Noble Visions

Isaiah 36:7 ESV

“It is not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed…?”

It was a bad time for the kingdom of Judah. The Assyrians were on the warpath and had a string of victories that pushed their assurance to new heights, even for them. Now they stood at the door of Jerusalem pressing their advantages into a propaganda campaign designed to lower morale or win without having to fight. The Assyrians had studied their intelligence and could tell Hezekiah had placed himself in a precarious position. He had pushed for changes to the religion of the country that had led to some fractioning in the base. Whisperings was going around about why all the bad this was befalling them. The same factions that would latter tell Jeremiah the fall of Jerusalem was because of Josiah’s reforms were present here, years prior, sowing the same thing, pressing to get back to the convenient worship of God.

Hezekiah had been captured by a vision of worship. A worship that would have God’s people worshiping as God had told them in the scripture. Hezekiah had fallen victim to the idea of Sola Scriptura, Scripture Alone. The book of the law said the people were to bring their offerings and sacrifices to the temple and so he would do his best to “encourage” that. This change to the established norm was not wholly welcome and when times start getting hard the whisperers start to come out. His reforms didn’t “work”, good times weren’t here to stay, and now they were reminded of what a siege looks like, that they were destined to “eat their own dung and drink their own urine” (vs 12). Theirs was a small country, whose pretensions had died with Solomon, trying to exist independently on the edge of an empire.

Are small visions less noble because they are small? Are ministries and relationships insignificant if they aren’t “made for T.V.” (or Facebook)? Such are the lives most of us lead. Noteworthy if someone looked but not noteworthy enough for anyone to look. Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel the years and died (Judges 12:11) and that is all we know about him. The Priests of Nob who died because David came to town, we don’t even know most of their names (1 Samuel 22:18-20). Such are the dictates of providence and the record of history. Elon was needed to save his people and lead them for ten years, and we will never know the value of that faithful service was. Had faithful priests not continued to serve faithfully and given David food and weapons, what would be the end? In a culture that fixates in its “superheroes” it is hard to value the faithful service of a father that turns off the alarm and goes to work at a job he does not love, the lonely mother who does the dishes…again, and the elder individual who prays again for grandchildren who have forsaken the faith. Yet, they are more noble than the actor pretending he is heroic in front of a green screen.

It is a hard thing to rest in the call of scripture. To have our sight completely shifted to see things as they are, not as they are portrayed to us. Things were bad for Hezekiah, the nation was on the verge of collapse as the Assyrian army was on its door, but he was in the strongest position possible. He was on his knees before the living God. Not trusting in his strength but appealing to God for deliverance. The nation had reformed and was finally walking with God, and so things got tough, and God was shown stronger. Let us turn our sight from earthly things and see our strength for who he is.

CRUCE, DUM SPIRO, FIDO

Devise Wickedness

Micah 2:1 ESV

Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds!

                When the morning dawns, they perform it, because it is in the power of their hand.

They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them away;

                They oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance.

Tyranny is an awful thing. Tyrannical rule pressed the colonists to renounce their British citizenship and rebel against their once beloved England. It did not occur overnight though. In his book, Founders at Home, Myron Magnet helps us watch as legal and media debates worked themselves into the thought life of the American settlers. To such an effect that any number of men on the street would be able to debate the finer points of Locke, Trenchard, and Gordon. Not simply retweet or chant slogans on Facebook but to actually talk and discuss the issues at hand.  A populace had to be educated of not only the realities but the ideologies that undergird them. To this end William Livingston would print articles as early as 1733. The foundation must be laid before the building can be placed upon it.

This morning I read of a judge placing a junction on Section 1005 of “The American Rescue Plan”. Not knowing what that meant I kept reading. The law said the people of the United States would pay the FARM LOANS of minority farmers and ranchers up to 120% of outstanding loan amount, meaning a little bonus at the end, as a way to right the wrongs of the past. I am not real familiar with farm loans but my feeling is that these can get quite large. At the moment the thing holding this program up was the reality that only race separates a white farmer from getting this same treatment. How did we get to the place that government handouts are not worth a second look? As important, how do we regain the nobility of work?

In the text of Micah, we read of God condemning those that would think and plan how they would do evil until that moment they have the power to do so. They look at the goods and property of others and want them for themselves, so they make plans. Then the moment comes and they have the power so they take what is not theirs, seizing the labor of others. This is what the people of the United States are now in the midst of doing. Having waited for the moment we have now stolen the inheritance of future generations and spent it on ourselves. Justifying our covetousness under the guise of knowing the cost of sin against an individual, as if it is a matter of money (2 Samuel 21:4). It, however, is blatant covetous theft which the people of the United States have engaged in. And so, we, as a people, are guilty and in verse three, God tells us of the disaster planned for those who do such things. Abraham Lincoln noted that a nation will pay for its crimes. If God is merciful to us, we will be able to survive and thrive after such a time, as we did after “every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword” (Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address). If he is not, we will join the throngs of nation states that have come and gone.

I asked the question earlier about how to regain the nobility of work?” The answer is Decades of Work, are we ready to begin? From Abortion to theft our nations sins are pilling high. May God still be merciful to us and give us the decades we require but if not, “the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”

Coram deo

Directed Fire

I Thessalonians 4:4 ESV

That each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor.

“And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.” – Francis Scott Keyes, The Star Spangled Banner

This weekend we were blessed to celebrate once again the country God has given us as ambassadors to. It truly is a land and a people that has been blessed by God with natural beauty and resources. We have also been blessed with men and women willing to “stand between their lov’d homes and the war’s desolation” (Star Spangled Banner). It is a testament to the United States that we recognize that it holds true, when you are at war it is good to know that you are still judged a threat so the enemy is still shooting at you.

Dr. Steve Larson has quipped that “the problem with preachers today is that nobody wants to kill them anymore”. Referencing the Reformation when preachers like Luther, Calvin, and Knox were often the most wanted men in the area. Such was the life changing nature of what they preached. The Gospel preached toppled kingdoms and empires. Such is the nature of what happens when the word of God is let loose on a people. The burning nature of the Gospel unchained from works and mindless observance. As the reformation would take hold preachers and pastors would become enemy number one. Burned at the stake, maimed, mutilated, or any number of other atrocities against the Gospel of Christ. The preacher knows he is speaking rightly the word of God because it is going to hit toes and raw nerves. Such is the winnowing fork of God in the hearts of man.

It is a heart-breaking sight to watch as a boy loses control of himself. Unable to get off the train he simply pushes harder and yells louder only to find himself in greater difficulty, with more severe consequences. Reading through 1 Thessalonians Paul declares God’s will for your life, “your Sanctification”. He then fleshes that out a little more and one of the things he points out is the need for his children to “know how to control his body”, i.e., Self-Control. A fundamental aspect of our Christian walk is our ability to remain in control of ourselves, to delay gratification, and remain steadfast under the barrage of Satan who would preach “just do it”, and “you deserve it”. It is a small but significant battle for your soul. It is easy to grow weary of the fight. But be assured it is a necessary battle. The problem comes when Satan doesn’t have to tempt you any longer. Your flesh has been trained well enough and the world has encouraged you in your fall such that temptations are no longer needed. What then?

As Mr. Keyes so aptly said, the “the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still their”, In the darkest nights and the strongest storms we must take joy that we still stand and the enemy hates it. That slings and arrows are thrown against us. That the enemy still fears the Gospel preached from our mouths. May the day not come when we are so weak, compromised, and irrelevant, that Satan directs no fire at us.

CRUCE, DUM SPIRO, FIDO

Worthless Pursuit

Proverbs 28:19 ESV

Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread,

                But he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty

It was an ordinary scene as I pulled up to the man standing in the middle of nowhere. Quiet and peaceful with a slight wind blowing across the fields. The cloud cover and recent rains had kept it from getting too hot, and it was still early morning so his mood was jovial. I turned my motorcycle off and we chatted a little, at least until he turned the stop sign around so I could go slow. In our discussion one thing he said caught me off guard, and it happened to me twice that day, and that was the numerical value of his work. I had commented on his somewhat lonely location, and he said “yea, but it’s worth $1200 a week” and the conversation moved on. Yet, as I had another hour to get where I was going, I was blessed to reflect on the value of labor, and how our society places value on our labor.

As our year began, I was strongly convicted with my need to sow wisdom into my children and we have embarked on reading a chapter of Proverbs every evening. We read the chapter that corresponds to the day, meaning we read Chapter 28 on the 28^th day of June. Having reflected on work and twice been given the value given to a man’s labor, I was struck squarely by this verse, as I reflect on my time and where it is spent, how to train my children the value of work, and its place in their lives, I struggle.

The Proverb places two “plentys” before us. The Plenty of food that comes with work and the Plenty of poverty that comes with “worthless” pursuits. Isn’t it interesting that work is not juxtaposed with idleness but with worthlessness? By implication I can be very busy but not doing things of worth and find myself in a worthless pursuit. It also needs to be noted that it is a pursuit not a casual interest or momentary diversion, but rather something that is pursued by an individual, meaning that they put effort into it. The idea isn’t that they don’t get what they want, as if their pursuit is after a chimera or vapor, but rather that what they are pursuing doesn’t have value and is worthless.

Man was made to work, but he was also made to walk with God in the cool of the day, in the midst of the garden. To enjoy the fruit of his labor and rejoice with God in it, as he prepares for the next day’s labor. There is an epidemic in our culture of men in pursuit of false victory. We pursue this in sports and video games, in movies and reading. It is safer to conquer Mount Doom (Lord of the Rings) than it is the mountain of work cluttering our garage. Convinced that we need to unwind, we look to be entertained rather than re-created. Enjoying our leisure we spurn the idea of an hobby that is work. Binging on the latest “bingeworthy” show to come across our Netflix/Hulu/Disney+/Apple TV.

What do we do when our entertainment and leisure become a pursuit rather than recreation, a value added activity that prepares us and rejuvenates us for another day? It might just be time to find a pursuit that is more than entertaining but one that helps us create something with God.

Coram deo

Hanging Around

Luke 19:48 ESV

But they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

Later Jesus insults them by telling them they have lost God’s blessing and they wish to take care of him then “but they feared the people” (Luke 20:19). Throughout his “career” as a preacher Jesus has gathered crowds. They have flocked to him to be healed but he would often move and become hard to find, even noting that he needed to go to other towns because he came to preach (Mark 1:38). When crowds would gather that simply wanted a good meal, he would make sure to say really hard things that many would be pushed away, choking on his teaching (John 6:22-71).

We are told that Christ preached and taught in such a way that people simply hung on his words. It doesn’t say they were changed or that they were convicted in any way, simply that they were listening well and his preaching style was more engaging than other preachers. The inclusion of John six in the biblical narrative gives hope to the rest of us preachers. Knowing that no matter how good a preacher you are, if you would preach the truth. If you would long for those around you to grow and mature, that they might wrestle with the hard things of God, you will be rejected by many. Your doctrine and method can be impeccable. You could literally walk on water and you will still be rejected, if you preach the truth and expect men and women to grow in understanding and faithfulness.

Yet, in this passage, God uses the mass of humanity hanging on the words of his son to protect his son until the time came. He then uses the fickle nature of their hearts to open the door for a crowd to scream and chant “crucify him” to a weak politician. How quickly do the hearts of men change and contort to reveal what is in them?

The question was pointed and sharp, “Does it matter which hundred are in church this morning?” Meaning that last Sunday you had ninety and this Sunday you have a hundred, but then went to the lake to play and twenty new came. Does this break your heart? The ten that have wandered away, allowing their fickle hearts to reject Christ and his Church, do they overwhelm your heart, or are you okay since the church was fuller this week? It is the answer that separates the preacher from the pastor, the answer that separates those that love their church and those that love their neighbor.

The first church Kelly and I joined after we were married, was a Baptist Church in Eureka, KS. It still had a Sunday Morning Service, Sunday Evening Service, and a Wednesday Prayer Service. As is the case with all such things, attendance declined as you went through the week. In commenting on that reality one fiery older saint noted that “those that come Sunday morning love their parents, those that come Sunday evening love the Church, and those that come Wednesday evening love Jesus.” (Paraphrased) I am pretty sure it isn’t biblical, but I am not sure it isn’t true. Watching churches in our communities unable to garner interest in either of two latter is a sign of our hearts nonetheless.

Coram deo