Always in my Heart

I kept a journal during my recent trip to Rio Branco, Brazil. The following are excerpts from that journal.

August 10, 2009. Noonish; Location: Somewhere over the jungle on a plane from Sao Paulo to Brasilia/Rio Branco.

"I was lucky enough to get a window seat on this stretch, and find myself mesmerized by the landscape. This country is so incredible. I must admit, I somewhat expected an 'Indiana Jones-esque' jungle everywhere- unfortunately I was wrong- it is only ALMOST everywhere. So beautiful from this altitude!

Ironically, as I see this beautiful sight, my heart and mind are with the men and women who serve in my country's military overseas. I feel a bit jealous of them and the sacrifices the get to make for the rest of us. What an honor it is to serve one's country in such a way.

In some ways I feel as though it is the same honor I feel to give up this week in service to God's Kingdom. Indeed, sacrifice is not a burden, but a badge of honor! What a privilege to spend an entire week completely laced with meaning and eternal purpose. This fact will haunt me when I am home, as it has so many times before. It is so hard to live everyday with meaning, so hard to stay focused on purpose in the midst of routine, but I get the feeling that finding the way to do that is truly the secret to happiness."

August 11, 2009 6:30pm; Location: Hotel room in Rio Branco, following a day of hard work, and powerful ministry.

"Imagine a world where time is NOT of the essence; where it is no waste to sit for hours on end in aimless interaction. Some perhaps imagine a nightmare, I imagine a dream come true. I love this place! From the shouting of children playing to the laughter in a look stemming from a puzzled mind trying to comprehend words. I swear few things have ever brought me joy like that! I miss community. Scratch that, I never knew community- not like this.

I love simplicity; a carefree spirit, the freedom to be content. America can't offer THAT freedom; there is no room for contentment in the land of opportunity. The more I think the more I begin to realize that contentment and community are linked somehow. I'm going to look into that.
.I truly believe that some of these kids will always remember the time they spent with the "loco Americano," God knows in my heart, I will always remember them. I could never forget their smiles, their laughter, their innocence. They are not the same as kids in the states- they're happier. Why is it that we have to pursue happiness, and these people just have it?"

August 14, 2009 2:30pm; Location: Somewhere between Rio Branco and Brasilia.

"Last night (dedication ceremony) was incredible! When we arrived at the church, they were still trying to finish the wiring for the lights......kind of tough since it was already basically dark. As some of our team lit candles in the windows, and out front, I was just admiring the beauty of the moment. The power of a church is not in the lights or the speakers; it's not in the performance of the band, or the showmanship of the preacher. The power in a church is in the simplicity of an embrace by a stranger who genuinely loves you and cares for you. It's in the greatness of serving; playing with children, teaching them the power of the love of Christ- with your life first, then with your words. The power of the gospel is found or lost in what you, the hands and feet of Christ, choose to do.
Last night my heart broke with agony that I have never felt. Indeed, a part of my heart will stay with my friends in Rio Branco until I see them again in the future, or until we are together in eternity.
I plan to see my friends again someday- and if it is not until eternity, I plan to show up with many more! God just guide my path and light my steps!"

A Search for Truth

I find myself caught in a difficult position; I see a greater truth than the truth I have always been told. I have always deeply sensed there was more to life, more to being a man than just being a good guy, and never hurting anyones feelings. There's more to life than putting on a happy face, pretending the world isn't a cruel place. So what is it that I've been missing? What have I not seen until now? I've always known the language of Christianity, I know the politics and all about faking the behaviors just to appear acceptable. I know all about the artificial art of "Living for God." I've studied the theology, I've seen all the works of God in the hearts and lives of men, but I know now that something has always been missing from what I could see. I fear that something is missing from what we all see. God, or at least the god I was always taught to believe in, was something short of what he was made out to be. The god I was taught to believe in was subject to the powers of men, shackled and burdened with the weight of the demands of human hearts and minds. He was an all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present phony. He was a farce, a fabricated image of a tainted western culture, well suited to fulfill the whims and desires of a sinful, selfish, and demanding human race. God has been reduced to a puppet!

That is not truth. Frankly, it's no wonder the Church is in decline in America. We have heroes like John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Superman, Batman, etc, who needs a puppet god to be a savior? That would be futile. No wonder we gorge ourselves by indulging in our every desire; be it entertainment, food, or even our relationships with other humans. We find temporary satisfaction for the void we feel by not having something real, a true God to satisfy our desire for him. We use other people, our latest and greatest friends, the latest fling, or anyone who seems to suit our desires for some tangible substitute for a seemingly weak god. If my friends can suit my needs, why would I need a puppet to fulfill that? As a whole, we've domesticated God. We've watered down the power of his message; cutting holes in our bibles to make Christianity more palatable, or to steal a term from our modern culture, "seeker friendly." In the process of making the message palatable, we have simultaneously removed its power. One of the greatest preachers of our current century, Haddon Robinson once said "I have come closer to being bored out of Christianity, than being reasoned out of it." The truth is, I share the sentiment of Dr. Robinson, in that I have been bored out of Christianity, but never reasoned out of it. So as I said, I see a greater truth. I hate to even use the word Christian anymore, because it has so many incredible stereotypes attached to it and unfortunately, most are well deserved stereotypes. I don't want what God is, or what many have found, to be associated with any of those previous stereotypes.

I now want to look past tradition and the usual Christianity, and see what we were meant to be. Indeed we find that when God fills the holes that have left us desiring, we find beauty in contentment. For most in Western Culture, contentment is a four letter word. In our society, even in Christian circles, teaching contentment is a heresy. How far is this from the truth. Try eating all of your food without any spice, try living your whole life without laughing; not too pleasant a thought, right? Yet that's what we do when we cut holes in our Bibles, when we try to make the message of God more palatable, it's as if we took the spice off of our food, or the laughter out of life. Replace the genuine character of the message with tradition or legalism, and all you've done is use a different spice. You can't replace God with tradition, you can't replace scripture with legalism, they are not an acceptable substitute for the truth.

What is the message that is so hard to hear? Is there something wrong with God's radical love, that we should fear it? Is there something wrong with admitting that we are indeed sinful, and in need of a savior to help us attain the righteousness necessary to live in relationship with that God who loves us so much? What is wrong with having a substitute to take the penalty for our sins? The cross of Christ is ugly, but the result of that sacrifice is worth it. Sadly, it's not God we have decided to intentionally paint an ignorant picture of, it's ourselves. When we take ourselves out of a correct perspective; subordinate to God, we simultaneously paint an incorrect perspective on God as subordinate to us. When we think God answers to us, we've made Him nothing, and of no effect. He would have no power to change our lives, no power to help our hopeless circumstances, and conveniently, when God is here, when he is nothing, rejecting him is easy. When he is everything, rejecting him is impossible.

As cliche' as it may sound, we have to get ourselves back into the right perspective, then we will have God in his rightful place. And when God is in his rightful place in the hearts and minds of those who claim to follow him, then the world will see and believe in who he is and all that he has done.

Losing Value to Pluralism

Creed
by Steve Turner

We believe in Marx freud and darwin
We believe everything is OK
as long as you don't hurt anyone
to the best of your definition of hurt,
and to the best of your knowledge.

We believe in sex before, during, and
after marriage.
We believe in the therapy of sin.
We believe that adultery is fun.
We believe that sodomy’s OK.
We believe that taboos are taboo.

We believe that everything's getting better
despite evidence to the contrary.
The evidence must be investigated
And you can prove anything with evidence.

We believe there's something in horoscopes
UFO's and bent spoons.
Jesus was a good man just like Buddha,
Mohammed, and ourselves.
He was a good moral teacher though we think
His good morals were bad.

We believe that all religions are basically the same-
at least the one that we read was.
They all believe in love and goodness.
They only differ on matters of creation,
sin, heaven, hell, God, and salvation.

We believe that after death comes the Nothing
Because when you ask the dead what happens
they say nothing.
If death is not the end, if the dead have lied, then its
compulsory heaven for all
excepting perhaps
Hitler, Stalin, and Genghis Kahn

We believe in Masters and Johnson
What's selected is average.
What's average is normal.
What's normal is good.

We believe in total disarmament.
We believe there are direct links between warfare and
bloodshed.
Americans should beat their guns into tractors .
And the Russians would be sure to follow.

We believe that man is essentially good.
It's only his behavior that lets him down.
This is the fault of society.
Society is the fault of conditions.
Conditions are the fault of society.

We believe that each man must find the truth that
is right for him.
Reality will adapt accordingly.
The universe will readjust.
History will alter.
We believe that there is no absolute truth
excepting the truth
that there is no absolute truth.

We believe in the rejection of creeds,
And the flowering of individual thought.

If chance be
the Father of all flesh,
disaster is his rainbow in the sky
and when you hear

State of Emergency!
Sniper Kills Ten!
Troops on Rampage!
Youths go Looting!
Bomb Blasts School!
It is but the sound of man
worshipping his maker.

Bottom Line

"We are living in dangerous times. Not because of attacks from outside this land, but because this land no longer knows what it believes. Until we know what we believe here and what it is that is worth preserving, we'll never know what it is that is really being attacked." Ravi Zacharias

The Fallacy of Liberty

“The Shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep’s throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act. Plainly the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of the word liberty; and precisely the same difference prevails today among human creatures." Abraham Lincoln

I dare not suppose we would find America in a finer moral state than now, had our fathers and grandfathers not stood up in their time and attempted to maintain a standard. I would suppose, however, that the liberties that we as Christian American’s now lack are a direct result of robbing certain liberties from our liberal counterparts (for lack of a better term). What I mean by that is this: had the ability to take freedom for granted and violate the moral inclinations of some been upheld for those who would abuse liberty, our freedoms as religious people, and moral beings would also remain intact.

You see, we have all been endowed by God, the creator of the universe, with the right to CHOOSE our way of life. This is a divine right, a spiritual right, which precedes and presupposes all human and political rights. I might dare say that a religion instituted and intended upon a nation will simultaneously rob its citizens of this divine right to choose (for good, or for bad). When an issue of the soul becomes and issue of the flesh, neither the flesh nor the soul will ultimately be transformed.

I applaud our founding fathers for their zeal and intent in trying to form a government and a nation “Under God.” Yet, I can’t help but question whether they have either the right or the power to impose upon any people something that even the creator of the universe would not consider. It has long been the practice of Christians in politics to attempt to control the moral choices of individuals in this nation through legislative process. To some degree, this process has been successful in creating the guise of a “Christian Nation.” This, however, fails the litmus test of validity when stretched out over a long period of time. Any group of people, left to their own devices, cannot create a society of true peace, joy, and moral fortitude; it just does not hold up over time. Legislating morality is an attempt at the divine plan, without the divine power.

True freedom lies in the ability to choose, for good or bad. Without all of the options present, we are simply patronizing ourselves with the fallacy of choice. When we sensor artists from expressing their true artistic muse, we simultaneously remove our own liberty to enjoy the aforementioned art. As all freedoms are, this one is sacrificed in the name of fear. We fear that we or our children will make the wrong choice, so we make every attempt to remove the option from existence. We have violated the rights of others by this, and all because of our fear. I would even say we have sacrificed our freedom, and the freedom of others for safety’s sake.

As was the case with the people of Israel, throughout the entire Old Testament, a generation came along in America who “forgot the Lord,” and made themselves idols and sacrificed on the alters of pagan deities. While some chose to retain the Lord in their minds, these same people did not know how to speak prophetically, but only how to protest politically. And so, we see the foundations of American political moral legislation. By the end, this means has proven itself ineffective at either stopping moral decay, or even so much as slowing it down. If you will recall, it was never the King who instituted real change in the climate of the culture of God’s chosen people; that task was handled by the Prophets.

We will not change America by Religious Right political activism. We will not earn the right to pray in schools, or to teach the truth of creation science by political protest and legislative protocol. We will not stop the advance of homosexuality and abortion by demonstrations of hatred and condescension outside of government buildings. We must embrace these choices as the product of a fallen human state; simply carrying on, about our father’s business. Anything less than the truth of God’s word combined with the boldness and strength of the prophetic voice is mere spinelessness with eternal consequence for countless souls. If the teachings of the man whose name we bear led him to the cross, why do we go so peacefully and quietly into our self-assured paradise?

I feel even as I write them that these thoughts seem scandalous and severe. They are contrary to EVERYTHING I have ever been taught, but I believe they are true. I do not believe the Kingdom of God will advance while the people of God live in safety. If I am focused so much on my own rights, my own agendas, and my own comfort, the world will continue to decay. Your right is to choose; for good, or for bad, that is the God given right of every individual on earth. If that right is taken from one, it is taken from all.

“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Benjamin Franklin

I know what this must look like, with quotations from Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Franklin, discussing political liberty and legislative process; this would appear to be a political statement. To some degree, it is, but it is a political statement under the all-encompassing shroud of Christian spirituality. You see, freedom from the politics of political systems, and the fear of governments are a hindrance to genuine Christian faith. When Pontius Pilate asked Jesus if he was a King, he responded in John 18:36 by saying,

“My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

Why are Christians so preoccupied with political systems of this world?

Please, make no mistake about it; I am not saying we ought not to thank God for the blessings of our political system. And I’m certainly not saying we should not be involved in its work, or attempting to maintain moral principals in government, I am simply saying that we must take our focus off the things of this world, and focus solely on the kingdom of God. It is only with this end in mind will our means be either justified or effective. It is not a political battle we are struggling in, it is spiritual. Our enemy knows that, but we have to remember who our enemy is. He would have us believe our enemies are liberals, “non-Christians”, and politicians with a left wing agenda. The truth is, they are slaves to the lies that they have been told for so long. Our greatest weapon is the truth.

John 18:37. “You are a king, then!” Said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You are right in saying that I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

It has become apparent that there is a vital connection between freedom and truth. It is the truth and only the truth that will make us free.

Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

Identity and Obedience

Exodus 33:14-20 "Moses said to the Lord “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name’ and you have found favor with me. If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.” The Lord replied “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live”” (NIV).

The theme of identification is predominant in this passage, making it an interesting passage to connect to the third Commandment. There seems to be a deep desire within Moses to have the favor and presence of God. I want to reason together to discover the deeper meaning of the presence of God that is captured by his very name.

As I read this passage and think about the idea of identification, particularly the identification of the people of Israel, as it relates to God, I picture the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Representatives of each country enter triumphantly bearing the flag of their homeland. In the instance of the Olympics, and mostly throughout the world and history, a country is defined geographically. However, for the people of Israel at this time, they did not have a banner to identify them by their geographical location, and they had nothing but their God to distinguish themselves from any other group on the earth. They were a people with no land to call their own, lost in the wilderness, trusting and believing in this all-powerful God that had delivered them from the land of Egypt, under the instruction of their leader Moses. So who are they?

These people are nameless, faceless, and without recognition to the rest of the world. They are the rejects, the homeless, and the helpless. Despite their socioeconomic position, or lack thereof, the Lord favors them more than any other people. Yahweh has seen fit to call these people his own. The Lord has identified the least as His. The Lord has said “I know you by name, and you have found favor with me.” Their only identification other than that of a wilderness tribe is in the eyes of Yahweh, who knows them as more than just a wandering tribe. To Him, they are the chosen people, whom he knows by name. So what does this mean? Why does it matter that the Lord knows them by name?

The advantage that the people of Israel have is not as much that the Lord knows them, but because He has chosen them, and knows them, He has also revealed to them His presence. Because Israel has the presence of God, their nation is one without boundaries, without limitations. They are a country that bears the flag of the Lord; their own identification is in Him. It is not that the Lord is walking with them, eating with them, and teaching them about His Kingdom as he would later do in the incarnation that is Christ, but the revelation of his name is His presence. All of the wisdom and knowledge of who they are is found within His name. When Moses says, “show me your glory,” his petition was not as much to know the name of the Lord, as it was to see the fullness of God’s presence, to be enraptured by his greatness. However, as the Lord chooses, he shows mercy and compassion to Moses in denying him the request that he has made. As easy as it would be for the Lord to reveal His glory to Moses, he refrains because it is more than human eyes and hearts can handle, warning Moses that he would not survive. So the greatest revelation to humans of the glory of God is wrapped up in His name, the very name that He has given the people of Israel. So what is the idea behind all of this?

If the glory of Yahweh is found within his name, and the only identification of the people of Israel is also in the name of the Lord, then does it stand to reason that the people of Israel are the glory of God? His presence with them by their identification as His makes them the abiding presence of God on earth. So if this is true, then in the light of the Third Commandment -“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain”- could we say that it is not so much a warning against making light of the synchronic idea of the name “Yahweh,” but a warning against identifying ourselves with him in any vain, empty, useless, or worthless manner. Then to take the name of the Lord in vain is to identify ourselves with Him in any way that does not glorify Him. His name is the fullest possible revelation of his glory; He has given His name to His people, so if they are not a demonstration of His glory, then they are guilty of using his name in vain.

As a wife takes the name of her husband when they become one, so we take the name of Christ when we become one with Him. At the point of commitment, personal goals, desires, and ideals are sacrificed for what is best for the newly joined union. In our union with Christ, bringing glory to the name of the Lord, and His Kingdom are the goal and purpose of the union. To join in union with Christ, and to maintain personal goals and desires and ideals then becomes “taking the Lord’s name in vain.” In essence, we have taken the name of our groom, but continue living for our own name. When the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence,” he was essentially saying that we carry his name. As Olympians carry the flag of their homeland, proudly bearing the banner of their nation, we are to display the banner of the name of the Lord as we live out our lives here on earth. To do anything less than this is making the name of the Lord empty, useless, and worthless.

Coming to Christ is no small decision, and should be done out of a pure heart by the guiding of the Spirit. When we take the initiative to draw others into a relationship with Christ by emotional manipulation, empty reasoning, or for prideful satisfaction, we take the name of the Lord, stamping it on the heart of another followed by our own stamp of approval, and vainly apply our stereotype on that individual. The day we realize the power of His name, we will see the fullness of His revealed glory in our lives, but as long as we take His name and apply it to our own shallow desires, we are guilty of taking his name in vain.