Eclipsed

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:31-32
Recently, we’ve been hearing a lot about the Eclipse. The Talking Heads have chattered on and on about its historical significance, the next time one is likely to show up, the track this one will follow, and of course, how to not be blinded by the event. We have been informed ad nauseum (to a sickening degree) that looking directly at the event will damage your eyes. Guess what I expect to see in the news in the aftermath? Yep, stories of people who ignored all that good advice and are surprised to learn it was true, just like there will be far too many people in Hell for basically the same reason.
Eclipses have fascinated humans for thousands of years. They have played a major role in stories and legends up to modern times, were predicted by Chinese and Greek philosophers (and possibly by the builders of Stonehenge), and even right there in the Scriptures.
Did you catch it? No? It’s right in front of your eyes...well, almost. That little word “fail” is an English translation of the Greek word “ekleipo”, from which we got our word “eclipse”, and we take it to mean that something is blocked by something else. What Jesus prayed for Simon was that he would not let his faith be permanently overshadowed by the dark days that were upon them – the crucifixion.
There’s a phrase found in the Bible that is worth repeating here: “It came to pass”. Mostly, it means that “something actually happened”, but I like the idea of Transience there, that is, it didn’t come to STAY, but to PASS. The eclipse is expected to cross the US so quickly that it will only be visible for about 3 minutes from any given location. Those folks who spent a fair chunk of change and time getting into the path better look sharp or they’ll miss it, and from the perspective of a lifetime – or even more so, Eternity – our problems and tragedies will be a lot like that. The effects may endure, especially if we stare at those troubles too deeply, but the events move quickly and march on without pause.
Jesus knew that the events of that first Good Friday were going to be devastating to His disciples, but He also knew that Sunday was coming. He surely knows that Trouble with a Capital T will come to all of us, and we will be tempted to blind ourselves in sorrow and grief by focusing on it. His encouraging words to Peter are to us as well: “when you have turned again”, that is, even though your heart is broken, this too shall pass. Don’t stay in the Valley of the Shadow, come on through!
For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. Psalm 30:5

Dancing Lessons

And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. 1 Kings 18:21
In the Ancient, Honored, Feared (but Unwritten) Laws of the Baptists, Dancing ranked right up there with the Big Ten, things like Murder, Coveting, Adultery and such. I honestly don’t recall any sermons from the pulpit specifically condemning it, but it was well known that Dancing would lead you straight to H-E-Double Hockey Sticks faster than robbing banks or cussing. Of course, it was only one of many such Unwritten Laws, the modern Mishnah (oral Jewish traditions condemned often by Jesus) we had, but the long term effect is that I am...awkward when the music is playing. I watched Dancing With The Stars in part for confirmation that I’m not the ONLY pig-on-stilts out there. I got rhythm – from the waist up. Below the belly button, not so much.
Then I discovered from Elijah that I’ve had lots of Dancing Lessons, and I've been practicing all my life.
I can practically see the question marks on your faces from here, so let me explain. That word “limping” up there, also translated as “halting” or “wavering” is a Hebrew word – the Old Testament of the Bible was originally written (mostly) in Hebrew – that has a number of possible English meanings. Among our choices, it meant to hop, skip, or limp, and because dancing is basically a planned series of hops and skips (my definition, not Webster’s, but fitting, don’t you think?), then by extension it was added to the nuances.
This brings to mind the little dance kids do when their bladder sends them an urgent message, oh, and the “Hokey-Pokey”, but also the teasing move people do when they can stand on a state line: “Now I’m in Alabama, now I’m in Georgia.” Or, “Now I’m in South Korea, now I’m in Prison”. A real laugh riot!
And Now, To The Point.
The people of Elijah’s day were dancing around the clear commandment of God. While they would pay lip service to being the People of Jehovah, they were also playing around with Baal worship. It’s interesting to note that when Elijah challenged them, they kept quiet, almost as if they were a bit ashamed, but more like, “Maybe if we pretend not to notice, he’ll go away.” Plus, they were there to see the show. Which God would show up? They had heard lots of stories. Now they were going to get the chance to see for themselves. And the shocking result? They did!
Today, opinions are like belly buttons: Everybody has one, and all of them can seem reasonable. We are happy to dance from one to the other as if there were no consequences, but one Truth remains: What you believe matters. If you live your life by the Unwritten Laws of popular opinion in contrast to the clear and unchanging Will of God, there will be consequences that you can’t hop, skip, OR jump around. The band is winding down, the dance is almost over. Which side will you end up on?
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Cost of Carelessness

Our buddy Wayne is blessed to be alive today. Last season, he got up in his deer stand and was pulling his rifle up on a rope. While this is normal, how he was doing it was….less than optimal. Not smart. OK, it was STUPID! Which is funny considering how serious he has always been about safety. He drills it into everyone who hunts with him. How you get into the stand, how you handle your weapon, who is around you and where they are supposed to be. He doesn’t want you to take foolish chances or put yourself in a position to get hurt. Which is all good and wise until you ignore your instructions your own self!
He was hunting with a muzzle loader, one of the ole-timey rifles that holds one bullet at a time. It has a hammer, which gets a firing cap. When you pull the trigger, the hammer smacks down, exploding the cap, which sets off the powder inside the rifle. The key thing here is, don’t put the cap on until you are ready to shoot, because the gun can’t fire without it. Especially if you’re pulling it up a tree by a rope. With the muzzle pointing UP. Where, as the rifle is swinging back and forth it can contact the ladder, causing the hammer to get cocked enough to cause the rifle to fire.
Wayne is BLESSED to be alive today, with only the loss of a pinkie finger to remind him how close he came to Eternity.
One interesting thing about it, if he had died on Friday, everyone who knew him would have suspected foul play. His son told me that they would have believed he had been murdered rather than believe he did so many things that he had preached so fervently against. Which reminds me of a verse I try to keep close to my heart:
But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9:27
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve noticed how people feel about Hypocrites – those who claim spirituality but practice the opposite. Some might accept a role as deacon, while keeping a refrigerator stocked with alcohol. Others might have a sweet face on Sunday but treat their family and neighbors with contempt and harsh language. One nurse was sure all the preachers were hypocrites because one pastor who had had surgery and was under heavy doses of morphine in the hospital cussed like a sailor. To be fair, few preachers are born knowing their destiny. Most of us grew up and had lives and used words we don’t use any more, and drugs can take away our control, so I’d cut him some slack.
On the other hand, some of those you’ve heard about who had affairs or were abusive or were only in it for the money don’t get that slack, just don’t blame God for their mistakes. Anybody can get careless – just ask Wayne. His mistakes will serve as a warning to me the next time I climb into a deer stand – and just maybe, the next time I am tempted to do something I have preached against!
Psalm 25:20 Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.

Checking for Leaven

Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Matthew 16:6
I always assumed that before packaged yeast became available, most leavening was accomplished with some sort of sour dough. I never cared enough about it to figure out where the sour dough came from. It was just something I would only need to know if the economy collapsed and we had to fall back on old-timey tricks to get by. Happily, creating sour dough starter isn’t rocket science. It is science though.
Here’s the short version: yeast is a bacteria. It is common in the air and around most animals (including you and me). All it needs is an opportunity, the right media and a bit of time, and voila! Bread!
According to what I read on the Internets, mix two cups of flour (the kind without additives) with two cups of water in a bowl, cover the bowl with a cloth and leave it on the counter. Every day or so, discard half of the mixture and replace it with fresh. Before you know it, you’ve got your bread starter. Just mix it in with your flour when you’re ready to bake some bread and it will get to work transforming flat bread to full bread.
Of course, that leads us to a couple of questions. One, why is the Lord so dead set against leaven? After all, He created it in the first place. Two, what’s the deal with Pharisees and Sadducees? I mean, we’re all just people, right? Why can’t we just get along?
Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Matthew 16:12
Let’s start with Two, shall we? Those groups weren’t buddies. They came down on the opposite side of everything, but they are almost always found together opposing Christ. He had to deal with the P’s a lot, because they were the religious icons of their day. They wore the right clothes, had the right hair-cuts, and showed up in all the best synagogues, but it was all a big show. Jesus said they were like tombs, pretty on the outside but putrid to the core. The S’s on the other hand had the religious show down, too, while being practically atheists, refusing to believe in angels or miracles or life after death. Both of them had ideas very dangerous for Christians, because they seem reasonable on the surface but are both geared away from true worship, the kind that only occurs “in Spirit and in Truth”.
And One? Leavening agents are a link to yesterday. They are held over from the past, a reminder of our corruption. What God is changing us into leaves no room for ties to our sinful carnal nature. If we heed the worldly influence of legalistic ritualism or pragmatic compromise, we will miss the higher road to a real spiritual victory over sin and death. That’s why I say with the Psalmist:
Search me, God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way. Psalm 139:23-24

Three Little Pigs and the Truth

There is no telling how many times we've heard the story. It could be a parable about building safety codes, or Stranger Danger, Medieval castle-storming techniques, or even a shaving commercial “Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin!” However we might put our own modern spin on it, it's been a popular little fable for a long, long time, told around camp fires, picked up by Looney Tunes, meddled with by Archie Campbell (The Pee Little Thrigs and the Wad Bolf), and now me. Something that popular has to have a universal appeal, something that speaks to us in a significant way, and something that reveals some Truths about us as we treasure it. Here are a few that occurred to me.
First, each Piglet was looking for a Home. Like most of us, they recognized their need for shelter, but in trying to build something more lasting it speaks to the human longing for a Place to Belong. Our innate desire points to something lacking in us, that in my experience is not satisfied with physical building materials. No matter how pleasant we make our dwellings, we find an ongoing hunger for lasting comfort and security, which will only be satisfied in one Place:
Hebrews 11:10 For [Abraham] was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
Next, I saw that we can be attacked and destroyed for no other reason than that we are vulnerable. The Pigs had no defense against the Wolf. In one on-one-combat, they were quickly and efficiently overcome. Notice, they didn't go looking for trouble, He came looking for them. Their defense was revealed to be far too flimsy to stand in the day of trouble. According to worldly principles, so is ours, and that's why we need a Better Plan:
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Psalm 27:1-2
Now that Third Pig, he had a Home that resisted the frontal attack that the Wolf had used to devastating effect to that point. In the story, the Wolf then tried several ways to trick the Pig into giving up his shelter, but each time the Pig outsmarted him, and finally overcame him by resisting his temptations. I'm not sure how boiling and eating your Enemy would work for us...well, knowing that our Enemy has no plans to live peaceably with us and is only proposing compromises to keep seeking a way to get inside our defenses to destroy us ought to warn us against trusting his schemes and keep us alert.
1 Peter 5:8 Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.
Are there any more? Sure, probably several that haven't occurred to me. Let me know what you come up with! But let me leave you with “happily ever after”. Most modern versions of fables and fairy tales include that line, and it's a reminder that deep down, we want the Happy Ending, and for everyone in Christ, there really is one:
In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. John 14:2-3

Hooking Up

You’ve heard of the Amish, I trust. Just in case you haven’t, they are what most modern folks consider “Peculiar”. They are living a horse-and-buggy lifestyle in the midst of a high-tech world. Some goofs seem to think that they don’t “believe” in the modern conveniences all around them, but the truth is they are striving for a holier life by holding to a more primitive way. That’s not their whole story – they will use all the things we enjoy, they just don’t own them or keep them in the house. They say that “suffering is good for the soul.” If so, August without air conditioning ought to make ANYBODY a saint!
I found an interesting thing about them back in Indiana. One father was giving a piece of his farm to his son who was getting married, needed us to do a survey. (I worked for land surveyors in my previous life.) As we were out there doing the work, taking note of all the electric lines crossing his property, it struck me as odd, all that power going through his land, but not coming to his home. Of course, I assumed that there was no point since there wouldn’t be outlets or ceiling fans or anything. Imagine my surprise when an electrician showed up to wire the new house. No, it wasn’t an accident or a mistake!
One thing the Amish know, they might not stay somewhere forever. If they want to sell a house in today’s modern age, it better have everything the modern English (what they call everybody who isn’t Amish) want. And it has to go in during construction, cheaper that way. So, that frame house with the horses out back and the kids wearing black felt hats and girls wearing bonnets and brogans has light switches and outlets all over the place, just like yours.
So follow me here.
The power lines cross right in front of their homes. Inside those homes are all the fixtures needed to make use of that power, but the people living there cook on wood stoves and heat their homes with fireplaces. The potential is there to have all the touch-of-a-button things we take for granted, they just lack one thing: a Connection.
We live in a country where you are never very far from a church of some kind and dedicated followers of all stripes. People go past them every day, maybe even taking comfort that they are there, that there is Light in the Darkness. Then they continue on in their own darkness, taking no advantage of the availability of the Light.
We are all born with a longing for that Connection to the Source, the Power. We were designed to put it to use, but so many live their lives without ever being “hooked up”. Just like with the power company, we have to make a request and enter into a relationship (get connected). Then we can enjoy Him for ourselves, right in our own heart.
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it...But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the power to become children of God, John 1:4-5, 12

It’s A Wonderful Life?

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ‭? ‬Shall tribulation,‭ ‬or distress,‭ ‬or persecution,‭ ‬or famine,‭ ‬or nakedness,‭ ‬or danger,‭ ‬or sword‭? ‬As it is written,‭ “‬For your sake we are being killed all the day long‭; ‬we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.‭” ‬Romans‭ ‬8:35-36‭
At our house, it’s not really Christmas until‭ ‬we indulge in that old movie where Jimmy Stewart discovers the value of his ordinary life,‭ ‬and our throats get tight and our eyes water,‭ ‬hoping the same is true of all of us.‭ ‬He doesn’t get to do anything he wanted to do - travel, write, build, experience -‭ ‬but his tragedies and losses turned out for the good for himself and multitudes of others.‭ ‬We feel it so deeply that in our troubles, we turn around and tell each other,‭ “‬God has a plan.‭ ‬This will work out for good.‭” ‬and remind ourselves of Romans‭ ‬8:28.‭
Of course, for many of those going through the deepest tragedies of their lives,‭ their “dark night of the soul" ‬this is cold comfort at best.‭ They don’t want it to “feel good", they want it to be “over and done." And they especially yearn that it never happened at all!
Take Joseph. Betrayed by his brothers, believed to be dead by his father, enslaved, and then betrayed again. Hard luck just seemed to dog his tracks, and the dreams that had brightened his early days must have seemed like a mockery. And yet, in slavery and in jail, like cream, he kept floating to the top.
The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed. Genesis 39:23
He had amazing success in the midst of really bad circumstances, yet he longed to be free. Just like you or I would. The joy of being the apple of the warden’s eye was dramatically dimmed by the whole “unjustly accused in prison” thing.
Most of us facing tough times in our lives would prefer they had never happened, or that they would be over soon (like, yesterday). Even when we live by faith and are trusting that God’s purpose is being worked out, it can be hard to take. Rejoicing in tribulation is a fine thing - in theory. In practice? It’s not for the faint of heart.
And yet, Joseph and Jimmy give us a great reminder that the disappointments and griefs of our lives are not the end of the story. For the Christian, that ending was written in the blood of the Lamb, and no matter what our current circumstances look like there is a great day coming.
No, in all these things we are triumphantly victorious due to the One who loved us. Romans 8:37
Look at it this way: God has a wonderful plan for your ETERNITY. And He has an IMPORTANT plan for your life. Not easy. Important.
Hang in there. Be faithful. There’s more to your story than you know, and there’s a Better Day coming!