My mother-in-law was a lady who not only knew her Bible well, but expected others to know it too. She would often make points in conversation by referring to incidents or people in Bible stories. I remember her referring more than once to someone who supports one of God's servants as being Aaron or Hur. If you know the story it makes perfect sense. Mom would want you to read it for yourself, so I'll just give you the reference, Exodus 17.
Today, it was my privilege, several times, to fill that wonderful role. When we invest ourselves in those who are doing the work of God, we are helping to get God's work done. Even though Aaron and Hur were men, my Mother-in-law was certainly one of them (maybe both!) to me. In many ways I am who I am, doing what I'm doing because of her.

It's STTA.

This could get me in trouble, but think about it:

At this point I can't imagine that anyone in the whole country is unaware of plans to build an Islamic-Center/Mosque at a site so close to where the twin towers were destroyed on 9/11 that the building currently on the site is damaged from the landing-gear of one of the planes. Various polls indicate that most Americans are opposed to it being built there. If Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf calls me and asks my advice, I'd encourage him to build the center elsewhere. (If you are reading this Feisal, my number is in the book.) However . . .

Whether our nation is a "Christian" nation or not, from a historical perspective is a subject of sharp debate. Based on influence that the Bible and Christian thought have had on our culture and institutions, it seems to me that in that sense we are. We need to be aware, though, that our Founding Fathers clearly, and purposefully chose not to create a government that supported a particular religion over others. I doubt that their thinking went much beyond a consideration of the spectrum of Christendom, and perhaps Judaism, but the laws they left us, confirmed by two-and-a-quarter centuries of practice clearly extend freedom of conscience even to those whose faith is radically different than the majority view. One of the wonderful freedoms we enjoy in these United States is that minorities are protected by law. As long as the few are exercising their rights lawfully, the majority cannot deprive them of that freedom.

In recent years many communities have become opposed to churches being built in their "back-yards." Objections range from traffic congestion, to noise, to loss of tax revenue. I wonder if there are other reasons that lurk below the surface. I'll not step in the same mud-hole as our President, but I do think we have to be careful how we frame our argument. Some of the rhetoric being used to discourage the building of the Cordoba Center in Lower Manhattan could be, with little change, used to oppose my grandmother's church from building a new Worship-Center on the south side of Hometown USA.

Let's just make sure that we speak in favor freedoms that we might need.

It's STTA.

My Culture Right or Wrong--That's a question, not a declaration.

As I have been privileged to visit different people around the world my questions about culture have grown. I have seen the result of the "Ugly American" type missionaries who try to impose their culture--seemingly never seeing the evil inherent in it--on other people. Likewise I have seen the idea, that comes from the swing of the pendulum to the other extreme, that all cultures are equal--perhaps that "primitive" cultures are even more equal--and no attempt should be made to change them.
A friend of mine is involved in a pioneer work among a group of people whose way of life is a great deal different than mine. In a recent communication he said, "... it is really exciting to see these people honestly grappling with the issues from their own world as they are beginning to measure their culture against the Word of God, and to ask “Where do we need to change?”
Wow, it seems to me that my friend's observation represents a truth that is trans-cultural. Because culture is the accumulation of a people's ways of explaining and dealing with the world--things like food, language, work, standards of maturity, enforcement of mores, etc.--all cultures are marked by two Theological realities.

1. Because of common grace every people group in the world has qualities that are in keeping with the fact that these God's creation. In other words the image of the Creator can be seen in aspects of the way they live.
2. But because all the people of the world are children of Adam, we share in his fallenness. Sinful people do sinful things and because culture is made up of patterns of behavior practiced across time by sinful people, all cultures have elements of sin within them.

The folk my friend is working with are asking the right questions. He goes on to say, "Their questions may not be the same ones we would ask. The question is, are we asking? Are we evaluating our culture against the Word of God, or are we just letting it shape us into its mold?" (Check out Romans 12:2, on that.)

It's STTA

Radar and the Power of the Gospel:

The car that I generally drive has cruise-control. Typically, when I drive on the interstate I set the control for the posted speed, and go about my business. It appears to me that most of the traffic passes me, except . . .

From time to time it looks like many of the cars around me hit a stiff head-wind or had sudden engine trouble. I find myself passing cars that just passed me doing ten or fifteen miles-per-hour more than the speed limit. A check of my speedometer shows there isn't a malfunction. Generally, I quickly see the reason for the sudden drop in speed--a police cruiser.

It is a powerful illustration of the limitation of governmental/police power. By and large cops can only make us do what is right. Force, intimidation, fear of negative consequences are the tools at their disposal. I don't mean that to be negative, I'm glad they have those powers, but these tools have serious limitations. As I have pointed out in the past, if our culture becomes one in which people only do right when they are made to, we'll have to have one police officer for every citizen, and then one supervisor for every cop. You can see the collapse coming with that paradigm, can't you?

The church, God's people, on the other hand, have a message that addresses the problem of evil in a different way. The Gospel has the power to change hearts. When the grace of God changes people they do what is right without being made to do so. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that Christians never do wrong. Unfortunately, our record is not as good as I wish it were. Still the difference between the motivation of those who get a good dose of the good news and those who are in the rat race with the conscience of a rodent is stark.
Yet many Christian leaders are focusing on political victory. Part of living right is to responsibly exercise our political responsibilities and freedoms, but political power should not be our main goal. We have a power far greater.

It's STTA.

Just Do Right:

I serve on the Planning Commission in the small city where I live. One of the tasks we have been working on for the last few months is to come up with some recommendations for controlling "nuisance vehicles"--commercial trucks parked in residential areas, too many cars, trailers, and trucks parked on a small lot, inoperative vehicles, etc..
As I sat there last night listening to the discussion I thought about the mess that President Obama recently stepped into. Some Muslims--the some being a group with the resources to actually do it--want to build a mosque basically on the site where the twin towers were destroyed by a terrorist attack motivated by sect of Islam. The President is trying to thread a needle in the midst of a storm. (Why he chose to take thread and needle in hand is beyond me.) Those creating the public relations/political storm can't even agree which end of the needle has the hole.
Should people have the freedom to worship according to their conscience? Certainly. In the same way, on a much smaller level, people should have the right to control their own property. I don't like the idea of telling my neighbor how many or what kind of car or truck he can have.
Should the Muslims build a place of Islamic worship on the spot leveled by the attack of Islamic extremists, or should I use my property, and the public areas adjacent to it, in such a way that it becomes a nuisance to my neighbors? Absolutely not.
The struggle has to do with the stress between should and can. Another version of the dilemma has to do with the despicable Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist "church." Should he interrupt the funerals of fallen service women/men? I can't say "No!" loud enough. But trying to craft a law that will make him do what he should do without interfering with rights that we want to preserve is really tough.
Chuck Colson pointed out in a recent article that ours used to be an honor culture. People would do what is right without being forced to do so.
No more. Stay tuned.
It's STTA.

For Whom The Bell Tolls:

One of the problems with our wired world is that we get so much news that it is impossible to deal sufficiently, or responsibly with all that comes our way. We become jaded. I look at a news story of some tragedy, and take note of how many were killed or hurt; seldom does the fact that these are real people, related to other real folk, sink in.

My insulation has been recently punctured, however, in regard to two incidents.

• A team of medical workers in Afghanistan was murdered by Taliban thugs.


• A short term missionary to Zambia died in a truck wreck on his way to the hospital.

I found out that one of those who died while trying to help the Afghans was the son of a man who had once sung in my church. Likely the young man was in the service as his father, a member of a quartet with a man who grew up at Covington Bible.
The gentleman, who was active in a number of ways in sharing the Good News in Zambia, was the member of a church where some folk who used to be members of CBC are now worshipping.

I'm trying to remind myself that every time I hear that somebody died, or was kidnapped, or wounded, that they are SOMEBODY. I know there has to be some proportion here. If I grieve for every death as I would grieve for the loss of my son, the rest of my life would have to shut down. Still I need the reminder. Here are a couple of ideas for trying to maintain balance:

• I ought to never watch or read news just for the thrill. If I'm not careful what I call "being informed" might be little different than Romans watching others die for amusement. My focus ought to be news that matters to me. Is there something I should do? If not, my interest might be morbid.


• A friend of mine regularly prays for those impacted by the world's tragedies. I know I will never measure up to my friend's level of compassion, but taking a moment to pray reminds me that this is SOMEBODY.

I look forward to hearing from you. For both of us it's STTA.

Drawn to the light--GULP!

As if marine life didn't have enough trouble from the likes of BP, now it turns out that left over Prozac is having a deadly effect on coastal shrimp. It seems that all that anti-depressant doesn't stop with the people who feel better after taking it. The basic ingredient in the medication passes through the people who take it, and, without supplying too much information, by a process which involves flushing the chemical reaches the shrimp habitat.
People take Prozac in order to feel better, less tense, more able to face life and its challenges. In the comparatively simple shrimp system, however, the drug--even in the minute amounts found in coastal waters--has a far different effect. It causes the little critters to head for the light. If you are a shrimp, and are therefore shrimpy, heading to the light where you can be more readily seen by crustacean-loving predators is not a good thing.
Am I saying that people ought to avoid Prozac for the sake of these aquatic cousins of the grasshopper? Not at all.
I would say that some caution is in order. Our society is becoming increasingly dependent on drugs that make us feel better, sit stiller, live calmer, stay awake longer, concentrate better, etc., etc. Might it be that some of them have some unseen consequences--consequences that don't invlove fins and shells?
I do know that there are too many folk who, metaphorically speaking, insist on remaining seated on a tack, eating pain-killers rather than taking the obvious solution.

Especially if you find yourself strangely drawn to the light, it's STTA.

http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/article/838466--for-shrimp-prozac-is-an-invitation-to-danger