Paradigms for Parenting

A paradigm is an example, a model, a pattern. In our series on parenting it is the standard image and vision of what biblical parenting should be. God is a perfected trinity. As with all things based on God's image and truth, perfected parenting is likewise a trinity.

THE TRINITY OF PARENTING
1. Guardian
2. Guide
3. Governor

How'd you miss that, all these years? The foundation of parenting is an understanding and outworking of this trinity, administering truth in grace. Next, let's set the context of defining our paradigms with

A WORD TO THE MOMMAS AND THE POPPAS
A. Parents are not in charge just because they are bigger, smarter, or got to the planet first, but because God has made the adult his agent in the lives of children
B. Perfected parental authority is expressed as a combination of control and influence
C. Expect kids both to disobey and to try and get around the rules regularly
D. If you didn’t state it, they can’t obey it
E. Be willing to talk about it but never willing to argue over it
F. Train them by telling them only once, because you establish the limit by what you allow early on

Every child has natural bents that are both good and evil. Each of us has a spirit that is connected to who we are as a person, our drive and self-image. We also have a will connected to our faculty of free agency and the ability to choose. How are parents going to mold their child's will without crushing his or her spirit? How indeed, if that child has made a wrong choice and needs his or her will bent to the right direction without completely destroying their self worth?

First, some tips on breaking the will, but not the spirit of a child.
• Make your home honor the Lord in such a way that they have no choice but to follow God
• Distinguish between weakness and wickedness, childish irresponsibility versus willful rebellion
• Do not delay your discipline of them, because this increases the difficulty until you reach the point of despair
• How many times it takes your child before he or she obeys is proportional to how many times it takes him to act up before you act

Raising a child so that their spirit is encouraged while their will is conformed takes a different paradigm for teenagers than it does for younger kids. So we partition the paradigm into two. Here is what to do

IN THE FIRST DECADE TO A DOZEN YEARS
1. Exercise loving control
2. Give them a godly example
3. Rule through routines and boundaries
4. Always have effective follow-through on promised consequences

SIDEBAR on spanking: Spanking is the measured use of physical pain to change the mind of your child in their determination to be disobedient.
• The Bible does not condone beating, injuring, hurting or humiliating your children
• Spanking should not substitute for patience

Taking the time to discipline children early in life saves a lot of grief later on. But remember, parenting impacts more than just the present, because you are preparing them to enter eternity from this life.

A principle-ized paradigm for raising teenagers is based in the recognition that to perfect your parenting you must change your strategy over time. How do we navigate that? First, with some

TIPS ON TRANSITIONING
A. Moving from exercising parental authority through control to exercising it by influence depends on the personality and maturity of your child
B. Know your kids
C. Understand your Bible
D. Ask God for guidance

Teenagers should be taught to develop good judgment by being allowed to make some of their own judgments. Boundaries must now be based on who you are dealing with in each issue, because the goal is to help a teenager develop good judgment while they are with you so they will make good decisions once they are on their own.

A PARADIGM FOR BRINGING UP ADOLESCENTS
1. Teenagers need authority expressed as loving influence
2. Develop systems that are designed to minimize conflict
3. Let reality provide the discipline
4. Talk about matters of the heart

Can I break it down for you? As a parent, you have authority over your child. But check this. Authority is the right to define limits, rules and consequences through the balanced application of direct control and appeal to conscience.

Influence, Conflict and Discipline of a Teen
Eph 6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Key Definitions
• To provoke your child means to challenge them in such a way that it calls forth a hostile reaction.
• Nurture is communicating life skills by cultivating a child’s mind and morals to correct their mistakes and curb their passions.
• Admonition implies we love a child enough to warn them and exhort them rather than stand by and ignore them.

THE DIVINE TRINITY ON RAISING TEENS
1. Search the scriptures
2. Seek the assistance of the Spirit
3. Respond based on the your personal knowledge of how to appeal to your child’s conscience

Matters of the Heart
What’s really involved in a paradigm for parenting older kids is a battle for their heart. You have to be a partner in their struggle. It is your transparency, honesty and candor that helps your kid come to grips with what they are going through.

VERBAL DOOR OPENERS
• I want to know what you think
• What are your friends saying?
• That sounds important to you, tell me about it
• That’s a good question
• Do you want to tell me about it?
• If you want to know more just ask me
DOOR-SLAMMERS
• You won’t understand
• If you say that one more time I’ll…
• That’s none of your business!
• I don’t care what your friends are doing
• You don’t need to know that
• Why are you asking me?
• Don’t come to me if you mess up

You have to be the one who is every day and in every way pointing your teens to Christ. Your attitude is going to get you in more trouble with your teenager than anything else. Humility and meekness will breed mutual respect. You don’t have to approve what is popular, but you have to be aware of pop culture.

WAGING THE WAR FOR YOUR TEENAGER WISELY
A. Understand that what is at stake in raising our teens is who and what they worship
B. Identify potential idols that seek to take the place of God
C. Expect to be shocked, but don’t be judgmental
D. Deal with your own guilt now

Recommended Resources for 0-12
To Train Up a Child, by Michael and Debi Pearl. No Greater Joy, 1995.
http://www.nogreaterjoy.org/
Shepherding a Child’s Heart, by Tedd Tripp, Shepherd Press, 1998.
Hints on Child Training, by H. Clay Trumbull. Great Expectations Book Co., 1993.
Five Needs Your Child Must Have Met at Home, by Ron Hutchcraft. Zondervan, 1995.

Recommended Resources for 10-19
Age of Opportunity: A Biblical Guide to Parenting Teens, Second Edition with Study Guide, by Paul David Tripp. P & R Publishing, 2001.
Family Shock: Keeping Families Strong in the Midst of Earthshaking Change, by Gary R. Collins. Tyndale House, 1995.
“Communication Skills for Parents” http://parentingteens.about.com/cs/disciplin1/a/comskills.htm
“The Five Musts of Intentional Listening,” by Jan Pedersen. http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Pedersen2.html

* Note: recommending a resource does not constitute Alan’s endorsement of everything in the book. Read with discretion, and balance any author’s advice against what you are learning in the Bible through the Career Class and our parenting groups.

Parenting the Prodigal

Two children were overheard discussing their parents, and the first little boy said to the second, I am really worried. My daddy works like a slave all day long so I can have everything I need, enjoy the finer things of life, and one day go to college. My momma works all day long, and then comes home and has to clean up after me, wash for me, iron for me, cook for me, help me with my homework, and drive me everywhere I want to go. They seem to spend every moment of their waking lives waiting on and working for me.

The second little boy said, What are you worried about? It sounds like you have it made in the shade with a glass of lemonade. The first boy answered, I’m worried they might try to escape!

And well they may, for parenting is tough work. We are trying to help somebody out who is parenting a prodigal right now. Here are some precious points you may have missed last Sunday.

• You have an inalienable spiritual right to define your own life according to Bible principles (and this includes your parenting). This is why Satan makes it such a struggle for you to make good personal choices.

• Your control over your children is not deigned to be permanent. As they approach the teenage years there is a power transfer, but we will leave that discussion for a later Sunday..

• SIDEBAR: You need to learn to manage your credit as well as your income. Say, "Hello somebody!" Oh, it’s never too late to live within your own income, because it will help you be who you should have been all along..

• When you see something wrong, stop doing it. (I just gave you the answer!)
  The crowd always thins-out when the going gets thick. How'd you miss that, all these years?.

• Thank God he deals with us according to who we are in Christ, not according to who we are!.

Okay, those were just nuggets, we need to get jiggy with it and start heaving the ore. Our thesis was that parenting is a tough job because it requires you to have godliness in yourself, and reproduce it in your kids, in order to see it multiplied in life.

I find that many people are confused about the purpose of parenting. The purpose of parenting is to provide a secure environment that shelters children from certain temptations as they grow up, until they reach the age that God wants them to take personal responsibility for themselves. That means, the evil day is going to come to all of our children, and our job as parents is to remind them of their creator and give them God’s armor so they will be able to stand when they are tested, Eccl 12:1; Eph 6:4,13. Just remember, the character of your parenting is defined by the quality of your preparing your child, not by whether they successfully use that preparation to make adult choices. Okay, can I point you to some

Parenting Imperatives
#1. As long as your children are small, you must be large and in charge to bend their will without breaking their spirit.
#2. Kids want control sooner than we want to give it, and they deserve it sooner than we are willing to release it.
#3. Prepare your teenager to take control of who they are.
#4. You cannot lead like Jesus unless you are following Jesus.
#5. Sometimes your kids won’t recognize how good their old man was, till they hook up with the new one, who is sure enough a fool!

What about parenting the prodigal? (Luke 15:11-20)

A. Their restoration starts with recognition, 17a, 1 John 1:9
B. Recognition will proceed to realization, 17b
C. Realization comes with an internal act of remembrance, 18-19
D. Restoration ends at the point at which he is ready to return, 20

We are trying to give you a paradigm (an example that serves as a model or form) as a pattern for perfected parenting. The tentative study schedule for the rest of December is:

Perfecting Our Parenting
Sunday, Dec 9 — Paradigm for Parenting Ages 1-12, Prov 22:6
Sunday, Dec 16 — Paradigm for Parenting Ages 13-19, Prov 1:8-9
Sunday, Dec 23 — Rescuing At-Risk Children, 1 Sam 4:19-22
Sunday, Dec 30 — Painting Over Your Flaws, 2 Sam 13:1-22
Sunday, Jan 6 — Blended Family Functionality, Prov 24:3-4

Not Drunk but Filled, Eph 5:18

Can you even understand the level to which the apostle is calling Christians when this word is set against the lifestyle of the Ephesians? He is not dumbing-down to their age, not simply giving a modified standard of right and wrong. In the same verse, without a break, he puts a prohibition and a command. Why? Because there is a comparison and a contrast.

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Comparison
They drink, but we are filled to find exhilaration.

They drink, but we are filled to find strength and inner courage.
Not with religious fanaticism but with the spirit of truth. The Holy Ghost is the creator of heroes.
The Holy Spirit brings us strength to work and strength to suffer; strength to receive and strength to dish out; strength to hope in hopelessness and to love when hated; strength to conquer temptation and to perform ministry.

They drink, but we are filled to eliminate pain.
It can drown our misery and support us in agony.
Have you never been through so bad a trial before? Then seek more of the Spirit of God than you have had before. (I just gave you the answer.) His consolation will balance your tribulation, and will bring you to the place that you glory in your infirmities and afflictions for Christ's sake. God uses them to make more room for his Spirit to dwell in you.

They drink, but we are filled to get aroused.
You can always find a reason to do what the flesh wants, but you need to be filled with the Spirit to do what God wills.

They drink, but we are filled to find fellowship.
I often feel the reverse of happy, but I don't want others to be affected. So I go to Him. He is the resurrection and the life. When I look long enough and far enough in his word for quickening, it comes.

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Contrast
Drunk—thirsty.
Filled—satisfied.

Drunk—excess and riot.
Filled—peace, self-possessed, at rest, free from anger, anxiety and emotion.

Drunk—contention.
Filled—submission.

Drunk—foolish.
Filled—walking as wise.

Drunk—waste time.
Filled—redeem the time.

Drunk—forgotten relationships.
Filled—fulfilling the responsibilities of our roles.

Drunk—weak and vulnerable.
Filled—strong in the Lord and the power of his might.

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Do you want to know how to be filled? You are asking good questions.
1. Reverently regard him. Worship him. It is a special sin to disrespect him. Honor him by adoring him, and look to him for help. If you want his power you have to acknowledge his presence.
2. Do not grieve him. Let sin grieve you enough to stay away from it. Put away any idea he does not agree with, and agree with him.
3. Open your heart to his influence. Watch for his movements. Pray for him to speak. Ask to be enlightened. Then during the day, mourn if you do not feel him moving.
4. Be fit for him to fill.

Return, O holy Dove! return,
Sweet messenger of rest!
I hate the sins that made thee mourn,
And drove thee from my breast.

5. If you want him to fill you then obey him. Do not trifle with your conscience.
6. If you want to retain his filling, talk about him. He is not a deaf or dumb spirit.

Get on fire, so you can set our church aflame!

Desperate Households

Here is the skeleton outline. To get the complete context and impact you'll have to check out the audio link to the left.

Thesis: In spite of all the change and turmoil that families go through, if Bible principles govern your roles and responsibilities then a dynamic household can be built out of desperate hours.

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TODAY’S MAJOR POINTS
Point 1. God cares about every Christian perfecting his or her family in the faith.
Point 2. Perfection is possible for imperfect people because our perfect God has given us a perfect word that can be taken by the Holy Spirit and used to radically transform us into a perfect image—Christ.
Point 3. A dynamic family has to be a fortress and not a façade, because God wants us to build families that can withstand the attacks of the enemy.
Point 4. Since they are consecrated to God, that seals their commitment to one another.
Point 5. You didn’t come to your parents; you came through your parents.
Point 6. Do your children know that they have unconditional affection even though you cannot give them unconditional approval?
Point 7. Nothing will alienate a child or a spouse more than making them work for something that ought to be free.
Point 8. If you want a better child, be a better parent.
Point 9. You need to receive your child (or your spouse) even when you are displeased with your child, because that is what consecration looks like.
Point 10. You learn to cope by developing contentment.
Point 11. Perfecting parents learn how to attack the problem without attacking each other.
Point 12. There is no greater gift you can give to your children than to let them see by your actions that you know God, and by your reactions that you obey God.

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CLUES TO SUCCESSFUL PARENTING
1. A strong sense of consecration

A. Tell them that we will value each other and stay together for a lifetime
B. Remind them frequently that they are a blessing and not a burden
C. Assure them they are loved unconditionally

2. A strong sense of communion

FIVE MAGICAL MOMENTS PRODUCING COMMUNION
A. Part on a positive note
B. Reconnect at the end of the day
C. Go to bed with a good attitude
D. Show appreciation by giving compliments
E. Set aside “date time”

3. A strong set of communication skills

A. By being a good listener

FIVE MUSTS OF INTENTIONAL LISTENING
1. I must listen with a purpose
2. I must practice listening for understanding, rather than criticism
3. I must be aware of words and behaviors that make me defensive; and exercise emotional control even though I disagree
4. I must concentrate on what they are saying
5. I must recognize that listening may be the key to my success

B. By cutting off the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”

1. Criticism
2. Contempt
3. Defensiveness
4. Stonewalling

4. A strong set of coping skills
5. They share a growing sense of Christlikeness

PASSAGES REFERENCED
Prov 24:3 Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established:
Psa 37:4-5 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
Prov 20:3 It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.
Eph 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Prov 29:11 A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
Prov 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Prov 18:6 A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes.
Prov 29:20 Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.
Prov 18:13 He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.
Prov 15:28 The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.
Prov 18:7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.
Matt 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

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Recommended Resources
Shepherding a Child’s Heart, by Tedd Tripp, Shepherd Press, 1998.
Hints on Child Training, by H. Clay Trumbull. Great Expectations Book Co.: 1993.
Family Shock: Keeping Families Strong in the Midst of Earthshaking Change, by Gary R. Collins. Tyndale House: 1995.
“The Five Musts of Intentional Listening,” by Jan Pedersen. http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Pedersen2.html

* Note: recommending a resource does not constitute Alan’s endorsement of everything in the book. Read with discretion, and balance any author’s advice against what you are learning in the Bible through the Career Class or our parenting groups.

Maranatha

At the end of his first letter to the Corinthians Paul takes the stylus from the hand of his stenographer and starts writing himself. What does he say?

1 Cor 16:22 If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.

Paul combines in one sentence the conviction of his heart about the people who reject his Jesus Christ. If anyone love not the Lord. That is the word for simple human affection. If any man or woman does not emotionally extend themselves to Jesus Christ, then there is nothing for that person in eternity, and their lack of love for the Lord proves their lostness.

Anathema is a Greek word that the James gang left untranslated. It was notorious. Infamous, even by 1611. It came to convey a special English meaning.

Appearing six times in your New Testament, it means to be set aside to God. Not consecrated to ministry because of his mercy, but offered in worship as an object of wrath. Like an animal brought to the temple, devoted to destruction.

If any man or woman in this city does not love Jesus Christ, there is no hope for them. His coming simply curses them. That man or woman will perish because they are devoted to destruction as a result of their decision about Jesus.

With the word Maranatha, Paul broke off into Aramaic. Aramaic was the language of Jesus and his homeboys. Aramaic was the childhood language of Paul studying under that great rebbe, rav Gamaliel in Jerusalem. When Paul wants to convey something intimate he slips into Aramaic. So what is Paul saying to end it all?

They will be accursed Maranatha. That brings us to this intimate Aramaic expression, "the Lord cometh." He has come; he is coming, and this man or woman will be accursed, devoted to destruction at his return coming. Anathema Maranatha. A word for the Jew and a word for the Gentile to remind us of what happens at his coming.

That's what we’ve forgotten in our community. That's why the churches aren't having the impact they could. We forget the negative consequences of Christ's coming. People walk by, and we forget they are devoted to destruction if they are lost.

This is what Paul underlines as the last-said and most-important idea for the church in the urban center. The secret of a successful Christian life is a passionate devotion to the Lord. If you do not have that passionate devotion to Christ, then you have nothing and will be reduced to nothing, because you stand Anathema Maranatha—condemned at his coming. We can’t do anything else for you. After all, he came. He died. Hell is no more than you deserve when this love is no less than God gave.

In the early days of the church, when the Roman Empire was hell-bent on stamping it out, Christians had a watchword. Whenever they met—in the catacombs, in secret meetings, in underground Bible studies, in prisons—they said it: maranatha. He is coming.

Those little groups of Christians, harried and harassed and chased like fugitives, were scattered by persecution. When a Roman Legionnaire caught up with them—when Imperial storm troopers finally found the rebel band and caught them—they encouraged each other with, Maranatha. “Hold on, bro’. Be brave, because the Lord is coming for us! Keep the faith, dog. Be bold, Maranatha man. We can't carry on without him, but we can't give in with him. Maranatha!”

The early churches triumphed in spreading the gospel across North Africa, wiping the Mediterranean basin, and throughout the emerging European world. Why can't we do it in Kansas City? It's only limited by what we can't do in your life. Ask God to light the flame in your heart. Give him your life and he’ll take care of the passion. Submit to God's word. Seek Christ's character. Surrender to the lover of your soul.

It is no fiction Jesus has come. It is no fable that he returns. Any day, any hour, Jesus may return. When he does he will heal every wound and dry every tear. But remember, he also wipes away every rebellion. He quarantines sin for eternity. He “cleans house,” and sanitizes it with fire. That is why rejection now results in condemnation then. Don't put off the lover of your soul.

Maranatha (but remember, anathema).

Sunday Synopsis: Perfecting Parenting

I can't get everything in on Sundays, so we are going to use this for overflow. Last week started our new series on biblical principles of parenting, so let me set it off with a synopsis of Sunday's teaching. Our first topic for teaching is "A Biblical Philosophy of Parenting."

The homiletical idea here is that no one is naturally pre-wired to be a biblical parent, but fortunately parenting is a skill you can perfect. So parenting is like any other aspect of life: you need to know how God’s handbook on humanity says to run it. The first point that lays the foundation for biblical childrearing is

Prov 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Since you missed what that verse is saying, let me be kind and rewind. Happiness is defined in Prov 29:18 as setting a goal to see Bible principles applied in your life. The idea of vision means having a very concrete picture of what a good parent is, no matter how you were raised as a child. This is necessary since children do not go where you say, because they cannot cognitively process things that way; children go where you show, because their little life is based on imitation.

We teach a philosophy of discipleship encompassed in four biblical goals. Likewise, there are at least four good goals to biblical parenting.

Goal 1. Establish them in a safe and secure environment.

Each goal has a task tied to it that makes it practical and accountable.

Task 1. The way you establish children in a secure environment is through constant, consistent and courageous communication about life-issues from a biblical frame of reference.

This is necessary because the thing that most often causes rebellion in children is hypocrisy in the parents. Hello somebody!

Goal 2. Establish them in good citizenship. Good citizenship means
· They have a good attitude toward law enforcement
· They participate with you, through this church, in being productive in the community
· They contribute to the well-being of others at school and the edification of others at church

—because good citizenship is tied to acting like God in the community.

Task 2. You get to this goal by teaching them to submit to authority.

Most parents stop with goal #1. Some go as far as level 2. A complete biblical philosophy of parenting has two civil goals (one internal to the house: security, and one external to society: good citizen). But then it goes even further to two spiritual goals (one internal, dealing with attitude, and one external encompassing action). First, the aspect of internal attitude.

Goal 3. Establish them in biblical understanding.
· Knowledge is the facts of a situation
· Wisdom is knowing how to take the facts and act in that situation
· Understanding is how God figures into the situation

So there is a task tied to the accomplishment of this goal as well.

Task 3. Educate them in what it takes to be pleasing to God by first making right decisions, and then secondly developing the discipline to get it done.

This is illustrated through the book of Proverbs. That gets us to level-four parenting.

Goal 4: Establish them in godliness.

Because the only way our city will get better is for parents to be godly so their children can be good. And the fourth goal, even though it is the highest level, is the foundation of the other three.

Task 4: The Process of Biblical Parenting

A. Start with the heart, Luke 6:45; Prov 4:23
· As you deal with the heart start with three ideas: conviction, grace, and free choice

B. Stick to the scriptures, Heb 4:12; Deut 6:5-7; 2 Tim 3:15

· Remember that while you are teaching your child and training them in the word, it is also cutting you!

C. Seek the Spirit to help you live what you lip, Psa 127:4

· The target you are pointed at is the one that your children will hit!

D. Strive for biblical success, Josh 1:8; 24:15

Next Sunday we will be teaching from the topic of how to parent the prodigal.

Sin by Surprise

1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Do you really love God? Use this text as the test. All of us sometimes fall into sin by surprise, but if we consistently deliberately go to it—if we go into it without hating it—how does the love of God dwell in us?

Some people never purify themselves even though they do not defile themselves. They never take sides with Christ unless others are on his side. They do not take sides with the Devil, but they try to stay neutral. They don't join in the ridicule, but they never stand up for Christ. That's "dead fish" Christianity.

The dead fish floats downstream. It still floats, but it is dead. If you give-up to the current you are in, it proves you are spiritually dead. Previous generations of Christians had to fight to win the crown. Do you expect to get it while lying in bed? Do you really believe there are crowns in heaven for those who do not fight against their sins? Do you think there are rewards for those who never endured hardness for Christ's sake?

If you want to get to heaven, it is already paid by grace through the blood of Jesus Christ. It is all by simple faith and trusting in the cross to save you. There is heaven for all who believe, but there is no crown except for warriors. You missed that, so read back over it. There are no rewards except for those who contend for the mastery against the flesh, against Satan, against sin, and over the world.

There is a lot you will never attain except with God at your back, pushing. But if you have the hope of Christ's coming , if it is a hope IN HIM, you can win the day. You will be purifying yourself, just like he is pure. And when he shall appear, you will be like him. Let's make that the goal next year.

Union and Communion

One thought has recently surfaced in discussions on the pastoral staff: we have lost the mystical. No one meditates. We keep our daily fifteen-minute devotion and walk out the door without God.

Not only do we not meditate; we do not read good books. Our mind is drugged by TV drama but not pushed and challenged by godly authors. No wonder the epidemic of Alzheimer's. Here's a sure cure.

In the 1650s an English Puritan preacher named John Owen wrote a tome entitled Communion with the Triune God. It has recently been edited and reprinted (at 448 pages) by Crossway Books. His thesis: believers need to know their God in order to be faithful worshippers. How do we know God, Owen asks? In his three persons (Father-Son-Spirit). The way you understand the One is through the Three. There is no "God behind the Gods."

In preparing these sermons for publication, Owen ended up penning more about the person of the Holy Spirit than any other Western theologian before him. He walks the line between two camps emerging in the seventeenth century: the rationalists and the emotionalists. The first group diminished the activity of the Spirit. The second prioritized spiritual experiences without checking that they came from the Holy Spirit. Churches today are not very different. Either they ignore the Spirit, or they are spiritual but not biblical.

Owen was clear on a key doctrine: standing and state (or what he calls union and communion). Our standing is a unilateral action by God, which establishes our relationship with him in heavenly places, and does not ebb and flow. Who we are "in Christ" does not change with out changes. This is our union and is the standing of all true believers.

Relationship requires response, so our state is our earthly experience of communion, and it can fluctuate. It is who we are in the world. Communion is our continuous prayer, corporate worship, and biblical meditation. Since you missed that, you better go back and read those three things again, because forsaking them does not make God love us less, but having them makes our state come closer to match our standing. Giving into temptation and neglecting devotion (forsaking our consecration) puts us in a state that threatens our communion, but not our union.

Four things flow from recognizing this distinction.
1. We are saved by God's grace, which is freely detached from either who we are, who God foresees we could become, or what we have done. State is not based on standing. Union is not based on our sense of communion.
2. The children of God have a real relationship with God, which means there are things they do in communion to either help or hinder it
3. Our unchangeable union with Christ is what encourages us to turn and return from sin, claim our forgiveness, and restore our fellowship with God
4. Obedience flows from our standing in grace; it affects our communion but is never the ground for our union

How do we relate to the Spirit, Owen asks? By distinguishing between sanctification and consolation. Sanctification is the Spirit’s work that sets us apart as belonging to Christ. It enables our standing, our union with Christ. Consolation is the Spirit’s word that enables our communion and enhances our state in our circumstances.

Want a reviving revelation? You do not have to be passive in the Spirit’s work of consolation. Do three things.
A. Seek the Spirit’s comfort by focusing your mind and meditation on scripture’s promises. This will give you correct mentality.
B. Call out in prayer for the Spirit to bring you correct emotions through his consolation, and strengthening with might in the inner man. This will give you correct motives and feelings.
C. Pay attention to the Spirit’s “monitions” or movement in your life. This will allow your will to follow correct thinking and feeling.

Typical of most all Puritan authors, this is a detailed work, not for the faint of heart. It will repay your attention. If your attention span is not that long, then get Spurgeon (1) and read him, because he sucked-out all the marrow from Owen before he preached. And remember, he who is the Comforter always abides, even when he is not doing his work of comforting.

(1) For example, Spurgeon's Sermons on Jesus And the Holy Spirit, Charles Spurgeon. Hendrickson, 2006. And, The Unknown God: 25 Sermons on the Subject of the Holy Spirit, Charles Spurgeon. Fox River Press, 2003.

Alan's Faves—Love to the edge of doom

1 Cor 13:7 Charity… believeth all things,

Love is not gullible. When Jesus was kissed by Judas, he didn't say, "Oh you sweet boy. I'm so glad you changed your mind about betraying me."

No. Love still recognizes the kiss of a traitor, but love is willing to believe anything until it knows it is wrong. This means if someone wants another chance, love can grant it within Biblical parameters and structure.

Love is not easily deceived. Love is not blind, but it is absent a suspicious nature. Puppy love is blind; God's love simply takes the best possible view of others in every circumstance. Love will consider good motives. Love will make every allowance for failure.

When a man or woman falls, after he has repented and stood back up again, love will think about the battle he or she must have fought! Love will think about the struggle he or she must have had before being cut down. That’s why my personal favorite poem is Say Not the Struggle Nought Availeth.

Say not the struggle naught availeth, the labour and the wounds are vain,
The enemy faints not, nor faileth, and as things have been they remain.
If hopes were dupes, fears may be liars; it may be, in yon smoke conceal'd,
Your comrades chase e'en now the fliers—and, but for you, possess the field.

For while the tired waves, vainly breaking, seem here no painful inch to gain,
Far back, through creeks and inlets making, comes silent, flooding in, the main.
And not by eastern windows only, when daylight comes, comes in the light;
In front the sun climbs slow, how slowly, but westward, look! the land is bright!

—Arthur Hugh Clough, 1819–1861

My favorite quote is by Teddy Roosevelt.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to he man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew niether victory nor defeat.

—Theodore Roosevelt, 1858-1919

1 Cor 13:7 Charity… hopeth all things,

Even when belief in a loved one's goodness or repentance is shattered, love keeps hoping on. That way, as long as God's grace is operative, human failure is never final. Shakespeare speaks of this quality of charity in one of his sonnets.

Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
Oh no, it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wan'dring [ship],
Whose worth's unknown, although his [height] be taken.
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

I think the Shake was meditating in his Bible that day. This is a photograph of Jesus Christ. We will produce these qualities of a Biblical love—not by self-improvement, not by self-attainment—but we will do it by responding to life's challenges in the character of Christ, who has already shed abroad the love of God in our hearts (Rom 5:5). These are the only qualities that make life worth living.

Three Levels of Heroes

2 Cor. 9:10 Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;

Heroes. Have you seen the show? It's an exposition of different elements of the glorified body. Each character has a different part (like the ability to heal, to fly), but the body we get after the rapture (or the resurrection) has all the elements they list.

God is calling us to summon the Heroes of the last days. He wants you to become his hero on the street. How do you do that?

Spiritually, we need a devotion to certain disciplines. Let the Bible become your daily manna. Use our Prayer Diary as a spiritual discipline to get close to God. Read–Pray–Meditate. That’s the manna principle.

Financially, you have to set your budget to include stewardship.

Family—we need to study the Bible and ask God to make us a better single, spouse, parent and relative.

Servant: our relationships have to result in reproduction.

On what three levels do you need to be effective as a Hero for Christ?

Level 1. What I can do with my family and myself (the cell level)—that’s addition. We’ll talk about this when we start our series on "Perfecting Parenting" in the Career Class in November.

Level 2. What I can do with my spiritual family and others (the class level)—that’s multiplication. Make sure you come to church and get connected.

Level 3. What we can do together with God (the quantum level)—that’s the synergy and explosion of revival. Seek to be involved in ministry. Help us construct a teen center at Community LINC, 40th and Troost, on Nov. 2-3, or go with us to reconstruct the lower ninth ward of New Orleans next summer (signup online).

To lead on a higher level you need to live on a higher level, love on a higher level, and learn on a higher level. We will teach you, if you are willing to live and love at the next level. Raise it up a notch this Sunday at 9:00 am in the gym.

Gaugamela

What were the greatest events in history? Just the ones recorded in the Bible? How is it that there are so many people and events listed as "great," and yet biblical events are mostly relegated to unimportance, and even considered unhistorical?

It must be remembered that from a practical perspective, we always view history as a series of events that leads up to US. That is why "Western Civ" is so important. It is a view of history leads us to us. And since we see ourselves as on top of the world, then the "great" events in history are the ones that bring up to prominence.

Like Winston Churchill pointed out, history is written by the victors. (Or actually, I think someone asked him how they could ensure that historians after the war did not judge him too harshly for bombing large civilian populations, starting firestorms in major cities and he tersely replied, "History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.")

Many great battles have been fought by military geniuses who were African and Asian. But since we in the west are on top (generally speaking), the only people and events that are really great to us are the ones that got us here (on top). Remember that because we will have cause to come back to it.

Alexander is called "the Great." From the standpoint of western civilization, one of the greatest battles of history was the one he fought against Darius in 331 BC. The fate of the whole Persian Empire was at stake. The one who wins comes out on top and can make history kind to himself, for he will write it.

It was a great battle for other reasons. Alexander had less than 50,000 troops. Darius had probably five times as many. He was able to position a quarter million men in a line that strung two miles wide. The cavalry rode on the ends at right and left flank. In the middle were columns of 200 war chariots (you know, the ones like you saw in Gladiator; they have scythes sticking out the side, ready to make relish of the Macedonian military).

Alexander was to attack, yes, but there are ways of attack other than by charging. Alexander went for the psychological offensive. He was fast and mobile. Darius was fighting from a stationary position. The great Greek had to probe the line long enough to find a weak spot and exploit it so he could "capture the flag" before he was decimated (or capture the king, as the case may be). Watch how he worked it.

He started with an unconventional battle formation. All along the road from Macedon to modern-day Mosul (which Gaugamela is near), Darius thought he was leading Alexander into a trap. Now Alexander starts leading him. A new battle formation forced Darius to either think outside the box (because Alexander was marching over the sides), or else be confused and make a mistake.

Darius sees troops coming at him like a wedge. In the center is the Greek phalanx: 256 men (16 rows of 16), with 16-foot spears bristling out their front. The point of that wedge begins to press his center line.

But on the Persian right, where Darius' cavalry were located, there was a space of open land. Mounted men abhor a vacuum. So they galloped forward and engaged the Greeks.

Now, on the Persian left, Alexander and his cavalry begin to ride toward the end of the line. Hold it. That's not fair. I mean, even though the Persian front is two miles wide, Alexander and some horsemen are about to march right off the prepared field of battle, and try to ride around the Persian flank. Darius can't let that happen. But there is no umpire to call Alexander out of bounds, so Darius orders his cavalry on the left to stop Alexander and his men.

They trail him along the line. They both ride parallel. What the Persians cannot see is that Alexander, riding slowly, has light infantry moving with him on the other side, out of sight of the Persian soldiers. They are equipped with bows, smaller close-quarters spears, and slingshots designed not to do damage so much as harass and create confusion.

Game on. The Greek phalanx is pressing on the Persian center (behind which are Darius and his own guard, giving orders). So Darius sends out the chariots (remember, the ones with the blades fixed to their wheels).

But with Alexander, nothing is unanticipated. He has trained his men. When a chariot comes riding toward their phalanx of 256 men, the center rows move away, creating a three-sided box. And since horses don't like to run into long sharp spears (no matter what the charioteer tells them), they rode right into the center of the box. The box then becomes a killing zone. The horses are gutted by the spears of the men in the last few rows at the back. And the men on the sides of the box kill the charioteers at will. So much for 200 war chariots.

Darius surveys the battlefield and what does he see. Right flank? Cavalry engaged with the Greeks. Center? A phalanx pressing heavily against his troops, who have been wearied by standing at attention all night long (and they have shorter spears and heavier shields than the Greeks). Perhaps I forgot to mention that. Persians didn't like to fight on a day that they had not offered a morning sacrifice. So, since Darius was not certain that Alexander might not make a night anyway, he ordered his men to stand in formation all night long, (having made their sacrifices the previous day, so that they would not be attacked by Alexander while they were in mid-ritual).

Left flank? His line is stretched out. And just the moment that it wears thin enough, Alexander senses this, and makes a swift and ruthless attack to checkmate the Persian king.

It didn't matter he had a quarter million troops, five times that of Alexander. He had been given space on the right flank and his cavalry attacked, but was now pinned down. The bronze spears of the Greeks were weighing heavily on the chest of his two-mile wide formation. And now, ignorant of the light infantry shadowing the cavalry on the left, his other wing is pinned down while Alexander and his best men come rushing straight for him. What could he do? He turned tail And of course, that became the cue for the rest of the Persian contingent to turn tail as well.

Interesting Theo-Factoid
In ancient times God spoke to his people through night visions, and later to his prophets through dreams and visions. He did not speak as directly to the Gentiles, but he did speak. The way that he spoke was through the heavens (Matt 2), hence the cultivation of a tribe of scholars called the magi in Persia. They were able to see which way the astronomical wind was blowing, and so understood the negative portents for Darius in this battle. Of course, their careful observation also led them to Jesus when he was born.

And so now, remember what we said about the "great" events of history being those that got us on top? Well, the wheel is still turning! Those on bottom may yet be on top. The end of all things is the battle of Armageddon. And who is the winner there? Not the West. Not Europe. Not Asia. But Jesus, who rescues his people and makes them the head and not the tail of all the nations. How will history be (re)written then? Perhaps the status of Bible stories that explain how God's people get to their final destination will take on a whole new greatness.

What Revival Means

Psa. 104:16 The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;

Without sap a tree cannot exist, much less flourish. Vitality is essential to life. There has to be revival—a living principle infused by the Holy Spirit, or else we will not be one of the trees of the LORD. Just wearing the name “Christian” still makes you dead. You have to be filled with the Spirit in order to transcend from mere existence into real life. What does that mean?

Revival is mysterious. Do you understand the circulation of the sap? What force makes it defy gravity from the root to the leaf? In the same way, the flow of God's life is a great mystery. Somehow in revival, the Holy Spirit enters into you, becoming your life! This life, once initiated feeds off the Lord Jesus, and is sustained by the food of the word.

Revival starts in secret. The roots go deep, searching through the soil of the earth. We do not see how they suck, and transfer the minerals into the fruit. It is a work “curiously wrought” way down deep in the dark. Our root is Jesus. Our true life is hid in him.

Revival is permanently active. It is always full of energy—not always in fruit-bearing, but at least in inward operation. Graces go in motion. You are not always working for him, but you are always living on him. The sap then manifests itself in producing foliage, if not fruit.

Shall we pray? God, give me revival that your grace may be externally manifested through me. If I talk with you, then I will talk more about you. Make the sap flow in revival, and people will notice from observation that I have been with Jesus. Infuse me with your Spirit so fully that it fills my conduct and conversation with life! Amen.

Who's Afraid of the Emerging Church?

The emerging church movement, such as it is, defies classification. There are pastors like Erwin McManus of Mosaic, who are "emerging" because he started a church in LA in several venues, most notably a nightclub called The Mayan http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14501673
However, he is simply a Southern Baptist sheep in wolf's clothing.

Then there is the man that CT magazine calls pastor provocateur, Mark Driscoll in Seattle. This is "the cussing pastor" from Blue Like Jazz fame. His theology is John MacArthur but his style is Adam Sandler. Sort of a second-class Reformation.

On the other hand, there is not just emerging churches and emerging pastors, but the emergent movement. Put McLaren and Bell in that camp. They have overreacted to the pain of growing up fundy. Can I give you a synopsis of their UFO theology (it’s out of this world)?

1. The nature of the movement is based on conversation, not preaching. They do not want to decide or determine but facilitate sharing. Excuse me, provoke thought. The more voices the more stressful, excuse me, the more successful you are. Any final theological decisions made are kept strictly personal, thank you.

2. The nature of Biblical authority is such, that if not rewritten, it must at least be reinterpreted by every generation.

3. Certain previously accepted assumptions and arguments (conservative evangelical ones) should be rejected out of hand. The cardinal sin is to be pre-postmodern (if you don't understand what I am saying you already deserve to go to purgatory). Anything that smacks of post-enlightenment modernism is not modern enough. Yet the way to be postmodern is to go back to pre-modern elements. In emergent churches this may include liturgical rituals (candles, incense, and contemplative New Age practices). In scholarship it requires one to be familiar with patristics (the study of the thought of the early church fathers).

Okay, let me make a correction. Emergent is probably more of a fad than a movement. It will be self-limiting in evangelical circles for some key reasons.

A. They tend to play fast and loose with doctrine, and often develop a loyalty to the novel. Let's put it more generously. They are great at describing all sides of an issue, but stutter in delineating the right side.
B. They can spend a lot of time in talk with little substantive action (substantive in terms of advancing the mission defined biblically).

Ray Anderson offers some sane theological guidance in his new book, "An Emergent Theology for Emerging Churches." He draws a distinction between the terms emergent/emerging that most readers and leaders in that movement probably won’t espouse, but I like his thesis. The church at Antioch had a mission to establish churches. Jerusalem sadly did not.

Along the way from Jerusalem to Antioch, Anderson points out that in an "emerging theology"
1. The difference is about theology, not just geography
2. It is about Christ, not Christology
3. It's about the Holy Spirit, not just spirituality
4. It's about the right gospel, not the right way to do church
5. It's about kingdom living, not kingdom-building
6. It's about the work of God as well as the word of God
7. It's about the church ahead of us, not the one behind us

Anderson is Senior Professor of Theology at Fuller Seminary in California. His book is endorsed by emergent activist Brian McLaren, which is an amazing thing given Brian's muddled thoughts on doctrinal issues. He and Rob Bell kind of go together as obscurantly reactionary anti-fundamentalists. One hopes that someday they will get over being hurt by "the man."

No Passion, No Preaching

There is an idea floating around my head of throwing a "10-minute party" each Sunday after I teach. The party would be by invitation only. Those invited would be people interested in or believing they have a call of God upon their life to preach.

For ten minutes after each study they would dissect what I just did. What was the homiletical idea? How did I start the introduction? At what point did I draw illustrations? How did the outline contribute? What were the transitions? Was the conclusion appropriate to the subject? Maybe more of a party for me than for them.

Often I will say while I am teaching, "It is not preaching if it's not practical." If I have not made truth practical, I have not preached.

That is true from the listener's side. Equally true from my side is there is no preaching without passion, for preaching is truth shot-through a prism of human personality and Holy Spirit anointing. That means a dominant note in preaching has to be intensity. Well, I have to be intense. I preach to reach the back row.

Study the preaching of the apostles. It was far from the familiar Sunday fare of legalism, humanism, and political correctness wrapped in aphorisms.

There is no reason why your ministry should not achieve visible results, provided you keep alive within you a sense of the wonder of the facts you preach and of the urgency of the issues with which you deal. Every Sunday morning when it comes ought to find you awed and thrilled by the reflection – "God is to be in action today, through me, for these people: this day may be crucial, this service decisive, for someone now ripe for the vision of Jesus."

—James S. Stewart, Scottish preacher, Heralds of God, 1946, p. 47

Lessons Never Learned from History

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
—George Santayana, Reason in Common Sense, 1905

People talk about being "postmodern," but really we live in an a-historical age. Our people are prisoners of the past because they never learn it, and hence learn from it. That is why to the Greeks history appeared to be circular, and to Hegel it looked like a repeating scenario of truth-antithesis-synthesis—because we never really learn the truth! The reason we never learn from history is because learning requires change. People have to actually change if they have truly learned. In order to say you have learned, new decisions have to be made. For humanity, here are five lessons we never learn from history.

Lessons Unlearned

1. A global economy cannot immunize us from war and tyranny (and neither can science or technology)

Modern rational empiricism is not enough to keep us from fighting new wars. And certainly the Palestinians are not rational enough (as an example). Ever since the 1993 Oslo Accords Israel and the west have extended them a carrot. This carrot, to include statehood, means entrance into the global economy, with all the prosperity that implies. Don't expect them (or the Iranians) to go for it. Theirs is a religious objection (the North Koreans, on the other hand, are greedy and might just accept the carrot over the stick—if it is a long enough carrot).

2. Freedom is not a globally shared value

Desire for power is the true universal human value. Six thousand years and you would think we had learned this. Since this point is the hardest to accept, let me spend a paragraph on it. Nations and individuals often choose the perceived security of a dictator (like maybe Russia as a modern example) to the responsibilities of freedom. China and Russia both had democratic revolutions in the last century; they ended in brutal tyrannies. Confucius said that order flows from above. This ideal produces persistent despotism until the King of kings returns.

Okay, I see you still don't believe me, so let's take an illustration closer to home. Latin America is right next door to the U.S. It has vast resources and an industrious population. Yet many Latin American countries have never developed enduring institutions of democracy. (Sure, it would be easy to cite South American examples, but Cuba is only 90 miles away!) This lesson is why . . .

3. The Middle East is the cradle of civilization and the graveyard of empires

It doesn't matter that some of the empires had good intentions. Washington D.C. is the new Rome, and America is the new Athens. Along with those ancient civilizations, we share the idea that,

LAW: the strong have a duty to come to the aid of the weak
COROLLARY: pre-emptive war is necessary against bullies, and we will be welcomed as a liberator by the victims

And Middle Eastern history says, Not! Rome fell as much by getting caught in the cycle of nation-building, annexation, and the terrorism that followed, as from anything else.

4. Lust for power is a universal human value, but religion is the most powerful motivator of nations

Watch. The U.S. was founded on the truth "self evident," that "all men are created equal." And yet the Constitution was crafted to state that some men in America were only equal to three-fifths of a human. Why? Because those men and women were viewed as property, not persons. Righteous indignation against that immoral idea led to a Civil War. The Civil War led to over 620,000 deaths (about two percent of the population, or the equivalent of over six million today). This finally settled our understanding of the definition of freedom—as a moral issue. (Freedom may be settled, but fairness, on the other hand, is still "the struggle.")

5. Nations do not rise and fall because of enigmatic social and economic forces, but because of decisions made by individuals

Harry Truman believed that America was ordained to bring freedom to the world. Every President since has believed the same, to a greater or lesser degree. Truman knew that to achieve this we must become a superpower, and so we did.

What lesson does the Bible teach us?

Study Moses, David, Solomon. Examine the interplay of kings and prophets and foreign relations.
LAW: there is a moral dimension to history
COROLLARY: you cannot separate public and private morality

Any nation is able to be just as ruthless as its leaders (as shown in the book "Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust," by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen).

History is a great self-help course; especially Bible history.

How Deep Is Your Love?

How deep is your love
I really need to learn
'Cause were living in a world of fools
Breaking us down
When they all should let us be
We belong to you and me

—The Bee Gees, 1977


What Are We Here For?

I write this for my own enjoyment. I am embarrassed by the people who say they read my blog.

This entry will not appeal to you. We live in a day of seeker-sensitive, need-meeting oriented churches and services. I am much less therapeutic, preferring to make you look into your Bible instead of inside yourself to get the answer. And I find that sometimes we need to be reminded of the basics.

We were made to worship. Church exists because Christ calls his people to assemble for his worship.

The Old Testament is a narrative of worship. The Patriarchs worshipped as they wandered. Israel worshipped in the wilderness with a tent and an ark. When they settled in the land the tent became a tabernacle, and finally a temple.

God was worshipped in a sanctuary. The sanctuary was a place where God dwelt. It was a buffer zone between a holy God and an unholy world. It was the cusp where the Kingdom of God was conceived. So the sanctuary served as the focal point of worship. But the building was nothing apart from obedience. This is worship.

There was a place and time. They worshipped on the Sabbath and during the Feasts. They prepared for worship by circumcision. The elements of worship were prayer, praise, scripture reading, preaching, almsgiving and sacrifice. But the sacrifice was nothing apart from obedience. This is worship.

We worship God in spirit, but according to the truth. Principles first laid down in the Old Testament transcend dispensations.

The church is the new royal priesthood. Every believer's heart is now the sacred dwelling-place of the divine nature.

We have a time when the congregation comes together: Sunday. Some churches have services Friday or Saturday, but we still honor his resurrection when we meet on Sunday, for he was the sacrificial Lamb of God.

We prepare for worship. Circumcision is nothing, but baptism relates you to a local body. Baptism links us to Christ by a good conscience. Baptism marks our entrance into a body of believers. Baptism states that we are living according to a new life and walking in a new way.

If we make everything worship then nothing is worship. God is worshipped by our coming together. We offer the sacrifice of prayer and praise. Think through this.

ELEMENTS OF WORSHIP
1. Preaching the word (discipleship goal 1)
2. Prayer and praise to God together (discipleship goal 2)
3. Observing the ordinances (discipleship goal 3)
4. Giving an offering (to enable discipleship goal 4)

At the end, there is no temple (Rev 21:22). There is no Sabbath, for it is now the Sabbath rest (Heb 4:9-10). There is unceasing praise, and no need for sun or moon to regulate sacred time (Rev 21:23). There is preparation, for we have washed our robes (Rev 7:14-15).

There are still elements to our worship. We pray (Rev 5:8). We sing (Rev 19:6). The scroll is read and the word is proclaimed (Rev 5,14). We share a supper with the Lord (our marriage supper, Rev 19:6-8).

Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Crucified or Crowned

The inevitable defeat against overwhelming odds eventually comes upon every Christian. It is not fatal and not final, even as complete as it is. Yet Christians have become notorious for "shooting their wounded." Much like the contrast between Carthage and Rome.

Think 220 BC. This is the time mid-way between the Old and New Testaments. Carthage controls the Mediterranean coast from its capital in North Africa. Rome controls the Italian Peninsula, conquers colorful pirate Queen Teuta, invades the Gauls and defeats them to add that annexed region to their expanding number of provinces. Both have ambitions on the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain). This sparks the Second (of three) Punic (Phoenician) War between Carthage and Rome.

The head of Carthage is Hannibal. In an audacious move, he crosses the Alps with 40,000 soldiers, 12,000 cavalry and (maybe most importantly) 40 war elephants. After a series of defeats the Romans panic. There was a constitutional provision for just such an emergency: Dictatorship. They declare one old senator Dictator. When his year of dictatorship is up with no success, the Romans go from panic to impatience.

Two young consuls promise they can crush Hannibal if given the power. They raise a double army of nearly 80,000. Marching out of Rome to great pomp and circumstance, they meet Hannibal on a plain at a place called Cannae.

They are confident and cocky. Hannibal is outnumbered 2 to 1, but he knows Roman methods. So he develops a tactic that Gen. Schwarzkopf used in the first Gulf War. He knew they would attack his center to break his line and destroy his army. So Hannibal purposely weakened his center and placed his best troops on the flanks. When the attack comes, the Romans find themselves in a death trap, surrounded by stronger troops to the side and behind. They are so densely packed they cannot even draw their swords, much less swing them. The only thing left was the butchery. Nearly 70,000 soldiers die in a day.

But here is what I want to get to. One of the two Roman consuls was last seen sitting on a rock, head bowed, bleeding profusely. He died. The other consul returned to Rome on his horse. He was haggard, blood-splattered and dusty. But when he entered the Senate, they stood and applauded! An official resolution was passed thanking him for not giving up on the Republic, and for doing his duty as best as he could.

When Carthaginian generals failed they were crucified. Whereas the vision and attitude of Romans, even when defeated, was not to be conquered. Times of crisis were their "finest hour" to stand firm, yielding nothing.

Quite a contrast. But you know "the rest of the story." Hannibal stomped around Italy for 15 years, never able to lay siege to Rome. Because of Roman attitudes toward intermediate defeats, the core of their countrymen did not budge. They contained Hannibal in the boot-heel while they patiently pushed to victory in North Africa and Spain. Eventually Hannibal had to return to Carthage to defend it from massive Roman invasion, being defeated in the battle of Zama, ending the Second Punic War.

Who are the heroes in our Christianity? Hannibal who crosses the Alps with war elephants but ultimately fails to reach the final objective? Or Marcus Terentius Varro, returning dusty and bloody on his steed, shattered breastplate, scarred sword at his side, dented helmet, splintered shield, having done all he could just to stand? Will he be glorious in apparent defeat, crucified or crowned?

Do You Know the Way to San Jose?

"We live in Bug Landia—get used to it."
--Sue Kedrovsky to her kids

I spent all of last week in Costa Rica on a missions trip. It is the first strictly "work trip" I have made in quite a while. They worked us to death, but it was good to see what God is doing with La Iglesia del Este (Eastside Church) in San Jose.

The trip blog is here.

http://www.kcbt.org/207/costarica0807.htm

Some pictures from the week are here.
http://picasaweb.google.com/james.w.edwards/CostaRicaTrip

New Coded DaVinci

On July 27, the AP reported that an IT computer analyst in Milan, Italy has uncovered a new code in Leonardo Da Vinci's painting of The Last Supper. The web sites that posted the picture went down (and are still down today) because of all the madness.

Here's what he did. Pesci took a picture of the mural, reversed it (making a mirror-image), and then superimposed it back on the original picture. And what did he see? Two Knights Templar, one cradled baby, a strangely ostracized Judas, and the chalice that Christ was blessing at the last supper. (No partridge in a pear tree.)

Holy dialectic, DanBrown! You mean taking one image, getting the antithesis of it, and then synthesizing the two together creates a third image? Sure enough. A higher state of truth, even. You don't believe me, so look for yourself:

Wait a minute. This is a trick! How about if we line them up with Christ's face, instead of with the physical center of the picture?

Bam! The ghosts are gone. Do new ghosts appear though? That's your assignment. Take the Da Vinci Rorschach test and tell me what you see.

Little Tears

Got all the heartaches I can use
From all the long nights I've been through
I'm only crying little tears
Not quite as big as they might appear

—Joy Lynne White

A storm was stirring in Jesus. "He groaned in the spirit, and was troubled." The center column reports that "he troubled himself." Before he would raise the dead he roused himself. Why? Because he now stood toe to toe with that last enemy, death.

Spurgeon says the hardest thing in winning souls is to get ourselves into a fit state. I would say the same for preaching. Because until your own soul is moved you cannot move others.

Indignant at the power of the hour of darkness. Grieving with the family. Sorrowful at those who stood by in unbelief. Recognizing the full effects of sin. Our Lord's heart was in a great storm. But instead of a thunderous threat, or the lightning bolt of a curse, all that was perceptible was a shower of tears. Just two words make a verse unto themselves, John 11:35. He worked, he walked, he wearied, and "Jesus wept."

Jesus was always in touch with himself. Happy are those who are in touch with him. He held his divinity without doubt and his manhood without mistake. How did he keep it together? He wept.

The Puritans used to say that no prayer would prevail with God like liquid petitions. They trickle from the eye when distilled from the heart. The angel at the Jabbok will slip from Jacob's grasp. But moisten your hands with tears and you will hold him. Why take Prozac? Let your soul arouse itself, and trouble itself to anguish to prevail. Jesus taught us how to baptize our prayers.

How did Jesus keep sin out of his crying? By weeping in the Father's presence. He spoke to God in his sorrow and the first word was, Father (v 41). But that's not all. It was, "Father, I thank thee . . .".

If you can weep in a way that, all the while, you sense God is your Father and are thanking him, then your crying is healthy. When you cannot smile or weep without forgetting God and his word, you are sinning. (I just gave you the answer. Or if you prefer, we'll call it "The Secret" and you can send me $23.95.)

Consider this. Jesus did not prove his sympathy in words, or even his deeds. Only your heart can express true sympathy, and it does it by tears. They are mined from the depths of the heart, minted in the eyes, and put in circulation as precious (Ps 56:8).

Watch, or you'll miss it. Our Hero wept in the fight, but he was not defeated. He came, he wept, he conquered (apologies to Julius Caesar; I'm not sure how to say that in Latin).

You have an awfully small soul if you can hold it all in your ribcage. A Christ-like soul lives in the souls of other people’s bodies as well as its own (Rom 12:15). And indignation over being wronged will best show itself in compassion for the wrongdoer.

Then after you weep, go roll the stone away.

The First Day of Chemo

The look is medicinal but the feeling is industrial. It's through the door at the end of the hall. Just past the on-site pharmacy that mixes the chemo concoctions right here.

Enter and you are in the center of the room. Too huge. Like a warehouse floor or something. To the right nurses and attendants are behind a counter. They look up with one accord to see who walked in. Great. In front of you are three treatment "pods." Each pod is comprised of two rows of identical, institutional recliners, rows of about ten, facing each other with an aisle down the middle. No color. No laughter. Little speech. It's like, mechanized.

This is the first day of chemotherapy. If you have to meet with the doctor or doctor's assistant before your session, pay your $40 co-pay on the way in. In our case, this "office visit" will be scheduled for every Wednesday and Friday. We will be there Monday through Friday like a job. Six hours of chemo (two hours per bag), plus setup time. Three weeks on. One week to rest. Do that twice. Then take radiation for two weeks. Expect second and third degree burns. Then go back for two more cycles (eight weeks) of chemo. Give it twenty weeks total.

Vomiting? Probably not. They put anti-nausea medication in the bag. Did I mention it goes into a "picc line" (a Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) that empties directly into the heart? This tube has a double lumen, meaning two places to screw a drip line or syringe right outside the arm. They push two large syringes of saline through first, to clean out the blood. We got the hook-up.

You'll lose your eyebrows. Don't even think about getting a temperature above 100.4 degrees without calling the doctor immediately. No fruit or vegetables that you cannot wash AND peel. You won't want to eat because nothing tastes right, but it is your "job." Put a priority on protein. Keep drinking liquids for the sake of your kidneys. They will give you a separate medicine to protect your bladder. Oh, and if you want to take JuicePlus, forget it. They rely on the oxidizing property of your body for the therapy to work. Save vitamins for after you finish. In the mean time, spoon peanut butter out of the jar.

I wish they had some color in here. I know this place has to be antiseptic for the sake of second-week sufferers at the low spot of their immune system function, but does it have to LOOK so antiseptic?

As you engage a person's gaze there is almost an unspoken acknowledgement. "You, too?" When I walked into the waiting area I saw someone I worked with on some projects last year. Older, but she had just put her mother into a nursing home. Now she was pushing a walker. I don't remember hearing she had cancer. It was like I knew her in a past life. Not now.

Heb 13:3 Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.

As if you were suffering bodily. We need more solidarity in the family. Like Matthew Henry points out, we are all in the body physical, and if we are saved, in the body mystical (the body of Christ). Everyone who lives experiences bodily pain. Use that to help you remember those who are suffering now, even if you are not.

Like my brother minister. I took him to his first chemo today. The doctor said: sarcoma sucks. Yeah. Peter says,

1 Pet 3:8,12,14 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: ...For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: ...and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;

Amen.

Positive Cure for Your Negativity (Psalm 130)

What a Psalm; what a series. Faith waits ON God (vv 1-4) that waits FOR God (vv 5-8). As long as I know he is coming for me, I can wait on him. Saul waited on God (willing to serve him), but did not wait for God (when Samuel tarried his coming), and so Saul lost the kingdom (1 Sam 13:8-14). He waited on circumstances—by serving people and things—instead of waiting for the Lord. Isn't that amazing? I wonder what you will do if Jesus keeps tarrying his coming?

Jeremiah cried out of the dungeon. Daniel cried out of the den. Jonah cried out of the whale. Feel like you can't pray? CRY! "Since it is our duty to cry, it is in our interest to cry," because crying turns waiting from being hopeless resignation, into hopeful expectation. But be careful to hope, not based on your own opinion or imagination, but based on what is promised to you in God's word (v 5).

Look at how this Psalm is built. Climb the ladder with me. We go from death to life (1-2), guilt to forgiveness (3-4) darkness to light (5-6) and slavery to freedom (7-8). In the first four verses the psalmist cries for forgiveness from the guilt of sin, and in the last four for deliverance from the misery of sin. God notes our sin, but notices our tears and faith, and above all takes note of Calvary. So "there is forgiveness (v 4) . . . for with the Lord there is mercy" (v 7).

This is a double-header. First, forgiveness brings out holiness (v 4). Second, suffering brings on sanctification (v 8). As F.B. Meyer puts it, "Mercy is antiseptic to depravity." Ha! That means forgiveness of the sin which caused your suffering is more important than getting deliverance from the suffering itself.

Let me open a window on that word so you won't be so slow. The paralyzed man in Mark 2 had his friends drop him from the drop-ceiling in order to get him in front of Jesus so he could be healed. However, Jesus' first word to him was not, Get up and "walk it out," but "Son, your sins are forgiven."

Oh, turn off your halo. You know you are always asking God to stop your suffering, but not willing to ask him to save you from sinning. You're just like Augustine. When he was twenty-something he prayed, "Lord make me morally pure . . . but not yet!"

Martin Luther classified this as a "Pauline Psalm," because it promises forgiveness of sins by God's grace to anyone that exercises faith, totally apart from self-righteousness, self-effort, rules or religious rituals. That means the closer the pilgrims got to the Temple Mount, the better idea they got of Pauline doctrine. They were reminded that the sacrifices were a substitutionary atonement, and that we are justified by an imputed righteousness. Otherwise no one could "stand" (v 3).

Consider this. "I cried to the LORD" (v 1) and said, "Lord . . ." (v 2). Okay, I can see you missed it. Five times he calls on the LORD (Jah or Jehovah), and three times on the Lord (Adonai). Okay, let me instant replay and slow it down.

In the King James Bible "LORD" in all capitals translates the name Jehovah. Whereas "Lord" translates the name Adonai. Jehovah is his covenant name, promising salvation. Adonai is his controlling name as Lord and master. So you can cry to the LORD to deliver you precisely because of his Lord-ship over all obstacles in the way of delivering you. How'd you miss that, all these years?

There is "plenteous redemption" (v 7). As Matthew Henry says, that means "enough for all, enough for each, enough for me." And redemption from sin includes redemption from all other evils. Wait. Because that means in God there is more than forgiveness—there is deliverance. You know why? Because it included for them (and includes for us) (1) freedom from slavery, (2) victory over the enemy, and (3) a Promised Land for eternity.

Awesome! Amazingly awesome.