Monthly Archives: December 2012

Walls and Brick throwers

To all the walls of the world, you are recognized and known intimately to those that walk the path called straight, for how you seek so arduously to stymie the zeal of all Christ-followers.  But we as Christ-followers, let us say to the walls of the world, we are on to your tactics and will not be stopped.  We know who those walls are too.  They are the people of the world that Jesus called us to minister to in order that their walls may come down and they may become friends of God like us. However, I don’t want to talk about the walls.  Instead let us ponder for a time, the brick throwers because they are the vilest; more vile than the walls themselves.

There are people within the ranks of Christian warriors that look like us, talk like us but are carrying an arsenal of bricks to lay waste any Christian who would seek continually to do what is good in the eyes of God.  Why is this?  I can only say that for them to do such things, that the darkest regions of hell are too good for them.

“They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness.  But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey–an animal without speech–who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.  These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm.  Blackest darkness is reserved for them. … If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.  It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.  Of them the proverbs are true:  ’A dog returns to its vomit,’ and, ‘A saw that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.’”  (2 Peter 2:15-17, 20-22)

But what do I mean by brick throwers?  The brick throwers are people who openly claim Christ but hold onto their sin to fondle it in secret, and would go so far as to entice weaker brothers and sisters in the faith who are still feeding on the spiritual milk.  How abominable and deceitful!  I have been approached by one such brick thrower, and ever did he throw it hard at my loins to cause me to keel over in such pain, that I almost wanted to hurt him back.  But were it not for Christ who is in me, I only rebounded to sharply question him for why he did it and his answer was cold despite his candid reply.  He said, “I really don’t know.”  I was simultaneously befuddled and astonished at his reply.  He simply did not know why he would entice me to stumble with him in his stronghold, all the while knowing the truth.

Itching ears is all that can be said.  Itching ears dragged him away from the faith a long time ago, even as he physically stands in houses of worship among the faithful declaring the word of the Lord as the people “Amen” and “Hallelujuah” in a sporadic chorus fashion.  But I am filled with anguish, praying for this man, and also filled with pity.  It is sad you know.  To say that the lost are outside the Christian bubble might have meant something definitively in the past.  But today what is inside the body of Christ looks like the world of raging, groaning and moaning seas.  This must change.

“Elijah went before the people and said, ‘How long will you waver between two opinions?  If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.  The people said nothing.”  (1 Kings 18:21)

Lo! The hosts of evil round us

Scorn Thy Christ, assail His ways!

Fears and doubts too long have bound us,

Free our hearts to work and praise.

Grant us wisdom,

Grant us courage,

For the living of these days!  Amen.

-Harry Emerson Fosdick

Prophets of Pessimism

“To every prophet of pessimism and fear today let us say with confidence, “Sir, you do not know the resources and genius of God.” – J. W. Hawley

Roam newspaper headlines, or just watch television news and instantly we are bedazzled, thrilled, dismayed, shocked, embittered and finally thwarted to a level of depression induced by only minutes of viewership.  Never should we accept that the ideas and impressions that we get from images do not influence and have sway upon the inner man, that is the mind, as well as the heart and conscience.  Albeit how inviolable the human will truly is, we are nevertheless susceptible to distress, terror and manipulation by the power of ideas, no matter how great a person may consider his or herself made of ”sterner stuff.”

These prophets of pessimism and fabrication, or “spin” as some have called it, will spin our minds into acceptance of their half-truths.  And all of them are, in truth, a collection of rudders driving the ship of America–a ship of would-be lemmings–through a treacherous and dangerous sea off the horizon of a flat world these spin doctors have created for expediency, money and fame.  All subterfuge and sensationlism leads to nasty ends for the hearers, while ringing in profits for the prophets who barely believe in the doctrines of their own tripe.

“When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.  Or take ships as an example.  Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.  Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.  Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.  The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.  It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”  (James 3:3-6)

Do not listen to every wind of doctrine, philosophy or trouble that flies out of your television, radio or newspaper as the gospel truth.  Do not let your hearts be turned and your souls disturbed by such foolish babble.  Now, to the credit of reporting and for having the checks and balances that a free press provides, reporting is a most laudable position of responsibility.  So let us not throw out the baby with the bath water and castigate an entire industry because of its absuers.  Take what is heard and put it where it belongs as it applies in your life, but do not be dismayed by sour reports.  Guard your hearts by girding your minds with the truth of God’s word that brings His peace, surpassing all understanding.

Yes, we are indeed in extremely troubling times where we now face a fiscal cliff on the heels of our due remembrance for the first advent of the savior of our souls, Jesus Christ.  There are wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes in various places at unprecedented levels and frequency.  We have lost young lives at the hands of a young man where prior to his actions he was already lost to a world of darkness in himself.  And as we all know all these things are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg as our Lord fortold to us.  “All of these are the beginnnig of birth pains.”  (Matthew 24:8) And he later followed this up with, “See, I have told you ahead of time.”  (Matthew 24:25)

In closing, let us remain steadfast and focused in our race to the finishline in the bounty of grace that is continually poured out upon us.  His grace is sufficient for us to see us through until the blessed hope of his shout to call us home in the twinkling of an eye.  (Thessalonians 4:13-18)

Please let the words of Annie J. Flint bless and encourage you:

He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.
Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.
His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

The War On They

Throughout many group conversations I have found myself always balking at the haphazard and thinkless use of “they.” “They say that people that hold their mobile phones to their ear are likely to get brain cancer?” But who is “they” and based on what research?

My instructor at Warrior Leader Course (WLC) cut off a soldier in his class in mid-speech by asking him who is “they?” To which the soldier replied with, “I don’t know.” If one does not know who they is, then who is really being referenced and how does one have anything to say about “they?”

The instructor sharply snapped backed with another question now addressed to him and the class. “What is the number one terrorist organization in the world?” All of us were silent and stomped by his question. I can think of two organizations like Hamas or Hezbollah now, but I went blank at the time. He scoffed but then reserved, he plainly stated that “The number one terorrist organization in the world is ‘they.’ If we do not know who ‘they’ is, then ‘they’ are the enemy, and should be rounded up and prosecuted.”

Interesting isn’t it? His words seemed to come across in a revelatory way that I immediately filed them in the “Army Wisdom” folder of my mind for future use. And from that day forth I have made it a point to think more before I speak, but also ensure I know about whom I am referring with specifics. Otherwise, my answer is that I do not know, but I will find out and get back to you. Broad brushstroke statements just do not hold water in the Army or in any professional capacity for that matter, assuming one wants to demonstrate having done diligence to knowing as opposed to guessing.

Protecting Innocence – Ravi Zacharias

“Here, I would like to address our political leaders and media elite: You may personally have the moral strength to restrict your ideas to mere words but many who listen to you do not. To take the most sacred privilege of democracy and transform it into the language of aggression plays right into the hands of hate-mongers. This is not the language of a civil society or of wise leadership. It is not the ethos of a culture of co-existence. It is not the verbal coinage with which we can spend our way into the future. Our political rhetoric is fraught with division, hate, blame, and verbal murder. Our young are listening. Remember that what you win them with is what you win them to.”  - Ravi Zacharias

By this I am greatly moved.

Backward Exchange

To him that loves not the truth will tend to see it as plain, dry, dull, boring and relatively easy to side-step, pass it by, look at it and shrug, ball it up or throw it away.  Truth for him is not unlike cardboard for food, sand for drink, or at least a good mat to walk upon.  Now when truth tends to clobber him, he swats at it and tries desperately to kill it by any means in exchange for the sensational, shiny, sensuous, fast, new winds of change that his culture dictates in spite of how it may contradict truth.  He is forever learning, heaping insult to truth for expedient gain as if truth were magic or a slave to be summoned at convenience.  How mundane truth is to him, like a rock or toilet, and yet fail to see the banality of such evil; to exchange the truth for a lie by calling good evil and evil good.  What backwards conviction!  There must not be a more unholier faith!