Stones

There is a hunk of hypocrisy in judging the present worth of a person from their past. It doesn't work and is wrong.

John 8:2-11 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.  The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery.  They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.  In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women.  Now what do you say?"  They were trying to use the question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

  But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.  When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."  Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

  At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.  Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?"

  "No one, sir," she said.

  "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

I am always a bit uncomfortable about these verses.  Not because they say anything controversial, or are not easy to understand.  But, because, in this arena, I am guilty very often of heaving stones like an automatic weapon, without considering my own sins.

I am not worthy to judge anyone, about much of anything.  That does not mean that I don't.  In reality, we have to make judgements nearly continuously in this life.  We have to judge if some lifestyle or behavior is in our best interest, which always involves some judgement around morality.  We have to judge whether something is safe for ourselves or for our family.  We have to judge whether a work situation is bearable or not.

We have to make those judgements, because we are ultimately responsible for our actions.  One of my favorite lines in a book is from Lonesome Dove. When the two main characters, Gus and Call, are about to hang their old friend and fellow Texas Ranger, Jake, for crossing the line that defined Gus and Call's life.  Jake says, "I didn't see no line, I was just trying to cross the territory."

It was a pitiful excuse, but it was one of the most artfully crafted interactions, rich with meaning and subtext, that defined the book for me.  Clearly, there was a line, a clear and vivid line that both Gus and Call saw easily.  To the rest of the world, that line was blurrier, especially in the wash of years since Gus and Call had drawn the line.  Even their contemporaries did not see it clearly any longer.

Jake was the weakest member of that old band, but also, the common man.  Even a good man, in his day, could end up across that line.  It moved constantly, and involved decisions that are made daily.

Jesus understood this.  Nothing is said about the woman's actual guilt.  We assume that she was guilty, being caught in the act.  It is a much more powerful metaphor if she is actually guilty.  Jesus knew her guilt or innocence.  And, all he said was that he would not condemn her either.  We all need to go and leave our life of sin.  The point is pretty powerful, and runs through the Bible over and over.

God is the judge of guilt or innocence, because no one else knows or sees enough to judge fairly and faultlessly.  We, you and I, do not possess the abilities to see or understand clearly enough to judge morality and causation.  We are placing greater and greater trust in our understanding of mentality and the workings of the mind.  But, that, in and of itself is a sham.  It is simply a comparison chart to data previously assembled, that was not complete on any person in the data set.

We don't know all of it.  We know enough that the FBI can do their thing like on Criminal Minds.  Pretty spooky how right they get it.  But, they also get it dead wrong occasionally.  And, I want us to all recognize the occasional.  We are, all of us, occasionally dead wrong.  Sometimes literally, sadly.

We cannot see into hearts and minds.  We cannot know the intricate chain that winds behind each person and results in the person they are today.  We have to make up our minds to approach that limitation one way or the other.  We can accept that limitation and assume the best and brightest about everyone.  Or we can accept that limitation, and assume the worst about everyone and everything.

As an engineer, I am conditioned to assume the worst.  The worst case scenario, the worst case design basis, the worst case preexisting flaw, the worst case environment, the worst case fatigue, the worst of the worst has to be the assumption for engineering, because the point is to create something that will withstand and perform, even in the worst case scenario.  As an engineer, I also know, clearly, that nothing in this universe we have knowledge and description of, can withstand the combination of all of the worst case conditions.

That is the art in engineering.  Discovering that point at which failure is possible, and then figuring out how do you ensure you never see that point.  I said art, and I meant it.  Because once that failure point is known, engineering develops human interactions to ensure we never get there.

That means every single thing created on this planet, is capable of failing, and has to be tended by humans, to make certain that we do not allow the system to reach that failure point.  That means every system humans create will fail, because we will screw it up.  This isn't a science lesson, just an illustration that nothing is outside of this passage about Jesus' and his remarkable humanity and divinity.

We do not know the background of anyone well enough to judge what they will do next.  Period.  We cannot know that someone will not make the right choice tomorrow and build on that right choice and create a wonderful existence, just because their pattern of decision at every other point documented was wrong.  People do it every day.  They stop abusing substances.  They stop abusing themselves or others.  They stop being unethical in business.  They stop condemning themselves for their past.  And they rise above.

This post is about Charlotte, NC; and the bigger issues surrounding that situation.  And the knife cuts both ways.

You cannot assume that a man/woman, because of their criminal past, because of their predispositions, because of their sin, will continue to sin.  God is calling them every second of every day, and it is possible that they heed that call.  That is the essence of grace that Jesus offers.  No matter your sin, no matter your past, no matter whatever, Jesus wants to, will and always shall, forgive you.  That is the message of the Bible, to a struggling world.  The reality is not this that we live in, but a much better, much greater existence that we were created for.

So, every interaction that occurs between police and the public, should be conducted with this in mind.  No one is guilty today because of their yesterday.  Our Constitution is predicated on that principle, our entire judicial system is predicated on that principle.  It is the requirement of the state, of the government, to prove guilt.  Because we are assumed innocent.

It does not always work that way.  In fact, it absolutely never works that way.  It is our highest ideal, but we know that every system we put in place will fail.  Humans will get it wrong.  Humans will forget or mess up the protections put in place to prevent the system from reaching that failure point, and the system will experience that worst case scenario and fail.  We get it wrong.

It happens, it is, there is zero explanation to deny it.  We aren't God, we are just created in His image.  It is not enough, we make mistakes.  I suppose that is the point, under all the hoopla, of Black Lives Matter.  Regardless of their yesterday's or appearance, each person's worth in the moment has to be assumed to be infinite, because we cannot judge correctly.  All of us have to be valued equally, because none of us can know enough to discount any of our worth.

I sympathize and I truly understand that it happens, it is maybe even prevalent.  I do not deny that I am myself, very guilty of the same thing.  I am human, I fail.  We cannot assume because someone is black, wearing dreads and pants sagged down to their knees, that they are in any way less righteous than we are.  We cannot assume that because they have been found guilty in the past, that that means they are guilty today.  Their appearance can't be trusted, any more than their history, because just as much as any person can fail, they also have the God given gift to succeed, wildly, beyond our imaginations.

When a man or woman of color is killed in a confrontation with police, rock throwing starts immediately.  No one, at this point today, stops and considers their own issues and failures.  No one, at this point today, stops and considers that innocence is not only possible, but is present in one side or the other of the event.

Because it is not about Black Lives Matter, or Blue Lives Matter.  The truth is all lives matter, and I am not saying that to discount the BLM movement.  But, the human condition insures that our perception is flawed.  We do not have the ability to know fully, and both sides are plausible.  That kid with the BB gun was doing nothing wrong just playing, and the officer that shot him saw just a gun, pointed toward his partner, and fired.  I am not saying that is what happened in Cleveland, but, both of those scenarios can be true at the same time.

We have created this situation for ourselves.  We have entrenched poverty and violence in certain places in our society, and by allowing that to continue, we are partly responsible for the social norm that we believe about the "Hood" or "ghetto".  It is even true in the homeland of Jesus.  We believe the narrative that those are just hateful people that have been killing each other since God created man, literally, and they are incapable of anything else.

Just because a story, or reputation has history as proof, does not mean that today, that is what is occurring.  I will even use 9/11 as an example.  In the tens of thousands of people that survived the Trade Centers, I will guarantee you that some convicted felon, with a rap sheet as long as your arm, helped someone they did not know, to get away from that horror.  I will also guarantee that some person, who has no convictions for us to consider, took stuff from that chaos, that did not belong to them.  It just is true.

We can't assume that any of these tragic shootings of people of color was because they are guilty, and that we knew that first, because they are people of color.  That is what BLM is saying, or trying to say sometimes.  What we struggle with is the logic argument that we all see, and can't articulate.  If it is true that Michael Brown can't be assumed to be a bad guy, just because he was big and black, if that is true, and it is; then it cannot be assumed that the cop was wrong that shot him, because he was white.

That is why this problem never seems to be healed.  We cannot see clearly enough to know.  Even our standard of proof is not complete.  It is just beyond a reasonable doubt.  It is just that we believe enough of our human interventions occurred correctly and as designed, that it is most probable that the evidence points to the truth.  We get it right a far greater percentage of the time, when finding someone guilty, than we do at getting it right in believing they are innocent.  Meaning, while we do have people wrongly convicted, we have many more people that actually committed the crime that go free, than we do those that were innocent and convicted.

But, when the frustration and urging of the mob gets loudest, we fail to our basest instincts.  We riot.  We demand a murderer be set free, instead of a savior.  There is no difference in the mob that is wrecking parts of Charlotte, than there is in the one that demanded Pilate free Barrabas.  Well, there is one, we don't have the spectacle of washing our hands of the innocent blood.  It would work no more for us, than it did for Pilate.  But, otherwise, there is not a single difference in the mobs.

That is because, every system fails, and our worst case scenario is the mob.  There will always be those that follow unrest for profit.  Either as instigators and baiters, or as looters and thieves.

Because of the instigators, we cannot wait for the evidence to be reviewed, and the preponderance to show what we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt.  If it is a black man shot by police, than it has to be because he was black.  It is a faulty argument from a logic standpoint.

However, if you hear they shot my daddy and all he was doing was reading a book, and you are black, and you have seen and heard what the communities of color have seen and heard, it takes very little evidence to get convinced beyond a reasonable doubt, that the cop shot him because he was black.

It doesn't matter that the cop was black too.  I have heard it and read it, "They are the worst kind of cop."  Nothing about that statement is born out in fact, though it could be possible.  Again, when we allow our perception to be all that we judge by, we make wrong judgements.  In this case, either the cop was very, very wrong; or; a big chunk of the city of Charlotte is smoldering because a cop shot a man pointing a gun at others.  It comes down to either of those being true.  And, we can't know within 2 hours.  That is the issue that BLM cannot overcome.  Regardless of how right or wrong they are, they are taking permanent and irrevocable action on faulty data, they don't know enough.  They didn't in Ferguson, and they don't in Charlotte.

But, that does not make them guilty, for the same logic.  We don't know the pressures, the experience and the fear that motivates those protesting.  I feel for the protesters, and I agree with them.  What I can't get behind, and will not support, is a group that destroys and harms and steals.  Almost no one of good conscience will.  BLM has a very tough job.  They have to continue to make the discussion about predisposition and profiling, while at the same time condemning the actions that occur that they don't condone.  But, if they do that, they take away from the discussion about the problem they are protesting.

And, honestly, there is no leadership to guide that.  I don't mean BLM is leaderless, but they have cloud leadership.  It has always been a problem for them, and I say them, because though I agree with the premise, I do not agree with the rhetoric or the tactics.  They cannot unify and standardize a message.  They have those in leadership roles, in various places, that are so angry and so fed up, that they do advocate violence and destruction.  Again, I am not judging their experience, I don't have it.  But, I am judging their rhetoric and their voice, and I find it wrong.

I find the other rhetoric and voice equally wrong.  I strongly disagree with the 49er quarterback.  I dislike his tactics to the point of offense.  But, he does not deserve death threats.  He should not be endangered for PEACEFULLY and LEGALLY, protesting a failure he perceives.  It is just as wrong as judging BLM by the actions of the mob.  It is just as poisonous.

Jesus could settle this.  I can't.  What I pray is that we will look at Jesus' words, and emulate them.  All of us, when we get to the point we have to act on assumption, assume innocence.  I don't want to see officers shot, and do not condemn their right to protect themselves, and more importantly, their responsibility to protect others.  But, I do believe that our actions are predicated on guilt, in some communities.  Regardless of the track record and the history, that is not what Jesus asked of us, nor is it what America was founded on.  

We should be assuming innocence, because we know our own guilt.  Were I to be pulled over tomorrow, I do not want the cop to treat me based on my actions at 16 or 17.  That was over 30 years ago, and I am not that person today.  When we all realize that, and assume that about others, the dialogue gets calmer.  The argument becomes a discussion.  And, maybe, just maybe, we make progress.

Progress, not solution.  I think we all need to understand that last part of the passage.  "Go now and leave your life of sin."  We are not going to solve it/fix it in one sitting, one discussion.  But we will, if we leave our life of sin, the sin of assumption and false judgement.  There is so much that we can do for each other, instead of to each other.  That is what I pray we start doing, finding what we can do FOR each other.  That is the starting point, and it feels a long way away.

GLYASDI

Billy

James 5:13-16  You did know that God heals, even today, past "the age of miracles"?  True, try it, dare you.

James 5:13-16 Is anyone among you in trouble?  Let them pray.  Is anyone happy?  Let them sing songs of praise.  Is anyone among you sick?  let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up.  If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.  Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

It is no secret to anyone that has been through me teaching a Bible class, that I have some tried and true verses that I come back to very often.  I don't know if that is a thing or not, but I have to admit it is true for me.

Some verses touch us deeply, and I think are planted there, in times of great emotion, for all the rest of our lives.  Sort of a tangible thing, a rock to cling to in the storm.  And so it is, with me, in these verses.  Jeremiah 29:11-13 kind of describes my overall belief about my relationship with God, James 5:13-15 kind of describes my overall approach to living life.

I have been in trouble.  I have been happy.  I have been sick.  And I have most definitely sinned.  These verses are meant to encourage the reader, people of a very real and fragile faith, that their life is not unique.  This is not "happening" to them.  It is sadly, just the reality of the broken world in which we live.

It is a heavy spiritual debate about why God would allow sin to exist in His creation.  Most of the times I have taught these verses, I have ended up in that debate.  I don't mind, I like to debate.  I learn the most, when people challenge me the hardest.  And, I am by no means qualified to deny anyone else's understanding.  It doesn't mean I think they are right, but I am not God, and I cannot judge them in His place.

But, I think this morning that these verses laid on my heart all night for a simpler reason.  One that is very personal to me and my family, and perhaps not "worldwide" in concern.  But, my cousin, Billy, was in a very serious boating accident.  He hurt his right arm severely.  That hurt my soul bad enough to keep me awake a very long time.  I am always hurting when any of my family suffers.  My niece lost her dog to an accident last night, and that had me teared up this morning.  Never saw the dog except in pictures, but she, her husband and those sweet kids are going to go through a lot of loss and pain.  I just always feel some responsibility to make it better.

I take my responsibilities seriously.  Always have, and hopefully, always will.  While that contributes to a certain amount of stress in my life, it is because I care.  And I can't imagine living, and not caring.  But, these verses in James point out to the kind of lie I tell myself all the time, which is why they are so important to me.  It is not my responsibility, taking away pain.  It is my responsibility to take pain to God.

The verses are straightforward.  Are you in trouble?  Then YOU should pray.  Are you happy?  Then YOU should rejoice with praise.  Are you sick?  Then, and it is an important then, call for others in your faith family, to pray over you, and anoint (consecrate you) in the name of the Lord.

See, if you are in trouble, or happy, or unhappy, or successful, or emotional, or weak, or blessed, then YOU should PRAY and PRAISE.  Not a very difficult formula, and that is one of the reasons I like the book of James, and am kind of concerned by the book of James.  Simple does not mean easy, nor does it mean natural.  When we have something happen in our lives, a challenge or a blessing, God wants us to make Him first in our lives.  We are to PRAY (thanks, relief, help, calm, care, ...).  Take it God, and be brutally honest and open, acknowledge to Him, that which we lack.  And, we are to PRAISE (shout, sing, dance, smile, laugh, love, ...).  Show to God our appreciation, by pleasing Him that we do acknowledge the good He works, constantly, in our lives.

These are very personal and cornerstone to a strong faith life with God.  Lots of other verses point this out as well.  This is not shocking theology in the Christian world.  We just struggle with it, because shame and guilt get in the way of accepting grace.  That is true for every Christian there is.  Even the Pope struggles with that, because grace is foreign to our sinful nature.

If we don't follow these simple instructions, it is impossible to show God that we love Him with all our heart, all our mind, all our soul, and all our strength.  One leads to the other, but is inseparable from either.  But, back to this morning and Billy.

When we are sick, injured, damaged, emotionally or physically, we are asked to do the most powerful thing that Christians can do.  We call other Christians to our side, for wherever two or more are gathered in His name, God is there also.  And, we are to make the sick person part of our personal relationship with God.  That person needs to become so dear to us, that we approach God for that person, exactly as we approach God for ourselves.  And we make that person special, to God, purposefully and faithfully.

It says, without question, that the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well, the Lord will raise them up.  If, and is almost a certainty, that sick person has sinned, they will be forgiven.  Not all of this is about the physical.  I don't know why God decides to intercede physically where He does.  In my own life, God has reached out and healed me, when I did not deserve it.  And He has chosen not to heal me when I have begged for it.  Without getting too long, there are lots of reasons I could guess, but the bottom line is I do not know for sure.  And, that is a hard thing to say to people that are suffering, are hurt, ill, in pain.  I don't know why God decides, so I don't know what God decides, before He does it.  I just have to have faith.

So, if we cannot EXPECT God to heal us physically every time we ask, and the Word of God is true, what do these verses mean.  Some of the most difficult conversations I have ever had with myself and with others are about that question.  In a place of pain and suffering, our limitations as humans only add to the burden.  But, the verses here do not say that the sickness or injury will be cured.  They say that the sick will be made well.

I don't believe God causes suffering for us, to teach us things.  I believe that God allows suffering to occur because that is the wage of sin, and I am without question a sinner.  The difference between cause and allow is huge here.  Everything is in God's control, He can stop any suffering, any pain, instantaneously and forever.  We are not undergoing something outside of God's control or plan.  There is nothing that falls out of His scope.  But, it is very wrong to assume that the best thing for us is physical healing immediately.

God, who works all things to our good, promises to make us well.  That may mean giving us the strength and grace to weather the particular suffering, for an ultimate purpose that we cannot see.  Emotionally and physically, God makes us well, not necessarily whole.  I don't understand, I can't explain, how He sees all the connections in the spider web that is a world of essentially 7 billion people.  But, I know that He does.

When we come together, in faith, and make another person as important in our relationship with God, as we are, when we do that genuinely, God provides healing.  Healing for us, that we can manage the situation and continue to care for and watch over our loved one.  And healing for our loved one.  In the soul, in the body, in the mind, in the heart, in the grace, somewhere, God flips the right switch to turn on the right thing, so that all things turn out for all of our good.

For example, I don't know how God worked my Daddy dying for our good.  Nothing about it felt like it was good.  In the moment, it was so painful and so overwhelming, I did not know even how to touch the enormity of it to me.  But, others came together and prayed over us, all of us in the family, and the right switch flipped, and we made it.  I miss him so much I can't express it.  I miss that voice telling me it will be alright son.  I miss having someone on this Earth, whose son I am.  It hurts to this day, like I can't explain.  But, we made it, together.

I don't know how many people at the hospital, even the priest, told us how much our family touched them.  Praying, together, loving, all of us clustered around and touching Daddy.  Maybe, in that network of interaction, that large and intricate spider web, not only did we make it, together, but maybe we gave someone else that thing they needed that moment, for that issue, so that they made it.  We will never know, but it is possible.  I have to have faith.  I have to leave this gigantic, painful hole in my heart, at the altar of my prayers, and have faith that God made Daddy well, which is what I prayed for.  It certainly would have been great if he had healed my Dad, restored him to the robust man from when I was a boy.

But, healing is not always about making better.  After almost 20 years, maybe it was time for God to heal Daddy's heart, and give him back his brother, his wife and his Mama.  Those losses were so painful for him.  Maybe the healing of Daddy's soul was more important to God.  I only know that we came together, many of us.  And we prayed together for my father, we even anointed him with oil.  And, shortly after, he was at peace.

So, I have many examples in my life where James was true to his word in these verses.  God is amazing.  Now, though I don't write these posts so much to ask for others to do stuff, I want all of you that read this, regardless of your faith, regardless of your personal journey, to please take a small moment, and please hold my cousin Billy up in prayer.  But, also hold up my family, his sisters Debbie and Joann, my brother Lorne, all of the other cousins, Morgan, Leon, Robert, Mark, Beverly, Becky, Amber, Greg, and all the rest of the folks that see Billy as their family.  Like ripples in a pond, each tear drop flows through our lives, and the impact magnifies.  Prayer, positive energy, good vibes, kind thoughts, whatever it is that you subscribe to, have so much more effect and power.  Instead of dropping like a tear drop in a lake, it is like a boulder in a bathtub.

No greater power exists than love.  Let's all feel a little love today, please.  Put Billy's name to it, and mine and my family, and I will put my faith in God, and encourage them to do the same.  Billy's whole life has been about serving and building others, about how to make others the greatest self they can be.  He deserves to see that love returned, a hundred fold.  Maybe that is the gift here, that God wants to give him, and we are the ones that are going to do the giving.  I don't know if that is the reason, but, it certainly should be, in my opinion.  Let a little love shine, please.  The world is a really dark place otherwise.

GLYASDI

Sabbath

Geneseis 2:1-3 God rests, so do I.  No post on the Sabbath.

Genesis 2:1-3 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.  Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

GLYASDI

Discontent

Jer 29:7-8 Seek peace, don't let prophets and diviners deceive you with your own dreams.

Jer 29:7-8 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile.  Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.  Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you.  Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have."

Now, a few more verses after these are three of my favorite verses in the Bible, Jer 29:11-13.  Kind of a highlight of my faith.  But, the verses in 7-8 really are really, really, really applicable to us today.

We feel as if America is in some way doomed.  Or perhaps that our best is behind us.  I think a lot of people feel that, and don't understand where it comes from.  But, it was made clear to the Israelites taken into exile in Babylon, and it applies to us today.

God commanded those Israelites to live.  To stop waiting, stop living as if they were apart from the life that God had sent them into.  The Babylonians were not Jewish, they did not behave in a way that was in keeping with the Jewish law.  The city's greatness redounded to the Babylonian king, not to the glory of God, or so the Israelites believed.

But, God loved them still.  Even though they were in exile, even though they had broken the Law and continued to defy it, God had a plan and a purpose.  But, while that plan worked, the Lord had put them there with purpose.

His instructions were specific and simple, seek peace and prosperity.  Pray for it.  Do not listen to the wrong you encourage people to tell you.

It is a very apt lesson to us today.  Regardless of political affiliation, this season is one that will try the American soul.  It seems there is no purpose to supporting either side of a two headed coin.  Perhaps there is some redeeming feature we see in one of the sides to our election debate, but be sure there are an equal number that do not.

But, we have decided to settle this by argument and defamation and anger.  I think we need to remember how God cared for His children in exile in Babylon.  Though they were not exactly where they wanted to be, physically and emotionally, they were there.  So, the Lord spoke and told them, seek PEACE AND PROSPERITY.  PRAY FOR IT.  Because, if you seek those things for the nation around you, you too WILL PROSPER IN PEACE.

Look, I am one of the chief voices crowing about how terrible our choices are.  Even though we study the Word, we all stumble in it.  But, we are not to fight each other, and be so divided and so angry.  We are to seek peace and prosperity, for one is of no value without the other.  And, we are doing a pretty poor job of seeking those things.

We are doing a fine job of having a good, old fashioned, name calling, hair pulling, spit in your face election cycle.  We have had them before.  But, the example set in Jeremiah has meaning for us today.  We are all in exile, not yet restored to our place at Jesus' side.  We encourage "prophets" that say what we feel, or confirm our fears, or echo our issues.  We tell them what to dream, and then get rabid, angry at pointing out they told us exactly what we expected to hear.

The answer is a simple one, but far from easy.  Seek peace.  Do not continue to encourage the anger and the nastiness.  Be aware of our prosperity.  Be honest, the nation in which we live is not economically depressed, regardless of all the yelling.  Don't focus on those that echo our own view, exclusively.  The Lord did not send them, no matter how convinced they might be that He did.

This is on us.  And I think that this election, this field of very flawed humans running, this Congress of incredible ineptitude, was sent to us by God.  This is the city, nation, that He placed us in.  It is our job to pray over it, to seek the peace and prosperity of this land, and to reject the voices that disparage that.  God has made us promises, but in His time, in His wisdom.  No matter what our particular hope is, if it does not match God's time table, we are going to be hoping still.

For God has plans, plans to give us a hope and a future.  And, when we seek Him, with our whole heart, we will find Him, and He will bless us even more.  So, maybe it is not that the candidates are so awful, or not just that the candidates are so historically awful.  Maybe, they are flawed because we are supposed to PRAY, SEEK, HOPE.  Instead of argue, condemn and defame, maybe it is time to put some Christ in our words.

Because there are plenty speaking things that are not of God.  And, we need to be very careful as to what we echo, for that reason.  I would rather be "wrong" in the eyes of the nation, and right in the sight of God.  Wouldn't you?

Pray, seek, hope.  And the greatest power is and will always remain love.  For God is love.  We are not acting much in the image of love, and trust me, I am well aware of how I have been acting.  Sometimes, the fervent efforts of a man are just wrong, and it is always the fervent prayer of a righteous man that wins the day.  Pray, seek, hope.  The Lord knows the plan, don't you trust Him?

GLYASDI

Onesimus

Philemon 15-16, sometimes we need to be separated, to keep from having a slave, and ensure we gain a brother. God's gift in our forgiveness.

Philemon 15-16: Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever - no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me, but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.

Philemon is a curious book.  It is very short, one of the shortest.  And it is really about Onesimus, a runaway slave that Paul encountered during his first imprisonment in Rome.  Clearly, Paul had some kind of deep and detailed relationship with Onesimus, and came to care very deeply for him.  It is not without irony that Onesimus means "useful".  And Paul probably saw that irony most acutely.

Paul writes this letter to a member of the church in Collossae, Philemon.  Philemon is a slave owner, the owner Onesimus ran away from.  He also is clearly someone that Paul had deeply known in Collossae.  It is clearly implied in the letter that Philemon is well known to Paul and that Paul played a key role in Philemon coming to Christ.  This means that one of the pillars of our church, the great church planter and builder, had a very deep and abiding relationship with Philemon, and that was before he came to know Onesimus intimately in Rome.

In our day and time, we pretend not to comprehend a Philemon.  "We don't have slavery, we fought and defeated that evil years ago," we claim with some pride.  We look very cautiously at these situations, and parse them very specifically.  We struggle with how anyone could own a slave and still be someone that was loved by an Apostle, one of the chosen of Christ.  It confuses us because slavery is wrong and we think we have beaten it. It jangles against our self understanding, because none of us want to be considered something like a slave owner, that is such a terrible and dangerous term in our uber racially charged society.  It is a "throwback", we decide, another one of those passages that was great for the time but means nothing to us today.  Because we can't admit in ourselves that it is directly pertinent today.

But, God's Word is not written only for Jews, nor only for First Century Christians.  And slavery is still very much alive in our spiritual lives.  That will get lots of raised eyebrows, but how many people do you make a slave in your spiritual life?  How many people are required to worship and believe exactly as you do, or be ejected from your spiritual life, or scorned, or ridiculed?  How many people must behave in a very specific way, to earn your love, to be "Christian" in your eyes?  How many people do you have in your life that must do something for you or with you, the exact way you wish it to be done, or you don't have time or love for them?  How many people serve you randomly each day, coffee, clean rest room, empty trash cans, that earn more of your frustration than your compassion?

Slavery is a charged word.  And, the slavery that Onesimus was subject to is wrong.  All slavery is.  But, as that is far from the only slavery we see in this world, we must decide how to deal with an approach it.  Addicts are slaves to their addictions.  Type A personalities are slaves to their pursuits.  Show parents are slaves to their kids' activities.  Church folk are slaves to dogma and denomination.  All of us reading this are probably slaves to our technology in some way.  Slavery is very much alive and active in the world we inhabit in 2016.  And Philemon is a very fitting example of us.  There is a good man, a man worth the love and concern of one of the greatest church leaders in history, who has an issue not different from any we have.  That is what Paul sees, and speaks to.

In the time period of this letter, a runaway slave was subject to any punishment the owner decided, up to and including death.  Philemon was not restricted in how he could handle Onesimus returning.  Paul knew this, and crafted a short but powerful letter of reference for Onesimus.  Paul loved them both, as brothers in Christ.  Paul knew that Philemon was no more important to Christ than Onesimus, any more than Paul was more important to Christ than Philemon.  Paul job was to bridge the estrangement, the pain, the fear, and the divide that was created in the relationship, and do it with the light and love of Christ.  And Paul also had the job of ensuring that he encouraged Philemon to handle all things with the heart of Christ.  Murder is a sin, however justified in law.

So, Paul, in these two verses quoted, posed the key essence of our lives.  Perhaps we are all separated for a little while (different denomination, different clothes, different tattoos, different interests) so that we can come together, forever, forming a more complete family of Christ.  Perhaps it is exactly so that we come back together, not as slaves or owners, but as brothers and sisters in the Lord.  It is an interesting question, after all, we are all of us, every single, individual soul, loved by Christ.  Not just liked, we are pale copies of God; not just amused by, we are not comical to God; not just tolerated, we are sinful completely; but LOVED, treasured, cherished, desired, important, a true child of God.

When we accept that role, that we are loved, treasured, a child of God, it becomes harder and harder to possess slaves.  It becomes harder to just receive from others, we see and feel the need to connect back, to give more than we receive.  Perhaps that is why we are as aggravating, stubborn, opinionated and touchy, as we are.  Perhaps, perhaps we are all always working on that Philemon moment.  When what was separated from us painfully, shows back up, and we are fully responsible and accountable for what we do then.

I have not spoken of Onesimus, but here is the key fact about him.  He humbled himself enough to God's love, not just to come to be Paul's great helper.  He was humble and obedient enough to go back to Philemon, who he had wronged.  While he was aware of the risk he faced, in love, he came back again.  It seems a strange word to use for a SLAVE returning after fleeing, but LOVE is the only thing that can solve the issue.  As true as that is for Philemon and Onesimus, it is true for us.

Because, the wonderful undercurrent in this story, in what is here, is that we transition daily, multiple times, from being Philemon, to being Onesimus.  We pray and hope for forgiveness and communion when we return after being separated for a little while, of our own doing; but struggle to realize how we are dealing with others that return in our life after their dealings.

Slavery is a terrible thing that we all are subject to.  The single antidote is the love of Christ.  We become not his slaves, but his loved children.  When we do, we see all the other children, through the eyes of love.  At least in my experience, I have never loved an ugly thing.  Nothing I have ever loved was ugly when I looked at it.  Love is the only thing that allows us to overcome slavery.  When we struggle, instead of trying to deal with our Onesimus, maybe we try instead to deal with ourselves.

GLYASDI

Intro & 2 Cor 10:3-4

We are going through a season of change in our lives.  Trina and I have moved, and not just across town.  We are in an entirely new area, entirely new situation.  We have moved into a house that requires a change in our life style.  We are currently at 30% of the space that we left.

We have irons in the fire in Clayton.  We have family spread across 7 or 8 states.  We took a step back from the pace and the speed of the life we were part of, and are trying to find a different pace that fits us better at this point.

In all of this, we have felt God's hand.  We were not looking to sell our house, but God sent buyers that needed to buy our house.  We were not looking to move to the beach, yet, but God made the plan and path clear to us.  We were not expecting a career change for me, but God made that a necessity for me.

In a season of change, where so much is new, it is easy to feel overwhelmed.  It is also easy to find worries and problems that can make you so focused on them, that you fail to see the beauty of the new thing that God has given you.  Change motivates stress, stress motivates doubt, doubt facilitates bad decisions, bad decisions lead to failures and pain.

So, in the process of trying to keep my mind focused on what it is that God has called us to, what that new thing is, I have started a new project.  Every day, I find a verse that God calls me to.  I spend some time in study, and what comes out is a short post that fits on Twitter and Facebook.

Somewhat longer here, each day, are some deeper thoughts and personal reflections.  You can request this blog to notify you of new postings, or click on the link each day.  That is all of the intro, except for this, I hope you find a blessing in it, even just one person.  I feel like God gave me these words to give that blessing.  Share them with someone that you think may need them, that may be the person God intended the blessing for, that I have never met and may never know.

2 Cor 10:3-4 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.  On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

This verse is one of those verses that make the more literal minded, grounded, skeptical and uncomfortable brothers and sisters (like me) a bit uncomfortable.  It is proof in the Bible that there are powers that are beyond our ken, that mean us harm, free and active upon the world.  That is spooky.  There is a contamination of our faith and our understanding that causes us to view this Word skeptically, because our mighty science offers no clear and direct proof.  Consider, perhaps, that our mighty science is quickly becoming one of Satan's most successful tools for lying and deceiving.

There is a Satan, and he has devils and minions, principalities and authorities, that do his bidding and are as dedicated to our downfall and torture as Satan is.  They despise us, they are tormented by the mere idea that we have salvation available to them, and they do not.  There is no evil, no horror, no torture, no deed to heinous for them to bring to bear against us.  They have power in this world.  They are real, they are here.  They do not make science wrong, or evil, but they are absolutely beyond our understanding capable of perverting, twisting and lying to us in ways that make truth seem wrong, or partial information seem concrete and complete.

Now, I am not crazy, and I am not scared of the boogeyman.  But, reading the New Testament, and a good deal of the Psalms, there is a recurring theme of militarism and refuge in the Lord.  The Lord is our rock and our salvation.  That is not just allegory, or fancy writing.  That is bedrock truth.  Satan is a created being, of the angels.  Fallen and broken, he is still a powerful foe, here in this broken and sinful world.  He recruited angels, created to worship the Lord, that were with him in the GLORY OF HEAVEN, convinced them to revolt against God, and fought with the hosts of God.  Though they were defeated, they were not destroyed, just cast out into this sinful, broken world.  They were thrown down here to Earth, for whatever reason God had as part of His plan.  And here they remain, just as present on this planet as we are.  The Bible says so, over and over and over.

We are created beings of a different sort.  We are created in God's image.  It does not say that in the Bible about angels.  They are able to appear to us in our image, but it does not ascribe the singular characteristic of being God's children, in His image, to any of the angels.  In fact, where there is description of angels in heaven, it is pretty wild stuff.  Nothing like us, therefor, it cannot be much like God.

We do not have the spiritual powers and abilities that the angels possess.  They are different of a necessity, as they are created to be ever in the presence of God.  They gifts and powers are different than ours.  Not greater, different.  However, there is ability to do us harm.  The Bible lists several places where the angels, doing God's bidding, were physically able to interact with and even kill men.  So, the demons, fallen angels, but angels still, certainly have the same power.

Satan is brilliant, and deceitful.  Appearing as his natural self would terrify and cower the people of God.  They would do as he instructed, as he required, because of fear and out of necessity.  They would not choose to follow his way, and therefor, would not be responsible to the punishment that Satan will receive.  To harm us eternally, there is but one way that Satan can have power over us.

He has to lie, he has to cheat, he has to deceive.  He has to convince us to make an internal decision that leads us to follow his path to destruction.  This is a daily test, to all of us.  Mother Teresa, the Pope, Billy Graham, Joyce Meyer, the Apostles, even Jesus himself, were/are tempted and lied to by Satan.  This is no different than our day to day experience.  Since this happens to the greatest of the holy, even the Son of God, we should not expect anything different for ourselves.

But, 2 Corinthians gives us encouragement, while acknowledging our risk.  Our belief, the grace we have sought and received, the love of Jesus, gives us power that is beyond the world.  Satan's power is of this world, of deceit and treachery, of followers he has deceived and ensnared.  He is variously described as the Prince of Lies, a roaring lion, and the bright and morning star.  That is quite the range of appearance, but all things of this Earth, this fallen state.

Our power, our weapons; prayer, faith, hope, love, God's Word, and the Holy Spirit within us; are more than this world.  They are DIVINE POWER to demolish strongholds.  Satan's deception leads us to build strongholds in our life, designed to keep out the grace and good of God.  The weapons Jesus left us with, that we have access to as spirits created in the image of God, are greater than Satan's strongholds.  They are greater than his minions and devils.  They enable us to contend with and beat principalities, authorities and rulers of this world.

They give us the power to rise above all the chains of sin the powers of Satan try to cover us with.  They give us the ability to seek the grace of God, to be made clean by His grace, to remain obedient in what we do and to humble ourselves in the presence of God.  We are allowed to be in the presence of God, to feel that power, that gift of encouragement and strength that is the Holy Spirit.

Satan has nothing for that, and it torments and enrages him.  What brought all this metaphysical stuff for a first post?  Well, when you put yourself in a position that allows you to be in the moment with God, it drives Satan insane with rage.  So, what we often find, when we make changes that we prayerful received from God, Satan triples his efforts to destroy us.  Every time that we find peace in our life and step out in faith, at the leading of God, we attract Satan to us.  Satan cannot let us succeed, because that demonstrates for all the world, that his chains have no hold over us.

When you are in a season of change in your life, you should expect an even stronger and more urgent effort by the forces of this world to bring you down.  Not only are there all the stresses associated with change, even God directed change, Satan cannot abide your faith and obedience.  So as things change in your life, especially as they change as you have felt called by God to do, other things begin to pile up to challenge you.

Job hunting feels fruitless.  Money becomes a struggle.  Uncertainty in a totally new area drags at you.  Those that you meet do not always affirm your faith journey.  Even some of your family suddenly become a source of pain and strife.  It can begin to pile up on you, and it is natural to come to that point of frustration and fear, where you begin to wonder what God intended.  Did you really step out in faith, or did you make a mistake?

It is not always true, but in most cases in my life, when I stepped out in faith for the Lord, made the tough decision and acted on it, I faced the most challenge.  All the stresses you can imagine, plus things I would never have thought possible, all start to happen at once.  I have learned, as I have gotten stronger in faith and better at trusting in the Lord, that those struggles usually are affirmation that I have done what God wants, and Satan is beside himself to make me fail.

I try to fall back most strongly on the weapons we have, faith, prayer, hope, love, the Word, and most of all, the Holy Spirit in me.  I give it to God, for I have done His bidding in faith, and His power is supreme.  Nothing Satan can erect around me can withstand the Light and the Truth and the Love that is God, in Jesus, by the Holy Spirit.

So, when you are in a season of change, following what you are sure is God's direction, expect the unexpected.  Do not let the power of the world concern you, because your arsenal is so much greater.  Remain in faith, live in love, trust in the Lord.  And that season of change will bless you, comfort you, lead you on to the calling you felt.  Fear not, for God loves you.

And, yes, we are experiencing all the things everyone else does in a time of change, a season of unrest.  But, we will not be defeated, or discouraged.  For far too long, and in far too many ways, God has blessed us magnificently and wondrously.   And, for that, I wrote this testimony today.  Because we are all in some season of change, we all have fear and concern, we all struggle with the same enemy and he is a powerful foe.

But the least of us is far greater than the worst of Satan.  Jesus told us that, over and over and over again.  And, doing what you can for the least of these, His brothers, is key to His path.  Satan flees from the name and power of Jesus.  Nothing that claims the power of the Holy Spirit, and lives with that Spirit within them, can ever be defeated by Satan, EVER.  When things get tough, it is not to punish you or deter you, it is a chance for you to dig deeper into the strength and power that has sustained you all along.

That is the good news.  All of our challenges, however horrible, can be worked to our good, through the power of God.  And, God cares nothing for our bank account, our wardrobe, our status, or our appearance.  He loves and cherishes and treasures our soul.  If we find the will to cherish our souls as well, and live for Him, this is a blessed world of wonder.  That is how convicted members of the faith, stricken with even fatal illness, are in a blessed world of wonder, and are not afraid.  How much less trouble do we really have than them?  And how come we can't live anywhere near as happily and contentedly as them?  Never let Satan steal your peace by tricking you out of your grace.  It won't profit him, and it will kill you.

God Loves You And So Do I!!!!!