Category Archives: Faith

August 29, 2014 · 11:13 pm

If?

A crowd had gathered.

That could hardly have been this man’s intent. It was likely the last thing he wanted.

What he wanted he couldn’t seem to get.

This desperate dad loved his son -he loved him desperately. So he had brought the boy to a man he had heard about – a teacher.

Maybe he could help. Maybe he could heal his son. He had heard of this rabbi doing such things.

The son, perhaps a teenager, was seriously, violently and fearfully ill.

We find a description of this tragic case in the Gospel of Mark.

“He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk.” With tears in his eyes and grief in his voice, the father explained:

“And whenever this spirit seizes him [“whenever” indicates the sporadic, unpredictable nature of the boy’s horrific illness], it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid” (Mark 9: 17-18, NLT).

These seizures resembled epilepsy.

Jesus listened intently.

“So,” said the dad, “I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.”(vs. 18, NLT).

Dismissing a “faithless generation”, Jesus asked that the boy be brought to him.

Sure enough, the lad goes into a violent convulsion right at the very feet of the Savior.

Mark tells us that “the evil spirit saw Jesus” (vs. 20, NLT).

As a physician might, Jesus asked the man how long this had been going on. “Since he was a little boy,” he replied. “The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him” (vs. 22, NLT).

How easy it is to read these words without feeling the broken heart; the anguished hopelessness; the insomniac weariness – the sheer, raw emotion – of this parent.

He watches his precious and beautiful son writhing on the ground, foaming at the mouth.

Suppose this was your son?

Suppose this was your daughter?

A beloved grandchild?

Perhaps it has been. Perhaps it still is.

Alcohol, drugs, depression, loneliness, disability, disease?

Then you know.

Is any pain so great, is any heartache so inexpressible; is any grief or regret as inconsolable as the pain of a suffering child who belongs to you?

It’s impossible to grasp this narrative without somehow appreciating the depth of this father’s unalterable heartbreak.

With tears streaming down his face, the father pleads with Jesus.

“Have mercy on us and help us, if you can” (vs. 22,NLT).

“But if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us and help us” (KJV).

“If you can.”

 If there’s anything you can do, if there’s any way you can possibly help us, if you have any power or any ability; if there is any solution or any cure …

“If?” Jesus asked.

Jesus looked at the father with a penetrating yet tender gaze. He studied the man’s bereaved face and took note of his tears.

Then Jesus gently smiled.

He knew this man. Here was a father who cared more than he analyzed. Whose love far exceeded his faith.

“What do you mean, ‘If I can?’ Anything is possible if a person believes” (vs. 23, NLT).

Anything?

Anything.

Then the man says something to Jesus that forever endears us to this desperate dad pleading to God for the life of his son.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve said this to Jesus more times than I care to recount.

And he knows I’ve thought and felt it plenty.

Perhaps you have too.

It’s simple. It’s direct. It’s humble. It’s genuine.

It speaks to human frailty even while it grasps for something more sublime.

It moves us by its vulnerability and its authenticity. It acknowledges weakness and hopes for strength.

It is the transparent cry for an undeserved answer; the longing plea for unmerited favor.

Let the King James more fully express its beauty and its pathos:

“And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief” (vs. 24).

Here, in the honest tear-stained confession of a mere mortal, this dad speaks for us all.

How many times I’ve had to confess my own lack of faith and ask God to forgive my distrusting heart. How often have you and I prayed with supposed confidence in an almighty God, only to be harassed by that conditional conjunctive:

If.

If only this; if only that; if only …

“If” means “a supposition” and an “uncertain possibility”. The word – and the thought behind it – implies “a condition, requirement or stipulation.”

Dear Lord, I do believe and I need and want to trust you more than I do.

Help thou my unbelief.

Help me to overcome my lack of faith.

Teach me to trust you, “no ifs, ands or buts” – and grant me the strength and courage to do it.

In every situation.

Jesus could have sent the man home with his tragically marred son. For lack of faith, Jesus could have said no. Instead he healed the boy – fully and without condition.

The overjoyed dad hugged his son and they returned home.

It was a miracle not of faith but of grace.

“What do you mean, ‘If’?”

May God bless you and your family.

 

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August 22, 2014 · 3:24 am

Why Not Now?

Randal Lyle has a dream.

Randal’s dream is as relevant and timely as Ferguson, Missouri and as ancient as the scriptures.

Rooted in the prayer of our Lord, it is a dream for our time and for all time. Central to our faith, it is the expression of our love.

It is a dream of heaven that heaven sent.

And for the Rev. Dr. Lyle and the Meadowridge Community Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, the dream is becoming an exciting reality.

It wasn’t always that way.

A decade ago, when Pastor Lyle first came to Meadowridge, this Southern Baptist church was struggling just to stay alive. It was, as many churches in America are, an all-white church. Lyle told a reporter from the Fort Worth Star Telegram how sad and frustrated he felt when he’d see a non-Caucasian family visit only to realize that they would not likely return.

As difficult as it might be, Randal Lyle was determined to see that change.

“We began to pray and ask God to make us the church he intended us to be.”

With the help of others who shared his dream, Randal led a ten-year transformation that has made Meadowridge today a thriving multicultural body of believers.

The church’s motto?

All Races United in Christ.

 With an average attendance of 230 on Sunday morning, fully 30 percent are African Americans. Hispanics, Asians and other races also attend.

Integration is working – in this church, on Sunday morning, the most segregated hour in America.

Along the way, with God’s help and the infusion of the Holy Spirit, men and women began to overcome their prejudices – in music, worship, leadership and all manner of areas where they learned to “give a little bit”, as one member put it.

In this beautiful and wonderful process called spiritual maturity and growth, people discovered how great it felt to be set free from their cultural chains.

Rev. Sidney Simon, an African-American associate pastor at Meadowridge, told Star-Telegram reporter Jim Jones that the essence of their dream was to fulfill God’s dream for the Church.

“Our goal,” says Pastor Simon, “is to reflect what heaven is like. God is breaking down the barriers that separate us. If we can’t get along down here on earth, how can we get along in heaven?”

Amen Sidney!

If the Church of Jesus Christ won’t set the example of a color-blind society, what institution will?

Who has a greater example? Who has a greater power? Who has a clearer mandate or higher calling than the Church?

To paraphrase Frank Sinatra, if we can’t make racial harmony and unity work here, we can’t make it work anywhere.

And be very sure of this: it’s important that we do.

In time we will weary of Ferguson. The criminal justice system will work its will. The protestors will go home, and the media turn to other stories. The tumult will subside and the tragedy will take its place alongside others in our history.

But we dare not forget Ferguson’s point.

One hundred and fifty years after the Civil War and well into this most advanced of all centuries, racial hate still lies just beneath the surface of our national consciousness in this land of the free. At a single gunshot, it can rear its ugly head and show us how divided we still are and how far we still have to go.

If Michael Brown had been white or Darren Wilson black, most of us would have no idea where Ferguson is.

I’m ashamed to tell you what ran through my head when I saw the looting on TV. I asked God to forgive me. It was a self-revealing moment.

It can be subtle, sophisticated and seemingly innocent, but nearly all of us struggle with prejudice in some form or fashion – and to some degree. Racism is part and parcel of our fallen state. It’s as insidious as it is real.

Only in confronting it can we gain victory over it.

Which is why what Randal Lyle and Meadowridge Community Baptist Church are doing is so exciting and so important. Not just for them but for all of us.

Jesus prayed for his church in the Garden on the night he was betrayed. He asked his Father to sanctify us by the truth, to keep us uncontaminated by the world and to love each other.

And he prayed that we would be one.

Facing the multiple prejudices of his own time, and acutely aware of his own hatreds before he came to faith in Christ, the Apostle Paul told the Galatians that in Christ:

“There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female.”

Those distinctions by which it was so easy to judge and condemn and suspect one another were now gone. They were destroyed by Jesus in his finished work on the cross. They no longer count. They no longer matter.

They must no longer divide us.

There is no longer black and white.

“For you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3: 28, NLT).

And heaven?

It will be the most racially diverse, inclusive and multicultural experience you and I have ever had.

Why not start now?

May God bless you and your family.

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August 18, 2014 · 6:29 pm

The Right Fit

Izzy Friedman was what you might call an unforgettable character.

Izzy lived on Deer Isle, Maine, where my mother was born and raised. He owned a clothing store on the island. It was probably the only one. An outgoing man, Izzy was always excited to see people enter his store. And Izzy was always anxious to please his customers and get a sale. He was nothing if not enthusiastic.

Izzy Friedman was a natural born salesman. You might say he had the gift.

On occasion, customers would attempt to return clothing that didn’t fit. But first, they had to get by Izzy.

And one might say that getting by Izzy wasn’t easy.

“What’s the problem here?” Izzy would ask with a big smile.

When it was the fit, Izzy was prepared:

“If it’s too big,” he’d say, “it will shrink. Too small? It will stretch”.

Izzy didn’t claim that one size fits all. It was more like any size would fit anybody.

How often did Izzy’s logic – and his persuasive manner – prevail? That’s hard to say since I wasn’t there. But it wasn’t for lack of trying.

A lot of churches and ministers today are like Izzy Friedman. They want customers and they want sales.

Is the Gospel of Jesus Christ too big? Is it too cosmic, too powerful, too holy, and too supernatural? They can shrink it.

Is the Gospel too small? Is it too narrow, too intolerant, and too dogmatic? They can stretch it.

Whatever the problem, whatever the objection, whatever the reluctance, these religious salesmen aim to please.

They’ll make the Gospel fit.

They have to – it’s the only way to get people in the door and keep them in their seats.

Too many churches and too many pastors in America have tried too hard for too long to try and make Christianity palatable to the postmodern taste. They have used smoke and mirrors, sound and light, and tricks and gimmicks.

They have shrunk, stretched and twisted their message.

As our culture has slid toward Gomorrah, these shallow attempts at popularity have appeared increasingly pathetic and desperate. People have ended up either cynically rejecting or naively embracing the latest church fad.

Truth can easily get lost in that shuffle – or worse -sacrificed upon the altar of what is mislabeled as “relevance”.

The contemporary church too often longs to be loved by the world. It seeks a credible acceptance of the Christian message –a message too willingly “tailored to fit” the “seeker’s desires”.

We work overtime to find new marketing techniques to sell Christianity to a world grown increasingly hostile to its claims. Tragically, the more we seek to win the world by becoming like the world the more the world holds us in mocking contempt.

That is the sad irony of all this. It cannot possibly succeed, not in the end. Clever tactics may fill a church but they empty the heart and mind of the rigorous truth of the Christian faith. And the unsaved have no lasting respect for the apologizing and groveling Christian.

Bait and switch is a poor substitute for authentic Christianity.

The Gospel of Christ – the old story of Jesus’ unchanging love and saving grace; his death and resurrection; his perfect humanity and sovereign deity – doesn’t need to be redesigned, reformatted or repackaged. It needs to be preached without compromise and without apology.

We don’t need more accommodation in the evangelical pulpits of this country – we need more courage.

We need more Jerry Mitchells – my friend from California who has been holding forth the Word of Life and preaching and teaching the whole counsel of God at the same church for a quarter century. Jerry knows God doesn’t pay attention to polls – and neither does Jerry. A gifted communicator, Jerry might have more people at his church if he’d only compromise the truth – just a wee bit. But he’d rather have the approval of God than the praise of men.

May the good Lord increase his kind.

There’s nothing wrong with using technology and crafting creative strategies. It’s good and necessary that churches upgrade and update their methodologies. But let’s be careful that these methods are our servants and not our masters; our means, not our end.

When he bowed before his Father in the garden, Jesus prayed for us. He asked God to make us “holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth” (John 17: 17, NLT). Jesus added that you and I, as his disciples, would be hated by the world because we do not belong to the world. “The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world” (John 15:19, NLT).

So why should the church mimic the world? Why do we seek so often to fit in when we should instead stand out?

Jesus warned us against seeking “the approval of others … Popularity contests are not truth contests … Your task is to be true, not popular”. (Luke 6:26, The Message).

Now that’s the right fit!

May God bless you and your family.

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August 18, 2014 · 5:57 pm

A Letter to Ruth

He detested typewriters.

He wrote all his personal correspondence – and it was extensive – with a pen. He believed the noise of a typewriter interfered with the flow of creative thought.

His brother later typed his letters, being the only one who could decipher the scrawled penmanship.

This particular letter on this day required thoughtful attention. It was the reply to a young girl named Ruth Broady. Ruth had written to say how much she enjoyed his books.

He smiled at the affirmation. He loved children as much as he hated typewriters. Taking pen carefully in hand, he wrote the date in the upper corner: 26 October, 1963.

“Many thanks for your kind letter, and it was very good of you to write and tell me that you like my books; and what a very good letter you write for your age!”

He paused for just a moment. Then he wrote:

“If you continue to love Jesus, nothing much can go wrong with you, and I hope you may always do so.”

Then he paused again. This next part would be interesting:

“I’m so thankful that you realized the ‘hidden story’ in the Narnian books. It is odd, children nearly always do, grownups hardly ever”.

The Chronicles of Narnia, one of the greatest pieces of children’s literature ever written, was sometimes attacked by academics as racist. Others assailed it as sexist. Everyone had an opinion; everyone had an interpretation. The scholars thought they knew. This work of allegorical fantasy was examined and analyzed from various perspectives and prejudicial mindsets in search of supposed underlying cultural themes.

In the end, CS Lewis knew that children would get it.

They would embrace it in its purity and creative beauty. They would accept it and enjoy it for the wonderful and imaginative story it was.

Children would cast no cynical judgment on the work nor offer any smug critiques. They would perceive “the hidden story” that “grownups hardly ever” recognized.

What Lewis appreciated about children is what Jesus also celebrated.

Jesus attached great importance to child-like faith.

When his disciples got into an argument about who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven – a childish preoccupation typical of adults – Jesus stopped them and startled them.

“And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:2, KJV). Jesus didn’t want these arguing grownups to miss “the hidden story” and so he brought it center stage.

Jesus looked at the little boy and smiled. He caressed the lad’s tousled hair. And he held him tenderly in his arms.

Then Jesus looked at his disciples – the men who would be the first leaders of his church.

“Except ye be converted and become as little children,” he told them, “ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3, KJV).

How often have men and women missed the profound simplicity of the Gospel because they’ve refused to believe it could be that uncomplicated? They’ve wanted to add to it, analyze it and work for it. Anything but simply accept it as God’s free gift.

That’s too easy. Nothing this important could be that simple.

So many people remain blinded by their sophistication and cynicism; by their success, their money and their power; by their intellect, the approval of their peers or political correctness.

Saddled by skepticism, they miss the “hidden story” of God’s great love. They fail to “become as little children” and so never enter the kingdom of heaven.

They miss it.

When the disciples scolded parents for bringing their children to Jesus to be blessed by him because they thought it was a distraction, Jesus brought them up short.

“When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples” (Mark 10:14, New Living Translation).

These men had a lot to learn about children and the Kingdom of God and this was another teachable moment.

“Let the children come to me,” Jesus told them. “Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children” (vs. 14, emphasis added).

Then Jesus said:

“I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it” (vs. 15, emphasis added).

Then Jesus gathered these little boys and girls lovingly into his arms; he hugged them and put his hands on their heads and he blessed them.

Children are humble, transparent, trusting, affectionate and unaffected. Many lose these qualities as adults. And when they do, the kingdom of God grows more distant.

The true Christian is one who has not lost the child’s heart.

Pray that you may always be child-like in your love and faith.

“I’m afraid the Narnian series has come to an end,” Lewis wrote in closing his letter to Ruth Broady, “and am sorry to tell you that you can expect no more.

God bless you”.

Less than a month later, CS Lewis, who never lost his child’s heart and never stopped loving Jesus, walked through the Gates of Splendor into a heavenly kingdom more glorious, more beautiful, more colorful and more creative than even he could ever have imagined.

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August 11, 2014 · 1:18 am

Seriously

Who hasn’t seen him – usually in a New Yorker cartoon?

He’s standing on the sidewalk, long hair and a beard, wearing a sandwich board with “The End is Near” emblazoned on it. People walk by, paying no attention to either him or his message.

We smile.

Predictions of doom have often been the subject of scathing humor. The self-styled prophet warning us of the world’s imminent demise gets no respect. No one takes “the end of the world” very seriously. It makes for interesting movies –apocalyptic themes have always done well in Hollywood. Jerry Jenkins and Tim LeHaye gained quite a following a few years ago for their Left Behind book series.

When the Malaysian jet crashed – shot down (probably) by Russian separatists – on the same day Israel went into Gaza, I got one of those temporary “oh boy” sensations. “This might really be the end-game”, I thought.

Perhaps everyone gets those fleeting thoughts and feelings when the world suddenly heaves. I shouldn’t confess it in light of the tragedies but there was some sense of what may be called “apocalyptic anticipation” as I watched these two major events unfolding on the news amidst global uncertainty.

Could this finally be it?

If Jesus was about to split the eastern sky with his lightening and the trumpets were about to blast from heaven to signal our Lord’s return, what Christian wouldn’t get a little excited?

The world wrings its hands in anguished bewilderment when tragedies and wars happen – and certainly we must all mourn death and destruction; hate, violence and injustice.

But the follower of Jesus Christ also believes in a glorious future when God will make all things new. We know, because we trust the Bible as God’s prophetic and authoritative Word, that it truly is darkest just before the dawn.

Without Christ, renewed hostilities just 90 minutes into a 72-hour ceasefire symbolize the futility of a hopeless end. With Christ, world events only draw us nearer to an endless hope.

In view of how these predictions are treated in popular culture, it is a bit surprising to learn that according to a recent Pew Research Poll, 41% of respondents expect Jesus Christ to return to earth by 2050. That was almost as many (46%) as those who said that Christ would probably or definitely not return by that year. It’s interesting that 58% believe that there is going to be another world war during their lifetime. People also believe that epidemics and natural disasters are going to increase in the days ahead.

Despite growing pessimism about the future of the world, most of us think – and live – like the world is never going to end. In fairness, how else can we order our daily lives, practically speaking? We plan, we save, we decide, and we prepare as though the future won’t be all that different from the present – at least not in any apocalyptic way.

Perhaps some of us – subconsciously – are hoping it won’t be. If this is the case, then it’s certainly easier not to contemplate such things.

The repeated “crying wolf” predictions about how near the end is – which have gone on for centuries – have led Christians into a certain passivity in our thinking about prophecy. It isn’t that we don’t believe what the Bible says about the future, it’s just that prophecy doesn’t command much of our serious attention.

In his graphic portrayal of future events, Jesus tells us that the last days will resemble those in Noah’s time: “In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away.”

Then Jesus said this:

“That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes…you must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming…You must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.” [Mathew 24: 37-39; 42, 44, NLT]

“When least expected.”

After more than 2,000 years of waiting and wondering, we live today in an age of little expectancy. What most of us expect is that tomorrow will be pretty much like it was today. We sure aren’t looking for the clouds to be rolled back like a scroll, or Jesus to appear in the sky on a white horse, accompanied by thousands of holy angels. We’re not expecting to hear trumpet blasts, nor are we expecting the elements to melt with a fervent heat.

But didn’t Jesus tell us: “You must be ready all the time”? Isn’t it wrong not to be?

Jesus may not return for another thousand years. Then again, he may come back tomorrow.

The King is coming. Only God knows when. He alone has planned it and only he knows the hour. But unlike the little boy who cried wolf or the hippie in a sandwich board, God and his Son are taking the future seriously.

So should we. And be excited.

May God bless you and your family.

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July 31, 2014 · 6:00 am

Strange, Isn’t It?

The tree is dead.

It was a pine tree that grew more than twelve feet before it succumbed.

It was planted in Los Angeles to honor the late Beatle George Harrison.

What killed the tree?

A bark beetle infestation, actually.

That’s ironic.

Irony. Life is filled with it. The dictionary defines irony as “a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result”.

Irony is the most surprising outcome. It’s the unlikeliest choice or circumstance and the least expected result.

The Bible is saturated with irony. It’s almost as if this is God’s modus operandi. He delights in it. The Creator revels in the surprise ending.

If not for its amazing, come-from-behind irony, the Bible might be a rather dull book.

God chooses the tiniest, most inconspicuous nation to be his own and preserves it for centuries through suffering and exile, bringing it back to its ancient homeland where today it triumphs against all odds.

Through deeply flawed yet courageous men – and some noble and brave women – God delivers and leads his people. Who on earth would have chosen the likes of Abraham, Jacob, Moses or Gideon?

How colorless the biblical account would be without them.

How did a young Jewish boy named Joseph, sold into slavery by jealous brothers, rise to become the prince of Egypt who rescued that land from starvation? Who would have picked a lad tending sheep to be the mightiest king Israel ever had? And how could this ruler later lie and commit adultery and murder and still be a man after God’s own heart?

How ironic. How strange.

A mighty general is told to wash in the dirty Jordan River to find his cure for leprosy.

Five smooth stones and a slingshot slay a heavily-armored giant. Actually it only took one – and a brave lad who had come in from the fields with a lunch for his fear-struck older siblings. Now we see why none of them got the royal nod.

In human form God visits the world he made. He comes through a young virgin and her poor carpenter husband and is born in a stable in a little town called Bethlehem.

The Ruler of the universe is surrounded by animal dung. The hotels were all filled up. There was no room anywhere else.

Ordinary working stiffs – unknown and uneducated fishermen – become the disciples of Jesus and the first leaders of his church.

Five loaves of bread and two fish – a boy’s lunch – feed more than five thousand.

The fiercest persecutor of the church – a proud and stubborn Hebrew intent on strangling Christianity in its crib – becomes its most gifted and eloquent defender and spreads its message throughout much of the known world. He plants vibrant churches, writes nearly one third of the New Testament and becomes Christendom’s greatest theologian. He dies a martyr to the cause he once despised.

How ironic. How strange.

Over and over again God performs not only the miraculous – he does the improbable, the incredible, the stunningly surprising.

If humans did it, they’d be called foolish. But God has done it – and does it still – in the Bible, in the history of nations and in the history of the world.

He does it in our own lives. You know he does – you’ve seen him at work.

God is ironic for a reason.

Paul tells the Corinthians to remember that “few of you were wise in the world’s eyes, or powerful or wealthy when God called you” (I Corinthians 1: 26, NLT).

God makes unlikely choices.

“But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are.” (I Corinthians 1: 27-28, KJV, emphasis added).

Foolish, weak, base and despised things – “things counted as nothing at all” (NLT).

These are so often the instruments – the ways and the means – God chooses and uses.

Why? To what end; to what purpose?

“That no flesh should glory in his presence” (I Corinthians 1:29, KJV).

He does it to keep us humble.

God’s irony is wrapped up in his sovereignty, reflects his majesty and displays his grace and glory.

If it were any other way, we’d be tempted to take the credit instead of praising him for his miracle.

William Cowper said it well in 1773:

“God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform. He plants His footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm”.

Paul – who must have marveled at his own improbable spiritual journey – exults in joyful wonder at the inscrutability of God:

“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33, KJV).

Yes, God often chooses “nothings” and uses them “to bring to nothing what the world considers important” (NLT).

Strange, isn’t it?

And so very comforting.

May God bless you and your family.

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July 26, 2014 · 5:49 pm

Set Free

 

 

James Bain was smiling.

It was a weary but broad smile. It was a smile of relief. He was going home. James Bain was a free man. And the national media was present in Florida to record the event.

In 1974, when he was 19 years old, Bain was convicted for the kidnapping and rape of a nine-year old boy. He was sentenced to life in prison. After serving 35 years behind bars, Bain, now gray-haired and balding, was cleared by DNA evidence. He was 54. Tests showed that he could not possibly have committed the crime.

A judge set him free.

Criminal records revealed that Mr. Bain had served longer in prison than any of the 246 prison inmates previously cleared by DNA evidence. In 1974, DNA testing didn’t exist. Neither did cell phones. So Bain made his first-ever cell phone call upon his release. He called his 77- year old mother to let her know that he was free and that he would see her soon.

One might wonder what went through James Bain’s mind when he first learned that he would go free — or through his heart. Thirty-five years is a long time to sit in prison for a crime you didn’t commit. It’s a big chunk of life. James Bain went to prison as a teenager the year that Richard Nixon resigned as president. Elvis Pressley was still alive. Bain left prison, seven presidents later, as a middle-aged man eligible for membership in the AARP.

James Bain spent three and a half decades of his life in prison as an innocent man.

The American justice system said he had done it. James Bain knew he hadn’t. A court said he was wrong. He knew he was right.

Bain had plenty of time to think –and to feel. He had plenty of time to become bitter and angry and resentful. He had plenty of time to wallow deeply in despair and self-pity. If anyone could claim to be an authentic victim of injustice, it was James Bain. If anyone had the right to be filled with anger it was this man.

As the reporters gathered around him as he walked through the doors of the dark prison into the bright sunshine of freedom, they asked Bain how he felt, what he thought. He smiled and shook his head. “I’m not angry”, he said quietly, “Because I’ve got God.”

Faith makes a difference in every person’s life. For James Bain, faith in God made all the difference.

I don’t know if Bain ever read a Bible during those 35 long years. But if he did, perhaps he came across Psalm 31:7:

“I will be glad in your unfailing love, for you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish of my soul.” [NLT, emphasis added].

God knew James Bain was innocent. And God cared.

Maybe Bain read what Peter wrote about Jesus and his suffering:

“He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.” [I Peter 2:22-23, NLT].

Jesus, who has been touched fully by the feelings of our own infirmities – who knows our hurts and disappointments; our grief and our sorrows, has left us his example. There is nothing theoretical about anything Our Lord tells us to do.

He has been through it all himself.

When James Bain sat in that prison cell – day after day, week after week and month after month – Jesus was there with him, knowing, understanding and comforting. And when the months turned into long years, Jesus never left James; Jesus never got bored or tired or distracted.

When James cried Jesus wept with him.

One of the most difficult things in the whole world is to suffer injustice quietly. It’s in our nature to lash out, to retaliate, to jump to our own defense and to want to even the score.

We struggle mightily sometimes with our vengeful spirits, fueled by pride and a demand for our own justice.

Jesus would have none of it. The Maker and Ruler of the universe stood in silence before his puny and strutting accusers. The Spirit he displayed is the One he has given us; the Spirit who fills and animates us and wants to control us.

He who had done no wrong “left his case in the hands of God”

That’s where we must leave ours.

It’s likely that no one reading this will ever spend 35 years in prison for something he didn’t do. But perhaps you sometimes feel mistreated, misunderstood or all alone. Maybe you figure there’s no one who sees or appreciates the anguish you’re going through. Maybe you’re living in a private prison that is unknown to anyone but you.

God cares about the anguish of your soul. He knows your heartache and discouragement. He loves you and will go with you through your anguish. He will comfort you. In Jesus, God experienced the suffering of injustice. Leave your case in his hands. God always judges fairly.

He will set you free.

May God bless you and your family.

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July 26, 2014 · 5:37 pm

The Apple of His Eye

“We do not want to see more killing and destruction”.

Aya Ridwa is 25 years old and a student. She lives in Gaza.

The nation of Israel has been bombing Gaza for over a week. Nearly two hundred Palestinians have died in these Israeli airstrikes. Israel has repeatedly warned civilians in the region to evacuate. Unlike the army in Iraq, Israel has no doubt about what it is doing or why. Nor is there any question in anyone’s mind about Israel’s superb military capability or the country’s willingness to use it to defend itself.

This has always been true of the brave little nation that sits in the crosshairs of the Middle East surrounded by its enemies.

One critic described Israel’s assault upon the militant group Hamas as “shooting fish in a barrel”.

But Hamas, which governs Gaza, has been bombing Israel, hiding its weapons among civilian populations, even in mosques, and has rejected an Egyptian-sponsored cease-fire that Israel accepted. If the kid on the playground who is pummeling you bloody offers to stop, why in the world would you say no? And if you picked the fight in the first place, what in the world would you expect?

Israel has never lost a war since it became a state in 1948.

It is a peace-loving nation but it is no pacifist. It has no hair trigger but it does have a steady aim. Israel has always understood its constant danger, living as a sheep among ravenous wolves. It’s been well-armed and ready throughout its history – a history that teaches that religious-based differences among nations are the most threatening.

Nowhere on earth has this been truer for thousands of years than in the Mideast. Once again the region is boiling. And with each conflict – whether in Syria, Libya, Iraq or Israel – the world edges closer to Armageddon.

The Middle East is the geopolitical storm center of the twenty-first century. Israel is its eye. That’s because Israel remains in someone else’s eye.

“For the people of Israel belong to the Lord,” Moses sang.“Jacob is his special possession” (Deuteronomy 32: 9, New Living Translation).

God found the Jewish people “in a desert land, in an empty, howling wasteland. He surrounded them and watched over them; he guarded them …” (vs. 10, NLT).

God “surrounded” Israel. He still does.

God “watched over” Israel. He still does.

God “guarded” Israel. Today he still does.

God keeps Israel – even now – “as the apple of his eye” (vs. 10, King James Version, emphasis added).

There are those, including many evangelical theologians and leaders, who argue otherwise. They subscribe to what is called Replacement Theology (or Supersessionism) – the belief that since Christ came to inaugurate a New Covenant, Israel has ceased to be God’s chosen people, replaced – and superseded – instead by the Church. Christian believers are indeed the beneficiaries of God’s promises to Abraham, “blessed with faithful Abraham” through faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:9, KJV). Abraham, because of his faith in God, “is the father of us all” (Romans 4:16, KJV).

As followers of Jesus, you and I are “heirs according to the promise” made to the patriarch (Galatians 3:29, KJV). We too are God’s children and his chosen people. We too enter into covenant relationship with him by faith. Nothing that God has done through Christ in his church has changed God’s special relationship with the people he chose for his very own so long ago.

God still has a plan for Israel. God still loves Israel. God still protects Israel. This is as crystal clear and as relevant as tomorrow’s headlines. Watch and see if it is not so. While we must pray for peace and love all people everywhere, including those in Arab lands, God’s prophetic purpose continues to unfold. God will never abandon Israel and woe to those who would assail her, for “he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye” (Zechariah 2:8, KJV, emphasis added).

Why?

What made Israel so special as to be chosen by the almighty Creator of the universe to enter into particular covenant relationship with him? Moses explained it to the people:

“The Lord did not set his heart upon you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! Rather, it was simply that the Lord loves you …” (Deuteronomy 7:7-8, NLT).

This is God’s sovereign and gracious choice.

“For you are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be his special treasure” (vs. 6, NLT, emphasis added).

What was – and continues to be – true of Israel is also true of you and of me and of all those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ. We are, writes Peter, “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people …” (I Peter 2:9, KJV).

You too are the apple of his eye.

Why? It’s “simply that the Lord loves you”.

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July 23, 2014 · 6:00 am

Unforced Rhythms

Remember Bobby McFerrin?

 Well some of you might.

In 1988, he released a song called “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”. It became the first a cappella song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It stayed there for two weeks. At the 1989 Grammy Awards, McFerrin’s simple, upbeat song won Song of the Year. It was one of the greatest “one-hit wonders” of the 1980s.

“There is this little song I wrote
I hope you learn it note for note
Like good little children
Don’t worry, be happy
Listen to what I say
In your life expect some trouble
But when you worry
You make it double
Don’t worry, be happy.”

The title words actually came from an Indian mystic named Meher Baba, who used to tell his followers: “Do your best. Then don’t worry; be happy in my love. I will help you.”

“Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” It’s a great summer song — music for our hammock.

Three cheers for the good old summertime! In Texas, it’s actually been here a while. I thought Maine was the only place that closed down for the summer. Texas does too. So does just about every place else. There’s something very refreshing about that. It’s a psychological shift that is signaled when school lets out and June arrives.

We all need it. More than any of us know.

We need it emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually. We need to rest. We need to relax. We need to re-charge.

You and I need our souls restored.

This is not easy.

Communications tools have kept us fully engaged 24 -7 – every frantic second of every bunched up day. Technology has enhanced our productivity. The more we do, the more we still need to do and then the more we think we need to do. Just to stay caught up. Expectations rise. It’s a never-ending maze.

God took a day off. We just can’t seem to manage that.

How do we achieve balance in our lives?

Most of us are too darn busy. We need to rest. We need to relax. We know we need to. We just don’t know how.

We don’t need an Indian mystic to help us. Jesus has already extended a special invitation. It reads simply:

“Chill with Me.”

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens,” Jesus says to us, “and I will give you rest.” [Matt. 11:28, New Living Translation].

Jesus offers to teach us how to pace ourselves.

He says we can this learn from him. He promises to show us how to “find rest for your souls.” [11:29, NLT]. The Amplified Bible says that Jesus wants to give us “relief, ease, and refreshment.” Because our souls need spiritual rest, like our minds and bodies need physical rest.

They make head phones that can shut out all outside noise – entirely. It creates a perfect and relaxing stillness. We need spiritual headphones. That the world may be shut out and all we hear is God’s voice – his still, soft whisper to our hearts; his music for our souls.

In prayer, meditation, and quietness we draw near to the One Who is able to take our burdens and our cares and make them his own.

God’s command is simple and direct. It’s a perquisite to intimacy with him:

“Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10, KJV).

“Attention, all! See the marvels of God! He plants flowers and trees all over the earth … Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.” (Psalm 46:8 -10, The Message).

This is as relevant and needed for you and me today as when God spoke those words to the sons of Korah.

“Step out of the traffic”.

“Be still.”

“Calm down”.

“Know and trust”.

Our sovereign God reigns above the confusion, anxiety, pressure, strife and the turbulent anger of our times. Don’t worry – be happy. Your heavenly Father’s on top of the things you can’t be.

He’s in control.

God wants to lead us to rest in his green pastures. He wants to take us on a walk beside peaceful streams. He wants us to hear the singing of the birds. God wants us to look up into his beautiful sky and see the clouds gently passing by. He wants us to take the time to do these things. He wants us to know how very much he loves us.

God wants to renew your strength. He wants to restore your soul – if you will just let him.

Put down your gadgets for a few moments. You do it in a movie theater – do it for God. Look up!

I love the way Eugene Peterson has translated Jesus’ invitation found in Matthew 11:

“Are you tired? Worn out? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me -watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace…keep company with me and you’ll learn how to live freely and lightly.” [Matt. 11:28-29, The Message, emphasis added].

Jesus tells us: “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”

This summer find some time to chill with Jesus. Your soul needs it.

Relax and enjoy “the unforced rhythms of grace”.

May God bless you and your family.

 

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