Problem Prayer

Another pastor is in hot water for praying. Pastor Tim Swartley opened the senate session in the Nebraska legislature with the customary prayer -- "customary" as in the act of praying, not the content of the prayer. From what I understand, the legislature has rules governing the prayer. Those rules include not praying about the agenda of that day, as well as political issues.

Pastor Swartley's comments are as follows:

"I did pray that God would forgive us for abortion," Swartley explains. "I prayed that God would forgive us for teaching our children the religion of evolution, which really does tell us [its version of] where we came from and why we're here and where we're going, just as the Bible does. It's a competing philosophy of life."

Pastor Tim believes he followed the Senate's guidelines for prayer:

"I look at abortion and evolution as primarily moral issues," Swartley says. "Politics, I think, is secondary; and whatever party you are, if you're going to support biblical values, I'm all for it. But I did not intend to support any political agenda."

I have three questions for my readers:

1. Scripture tells us to obey our governments as long as we are not disobeying God. Would following the policy of the Senate be disobeying Scripture?

2. Was Pastor Tim's prayer an illustration of "we must obey God rather than men?" Why?

3. Should the pastor have followed the Senate's requirements (that is, biblically speaking), and was his prayer merely a way to sneak around those requirements?

Those pastors.... They sure do cause trouble, don't they?

Theological Deficit

Richard John Neuhaus has written in his journal, First Things, about a conversation he had recently with a journalism student. The conversation turned to a question regarding political corruption."“

"Is this something new?" she asked. "No,"” I said, "“It'’s been around ever since that unfortunate afternoon in the garden."” There was a long pause and then she asked, "What garden was that?"” It was touching.

I hope that Mr. Neuhaus' last three words are dripping with sarcasm. I hope the reality of the woman's lack of biblical understanding struck him as incomprehensible (although his comment regarding the fall of man into sin as "unfortunate" speaks against that).

Incomprehensible? Well, perhaps that is a bit strong. We do live in a biblically illiterate society/world. A grounding in Bible and theology is not considered the norm, but rather the antithesis of accepted knowledge. Perhaps it would not be too far off to suggest that simply knowing what the statement "that unfortunate afternoon in the garden" means is to be labeled as "fundamental," "extreme," "right-wing," or "off-the-wall."

Let's go back to the conversation with the student--actually, to her response of, "What garden was that?" What does that suggest about our world? Let's see...

1. A lack of knowledge about the entrance of sin into the world. Since there is a lack of knowledge about the entrance of sin, perhaps there is a lack of understanding and/or belief in sin. If there is no belief in the reality of sin, then there are no absolutes -- no absolute truth, no wrong (which means that if you think you are right, then you are right, because the individual makes up the rules), and that can lead to a denial of the existence of God.

2. A lack of basic biblical instruction.

3. If there is a lack of knowledge about sin, then more-than-likely, there is a lack of understanding about salvation. Did anybody ever share the Good News with this girl?

4. If there is a lack of salvation, then there is a basic lack in knowledge. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge...." Proverbs 1:7

5. If there is a lack of knowledge, then how can one be a good journalist who accurately reports the news?

The unfortunate part is that many who call themselves Christians could have the very same difficulty as did the student. According to Barna surveys, even those who attend church regularly are deficient in their understanding of the Bible and basic theology. Thus, we have two problems: The inability and/or ineffectiveness of the church to teach Scripture in an expositional manner, and the inability and/or lack of desire in individuals to take the time and effort to read and study the Bible for themselves.

No wonder the world doesn't know about the garden....

My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you,
So that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding;
Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding,
If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures;
Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding....
Proverbs 2:1-6

Israel & Hamas

The following is taken from "the martyrs oath," said by some to be Hamas' (the new ruling party in Palestine) charter:

"Our struggle against the Jews is very great and very serious...The Movement is but one squadron that should be supported by more and more squadrons from this vast Arab and Islamic world, until the enemy is vanquished and Allah's victory is realised [sic]...

The Islamic Resistance Movement is one of the wings of Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine. The Muslim Brotherhood Movement is a universal organization which constitutes the largest Islamic movement in modern times...

It strives to raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine, for under the wing of Islam followers of all religions can coexist in security and safety where their lives, possessions and rights are concerned..."

Except, apparently, Jewish and Christian beliefs....

My friends, pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6).

The Building of a Church

Mel Gibson is building a church in Pennsylvania at the request of his father. Hutton Gibson said he was tired of driving 3 hours to go to church each week, so his son, Mel, is building a new "Catholic" church in Mt. Pleasant Township, Pennsylvania. It is being called St. Michael the Archangel Chapel, and is part of the Catholic movement that rejects the liturgical reforms of Vatican II.

You can be thankful that I am going to refrain from my rantings about the above paragraph . Instead, I would like to rant a bit about the following:

The Gibsons have chosen as their church leader a former priest who is no longer in good standing with the Catholic Diocese of Greensburg, Pa., the newspaper said.

The Rev. Lawrence Persico, vicar general of the Diocese of Greenburg, told the Tribune the Gibsons' church would not be recognized as Roman Catholic.

"A Catholic church, to be truly in communion with Rome, must be in communion with the diocesan bishop," Persico said. "I don't know where they get their legal authority. It's not a Roman Catholic church, no matter what they say. Union with Rome and the Holy See is very important if you're going to be a Roman Catholic. It's essential."

I guess it is okay to choose your own "church leader" even if he has been removed from service in another church. Perhaps the wisdom is questionable, but we live in America, right? People have the right to do unwise things.

My issue is this: Does anyone see the sad umbilical connection of Roman Catholic churches to "Rome and the Holy See"? Why is the connection to God missing in this statement? I suppose one could argue that in order to be Roman Catholic a "union with Rome and the Holy See" is "very important." That would be much the same as being Southern Baptist and having a union with the Southern Baptist Convention.

The issue, in my opinion, comes with the statement by Rev. Persico that he doesn't know "where they get their legal authority." This is enlightening -- I didn't know that churches had any "legal authority"! (Sorry for the sarcasm -- I couldn't help myself ).

This is a sad commentary on the fact that many churches are moving away from the only One who "builds His church." Rather than finding their "authority" in the Living One, they look to organizations, communities, governments, or people. The natural next step is that those "authorities" change doctrine, theology, and practice to fit their own desires and ideologies. And the church must then comply to remain part of the group.

I am not advocating strict independence of churches -- accountability is necessary. The above article just provides evidence that it is of utmost importance that we "abide in the vine" as Jesus said, looking to Him and Him alone as our Head; it is from Him that we derive our "authority."

If only we would have listened...

A new report by the Washington Times states that schools need to do a better job of teaching boys:

First lady Laura Bush and a growing number of physicians, educators and psychologists say Americans need to wake up and see that boys lag far behind girls in school, and then demand that something be done.

Mrs. Bush, mother of two grown daughters, speaks at conferences and in interviews about the declining status of boys in today's learning environment. She has charged that boys are being overlooked.

William Pollack, a psychologist at Harvard Medical School, agrees.

"Boys are suffering. They are sitting in classrooms where they can't perform at the same level as girls and so cannot compete with girls," he says. "As a result, they have lower self-esteem. The bottom line is that they are suffering both academically and emotionally."

The article continues on to state that boys

-- Receive the majority of D and F grades given to students in most schools, as high as 70 percent.
-- Create 80 percent of classroom discipline problems.
-- Account for 80 percent of high school dropouts.
-- Represent 70 percent of children diagnosed with learning disabilities and 80 percent of those diagnosed with behavioral disorders.

From my understanding, it has been realized for quite some time that boys learn differently than girls, thus demanding a need to educate in different ways. I don't know that much has been done about the situation--this article is a case-in-point.

Lest you think I am plodding down the road of psycho-analyzing people and stop reading, please note that the purpose of this post is to point out the fact that God has already identified this as a problem!

Consider Proverbs 22:6: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." This verse is often understood as referring to the content of the training. Thus, if a parent trains his/her children in the proper religious (for sake of discussion) ways, then the child will hold to that training for the rest of their life. Two issues arise here. One, a proverb is something that is generally true, not always true. Thus, whatever the verse may be saying, it is not claiming that it is true at all times and in all places. Unfortunately, many Christians have been hurt and their trust in God has waivered because they thought taking their kids to Church and Sunday School and Awana would keep them on the straight and narrow. While those things help, and are beneficial and good training, God never promises what many claim this verse is saying.

I would like to challenge the normal thinking regarding Proverbs 22:6. While the standard has been that this verse is referring to the content of training, I would suggest to you that it is referring not to content, but to methods. Thus, God would be informing us that children learn in various ways -- some by lecture, some by experience, some by words, some by pictures, and some by illustration. Training up a child in the unique way that he or she learns will raise significantly the prospect that they will not depart from either what they have learned, or how to learn.

Remember what Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes? "There is nothing new under the sun...." If only we had listened to God, perhaps we would have understood long ago that children need to be taught differently.

Life as Ambassadors

Hindu extremists attacked Christians in two incidents in the same district of Andhra Pradesh state on January 12 and 13, in one case dragging a pastor from a child’s birthday party and kicking him unconscious.

In all, seven Christians, including two pastors, sustained injuries.

"And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we encourage. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now." 1 Corinthians 4:12-13


"Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." 2 Timothy 3:12


"Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him...." Philippians 3:8-9


"Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved." Philippians 4:1

The Goodness of My God

This has been one of those weeks... stressful, trying, gut-wrenching, painful. It has been one of those weeks where you feel like you have to be extra careful in order to not make things worse for yourself, and for others. Things like being careful (more careful than usual) about what you say, how you say it, and what you do, and how you do it.

There is a verse on my calendar for the month of January that is from the Psalms: "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer" (Psalm 19:14). That has been my continual prayer this week.

As those who seek to walk in the Spirit rather than the flesh (Galatians 5), we should desire to be obedient to the Lord in all things, including acting in a godly way when presented with difficult situations. Sometimes, though, it seems as if trusting in the Lord, being obedient, being kind, and being patient (I could go on and on here...) don't seem to make things better. In fact, it may get worse for us before it gets better. It often feels as if God doesn't notice the fact that we are trying to be what He has called us to be. Instead, the stress, the agony, and the pain increase.

Enter: God's grace. As most of you know, my pattern is to read one Psalm a day as part of my personal time with the Lord. This morning it was Psalm 126. This is a song of ascents (you may have that notation in your Bible near the top of the Psalm). That tells us that it was meant to be sung by the people of Israel as they ascended the hills surrounding Jerusalem (the city is higher in elevation than the surrounding area) on their way to worship the Lord. In other words, it was a preparation for worship.

This preparation for worship was a remembrance of what God had done for them. Specifically, this was a recitation of the act of God in bringing Israel back to their homeland after the Babylonian captivity. Verse 3 is a summary: "The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad."

Lesson #1 for me this morning is this: In stressful times, painful times, agonizing times, remember the great things my God has done for me.

Then the Psalm ends this way:

Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.
He who continually goes forth weeping,
Bearing seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
Bringing his sheaves with him.

The psalmist reverts to an agricultural illustration here to provide encouragement to trust in God's unfailing grace. Those who obediently follow their Lord...even in tears...shall come again rejoicing, bringing in an abundant harvest. Why? If God has done great things in the past, then my God can do great things in the present and the future. So be glad.

Lesson learned, Lord.

A Little White Lie?

When is it "right" to lie? Is it ever "right" to lie? Does God ever condone lying? Proverbs speaks prolifically concerning this issue, going so far as to proclaim that God hates lying and a lying tongue (Prov. 6:17). In fact, Proverbs 12:22 says, "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord."

Some, however, believe that it is "right" or "okay" with God to lie in certain situations, such as wartime. Apparently, it is now okay to lie in order to save lives as well. In Ohio, Joe Cambria is being honored by the mayor for saving the life of his mother by lying to her:

Joe, 11, lied to his mother (Carol Sprouse) to lure her out of a house fire at their residence at 661 Grantwood Ave. Sprouse, 39, was inside the home trying to find Simba, their family cat.

What do you think of this situation? Is this a description of situational ethics? Is it right to honor a boy for lying? Is there a better way to handle this situation?

Whatever the answers are to these questions, we must always keep in mind that lying is something that our God hates, and which is an abomination to Him. So, what do you think?

To whom do you look?

My Psalm for the day was Psalm 123. No, not 23 (the familiar "The Lord is my Shepherd"), but 123. This song begins in this way:

Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens.
Behold, as the eyes of the servants look to the hand of their masters,
As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
So our eyes look to the Lord our God,
Until He has mercy on us.
Psalm 123:1-2

We often look to God when life is difficult. When the finances are tight, when relationships are crumbling, when our health deteriorates, we will "lift up our eyes." Even then, it may be relunctantly.

When will we learn to look to the One who dwells in the heavens for everything? The second line in the Psalm is an illustration of slaves and masters. Slaves must depend upon their master's for everything -- food, clothing, housing, even their very life.

We have a Master who is far above us -- dwelling in the heavens -- who desires to shower us with mercy... if only we will look up... not just when we have no other choice, but consistently, knowing that He is our help.

Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us.
Psalm 62:8

Viewing difficulties

I was informed last night that some of you visiting this blog are experiencing some "viewing difficulties." Specifically, the text of the blog is often in a very large font. I don't know the cause of the problem yet, but it does seem to be limited to Internet Explorer.

If you are having this problem, try one of two things. 1. Set your IE browser text settings to "smallest" (it's under "View" and "Text size") or, 2. Use Mozilla Firefox as your browser. Mozilla doesn't appear to have this problem.

I apologize for any difficulties or confusion. I know I have bad eyesight, but it's not that bad!

Stoning the Devil?

At the very least, dozens of pilgrims (some reports say more than a hundred) have died in a Muslim celebration in Saudi Arabia. From my understanding, pilgrims visiting Mecca and the surrounding areas for the Hajj pilgrimage partake in a stone-throwing ritual which resulted in a stampede killing many people:

The stampede, like others in the past, happened during the stone-throwing ritual in which the pilgrims stone a symbolic devil.

Saudi authorities had replaced the pillar, which had represented the devil in the past, with an oval wall with padding around the edges to protect the crush of pilgrims.

Moral of the story? Padding the devil doesn't make him less dangerous!

Seriously, though, Scripture tells us to resist the devil and he will flee (see 1 Peter 5:9). If only the people in the stampede knew the Bible instead of the Koran...they would probably still be alive. Christians--don't go chasing the devil to stone him or anything else. Please just stand firm!

Therefore, take up the whole armor of God,
that you may be able to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all, to stand.
Ephesians 6:13

In the name of God...

Perhaps you have heard the most recent egregious statements from the mouth of Pat Robertson, a self-proclaimed evangelical. If not, I'll bring you up-to-date. After Ariel Sharon's stroke (he was the Prime Minister of Israel who brokered the deal with the Palestinians to give up part of the Gaza Strip), Robertson pontificated about how this was God's judgment upon Sharon for giving away God's land. Never mind the fact that Robertson was in the midst of negotiating a deal with Israel to build a Christian tourism center focused on the fact that "Jesus was here."

Surprisingly (not really...I'm being facetious), Israel canned the deal as well as Robertson:

"We will not do business with him, only with other evangelicals who don't back these comments," Hartuv [a spokesman for the tourism department] said. "We will do business with other evangelical leaders, friends of Israel, but not with him."

Regardless of Robertson's apparent lack of international and personal common sense, was his statement (as a Christian) a good thing to say? It may have been right, it may have been wrong, but either way is it a good thing for a Christian to point out things such as "this is God's judgment?"

Rethinking an old phrase

I'm sure just about everyone has heard the phrase, "If isn't broke...don't fix it." After all, if something is operating well, wouldn't change have the possibility of affecting the operation negatively? Or so goes the thought...

The magazine I have been reading changes the thought a bit in relation to churches. The change goes like this: "If it isn't broke...break it!" The point being is that the Church is ministering to a changing world, and so the Church must constantly adapt in order to reach people. That is not to say that we are to change everything, however; there are many unchangeables. Unfortunately, too many churches have the mindset that if everything is functioning properly, then there is no need to change anything.

This goes hand-in-hand with my previous post about dreaming: "When your memories are more exciting than your dreams, you've begun to die" (Howard Hendricks). If the Church is not in a constant mode of evaluation -- a tear-it-apart, analyze it, put-it-back-together, mode -- are we not beginning to die?

Didn't the Apostle Paul say that he became all things to all people in order to save some? How is that possible unless you know what you need to "become," and you are willing to "become" whatever is needed? Maintaining the status quo works for awhile, but at some point it begins to falter. It seems to me that the Church might be more effective if we begin breaking some things.

Food for thought

I have been reading several articles in a publication I receive that address the idea of renewal in churches. The focus of these articles is mostly on older churches, or those that are dying (not the people, but the churches! ). Several examples are given of churches who have reversed the dying trend and are now thriving, as well as thoughts regarding the reason for the renewal/death.

In this context, I ran across an article that contained a quote from Howard Hendricks:

"When your memories are more exciting than your dreams, you've begun to die."

I'm not sure of the original context in which Dr. Hendricks spoke, but this statement could be applied in many ways (for example, as individual people). What interested me, though, was placing this quote in a church context.

I have known churches that focus more on their past than on "dreaming" about what our incomprehensible God is able to do in our world. Those churches were not dead, but practically speaking they had at best "begun to die."

As human beings, we tend to hold on to our memories. As churches, we tend to hold on to "the way we used to do it." Isn't there a problem here? If we hold onto the past to the exclusion of dreaming about God's ability to do great and different things, are we not heading down the road to death? Are we not placing a roadblock in God's desire to use us to accomplish something for His glory?

I would appreciate your comments regarding this issue. I do not believe that Northside is "dying." In fact, I believe that in God's grace we have been given a booster-shot of life. Perhaps that is a result of placing greater priority on God's work today and in the future rather than on the past.

I would hope that at Northside (and other churches around the world), we can forget what is behind, and press on toward the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (see Philippians 3:13). I would hope that we can dream a bit about what our almighty God can accomplish through our willingness. Any takers?

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly
above anything that we ask or think,
according to the power that works in us,
to Him be glory in the church by Jesus Christ to all generations,
forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21

Whatever happened to...

...turning the other cheek? Apparently, a pastor in Florida decided that wasn't required of him. Forty-year old Lorenzo Dixon, pastor of the Assembly of Praise Church, pulled a .32 caliber handgun on a parishioner after the man struck the pastor in the nose. If that isn't strange enough, the pastor's wife got the gun for her husband from their car during the altercation. After people separated the two, she handed it to her husband!

I wonder if Pastor Dixon ever read Romans 12:17-18:

Repay no one evil for evil....If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves...

Weird News

June is the month for weddings, right? And weddings usually take place on a weekend, right? Not this year. Apparently, there is a current trend in reservations for weddings. The trend is for weddings on a Tuesday in June. June 6, to be exact. If you are observant, you will have already noticed that those joined in marital bliss on this date (June 6, 2006) would have an anniversary date of 666.

Jerusalem in the news

Israel cannot be trusted? The Vatican's legal advisor in Israel, David Jaeger, harshly criticized Israel’s policy regarding safeguarding Christian holy sites.

Speaking during an international conference at a Haifa University conference Tuesday, Jaeger said Jerusalem is an important city the fate of which should not be left in the hands of Israel and the Palestinians.

I'm not so sure about this one...has anyone checked with God to see what He wants?

A Call to Praise

This morning my reading from the Psalms was from Psalm 117. At its very core, this song is a call to people from all nations to give praise to Yahweh. There are two reasons given for this call: Yahweh's merciful kindness, and the fact that His truth endures forever.

Interestingly, Psalm 117 has several unique characterists. It is the shortest Psalm as well as the shortest chapter in Bible, and it is the middle chapter of the Bible. I'm not so sure there is anything significant in these characterists, but they are interesting. Perhaps the most interesting is the fact that it is the middle chapter of the Bible. We shouldn't place undo emphasis upon this fact as the chapter and verse divisions are not inspired--they were inserted by scribes many years after the completion of the Scriptures.

However, is it not fascinating that this chapter ended up as the central chapter of the Bible? While not inspired, it does appear that God's providence was at work in causing these two verses to have that distinction. Why do I say this? Well, since you asked...

The goal of history is for God to glorify Himself. In other words, as we look at all of history--past, present, and future--the purpose of everything is to bring glory to God. He has designed everything to fulfill that mission, and He has determined that at the conclusion of time He will have fulfilled His goal of bringing glory to Himself.

Similarly, the central theme of Scripture is God's glory. It only makes sense that if God's goal is to bring glory to Himself, His instruction book to His creation should focus on His glory.

What then does this Psalm do? It calls upon all people -- not just God's chosen nation Israel, but all people (signifying God's purpose to save Gentiles as well) to give praise to Him. God is calling all people to glorify Him. There is no greater message for the central chapter of the Bible to declare because His glory is the central theme of all things.

Question: When was the last time you obeyed the call of Psalm 117?