Be Anxious For Nothing.

Most of you are familiar with that famous verse written by Paul to the Philippians.  You might read it again in chapter 4:6.  It is very meaningful today just as in the day when Paul wrote those words. Despite their suffering, God would help sustain them.  He didn’t remove their problems but would give them strength to hold fast to the faith.

                                                     Fear, Nervousness, Anxiety. 

If you are lucky enough to avoid these feelings (that turn a few more hairs to gray), then you are able to apply the above Bible verse to your life.  It isn’t easy.  We sense this is a time of great anxiety.  The fear of the dreaded virus as well as the politics that are aligning themselves up to take away many beliefs and ideals that we hold dear.

                                                    Fear?      Yup…….its all around us.

Sadly our fears can manifest themselves on our psyche as well as physical problems.  We only see doom and gloom.  C. S Lewis wrote a wonderful story called the Screwtape Letters.  “Fear, writes the old demon, Screwtape,” is best fostered when men fixate on the future, giving their hearts to it and placing their treasure in it.  Thinking about the future, inflames fear, giving focus to the unknown, so that when they think about it, we make them think of unrealities.”  This is the opposite of what Screwtape’s, enemy, …..aka God, wants men to do. 

Lewis writes……” We (Screwtape and his demons) want to see a race perpetually in pursuit of the rainbow’s end, never honest, nor kind, nor happy now, but always using every real gift which is offered… with unpleasantness.”

This all sounds so familiar, especially in the political realm.  It is for me.  I tend to be a pessimist in the midst of a wonderful life.  However, the whole political scene now makes me more anxious and fearful than ever.  We are seeing our fears play out and yet hoping that somehow, the proper candidate with the right political ideals will be the savior we need. 

For us humans, who care about our country, our freedoms and all the alarming things that are happening around us, cause us to live in a state of anxiety and worry.  It should not be so.  However, at the same time, what is happening in the world, does give us some perspective and goals.  We must make sure that we behave responsibly and respectfully to those around us.  It should give us cause to appreciate and rejoice in the small victories and happy moments that arise in our lives.  We can embrace the difficulties that come across our path and seek to weather them with a peaceful, calm attitude.  

As concerned citizens of America and the world we now inhabit, we should always seek what is best for our country.  As believers, we base our values and morals upon what is written in the Bible.  However, since secular people control our society, we must take an active part in electing good people who support God’s truths.  Although we believe in separation of church and state, at the same time the moral absolutes found in Scripture apply to all people for all time until our Lord returns and we will begin again with a new heaven and new earth.

In the meantime though, it is my hope that we might regain our moral optimism, despite our anxiety and fears. That we will be guided in electing men and women to political office who hold to the values of our Constitution which helped establish our great nation.  

Here is a paraphrase of Thomas Jefferson’s speech, given during his First Inaugural Address, March 4. 1801.  ……”Those  principles which guided us through an age of revolution………  should guide us now and should we wander from them in moments of error or alarm, let us  hasten to retrace our steps and to regain the road which alone leads to peace, liberty and safety.”

                                                   Rewriting History: 2021

I don’t know how many of you have heard of Hillsdale College.  It is a small liberal arts college in Hillsdale , MI.  The enrollment averages between 1700 and 2000 students.  They take no Federal funding nor do any of the students receive Federal money of any type.  This school is privately endowed and the only monies received are from donors, of which we are one.  They have many free online classes which promote American history and its values. 

Thus said, they are under no obligation to abide by any Federal mandates for their curriculum content or their hiring practices.  Now, with the new administration in place, we are going to witness some new mandates on what is being taught and who must be hired on the faculty.  Since most private and Christian schools depend on some sort of Federal aid, we can expect changes will be forced upon these schools…….from elementary through the university level. 

I just received a recent newsletter from Hillsdale taken from a speech that was delivered by their President at a reception in Rogers, Arkansas, on November 17^th 2020.  I was given permission to quote from this letter as long as I mention that is from the Imprimis Newsletter, a publication of Hillsdale College. 

The title of the Newsletter was “Orwell’s 1984 and Today”. Having read the novel “1984” years ago, I was curious to know what Dr Arnn was going to discuss.  I was anxious to read the paper although I had an idea of the content since I vividly remember the book. I do remember thinking at the time I read it, that it would never be possible for this to happen today.  How wrong I was.

This book centers on destroying history itself.  The protagonist of “1984” is a man named Winston Smith.  He works for the state and his job is to rewrite history.  He sits a table with a telescreen that watches everything he does. ( China also has cameras everywhere watching people).  To one side is something called a memory hole……when Winston puts writings in this hole, they are burned and lost forever.  All references to previous wars lost as well as individuals who have maligned the state….. people who have fallen out of favor…. will all be expunged from history, both written and oral.  Winston’s job is to fix every book, periodical, newspaper, etc that reveals or refers to what used to be the truth, in order that it conforms to the new truth. There’s a film based on “1984” starring John Hurt as Winston Smith.

 One man, of course, cannot undo history alone.  There are millions of workers involved in constantly rewriting the past.  One of the chief questions raised by the book is….. what makes this worth the effort?  Why does the regime do it?

 Winston comes to see that he knows nothing of the past, of real history: “Every record has been destroyed or falsified, he says, “every book has been rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street and building has been renamed…….Nothing exists except in the endless present in which the Party is always right.”  Does any of this sound familiar?

Winston commits two unlawful acts.  He starts writing a diary, and then secretly meets a woman outside the sanction of the state.  He and his lover are caught and captured by the Thought Police.  They will now be tortured and their brains reprogrammed…they call it re-education! I do believe that I saw one of our own Congress “Persons” discussing that perhaps those foolish Conservatives will need “reprogramming, or re-educating. “

 In the first essential step, Winston will learn doublethink.  A way of thinking that defies the law of contradiction.  The world is based on contradictions.  What holds true for one doesn’t hold true for another.  However, doublethink destroys all contractions.  There is only one right way. 

The law of contradiction also means that we can’t change the past.  The past is what it is or was. The present is fleeting and confusing and tomorrow has yet to come.  Although the past is written by man, we must learn from the past….. both our mistakes and our victories.  The only real truth comes from God who is never changing and is now and ever will be.

Richard Burton plays the part of Chief of the Thought Police.  He tells Winston, “Why do you think you are being tortured?  The Party is not trying to improve you….the Party cares nothing about you.”  He tells Winston that he is simply a subject of the state’s power.  “Understanding is meaningless….. the only thing that has meaning is power!!” He tells Winston…….”All competing pleasures will be destroyed…….always there will be the intoxication of power.” 

President Arnn writes.”Totalitarianism will never win in the end….but it can win long enough to destroy a civilization.  That is what is at stake in the fight, we are in.  We can see today the totalitarian impulse among powerful forces in our politics and culture.  We can see it on the rise and imposition of doublethink, and we can see it in the increasing attempt to rewrite our history. Therefore, let us not forget the past….I’m warning of an eradication of the American memory that could result, ultimately, in an erosion of the American spirit.  “

                             Can I hear an Amen??

Judging Others; Should We?

Matthew Chapter 7-3.  Jesus said “Stop judging that you may not be judged. ² For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. ³ Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?

Judging is not a spectator sport!!  Notice that the Lord says that we must first look to ourselves and then perhaps to the actions of others.  Of course we can’t judge one’s heart.  That’s God’s territory. 

Many of our young adults see their parents very willing to preach or teach on the subject of judging others. They are ready to condemn  on this very verse in Matthew.  Can’t you and I see the “splinter” in our own eye?  Therefore we shouldn’t judge others at all, right?  Who or what gives us that right?  Doesn’t God love everyone?  What’s wrong with people who choose a different lifestyle?  How can people who sit in comfortable pews on Sunday, condemn those who don’t go to church or perhaps chose to co-habitat with the same sex partner?  That’s not our job, is it? 

Perhaps, just perhaps………we have taken that very verse out context and the real meaning  of what Jesus was teaching.

If I read my Bible correctly, Jesus was very condemning.  He condemned the church hierarchy; he condemned false teaching; he even condemned the woman caught in adultery but with love telling her to go and sin no more.  Paul’s letters were replete with messages to the Gentile churches.   He was especially condemning of sexual mores that were invading the assemblies that were bringing in pagan beliefs from the Roman world.  That’s where we are today. 

We have also allowed the philosophy of the “Roman” world to take hold of our thinking.  We are fearful of condemning anything, especially those who now live in a homosexual lifestyle.  The Christians of today are all too willing to judge those inside the church while at the same time allowing the thinking of their peers and social media to convince them that Christians are in the wrong.  They  are so willing to use God’s love as an excuse for all types of immoral behavior.  Isn’t it love that will also guide us all into being truthful with others?   

You and I didn’t write the rules.  God set standards and limitations on us humans. He judged his chosen people, the Jews, harshly when they would forsake His Covenant as they absorbed the pagan cultures around them.

Although it is certainly hazardous to evaluate the problems or sins of others, we are to judge in every aspect of life that scriptures reveal to us.  Our Master shows us that we are to judge the deeds of others, but to be very careful with our judgments. We should consider our weaknesses and sins very carefully, to the point of overcoming them, before we make harsh judgments on others. How can we condemn someone else when we may have even bigger problems? He instructs us to remove the hypocrisy and then we can help our brother with his difficulties.

 Certainly, we are to analyze—judge—what is right or wrong, based on the mind of God as expressed in His Word. How we apply that judgment to others is critical, for Christ will take the same attitude with us that we take with others.

Have we in the churches become rather indifferent to looking at ourselves in judgment?  When have you heard a sermon on Christian ethics and behavior? Paul writes…….. “For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside the church? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside,. God judges.”  (I Corinthians 5:12-13). 

God of course is the final judge in all things.  However, He will judge in righteousness because of His great love for all of us. Aren’t we thankful you and I don’t have the final word on judgment?  However, like it or not, life forces us to make judgments or decisions about people every day. These may deal with mundane physical things or with friendships or lifestyles that affect a lifetime.  

Yes, we can and should judge others but always while disciplining them in the words our Master and with love always guiding us.

                                  Communion…… “Do this in Remembrance of Me”

The Communion Service is perhaps the central celebration in most Christian communities.  It helps  us focus not only on the Lord himself but we become active participants in the ceremony.

Some call it “the Lord’s Supper or “Eucharist”.   Unleavened matzah bread is broken and eaten, striped and pierced symbolic of the Lord’s sinless body and a symbolic cup is received.  Jesus said it this way…”This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matt. 26:28)  He also said……”Do this in remembrance of me.”

This type of service carries the idea of a special blessing, sanctification and proclamation of the Lord’s return.   However, we rarely discuss the context of the communion and that matters!

Context is essential to provide clarity to the whole service itself, especially since it is the central act of worship in the assembly.  But it just so happens that the context of communion is more often what is missing. Do we ever discuss the origins of this ceremony? 

This is a Jewish ceremony which is the reenactment of the Passover story of God’s judgment when He “passed over” the homes of the Hebrews marked by the lamb’s blood when they were enslaved in Egypt.   The Passover and Exodus is being remembered.  The bread is unleavened (meaning it is made without yeast which represents sin) and it is known as the “bread of affliction”.  It must be striped and pierced and holding it would remind us of the sobering cost of redemption and a new beginning.

 It is in this context that Jesus says.  ’’ This is my body which is given for you; do this in rememberance of Me.” His body symbolized the lamb that was offered at the first Passover.

Luke 22:20 writes that then Jesus took the third cup in the Passover Seder (the word Seder means order) known as the Cup of Redemption or Deliverance.  The wine in the third cup presented the blood of the Passover Lamb that was painted on the doorposts of each home.  In this context, Jesus identified Himself as the ultimate Lamb of God sacrificed for our redemption when He said…………”This is the cup of the New Covenant in my blood, which is shed for you.”  

But wait there’s more………

“Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” (Mark 12:25).  There is more to this Passover meal that we leave behind.  We spend so much time on the sacrificial part that we never talk about the glorious ending.  It is the New Covenant. 

The New Covenant is not only the church or our salvation,  it is God’s kingdom on earth.  It represents the covenant that God made with Israel (Read Jeremiah 31) and we as believers have been added into that covenant because of our faith. 

This New Covenant is another way of saying that at His second coming Jesus will establish the Kingdom of God on planet earth.  God’s divine redemption plan will again be celebrated but this time in its completion.          

Context matters.   We need to spread the word.  We need to create the space for it in our thinking, both the context of the meal and in the context of that day.  Jesus revealed how the New Covenant would be inaugurated in His blood on the cross, allowing us to experience afresh the passion and purpose of the ingenious plan of our Heavenly father in His Son. 

So this is actually the Gospel!  The Good News……..something glorious is coming. That God is preparing us for the New Kingdom.  That’s why we need to make disciples.

                                       Our Good News is really Good!!!   

                                                              A  New Year’s Resolution.

It’s that time again when we make plans on how we want to improve our lives and those around us………it’s called Resolutions.  We have all tried them in the past and along about March we forgot what we had resolved to do!! 

Here is one to consider………discipleship.  First we need to work on ourselves.  It means a daily resolve to choose to follow Jesus though making wise decisions and representing him in our lives. 

Sometimes our decisions are easy!!………regular or decaf; a big Mac or a salad bowl; another helping of mashed potatoes or more green beans!

 However, discipleship is a weighty decision.  We have choices to make. There are truly defining moments of our lives that craft our character and shape the way people see us.  We are pulled toward wanting to be popular, and well known. Accepted by everyone.  But then there’s that spiritual pull which tells us that if we truly represent Jesus as a disciple then we must forgo what we think would make us happy.  Paul describes this in Romans 7:15…..”For I do not understand my own actions.  For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”

When I was studying the scriptures for more help I clicked on a Jewish website that talked about a type of self discipline called Mussar.  It is practical tool that we might adapt to our lives also.  Mussar is the practice of bettering oneself by focusing on our own character traits and the battle that occurs within us between making right or wrong decisions. 

Essentially, Mussar is the idea that, although we fall far short of what we know to do, our mission is to overcome those faults and slowly improve ourselves by our daily devotion to God.
This is a type of battleground. We are like soldiers who either progress by overcoming the difficult choices or regress and retreat into a bad choice.  

Simply understanding life as a series of tests or battles means we can be more adamant about overcoming obstacles when we face them.  I am not saying that Mussar will turn us into perfect humans, but as believers we are called to the weighty yoke of discipleship. This philosophy can help us create patterns of discipline to help form us into more devoted disciples.  It’s a type of daily discipline for our self.

The key factor for every activity that you and I want to improve requires practice and discipline, whether it is playing an instrument or learning a new skill.  Why should we not treat discipleship in the same manner?  More than anything else in life our goal is to represent our Lord to others by living out His words as it says in 1^st John 2:6. ”whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.”

Our Master understood the fallen nature of man and knew how difficult it was to make good choices.  He knows our weaknesses and was tempted just as we are and yet He himself was without sin.  We are promised that God’s grace will assist us in our own self discipline as well as our desire to disciple others.

Each new day creates a new opportunity.  An opportunity to choose good and  to sacrifice our own desires and focus on doing good for others………….a chance to live up to the calling of being disciples of our Master Jesus (Yeshua).  Let us take this mission of living like our Lord with renewed strength and view each day as an opportunity to improve. 

Our goal in life is to represent Jesus to others by living out His words.  You can do it!!

                                      Rebellion vs. Radical Courage

There is a curious difference between rebellion and radical courage.   At times it can be difficult to discern the difference. 

When Hitler was gaining control in Germany, a Lutheran pastor, named Bonheoffer, refused to submit to his policies of extermination of the Jews. For this he gave his life. But then…..what about those to refuse to honor our flag or dismantle statues of American patriots whom they view as wicked and evil. 

                             Which is it……..Rebellion or Courage?

Rebellion and courage do look similar, but there’s actually a big difference from God’s point of view.  Sometimes we need to take an unpopular stand that defies social norms or even unjust laws.  This requires great courage.  For those of us who choose to live under God’s authority, it must be carried out with God’s approval. 

How do we know what He approves?  God has revealed to us what He approves as courageous acts and what rebellion is. Daniel wouldn’t bow down to the statue of the king…….he challenged idol worship and for that he was thrown to the beasts but saved because of his courage. Others lost their lives.

Some mistakenly think Jesus was a rebel.  Jesus, contrary to some popular ideas, was no rebel.  He came to clarify the instructions of His Father.  He made the Torah of God more meaningful to His disciples.

God hates rebellion.  Reading from Scripture we find those who rebelled against God’s authority and were evidentially defeated.  God expects us to honor His Word and to not mistake rebellion for courage.

Jesus told his disciples to give Caesar what belongs to him but to God the things that are God’s.  The image on the coin was Caesar’s, but the image within us mark us as belonging to God.  He made us and we are His.  Our lives are not our own.  Jesus simultaneously demonstrates His freedom from the world’s system and points to the ultimate authority over our lives, to whom we owe obedience: God.     

It can be difficult to know what Jesus would do in our increasingly surreal circumstances.  Would He defy authority?  Would He challenge a corrupt system? At what point would He be willing to break the law and engaged in civil disobedience?    Despite the fact that the priestly authorities used His growing popularity as a sign of rebellion, He told Pilate that His Kingdom was not of this world!           

However, Jesus, most of his apostles, and Paul were all put to death because of their standing on Biblical principles which prevented them from bowing down to Caesar as god.  Can we do less?

 Our country was founded on the basic sovereignty of man with freedom of choice in worship as well as separating church and state. What, if our “Caesar demands that we must accept the laws and statutes which are against the values and morals that we hold true?   It’s far too easy for us to get riled up, full of angst and react in ways that do not serve God’s purposes.   We’ve got to avoid anything that smacks of rebellion and yet have the courage to defy government mandates. 

In the English language, the word courage comes from the Latin word for heart (cor).  Courage is a matter of the heart.  When it’s time to speak or act, we will need great courage.

If “Caesar” attempts to regulate our schools, our places of worship, or requires us to subsidize policies that go against our values and beliefs as Christians, then we must take a stand.  How much are we willing to sacrifice on behalf of our faith? 

We can encourage others by our example.  When we summon the strength to be courageous, we can in turn impart strength and courage to those around us as they see us taking a stand. 

^““Have I not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest”…..Joshua 1:9

                                                         Equality for All

The recent election and the riots disrupting our cities seem to center around equality.  Equality for All.  The BLM movement is only one small part of the thinking of many people that equality is part and parcel of what is rightly theirs.  Didn’t the Founders specifically put that in the Constitution?    The Founders believed that all men should have equal opportunities….. not that all men are created equal!  We all have different talents and abilities.  There are no two of us that are alike.  We have the power within us to achieve or to see ourselves as victims in an unequal society.

The question of the day seems to be whether or not equality can be legislated.  The short answer is “yes”.  The government can legislate anything.  The great dream for thousands of people is to be given equality.  They view others as having more rights and privileges than they do.  We see the rise of hatred and greed rooted in envy which begins when whole classes of people believing  that the difference between themselves and others are a consequence of oppression.  Something outside themselves that is causing this.  They demand that their lives be improved by differential laws and quotas aimed at leveling inequalities. 

The problem being, of course, is that laws and quotas which promote policies such as “affirmative action” impose a new inequality, not based on ability but solely on race or sex.  This type of equality is discriminating…… favoring one group that has earned no rewards and against another that deserves no punishment!   However, these groups seeking equality believe that the power of law must be used to equalize all citizens. This type of mindset, therefore, demands that a strong central government is needed to control its citizens and provide equality.

We know that many of our people have little access to improving their lives.  Many children are brought up with no family values; single family homes where mostly likely the mother must work at two jobs to provide for her children; poor educators who take no interest in their students; or those who prefer selling drugs to working at hamburger joints.  Which is more profitable?

However in the Utopian world they seek ….. No one is responsible for their actions.   There is no desire to improve lives by personal development or willingness to share in the caring of their fellow countryman.  Therefore it becomes a singular effort to force equality by socialist means…….to the point that all dissenting voices must be silenced.  That seems to be rather drastic doesn’t it? 

I am taking two History magazines and one of them devoted several pages to the French Revolution.  The French citizens were brainwashed into believing the gospel of Revolutionaries such as Robespierre.  He believed that people who failed to follow the general will of the state…. “for their own good must be forced to be free.”  He wrote…..” the basis of popular government in time of revolution is both virtue and terror.  Terror without virtue is murderous, virtue without terror is powerless.  Terror is nothing else then swift, and severe justice which flows from our virtue. “  But, whose virtue?  This same incantation is found in subsequent revolutions……Lenin , Stalin Mao, Hitler, Castro et al.   Look today at many of the Latin American countries to see why thousands are escaping and coming to our borders.

I pray that all of us remember the values and dignity offered under the Constitution of our great Republic.     Yes, our Republic was founded on Christian principles regardless of the screams and shouts of those who deny it.  Our pledge states it best…..”One nation under God, with liberty and justice for all.”

                                      Want to be Wise?

As a follow up to my last blog perhaps we should look at that really dreadful tree….  “The Tree of the Knowledge and Good and Evil”.  It wasn’t the tree itself of course, but man’s willfulness in disobedience.

The infinite mind of God knows all.  He has created all that is and ever has been. While God knows all and sees all, He is quite generous with His wisdom to mankind.  Why then did He prohibit Adam and Eve from eating of that particular tree? 

Knowledge was not off limits to Adam and Eve.  This tree and its fruit represented the illegitimate acquisition of knowledge that was obtained through pride as well as lack of obedience to their Creator !  Only God knows the hidden things of the heart…….the motives, biases, fabrications, and future repercussions that would accompany their knowledge.  Humans cannot achieve knowledge through disobedience.  We can never be perfect in our knowledge…..simply because humankind isn’t perfect. Therefore the serpent was the great Deceiver.

We are introduced to our enemy….the fallen one……..or as we call him, Lucifer (aka Satan).  Now mankind must contend with him.  Because of Adam’s choice to ignore God’s instructions, the gift of the earth was forfeited to the Deceiver, along with the endowment of ruling over it. But with God’s great love and compassion for us, in His mercy and foresight, He had a plan for our redemption and restoration. 

We are created in God’s image but not in His knowledge.  We are created with the capacity to learn, ability to choose, and with an innate spiritual hunger which man seeks in order to regain that which separates us from God. 

The second Adam, that is Jesus, who in His perfection replaced the imperfect first Adam, has given us a second chance to be regenerated into the likeness of the Perfect One.  The Bible tells us that when we are born anew then His spirit lives in us and we are made alive in him (Ephesians 2:5).  This is not understood by those who are worldly minded.

Gaining knowledge is a God given desire within the heart of man and provides a purpose to expand God’s kingdom until Jesus returns again.  Although, we are unable to ever know the mind of God nor His infinite knowledge and wisdom, we humans can gain knowledge through our study of Biblical wisdom. Wisdom, in turn, grants us knowledge for the benefit of others.  Faith and wisdom produce knowledge.  Therefore in doing good works and disciplining others in the Faith, we gain in knowledge.  Awesome!

Knowledge is power.  The acquisition of knowledge that produces understanding leads to wisdom.  Wisdom in turn enables us to rightly discern God’s word.  Therefore study is the highest form of worship! For it is the subjection of our human will to believe and act upon what God has said. “Therefore be diligent to present yourself approved to as a workman who does not need to be ashamed…….handling accurately the word of truth”….(2 Timothy:2:15)

           Knowledge and wisdom keep company with love and God is Love.