is now with the Lord. She worked in Haiti for many years. She went because she felt called by God. She worked in the church she served very well. But she almost started that church from scratch. There were no men when she began this work...only women and children. And then when men started coming, they were not mature enough spiritually to lead.

Was she disobeying God by doing what she was doing? Because now there is a thriving church in Haiti that began because of her work. Did God use her when there was no man to be found. Most certainly.

The same can be true in government. I believe the best circumstance, the most preferred, would be to have a godly man leading us in the civil arena. But when there is not one to be found, does this mean we should simply vote for an ungodly man over a godly woman?

No. I believe that Scripture supports and shows (from Deborah all the way to Phoebe) that where godly male leadership falters, God will use godly women to continue advancing His agenda.

I could do what the above referenced article did, and proof-text my way into voting for an ungodly ruler simply because he's male. But that would do the whole counsel of Scripture a great injustice. God uses willing vessels. The design is clear. We should have a male leader. But when we don't and there is a willing, godly female...we most definitely need to rally our support behind such a person!

Please, don't show me your surgery scar...

One of the things I was never taught in Bible College is that there are some people that have problems dicerning when and how much personal information to share. There just wasn't a class to help you cover dealing with these types of people.

I remember the time I went to visit a dear old gal named Betty Reno after she had surgery for cancer. Colon cancer. This was very serious and a life-altering surgery for Betty.

I went to pray with her a day after her surgery. I had been informed that Betty was going to have a colostomy bag for the rest of her life. When I came in the room, Betty was wide awake.

She was genuinely happy to see me. After a little small talk, I prayed for her. When I got through praying, Betty did something I wasn't expecting. She threw off her bed sheet and pulled up her hospital gown all in one quick motion and said, "Look at my colostomy bag!"

Now that was a phrase I never thought I would hear, to be honest. And that was a sight I never...ever wanted to see.

I would like to say that is my only ministry horror story with seeing surgery scars. But unfortunately, it isn't that rare. And I so wish it was.

I have seen scars and stitches for everything from heart bi-pass surgery to even scars from a surgery for gastric bi-pass. I don't know why people want to show their preacher their scars from surgery. But if I may be so bold, I can honestly say the preacher doesn't want to see them.

If you happen to get sick and need surgery in the future and I come to visit you. Please, in the name of all that is decent and right, please don't show me your surgery scar!

The Armor of God

In our series through Ephesians we have spent the last several weeks studying the armor of God that Paul lays out for us in Ephesians 6:10-17. The six pieces of armor were extremely important.

The first piece is the belt of truth. In the Roman armor, a girdle was a belt which would hold his tunic tight so he might be free with his movements, it also provided a place for the soldier to hold his sword.

Paul tells us then to put on the breastplate of righteousness. The purpose of the breastplate is to guard the most vital organs of your body; it is the bullet proof vest that protects the heart.

After the breastplate, Paul says to shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. The caligal, the Roman military boot, was one of the most important parts of their equipment. They were designed for long marches over every kind of rough terrain. In fact, it has been said the soldiers’ boots were the secret of the Roman conquest.

In addition, Paul states, take up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. One of the most dangerous weapons of ancient warfare was the fiery darts. The heads of the darts would be wrapped with flax or hemp fiber, soaked in pitch, then set afire before they were launched. The wooden shields could be set aflame by the arrows so they were covered with a layer of hide and were large enough to protect the entire body. Even though the darts would pierce the shield, the fire would be quenched.

And take the helmet of salvation The helmet protects the head, the seed of our thought life.

These weapons are all defensive in nature, a protection against the forces that come against us. But we are not isolated with just a defensive posture, for Paul says for us to take up the sword of the spirit.
Church, when we take the Great Commission seriously and go on the offense, the devil and his horde of demons are going to fight back with flaming arrows. He will attack us and everything associated with us: our church, spouse, children, business, everything. And our armor against these attacks is given to us by Christ. We need belief in God and in his ability to protect us, having confidence in His word.

The super highway of life is littered with Christians who have never discovered how to fight the evil one. They have depended on their own moral strength, ethical wisdom, high ideals and a personal commitment to justice and righteousness. And they have faced evil in a naked encounter, without being clothed in the armor of God. And they had won some battles, they have escaped some temptation, they have overcome some sins they labeled as ugly, they have exposed some social crimes, but ultimately they were found lacking, wearing down and out because they needed more, they needed Christ who stands and battles with us and for us at every onslaught of sin.

We must wear the armor that our Lord purchased for us through His blood!

Jesse Jackson's reverse Mitt Romney

Jesse Jackson isn't someone typically you would mistake for a flaming Pro-life zealot. But if you read the following words, you just might...

[O]nly once in a while do the egg and sperm bring about fertilization. Some call that connection accidental, but I choose to call it providential. It takes three to make a baby: a man, a woman and the Holy Spirit….

Human beings cannot give or create life by themselves, it is really a gift from God. Therefore, one does not have the right to take away (through atypically that which he does not have the ability to give….

What happens to the mind of a person, and the moral fabric of a nation, that accepts the aborting of the life of a baby without a pang of conscience? What kind of a person, and what kind of a society will we have 20 years hence if life can be taken so casually?

~ Reverend Jesse Jackson, when pro-life in 1977, National Right to Life News op-ed

Jesus said, "What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world, but lose his own soul? (Luke 9:25) Jesse Jackson sold his soul when he wanted to be President. He didn't even end up receiving the coveted Democratic nomination he so desperately wanted. That was his traitor's reward.

I found these fitting thoughts in light of the current political presidential cycle (or insert circus here) that we now find ourselves in. Take time to vet each candidate not on party line...and obviously not even on what they say to us as they try to woo us here in Iowa. But hold each candidate up to the penetrating light of Scripture. Let the Word of God expose any darkness in their words or deeds.

And, as an aside, let me make myself abundantly clear, no Christ follower can find abortion acceptable with even a cursory reading of God's Word. If you claim the Name of the Author of Life then you better not find yourself standing in the aisle with those who want to destroy life (anyone who supports abortion) because ultimately they are under marching orders from the great life destroyer himself, Satan.

From Devastation to Heaven

On Sunday, May 22nd, 2011 a monstrous tornado ripped through Joplin, MO leaving many dead and horrible destruction in its wake. That day began like any other day for Natalia Puebla, a 17 year old college student from Ozark Christian College. She did what she did every Sunday. She got up and went to church.

Doug Welch is a New Testament professor at Ozark Christian College. He had received the students final papers for his class a week earlier. They still sat on his desk ungraded the Sunday that the tornado hit Joplin. Most of the destruction in Joplin was on the south side of town. The campus of Ozark is located on the north side, so it was relatively unscathed. After the tornado, Doug had made it back to his office a few days later. There was the stack of ungraded papers on his desk. On top of that stack was Natalia Puebla’s paper on the “Hope of Heaven.” Natalia was killed the day the tornado hit Joplin. Doug said, “Her paper deserved an ‘A’ but Natalia knows the hope of heaven far better now.”

Everything can change in a moment. In the blink of an eye, your normal can be forever changed. Are you ready for that? Do you live with the realization that you have no solid guarantees of happiness and a pain-free life?

That is why the Scriptures tell us to set our minds on things “above.” (Colossians 3:1-2) Natalia is most certainly in heaven with her Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:8 says, “…and prefer to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.” (NASB) Paul was not expressing a death wish, but he was saying that this earthly existence is not the end of life at all for the Christian. Death immediately ushers the believer into a fuller, higher realm of a more abundant life.

A Christian at death is to be “with Christ.” (Philippians 1:23) When a believer dies he or she immediately enters heaven. Psalm 16:10-11 shows that when the psalmist died he anticipated being in the presence of God. Psalm 23:6 expresses the same idea that at life’s end, he would dwell in the house of the Lord forever (which means he would be in heaven with God).

Luke 16:19-31 gives us the description of “Abraham’s bosom” which some think describes a holding tank for the righteous. John 13:23 uses a parallel expression. This is in the context of the last supper. That expression comes out of eating at banquets and dinners. Lazarus was at the banquet table in a celebration of joy, next to Abraham, the father of the faithful. Which means Lazarus was given the seat of honor.

Some believe in places like purgatory or something similar. But I believe that the clear message of Scripture is that the hope of heaven is the heartbeat of the believer’s life. We look forward to this realm of inexpressible glory (Revelation 4-5). If you read Ezekiel 1:4-28, the prophet tried to describe something which neither he nor us can fully understand this side of heaven. But Natalia Puebla does. She knows it far better than a write up for a newsletter or a paper she turned in for her professor. She is in heaven.

We're Still Here...

Harold Camping had predicted the end of all things on May 21st but that day came and went. What now? Well, for Robert Fitzpatrick of New York, he’s simply out $140,000 (which equals his life savings) that he spent on an ad campaign warning people of the impending doomsday. But for the rest of us, it is good to reflect on what the Scriptures actually do teach concerning the end of the world and Christ’s return.

Surprisingly, the Bible has quite a bit to say about the coming of the Lord. Peter warns us to not think that because the Lord hasn’t returned yet that means that He is not going to come at all (2 Peter 3:3-9). In fact, there is no truth more central to our faith as believers than the return of Christ.

Jesus said multiple times Himself that He would return (Matt. 24:30, 35; 26:64; Rev. 22:12; 22:20), angels from heaven testified that He will return (Acts 1:11), the apostles testified Jesus would return (Acts 3:19-21; 1 Peter 1:3-13; 2 Peter 3:1-14; 4:12-13; 5:4; Rev. 1:7).

The Bible tells us the manner in which Jesus will return. It will be visible (Matt. 24:27; Acts 1:11; Rev. 1:7) and it will be “with the clouds” (Matt. 24:30). It will be in glory with the angels (Matt. 25:31; 1 Thess. 1:7; 4:16). It will also happen in concert with convulsions of physical nature (Matt. 24:29; Rom. 8:19-22).

Now the Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Christ secretly came back in 1914 and established the headquarters for His Kingdom on earth in Brooklyn, NY (I personally think it would have been Chicago if this were true because God is a Cubs fan). But you can clearly see this teaching, like Camping’s, is not Scriptural.

The one thing we for certain do NOT know concerning the return of Christ is when it will occur. Jesus made the very clear in Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32. If the angels in heaven do not know, neither the Son, it is certain that Harold Camping was destined to be wrong on this one as well. Because as the apostles were told by Jesus, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.” (Acts 1:7)

The overwhelming point of Scripture concerning the return of Christ is not to give us signs so that we will be able to figure out when it will occur. In fact, Jesus said, “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after signs, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” (Matt. 16:4) The point of Scripture about the end times is that we will live in a constant state of readiness. Being prepared for the return of Christ is the most important thing we believers can do. It coincides with living life from a “numbered days” perspective (Psalm 90:12). When you live your life like Christ could come back today, it puts things in the proper light. Material things aren’t important. Our relationships are. Our walk with the Lord is. That is the most important thing you can do in light of the return of Christ. Don’t try and figure out when, live like it could be today!