Thanks Guys

On the beginning of this Memorial Day Weekend I was privileged to share lunch with two guys who made sure we Americans have something to remember. I'm the volunteer chaplain at a small assisted living facility. As such, I'm given the opportunity to share lunch with the guys who live there at least once a month. Since there are more ladies than gents at the home, it is nice for us to talk guy stuff--cars, hunting, fishing, work, and today--The war experiences of two of the more articulate fellows.

Mr. M. will be 94 in a short time. In his mid twenties Mr. M. was one of the older guys who flew in B24s over the Pacific. I have flown over and landed on some of the Islands from which the Army Air Corps operated. It is incredible how much water and how little land there is out there. Without all of the sophisticated geo-positioning, and communications stuff that we have today, crews who were just a short time before, teachers and bakers and mill-workers--Mr. M.--flew those planes over hundreds of miles of ocean and landed them on pinpoints of land. While they were at it they helped us win the War of the Pacific. Mr. M. was the flight engineer. It was his job to keep that plane flying so he and the other nine crewmen could make it back to their dot of land in the blue.

He did it over fifty times.

I don't know if Mr. M. flew over Chuuk (Truk), Palau, Guam or Yap. I know people from all those places, and have been to three of them. My friend Sam told me about standing in the primitive bomb shelter where his family would hide when Mr. M's comrades unloaded over Yap. Most of the men on Sam's Island had been conscripted as slave labor and taken to other islands to build airstrips and fortifications. Children, like Sam, women, and the aged were left behind.

I stood in one of those fortifications on Babeldaob, Palau's largest island. My friend Hyob, a pastor on Palau told me that his dad had helped build that fortification. He was forced to do so by the Japanese. I saw the bullet holes, small on the outside but blasted huge on the inside, where US sailors had raked it with machine guns. A massive reinforced concrete roof had protected the occupants of that fort from the likes of Mr. M.

On Guam, a territory of the USA, folk celebrate not only the Fourth of July, but the twenty-first as well. On July 21, 1944 the Island was liberated from Japan. I get the idea that it is a sentiment that is shared in the rest of the region.

With all of the criticism of our nation, some clearly justified, it is valuable to remember that our nation has gotten a great many things right. Mr. M. & Mr T. and another guy whose mom I tried to see today, risked, and are risking their lives to preserve what is good about the our land, and to give others an opportunity to have a better life, as well.

I'll continue my thoughts tomorrow, but for now, on this Memorial Day Weekend, this is Something to Think About.

It's STTA.

Part 2:

I told you yesterday about the opportunity I had to share lunch with a couple of military veterans at the beginning of this Memorial Day weekend. I told you about Mr. M. The younger of the two is Mr. T. He served our country in the Army in Korea. I had trouble following his story--my fault, I'm sure--but I heard about waiting and uncertaincy on board a transport vessel and an amphibious landing. I've never waited on a ship wondering what the future--the very neat future--would hold. Nor have I hunkered down in a pitching boat waiting for the ramp to fall revealing I don't know what, but knowing almost for sure that it wouldn't be good. Another veteran of the Korean War told me about the cold--bone-chilling, toe-freezing, unrelenting cold. Part of my friend's task was caring for dead comrades. The fact that he has ten toes today, might well be due to his "borrowing" some socks from a guy who didn't need them any more. I take putting on socks for granted. My greatest concern has to do with colors that match. How does one decide between freezing feet and honoring the dead? Early in the Korean War GI.s faced overwhelming opposition. Later they dealt with under-whelming support. I don't know what Mr. T did, but he did it. I'm glad, on this Memorial Day Weekend that I remembered to thank him. On the same weekend I was enjoying lunch with these distinguished Americans a friend of mine is on his way to Iraq, and his family is dealing with having a son "in harm's way." I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but it seems to me that our world is a better place because of the cumulative efforts of the Mr. M.s and T.s who did the job before them. The jury of history is still out on our current involvements, and I certainly don't like much of what is happening in the Middle-east. I know, though, that my friend, who is on his way to the desert, loves his country and wants to share the blessings that he, we, enjoy. It seems to me that he is part of the line in which Mr. M. and T. marched. Another friend in that line, who served in Afghanistan, allowed me to use a momento he brought back from that land as an illustration for a message. He brought back a ballot of the first Presidential election held in that nation. It is a token of the greater freedom that his efforts and those of his comrades brought to those people. I know that problems abound in that nation, but my friend is proud enough about giving Afghans the opportunity to choose that he brought that memento back as a gift to his daughter. On this holiday weekend I'm remembering to thank those who are currently serving, as well as those from the past. It's STTA.

The Ultimate Answer? Hardly:

It was twenty years, or more, ago when I read the book on Depression by Don Baker and Emery Nester. Don was a busy and "successful" pastor. Emery helped him climb out of a near fatal depression. I can still feel my stomach tightening when I think about a conversation that Baker had with a counselor after he was hospitalized for depression. He had been thinking about killing himself; that was one reason he was now in a place where others could protect him from himself. In excruciating detail the counselor pulled out the plans Baker had. How would he do it? Where? When? Then the the counselor took him where he didn't want to go.

"Who would find you?" the counselor probed.
You can imagine where the conversation went from there. As he saw in his mind's eye, his sweet daughter discovering his deed, Baker begged his interrogator to stop, but he wouldn't. He wanted this loving man to know that suicide is not the end, not for the loved ones left behind. (The quotes are from my memory, not the book.)
I saw some of that pain recently as I looked into the eyes of a friend. A classmate of hers--she sang at the wedding--had taken his life. My friend's relationship with the man who so tragically died is several steps removed from the closest of attachments, yet the pain is real. How much greater when the connection is described by words like, parent, son, daughter, sibling, spouse, or closest of friends.

Arthur Miller said in "A View From the Bridge," "A suicide kills two people, Maggie, that's what it's for!"


Maybe more.


It is the living who have to pick up the pieces and go on. They are left with the "What if?"s. Perhaps that is not the immediate intention of the person who takes their own life. It is the reality. All of us on this side of the grave need to take note of the fact. Like it, or want it, or not, all of us are part of a fabric of relationships.
"[N]ot one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself." (Romans 14:7)




I'm not even going into what awaits the person who takes her/his life on the other side. Right now I'm just thinking of those left on this side. To take one's own life:
is not brave, or heroic.
isn't the result of living life honestly. (No one faced life in this world more squarely than King Solomon; look at his conclusion at the end of Ecclesiastes.)
is not the only alternative. There is hope.
is not autonomous. Others will be drastically affected.
is not the right thing to do!
For those, like my friend who, are dealing with that final act of selfishness, I have great sympathy. I am aware that your loved one may have had to deal with demons that I know not of. My goal is not speak ill of the dead. Rather it is to encourage the living to go on.
Look at those who love you.
There is good reason to find help.


It's STTA.

Thanks, Harold:

Thanks, Mr. Camping!

I mean that on several levels:
Sarcastically - Those who don't make appropriate distinctions lump those of us who believe the Lord will return with guys like Camping who claim to know when. I don't mind taking lumps for what I really believe. I'd just as soon not have to answer for his ilk.
Theologically and hermeneutically - Camping's false, unfounded, foolish, and sinful, predictions caused a lot of questions to be asked. Many have a sharper sword than they had a week ago.
Sincerely - As one who claims to speak for God, I frequently remind myself that God once used a donkey as His voice. I actually saw some good results in some lives that came from this false-prophet's announcement. "Shall we continue to sin that grace may abound?" You look up the Apostle's answer to that one. (Romans 6:1-2. Here is a hint: You can spell the answer with two letters, beginning with "n" and ending with "o.") Still I can rejoice that God sometimes uses donkeys, and false-prophets to motivate people to right action.
I spent a lazy couple of hours, this morning, intermittently watching the news on TV. For nearly a hundred folk in Missouri the end did not come in an apocalypse May 21, but by a tornado May 23. I believe the Lord will return, but considering the flow of history, most of us will have that meeting of with our Maker not as a result of Him making a house-call. The likelihood is we will be summoned by the grim reaper to appear before the Lord of all. ". . . it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment." (Hebrews 9:27)

Old advice to preachers goes, "Be ready to preach, pray, or die at any time." I'd say two-thirds of that advice applies to us all.



It's STTA.

When Will The Lord Come? #2:

On the day that Jesus was bodily taken up to heaven His Disciples stood gazing heavenward. Two men were with the Apostles. These figures, dressed in white are generally considered to be angels appearing, as they often do in the Bible, as men. Their words to the amazed mortals can be paraphrased, "Quit staring. He'll be back." If you then add to that the words, still echoing in the amazed watcher's ears, which the Lord, Himself, had shared just a moment ago, in answer to their question about the establishment of the kingdom, you have the complete statement, "Quit staring. He'll be back. Now, get to work!"

The expectation of the Lord's return is a New Testament reality.
It provides hope, Titus 2:13.
It motivates to purity, 1 John 3:1-3.
It is a source of comfort, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.
It encourages faithful service, 2 Timothy 4:7-8.
The expectation of, and longing for the return of the Lord is a good thing. Attempting to set dates as to when He will return is foolish, an act of hubris, and, dare I say, sinful. (Acts 1:7; Mark 13, esp. vs. 32&33; and yesterday's STTA)
We ought to be living our lives everyday in light of the fact that the Lord may come today, yet our activities should be such that, should He not come in our lifetime, we will leave behind something worthwhile and lasting. Peter asked. in light of what we know about the future, "What kind of people ought you to be?" (2 Peter 3:10-18) We should not spend our time in a futile attempt at figuring out when the Lord is coming--that might make the headlines--but in living in the knowledge that He is returning--that will show up in the story of my life, and the lives of those in whom I invest. That will have eternal value.

It's STTA.

When Will The Lord Come?

A few minutes ago I was keeping track of one countdown and reading about another. The final lift-off of Space Shuttle Endeavor appeared to be flawless. Harold Camping's wrong-headed countdown to the Lord's return is without merit.
Watching the space-ship vanish into the sky I was reminded of all that had led to the ability that allows people to fly into and live in Space. My memory recalls John Glenn, Gus Grissom, and Sputnik. Smart, dedicated people a concept, a piece, and a launch at a time made this possible. They were inspired by words like these from President Kennedy, "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard." Mr. Kennedy and the scientists and technologists who made space travel possible were/are working on the basis of a mandate of God--"[S]ubdue [the earth]; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth." (Genesis 1:28)
Mr. Camping, and all those who claim to know what the Lord ,Himself, has said is unknowable are clearly and arrogantly wrong. (See also Matthew 24:36 & Acts 1:7) It is an example of we humans pursuing what we cannot catch. There are limits to what we can know by our own observation, what we can do by our own efforts, and fix by our own ingenuity. "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever. . . ." (Deuteronomy 29:29)
I rejoice in the skill, thought, and daring that has allowed us to explore the fringe of space--the fringe on our side--but I am appalled at the hubris of those who claim to be able to do what God says they cannot.
.
Will Jesus return this Saturday. I am tempted to say, "Absolutely not!" I would like to think that high on God's agenda is the need to show people like Camping for the ____ (you supply the word) they are. I would like to do that, but if I did I would be doing what Camping has done.

More to come.

It's STTA.

Truthers, Birthers, Deathers, Doubt-everything-ers . . .

When I first heard the jokes, I had a nagging suspicion that it would soon be spouted with deadly seriousness--"Osama bin Laden isn't dead," or so say the "deathers." Look it up; their websites are up and running. (Well, maybe not. Actually the deathers may not really exist. Their presence on the web might be a conspiracy concocted by alien fugitives from Rozwell.)
What if--as at least one of these websites requests--the bullet-riddled body of the bearded terrorist were put on display, online as well as in the decaying flesh? I have no doubt that ten minutes later another site would be up and running. The "Medders" would claim that this body is not that of the famous terrorist. In reality, they would solemnly claim, these are the remains of Achmed Murphy Steinbaum, a New York cabbie who recently died in gang-war crossfire.

The Truthers were mainly regarded as wackos, at least in the United States. Most of us who watched the events of 9/11 on TV find it incredulous that this was anything other than what it appeared to be--a terrorist attack. A couple of years ago, though, I stood in a Mosque in Kazakhstan and listened to a totally sincere cleric explain why 9/11 wasn't really 9/11. He also told me, by the way, that Neil Armstrong had converted to Islam. Check it out. The Birthers, with their mega-rich, Donnie-come-lately spokesman got enough traction that our President found it wise to produce his documentation. (Though, the documentation needs to be documented.)

OK, I didn't just fall off the turnip truck. I am aware that big lies have been perpetrated. I know that with today's technology, the ability to spread and support such falsehoods has never been greater. I see in the scripture that monstrous lies will be foisted on humanity (2 Thessalonians 2:11).
I'm concerned, though, about living in a land, or world, where every pronouncement is considered false until proven true (with affidavits signed in blood--certified to be that of the signer), and every explanation is considered a conspiracy. A very old joke asks, "Do you know how to tell if someone is a communist?"
The answer went: "You ask them. If they say,'No.' then they are communist, because they always deny it."

I fear that Thomas is being elevated to chief of the Apostles.
I see a coalition forming, and I'm not sure I like it. Some of my more intellectual friends say, "You believe that?" How naive." My more radical associates say, "You're buying that? Here, have some more cool-aid." The cynical among us--with the burn-scars to prove it--can not only point out the "lies" but point to "where this whole thing is headed." The coalition is formed around the certainty that we are being lied to. That seems to be the one truth that isn't doubted. No one is trusted. Doubt is elevated to the chief of virtues.

I'm not just picking at the wacko-fringe of our society. I have a serious question: Can a culture long exist when the mortar of trust is reduced to the sand of doubt and cynicism? And more important: What can God's people do to restore trust in our relationships?

It's STTA.

Justice:

After church last night Kathy and I did our usual Sunday Night veg. on the couch and eat pizza routine. The news-casters kept saying that President Obama was going to make an announcement. Speculation abounded as to what he was going to say. I was nearly asleep when word about the death of Usama Bin Laden finally was broadcast.
"Wow!" I thought, and went to bed.
The news programs today were full of stories related to the raid on Bin Laden's compound, and people's reaction to it. By far the greatest reaction in the USA is one of rejoicing and relief. Nothing can bring back the nearly 3,000 lives lost in the 9/11 attacks, not to mention the other lives lost to Bin Laden planned terrorism, but knowing that the terrorist had died at the hands of the military of the nation he attacked helped to bring some resolution. As our president and many others said. It was an act of Justice.

OK, I'm going to take a pretty big jump, here, but stay with me.
It has become quite fashionable of late to question how a loving God could hold sinners accountable for what they have done. Eternal damnation has been condemned by many. I understand it even made the cover of Time. There is no doubt that our military, Commander in Chief and, indeed, our nation have gained a great deal of respect because of what happened yesterday. It was right. It was just. It was a step toward setting a grievous wrong right. In addition to being a God of love, the Lord of the Universe is a God justice. While we protest that our sins are incomparable to the crimes of Bin Laden, we tend to forget exactly Who it is we have sinned against.
The Saudi terrorist attacked a nation, civilized society, families, and many individuals--no small offense. We have sinned against an infinite God. Therefore our offense takes on infinite proportions. How can we admire an act of justice by our nation, and despise an attitude of justice in our God?

It's something to think about. And when you are done it is worth thinking about again.

It's STTA.

(Find out more about our sin, God's justice, and His mercy--purchased at Christ's expense--Read Romans 3.

Really, we don't need justice. We need mercy and grace, and it is available. More here.)

Here is an article that raises some issues thinking about on the matter of justice: