The following blogs offer a balanced perspective on both secular and Christian failures. It corrects the imbalance between the laud unbelievers heap on their failures and the lash they lay on Christians for theirs.
Why would Benjamin Franklin be praised for failing his own human standards and Christians blamed for failing God's infinitely greater ones? When we all share the problem of a brain and spirit alive with desire but torpedoed by a fallen nature? Shouldn't those who strive for a higher level of life be appreciated even when failing to reach it when those failing in a lower level are honored for their effort? From a purely human standpoint, who deserves more credit: those choosing an easier way through life—the broad road Jesus condemned in Matthew 7:13; OR those voluntarily walking the "narrow road" he approved, Ibid, 7:14. Consider a marathon race. Those with the slowest speeds congregate at the end of thousands of faster runners. Don't all receive honor for finishing the grueling contest? That principle should be as true spiritually. Those feeling crushed by disappointing their LORD—and we ARE when we DO—should be as appreciated as the unsaved person merely disappointed with THEMSELVES by failing self-established goals. Indeed, Christians should receive as many kudos for partially succeeding in God's Greater Cause as secularists succeeding partially in pursuit of their lesser ones. Take Esau and Jacob. The unbeliever overvalues Esau for his refusal to take revenge on a deceitful brother, and undervalues Jacob/Israel for taking fright when learning of Esau's approach. Esau worked through his anger at Jacob to amnesty for Jacob. Remarkable for that day—and ours. While Jacob fell to a conscience still guilty over his deceit to appease an anger that no longer existed. However, while offering kudos to Esau's absence of revenge—forgiveness always excels grudges—both men represent even today the difference between secularists and believers. After 20 years secularist Esau achieved all he considered essential to him: successful animal husbandry, servants and family extension. After 20 arduous years, deceiver-Jacob grew into God's spiritual patriarch. Esau fathered a race of people no longer in existence while Jacob fathered 12 sons whom Moses would lead from Egypt as a new nation which, by the way, is still very much in the news. In a sentence, Esau succeeded in living for this life and Jacob lived 20 years in a state of slavery which turned him into God's FREE MAN for the next! Which man deserves plaudits? Which would we seek to emulate: the one who "struggled" with God and prevailed, or who disregarded God and vanished into nothing? WHICH of the TWO succeeded: Esau, through wrong choices reached his goals or Jacob through his failures reaching God's? End Part III
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As a culture we sink ever-deeper in the immoralities we consider the new normal: gratuitous sex instead of sex within marriage; living together for as long as "we love" instead of married for as long as we live; homosexual and lesbian sex acceptable instead of heterosexual sex; increasing kinds of genders instead of the male and female of Genesis 1-3; paying $60 million a week to house and feed migrant minors instead of sane immigration policies that demand legal immigration into the country; and...far below all other immorality, the prideful humanism at all education levels that denies GOD ALMIGHTY any role in education and national life.
It isn't surprising, then, that Cal State University at San Marcos, California, CSUSM, is debating whether to remove the name of William Craven from its buildings, road signs and traffic circles. Though he proved the "mover and shaker" responsible for its existence! His offenses against present societal prejudices include: he 30 years ago considered illegal immigrants at the bottom of the economic scale. As if it isn't still true that fast-food hires are mostly ethnic because they work cheaper. And, thanks only to failed labor unions, people with very little education or English skills receive $12-$15 an hour for entry-level positions. How proud our ignorance of history. We think our permissive society can be the first to reject God without him exacting a crushing punishment on our egotism. Since Christians pray for God's will to be done on earth, and unbelievers insist on their will being done on earth, who is right? Since Christians know God's sovereignty can't be withstood, and unbelievers think it doesn't exist, who is right? Since Christians accept the struggle between righteousness and evil living side by side, because we know who wins, unbelievers can feel comfortable in their rejection of God only by eliminating any meaningful thought of God from the discussion, WHO IS RIGHT? At no time in our history has Galatians 6:7-8 been more appropriately applied to America, particularly verse 7. Both individuals and nations reap what they sow. For no one, individually or corporately, can turn up his nose at God. And judgment in harmful, bludgeoning, obliterating wrath will always equal the unbelief and immorality practiced, however proud of its anarchy against God. Therefore...a Christian who fails at being a Christ-honoring disciple deserves praise while a godless person who succeeds at being godless—living without God, without concern for spiritual values, without any interest in what happens after death, deserves punishment. Consider this blog an encouragement for Christians whose personal life often fails to equal their belief. For our embrace of Christ's teaching envelopes us in a Kingdom that does not fail, and cannot fail, because GOD determines its success! And those who stupidly forfeit the superlative spiritual superiority our forefathers bequeathed us for a humanism that has no answer to any of humanity's significant questions, will be wrecked in history and damned in Hell. End Part II This short series studies an overlooked subject of discipleship, introducing Esau and Jacob as polar opposites, both alive today. Esau the prototype humanist, Jacob the WOULD BE godly man. Esau easily being himself as a humanist, Jacob arduously, and for 20 years, struggling to become the godly man he finally achieved at Peniel Genesis 32:28.
Esau took no time continuing to be the secular man of secular interests, who saw his plenty as flocks, herds and rule of 400 men. Proving himself a godless man, Hebrews 12:16, he considered a birthright sacred enough to be retained at all costs only as an obstacle to a free lunch. Like any materialist, Esau first protested that he had "plenty" when seeing the flocks and herds Jacob sent as a peace offering, yet took the gifts. Like him, many today feel complete with "enough" of whatever life offers, while always willing to gather "more". But few indeed are those who naturally turn from them to God. And once the acquisitive nature dominates, we seldom refuse to buy more of what we already have in surfeit. Which is why Jesus forbade "storing up" things for self. It becomes a habit impossible to appease, ending only at death Luke 12:13-21. And who wants to go before God—HAVING HAD—possessions but now empty, with NO FAITH in the Son of God who SAVES? God knew the ultimate character each infant would possess, Genesis 25:23, Romans 9:10-13. End Part I Hopefully back to blogging after second Covid-19 vaccination sidelined me.
Fanny Brice, the original Funny Girl Barbra Streisand played in the eponymous movie, starred in radio and stage, among the latter Florenz Ziegfeld's Follies. Her zany characters, combined with inimitable ballad skills, kept her in the limelight. Nicky Arnstein, the man in her life, burdened her with gambling and con-artist deceits. She explained that love kept her faithful to him despite his continued betrayals of her. Unforgettable Women of the Century, p. 64. George Burns once said that he could stand by wife Gracie receiving applause and imagine the overflow belonged to him. He survived her by 30 years but admitted his life continued to be a reflection of marriage to her. Ibid. The Christian's relationship with Christ beggars description, soars beyond explanation and impacts life so powerfully that nothing else, and no one else, compares. The Master's Glow shines undimmed within the believer; Christ's Grace ceaselessly washes over the disciple's life; the LORD's GLORIES eclipse all other in life and circumstance. So it is now, every day. So it will be always in the world to come, one Joy after another, one Spiritual Delight succeeding the previous, one Experience of God's FOREVER-LOVE filling the BRAIN and BODY fit to receive it all. We know our present worth by measuring his sacrifice. We know our present potential by welcoming his Spirit within us. We know our destiny by reading Revelation 21-22. All this is the pleasure of living in the body by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us Galatians 2:20. Amen. In A.D. 41, while in an unrecorded ministry, or stage of his life, the apostle Paul had a life-altering experience. He wrote about it in II Corinthians 12:1-10 in the winter of A.D. 55. Passing what we can't know for sure—the identity of his thorn; and can't personally duplicate—his rapture to Paradise, we study what we can understand and apply to our personal lives.
That's the content of 12:7-10. Paul desperately wanted, and repeatedly sought, removal of the thorn. After the third unsuccessful effort God told him NO! "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." The divine refusal gave the apostle a spiritual growth experience. For while he boasted of his sufferings—11:22ff; and boasted of his visions—12:1-6; in the end, he wanted to boast only in his weaknesses and Christ's gracious strength 12:9-10. Job suffered a much greater affliction than Paul's thorn. And his responses, particularly after the taunting charges of men who should have been his pastors, found him lacking in spiritual growth. Job 38:1-2 began God's sermon prompting Job's spiritual growth that his suffering hadn't produced. He finally admitted, "Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know....Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes" 42:3c-d. Paul's positive response to his suffering simply proves the difference in covenants: the lesser light of patriarch Job compared to the greater apostolic illumination Paul enjoyed. Either being different would create textual problems, but not as written. In 5:8-13 Job wished to die so he could appear before God with his previous Faith intact. Like us in sorrow, we know God sees, God cares, God provides, but we feel deserted and harmed when experiencing sorrow through no known fault or sin of our own. In his book A Grief Observed C.S. Lewis chronicled his journey through horrifying estrangement from God to pleasurable reconciliation with God after losing wife Joy to unexpected death. He marveled that he had allowed personal adversity to diminish all the powerful truth he had previously urged his readers to believe and practice. He ruefully admitted that all his doubts about God had been merely garbage unworthy of a man who KNEW SO MUCH about God, but let a negative life-experience corrupt his thinking. With Job we learn; with Paul we learn; with C.S. Lewis we learn: we aren't always granted relief from adversities that test our faith in God. But if we look beyond the affliction, and its accompanying unrest, to GOD's Presence, we learn to rejoice in our sufferings, Romans 5:3, not merely after the suffering. IN...as we experience it...because God's Greater Power becomes our joy more than the unwanted load our vexation. After having Moses read the Book of the Covenant to Israel, Exodus 20:22-23:19, 24:1-8, God invited Aaron, his sons Nadab and Abihu and the elders of Israel to accompany Moses on one of his several trips up Mt. Sinai. God let them enjoy the Glory of his Presence without destroying them Exodus 24:9-11. Moses left Aaron and Hur in charge of Israel while he and Joshua regained the summit Exodus 24:12.
However, 40 days later, when the rabble tired of waiting for Moses to re-appear from the mountain, they demanded a change of leaders and deities. Aaron, with Hur's compliance, immediately collapsed before their depravity. Where Moses had boldly encouraged a terrified Israel at the Red Sea, "Don't be afraid," Aaron supinely said to rebellious Israel at Sinai, "You scare me." Where Moses earlier told a fearful Israel to "go forward," Aaron cravenly promised, "I'll build you a deity." God obviously chose the right man in Moses to serve in crisis. He exercised his leadership by moving Israel forward into the Sea. Aaron abandoned his leadership by letting apostates carry him into apostasy WITH THEM. Then, having second thoughts, wanted to combine the worship of an obscene calf with submission to Almighty God! A spiritual lesson lurks in their respective experiences. We may take strength from a stronger Christian and think that makes us strong. But we won't KNOW until we STAND ALONE! We can always borrow confidence from others and think theirs includes us. But no...only personally- gained-faith generates personally-strong discipleship when we're challenged to produce the fruit of the Spirit. Then discipleship isn't, "what I've seen in my brothers or sisters," but, "what I've personally learned from and experienced with Jesus." We're not alone as Christians. But we often serve alone. We often face crises alone. We make decisions alone. And when alone we decide how to respond when hearing comments for or against Jesus. We can always be sure God calls the right person to lead—a church, a family, a relationship. As Moses' decision proved when choosing Aaron and Hur to lead in his absence, WE can always, and often do, choose the wrong people. How many times have church leaders hired the "right person" as a minister, only to discover he was "WRONG" for them? Fini Taking courage from his younger brother, Aaron stood with Moses as his spokesman before Pharaoh. However, no one in the court had to wonder which originated the demands made on or merely announced to the unrelenting monarch.
So it continued throughout that year as God Almighty fulfilled every threat Moses originated and Aaron announced. Plague by plague marked God's judgment in devastating displays on Egypt's pantheon. So it remained when Moses stood before terrified Israelites at the seashore as Pharaoh's chariots thundered across the Plain, the king determined to retake by force what had been taken from him by force. Aaron standing alongside, Moses raised his shepherd's staff before a quiescent sea and shouted it APART! The winds God had sent throughout the night from the deserts of Arabia had stopped at the sea, piling into a maelstrom of deafening, crashing turmoil upon turmoil, awaiting the divine command. Listening for that very moment to serve the Living God, and hearing it from across the waters, it instantly re-formed itself from towering masses of violence into soaring Wedges of desiccating wind charging into waters with heat that dried the sea floor, acre by acre, into solid earth as they piled waters into countless layers of wet hanging above. Until, across the miles where sea water previously washed, dry land by the mile appeared—a highway to safety for the distressed Israelites, a death trap for the invading Egyptians. That great deliverance just began God's Glories and should have given Aaron his younger brother's faith. And maybe it did, until he faced a crisis all alone. End Part II |
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