Even a Tycoon of News Cannot Prevent News of His Death

The real FAIR & BALANCED:

Roger Ailes has been one of the most powerful forces in media for the past several decades. The motto of the news empire that he oversaw is "Fair and Balanced." Ailes died this morning. Clearly there is room for argument, especially with revelations that surfaced at the end of Ailes's life, as to whether his career modeled that motto. I'll leave that discussion to others more "pundit-y" than I. I am confident, though, that Ailes entered a realm where fairness is beyond dispute, and balance is Divine. Hebrews 9:27 declares, "[I]t is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment." The early chapters of Romans give us a great deal of information about the standard of the judgment God administers:  God's judgment is rightly directed. It is against "all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men." We should not take false comfort in that, however, since Romans goes on to say that all have "sinned and fall short" (3:23). Impartiality is often held up as the standard of human justice. With Godit is clearly achieved. In Romans 3:9-20, words like "all," "none," and "no one;" and pronouns like "they" predominate. Chapter 2 and the first part of chapter 3 make clear that no group gets a pass. Jew and Gentile, religious and secular, educated and unlearned, all stand on level ground before God's tribunal. Ignorance of the law is not an acceptable defense in a human court. God, though, bases His judgment on what we know (Romans 2:12-16). It is as if the Lord will play the surveillance recording in our heart. As verse 19 says, "every mouth will be stopped." We'll know that there is nothing we can say. Most important to us, while God's judgment is sure, His grace and mercy are without limit. After establishing that all are guilty, the Apostle Paul goes on to show that just as all are guilty before the Lord, salvation is made available to all through faith in Christ (here).  I have conducted many funerals over a lifetime of ministry. I always did so knowing that I was not privy to the eternal destiny of the one being memorialized. When commenting on the afterlife of someone I have never met, like Ailes, that is even more-so. I do know that the God of the Universe will do what is right. Roger Ailes sought to inform, teach, and persuade us for decades. His death, like the end of every life, is a lesson we should heed. It's . . . STTA (Something To Think About).  Here is a different presentation of the Good News in Christ. You can find several ways to explore the Message of Grace here.

It is appointed unto men once to die.

This evening I'll do something I've done scores of times. I'll share God's word at a service remembering and honoring someone who has died. What makes this funeral notable for me, is this is the first time I've done this on this side of the world. It reminds me of the universality of death.   “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—”  (Romans 5:12, ESV) “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,” (Hebrews 9:27, ESV)   Geography is just one of the factors that don't matter. People in some places may live longer than people in less developed lands, women outlast men, and the wealthy can afford better healthcare and forestall the inevitable, but sooner or later, all people, everywhere, will pass through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. I don't think anyone really denies that fact, we just live as if it weren't true. That is foolish. The fact is, though death is inevitable, defeat by death is not necessary. Jesus is the Lord of life. In Him, not only can we overcome death in the final moment, we can live live a quality of life right here in this death-dealing world that is beyond what we can live on our own.   “. . . when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. So . . . be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.” (1 Corinthians 15:54–58, NLT) Go out and live, really live, wherever you dwell on this globe. (You can find out how here. It's STTA (Something To Think About).  Find out about how the Son of God redeems our past, gives purpose in the present, and hope for the future, here.

Dying, Wherever I am:

Something To Think About Dying:

I was discussing death with some folk from another culture.  I jokingly said that I don’t know how to die in their culture.  As we discussed our traditional death practices, we found that there are some practices that are very different, others are quite similar.  For instance in the USA it is common for friends and relatives to prepare meals and bring food to the bereaved.  The practice among my friends’ people is for the grieving family to prepare a feast for those who come to pay their respects.  Both cultures seek to honor the one who has died. After we discussed differences and similarities we identified the one element that is incontrovertibly the same; no matter where we are from or what our traditions are—everyone of is going to die.  “It is appointed for men to die once and after thiscomes judgment.”  (Hebrews 9:27) It turns out I do know how to die, anywhere.  Just keep on living.  It'll happen.  It is an obvious, undeniable reality, yet all over the world people seek to ignore it.  We do so at our peril, deadly peril It’s STTA. Read here to find out how to prepare for death, and be ready to live..

What does a crash in Ukraine have to do with me?

Something To Think About 777s, 7/18

A few weeks ago I spent half a day strapped right smack in the middle of a Boeing 777.  The news of the Malaysia Air jetliner, a 777, that was shot down got my attention.  On movies someone always sees the missile approaching.  I wonder if anyone did.  For many, maybe most, of the passengers the moment they were aware something was wrong was the same moment they died from what had to be a horrendous explosion.  The plane, or literally the pieces of the plane, including seats with passengers still wearing their seat-belts, "low and tight," fell about six miles to the Ukrainian countryside below.  Was anyone alive for part of that plunge? I've been on airliners. Some passengers were sleeping. Likely, someone was feeding or caring for one of the infants on board. Others--often this is me--would have been trying to get comfortable, longing for sleep, but unable to get themselves arranged in the narrow seat. Business people were getting ready for a big presentation. Many were passing the time staring at a movie, or reading. In a blinding second First Class, Business Class, Economy Plus, and the airline equivalent of steerage became absolutely equal.  The extra leg-room was irrelevant.  No one cared whether they had just eaten steak or mystery mush.  Young and old, male and female, rich and poor were ushered, in the blink of an eye, into eternity. I can hear some of you say, You won't get me in one of those things.  Consider, though, that if yesterday was average: Over 90 people died in motor vehicle crashes, just in the United States. 12 died walking. There was a 1 in 30 chance that someone in the US died from a lightning strike. It could be that someone died from electric shock; about 5 Americans die that way every month. About 150,000 people, all around the world, died in the last 24 hours. As one comic/philosopher observed, "This world is a mess; no one is going to get out alive." Generally when people get on an airplane they know where they are going.  Where am I going?  That is a question we all ought to ask, even if we aren't leaving the house. It's Something to Think About. To find out more about CBC at our website. God's Story in His Own Words. a message composed of nothing but Scripture that presents the flow of Divine Revelation from "In the beginning," to the final "Amen." You can find directions for getting where you really want to go here.

Grieving:

"During such tragedies, daily village life comes to a halt while everyone sits and mourns together."

So wrote a friend of mine who works at an orphanage/school in the hinterland of Nigeria.  The tragedy she speaks of is the death of three young boys, who had apparently locked themselves in a closed car and died in the heat.  

I participated in a funeral recently.  My friend was buried in a small family cemetery, that looks exactly like a family burial place should look.  Neighbors had come and dug the grave by hand.  Because I was riding with one of the staff from the funeral home, I was present when the guys gathered again, and with good-natured ribbing and joking--that wasn't at all irreverent, if you understand the culture--filled the hole and covered the grave with the sod they had removed a few days before.

In my community it is still common for folk to pull to the edge of the road and stop when a funeral procession goes by.  It is silent testament to the reality John Donne wrote of when he counselled those who hear the village bell announcing someone's death, "never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."  

When we gather to grieve, even if it is just for a moment as we pull our car to the side of the road, or as we take a moment to sign the register at the funeral home, it is an entry into the grief of another and a reminder of our own mortality.  One cannot easily claim earthly immortality while shoveling dirt into a hole that contains the body of a friend and neighbor.  

Not to put urban-ites down--I'm sure they have their own rituals--but I have been in funeral processions that passed through large cities.  We had to struggle, even with the help of police on motorcycles, to keep the cortege together.  Too many people, in too big a hurry to get to where they were going, not realizing where they are really headed.

Lord deliver us.  May we, like these simple African villagers, acknowledge the grief of another and our own mortality.

 It's STTA. 

Find out about the message that will defeat the ravages of sin and death here. 

You will find some ideas for having more meaningful devotions in the New Year here.

What Did He Die From?

What he die from?

It's a common question, often asked at funeral homes or when news of someone's passing comes.  We have gotten more specific in recent years, but still a common answer is the generality, "He died of natural causes."  What we mean by that is, it wasn't an accident or foul play that took the person's life.  He died of some disease, or the deterioration brought on by age.  In a sense nothing is more natural than dying.  It is one of the few universals in life.  

Looking beyond the realm of our experience, however, death is shown to be "dreadfully unnatural."  So says Michael Horton.*  He points out that, "No one really dies of natural causes, but of the most horrific and unnatural cause."  Contrary to what some people who haven't really read the Bible think, God's word gives a very realistic view of death.  It is an enemy.  It entered the world because of sin.  (Romans 5:12)  It is through fear of death that Satan holds the world in bondage.  (Hebrews 2:14-15)  Death was not a part of the world when it was fresh from God's creation and it won't be again when God renews all things.  In the mean time, death is a large part of the reason that we, and indeed all creation with us,groans and travails in this world of mortality.  

Micheal Horton goes on to say about death:  "We die because we have rebelled against our creator, collectively and individually.  So in order for God to raise us bodily from the dead, the judicial sentence has to be removed."*

While the Bible speaks realistically about death it also speaks hopefully.  There is life beyond the grave, and purposeful life in the here and now.  

 It's STTA. 

Find out about a hope that death can't kill, here.

You will find some ideas for having more meaningful devotions in the New Year here.

*Michael Horton, These Last Days, p 64-65

The Kid misses another deadline:

For the second time it is too late for William Bonney, AKA Billy the Kid, to receive a pardon. The lore that surrounds the Arizona bad guy is that he killed twenty-one men, one for each of his years of life. The State of Arizona puts it an nine-still definitely in the "doesn't get along well with his playmates" category. At the end of 2010 Governor Bill Richardson, was considering a request to pardon Bonney for one of his murders. The petition mentioned a deal that was supposedly struck between the outlaw and the Territorial Governor, exchanging testimony in another trial for an annulment "of pending charges against him, including an indictment for murder in the 1878 shooting death of Sheriff William Brady." (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40708782/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/)

Obviously, the descendants of some involved with the outlaw-some fatally involved-were against any cleaning of the record for Bonney, who judging from his picture was also guilty of overeating and not ironing his clothing. (Though the records give another story, that he was of slight build and a nice dresser.)

At any rate it's too late now, for the second time. Governor Richardson left office at the end of 2010, and with his departure the possibility of a pardon for Billy the Kid ended. The more important deadline was July 14, 1881, when the outlaw was shot by Sheriff Pat Garrett. Prior to that date a pardon was available to the Kid. Others involved in the taking of human life, Moses, David, Paul had availed themselves of that pardon. In rather plain language the scripture spells out the deadline. ". . . it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Put in a positive way, "Behold, now is "the acceptable time," behold, now is "the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Don't let the deadline pass.


It's STTA.