Life and Death - An Extraordinary Journey

      A good friend of mine is losing her war with Pancreatic Cancer.  She has been a dear friend of mine for 31 years, and it is nearly inconceivable to think of life going on as usual without her being part of it. But that's how life is. In spite of how we much we humans want to think of ourselves as strong, unstoppable and impervious to  death and disaster,  when we are quiet and honest with ourselves and look around ourselves, we know that we, too, will one day lose that battle and face the One who we have either loved and adored or run from our entire lives in denial of accountability that does no ultimate good.
      For those who have recognized our true nature and surrendered our wills, humbling our hearts to His mercy, receiving grace at the foot of the cross of Jesus, there is no fear, because we know that death has no sting.  For Jesus-lovers, there is only a change of location. The invisible veil that has kept our eyes from seeing the One we love and have followed is removed and we see Him face to face. There is a joyful expectation like that of a  reunion with a close friend who lives far away and out of visual line of sight whom we are in contact with via text messages, emails and other modes.  They are never far and always in our hearts though we may not see them in person. So it is with Jesus. While on this earth we have access to His heart at every moment of our lives, though not by sight. When that veil is removed, we get to be with Him in totality and permanence!  The Apostle Paul spoke about our lives (in 2 Corinthians 5) as a groaning, our lives in these earthly "tents" as longing to be "clothed in our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life." (v. 4). He continues:  "Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. We live by faith and not by sight.  We are confident, I say,  and we prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord." (v. 6)
       How many of us have this desire?  I know from personal experience, my feelings sometimes waver on this.  Mostly because I get so comfortable in this "tent."  But as Christians, we are reminded repeatedly in Scripture that this world is NOT our home.  I think that this is one of the areas that Satan deceives Christians the most. He keeps OUT of our minds the fact that we are meant to be eternal beings, and keeps us bogged down, instead, by the weights of this world.  We forget - I know this is true for me too often - that our purpose is LARGER than this world.  We get tunnel vision.  I believe that this tactic of our enemy's has brought our world to the condition it is currently finding itself in.  But when we turn our eyes back to Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, the First and the Last, Alpha and Omega, the Captain of our Souls and the Army of Heaven, who came down to SAVE all of us from lives of quiet desperation to permanent liberation - through the unlikely method of humbling ourselves and accepting who we are:  sinners who cannot save ourselves and are deserving of death for our rebellious nature, yet ones who are eternally loved because of who our Savior is, not who we are.  It is an incredible paradox:  when we see the worst of ourselves, we put ourselves in a position to accept the best our Creator and Savior has to give us, which includes showing us what our lives are meant to be - for a purpose GREATER than our small selves, having eternal significance!  Paul says (later in the same chapter, v. 18) that as we accept Christ, He gives us the ministry of reconciliation, as ambassadors of Christ to this sad and broken world.  This IS the glorious purpose of the Church, of which we ARE the Body - and BRIDE - of Christ in this world.
      This being the case, it almost makes the end of our lives seem like an end to our purpose and therefore a tragedy.  But Paul recognized an important balance that keeps us humble and recognizing our humanity as well as our  destiny, which is ultimate freedom.  We are creatures, NOT the Creator.  We have an incredible purpose, yet one day that purpose will be - not ended but translated.  We will then begin a new work, for which we have been prepared if we were listening and obedient in this life of training.  Our eternal rest doesn't mean we will be sitting on a cloud forever, strumming a harp.  Jesus speaks of our faithfulness on THIS proving ground being a jumping off point for our REAL and TRUE vocation, which we will only get to know when we GET to that permanent home!  
      I don't know about you, but that fills my heart with excitement, along with reverent awe, not to waste a single day here but rather to live each one in a spirit of humility, attention to God's still, small voice of instruction and direction, worship and obedient faithfulness with excited expectation of being a partner with the One who knows and has planned everything in perfect wisdom and love.  What about our past, wasted days?  God knows that we are dust.  And when we have trusted in Him and the name of His Son our Lord Jesus,  His Word says that we are are "new creatures" (2 Cor. 5:17).  He doesn't want us to waste our lives  in regret and recriminations.  That's what Satan would like us to do, to render us impotent and useless for God's glorious purpose for us.  It's also part of the pride that was paramount to his own destruction. Because even thinking of ourselves as useless is putting our own selves in the forefront, rather than humbly accepting Christ's grace and mercy in our lives to help us in our time of need.  Yet we are called to come boldly to the throne of grace for that very purpose (Hebrews 4:16), which takes away that prideful excuse.
        In a way, my friend is blessed with a gift.  She knows she has a finite time here to "wrap things us" and prepare for her glorious reunion, while most of us will have no idea - today might be ours. This could be my last post - only God knows!  But if so, I hope that those who read it will also be reminded of your glorious future and live in expectation rather than fear of it.

Blasting the Darkness, or Who Needs Halloween?

       Last night I had the opportunity to go out to dinner and catch up with a dear friend .  Also a follower of Jesus, we spoke about how the darkness of this world is affecting us and others we know who we think of as strong-standing believers.  We each spoke of our struggles with discouragement, feeling overwhelmed by the happenings in the world around us, coupled with crazy busy-ness and exhaustion that makes it difficult to find (or make) time for concerted periods of prayer & Bible reading or study - either independently or with others.  

       In talking about it out loud like that, we were able to recognize how our Enemy Down Under (south of Australia, Satan by name) is working overtime in the lives and hearts of BELIEVERS to leave us (feeling) defenseless, afraid, depressed and ineffectual for the work God has put us here at THIS time in history, to do.  

       After we parted, three separate Scriptures "appeared" in my head (technically the third showed up later):

1)  "You are my hiding place;  you will protect me from trouble
       And surround me with songs of deliverance."    Ps. 32:7  (NLT)
     Sometimes in our lives even the strongest-standing followers of Jesus get weak in the knees (look at Elijah, cowering in a cave after a MAJOR victory over false prophets, in 1 Kings 19).  We hide and cower, and sometimes get so overwhelmed by fear and anxiety that we just want to curl up in a ball in our beds and never leave!  But as with Elijah,  God is even THERE with us!  He does not condemn, and lets us know that even in the midst of the storms of our lives, He IS our hiding place.  He protects and shields us in the midst of trouble.  And He surrounds us with songs of deliverance, which then gives us the courage to move us OUT of our place of fear and anxiety into the deep peace and freedom that Jesus offers us.

2)  "Praise be to the Lord, my Rock, 
       who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.
      He is my loving God and my fortress,
        my stronghold and my deliverer, 
        my shield, in whom I take refuge,
        who subdues peoples under me."    Ps. 144:1 - 2   (NIV)
       It may sound strange thinking of God training us for war, side by side with His being our fortress, shield and deliverer, but the context is the same.  It is when we are under siege that we most need these things.  As Paul said, we are involved in full-scale war, but our battle is NOT against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Eph. 6:12).  And we need to be prepared and trained for it, both offensively and defensively.  We need to put on the "full armor of God," including the belt of truth that protects us from the lies of this world that is only about feelings, which easily deceive, the breastplate of [God's] righteousness, which protects your heart when negative feelings threaten to overwhelm,  the shoes fitted to take you where the lost need to hear what you have to share about God's peace and how to acquire it, the shield of faith to extinguish all the "fiery darts" that the Evil One will throw at you to get you to become distracted, ineffectual and discouraged, the helmet of salvation, which reminds you of who and whose you are and what your purpose is in Him, and the sword of the Spirit, our offensive weapon, the word of God (the Bible), which Jesus used to correct and knock out the lies of the enemy with TRUTH, which doesn't change based on popular opinion or political correctness of the moment.  

3) "How long will you waver between two opinions?  If the Lord is God, 
      follow him  but if Baal [representing Satan] is God, follow  him."                                                             1 Kings 18: 24
       We need to be FIRM in what we say we believe, so as not to be tossed around by every wind of "new" teachings, which are never new and often false.  God doesn't change.  If we stand with Him, neither will our principles, values and Kingdom-based standards.  We will be less likely to allow ourselves to be swayed by lies and deceptive speech, or what others say about us.  And we will be less affected or for less time than we were before by things that once took us down to devastation:  bad news,  circumstances, or whatever it might be.  When we KNOW the One who HOLDS our future, we will grow in trust, and in so doing, in confidence and assurance of God's love for us, which will soon overflow into the lives of others.  

       Satan is doing his best to destroy the world around us, and he knows that if he can render the CHURCH ineffective and depressed, discouraged and fearful,  we will not be able to shine the light that we contain:  Christ in us, the hope of glory, and sadly that has already frequently overtaken us in our brokenness.  But all is far from lost with us for two reasons: 

1) Precisely because we ARE broken, we have more to share with OTHER broken individuals. Who could, after all, relate to someone who thought themselves intact? Who IS?  Were you aware that in biblical days perfume was sold in boxes, and in order to be used, they had to be broken before the scent could come forth and be enjoyed?  We are like the boxes, needing to be broken in order for the perfume to flow and bring out the scent of life in order to extinguish the stench of death of which our culture has so enthusiastically taken hold.  Our "cracked pots," as it were, turn out to be the most effective vehicles for sharing our treasure!  

2) God is NOT finished with us yet!  In spite of how we FEEL about ourselves or what our circumstances may dictate, He HAS placed us on this planet at this time in history in order to achieve  a specific work that God has planned for us to accomplish in HIS strength, and He will not stop working in us until that mission is complete!  I love the story I heard about Ruth Bell Graham, famed evangelist Billy Graham's wife.  As they passed a construction zone once, they came across a sign that read, "Construction Complete - thanks for your patience."  Immediately she remarked, "That's what I want on my tombstone!"  Our story  - and purpose - will not be complete until the day we graduate into the eternal and spiritual realm and take our places with Christ!

       So meanwhile, we stay connected:  with our HEAD & bridegroom, Jesus Christ,  His word, our "Owner's manual" (source of objective truth and road map to keep us heading in  the right direction - always closer always to HIM), and to each other, because we were never meant to be lone rangers.  Cut off from other believers, we can easily be swallowed up in frustration, pain, anxiety and despair.  We lose sight of truth and believe the latest lies our culture and enemy wants to foist on us. We get sucked into the dark vortex of self, losing touch with those for whom Christ placed us here to love and serve.  And we lose out on priceless opportunities to hear truth, receive much-needed instruction on how to deal with this world in God's way, and receive love, prayers and a sense of belonging like nowhere else!  

       In such a scary world, who needs Halloween?  But we have a more powerful weapon to beat all that so heartily tries to beat us down everyday!  We have "dual citizenship" if we belong to Christ, and have access to HIM  24/7!  This world runs after superheroes with limited powers "beyond mortal men."  But they are not REAL.  We, on the other hand, have COMPLETE ACCESS to the very REAL GOD who CREATED this world and holds all power in His hands, who KNOWS all, can HEAL all, and most importantly, LOVES all.  Imagine how this world would change if we DEMONSTRATED what a connection with Him could look like!  Let's see together and strengthen one another in THAT hope, starting TODAY!


     
     
      

RESTLESS

     Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) prayed, "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you."
       I think our (U.S.) culture and WORLD has seen enough of this restlessness: of all the things we try after rejecting or losing sight of the truth that ONLY JESUS offers REST for our burdens, STRENGTH for our weakness, HEALING for our brokenness. We think we know better in our culture of Political Correctness and Death, but what has it gotten us? Higher rates of death as a result of high blood pressure, obesity, drug addiction, sexually-transmitted diseases. We have become a culture that says ANYTHING goes, and it HAS: our MORALITY, our sense of RIGHT and WRONG, our ability to DISCERN TRUTH over FALSEHOOD!

        In our rush to not wanting to "offend" anyone, we have brushed aside every  kind of personal and spiritual/emotional boundary that God gave to protect ourselves and our nation from spiritual and emotional suicide.  We are  indeed restless, but have forgotten what we are restless for.
We have become a nation lost in "recovery" but think that that consists of talking about our addictions, hurts and lostness endlessly, rather than of seriously searching for a - the -  ultimate cure to our restlessness and (inner as well as outer) strife - the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, of the Bible - whom we have casually - if not malevalently tossed aside, but who is yet constantly calling us back to Himself - back to true love (as opposed to lust and superficial feelings, which is what we major in as a society). C.S. Lewis once said that we don't want more love but less. By this he defined "more love" as the sculptor working his creation until it is what s/he sees it to ultimately become, not a thumbnail sketch, but the statue of DAVID! If that creation were to speak, it would often cry out, "OUCH!" as it was being molded carefully into the masterpiece it was intended to be.

        We want to be - or say we are - those "masterpieces" - but with the painless work that creates a thumbnail sketch! More love is the masterpiece that requires a LOT of painful & uncomfortable work, which we reject and disdain. But that is the kind of love that God gives: not the superficial, five minute, "how to be happy in 3 steps" approach of our culture, but the painful stretching, the uncomfortable molding of our character that produces true rest and recovery! I'm speaking to myself as well - believe me! As Paul said, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me... I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 3: 12 - 14).

       Until we have this character in ever-increasing degrees, how will we be able to offer hope to others in this lost and dying world? That doesn't mean we have to be perfect before we influence!  No!  Just that we are increasingly willing to cooperate with His Spirit so that there would be "less of us and more of Jesus" for the world around us to see our difference in order to ask how to find that peace they see in us, so that we may share how they too can be relieved of their restlessness.

Meeting UP to Pray and Break Walls DOWN - The Time is NOW!

 Earlier this year, there was a gathering of a NUMBER of churches in the Shoreline, Washington area where I live.  It was a TREMENDOUS BLESSING, as I’m sure believers  who met  together to pray  all OVER this nation similarly experienced!  I heard there, comments from MANY people, that they wished we could “do this more often!”

   How long has it been now?  I say LONG ENOUGH!  How would it be if we did it AGAIN, but on a larger scale, breaking down barriers,  maybe, of race, of denomination or others  – realizing that it is not US but JESUS who does the work of unifying!  If we are WILLING to get ourselves to one location physically, then I believe that Jesus will do the “heavy lifting” (as He promised in Mt. 11:30, among other passages) among us spiritually!

 It was  Jesus’  High Priestly Prayer for us (John 17)  to be UNITED IN HIM & TO SEND US as the FATHER had sent JESUS -  to bring as many as would receive Him to eternal life!  THEN the world will at LAST SEE HIM who DIED to SAVE  THEM.

But so that they wouldn’t rush off in their own power, when Jesus was ascending into Heaven,  He instructed His disciples to WAIT for the GIFT of the Holy Spirit to come on them, and THEN the action would BEGIN GOD’S WAY!  There are plenty of churches that teach on the Holy Spirit, but STOP at speaking in tongues during their services!  They never  step outside their own doors to meet the STAGGERING NEEDS of those who would never darken those doors.  At the same time, there are churches that go “whole hog” with social programs that eventually burn themselves out and none of the hurting learn about God’s love to eternal life through Jesus’ INCREDIBLE SACRIFICE on their behalf!   Both have missing something .

I get the impression from Isa. 61: 1-2, which Jesus first preached from in his local synagogue,  when he said, after reading the passage (quoted in Luke 4:18, 19):  “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind,  to release the oppressed,  to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,”  that preaching the Gospel , healing and ministering to people’s social and emotional needs are more like two sides of the same  coin. And the ministries are done through His gifts in the lives of individual believers,  done in Jesus’ name  and in the power that He wants US , too, to wait on Him for – not because the Holy Spirit  hasn’t yet come – He HAS, but I think it is more so that we know it ISN’T from US but BY His Holy Spirit,  with HIS strength, and in PARTNERSHIP with HIM, which is our HONOR and JOY, giving us HIS strength “to soar on wings like eagles,  to run and not grow weary, and walk and not faint” (Isa. 40: 31), so that we don’t crash and burn.

I don’t know about anybody else, but in a season where we are surrounded by darkness on every side,  I ‘m sensing a fresh breeze of hope on the horizon, and it is a direct RESULT of a new emphasis on REPENTANCE  and PRAYER  and WAITING on God’s Spirit .  It’s not always easy – we want to revert to “Automatic Pilot,”  (and “help God along”!), and many have gone that way but end up veering off in one way or another,  “having a form of godliness but denying the POWER”  (2 Tim. 3:5) but when we DO wait on HIS direction and power, if we don’t give up,  then we EXPERIENCE  the “Holy Mystery”  of the unity of Christ’s Body, and  MIRACLES  that ONLY HE can bring about when the world sees us as He has willed us to be! 

The question is:  are we READY to blow the dividers, the race baiters, and others who want to keep us apart, the PC Police, and all those who gain from our divisiveness OUT OF THE WATER?!  Are we READY to BE the United Body that Christ had called us to be, in order to take this world by STORM?!   They see us as weak, and surely they are right when so many lesser breezes  can so easily cause us to be distracted  from  the GREAT job Jesus has entrusted to us!   But ONCE we have been RAISED UP like the ARMY that was once a valley of DRY BONES (Ezek. 37: 1-14), we WILL be a HURRICANE in REVERSE!   Instead of destruction,  we will bring His POWER to offer His PEACE,  instead of hatred, we will offer LOVE,  instead of division, we will SHOW the world the power of Christ’s  Ministry of RECONCILIATION! 

What is KEEPING us from being  READY?  What can God’s Spirit and Presence cannot overcome?!   Are we ready to give up on pride, unforgiveness,   loyalties that are more important than loyalty to God and HIS ways? Suspicion of others who are different  from  ourselves?  Without such repentance, we are NOT ready to be God’s hurricane!  But WITH it,  we WILL TURN OUR CITIES & NEIGHBORHOODS BACK RIGHTSIDE UP!  Are we READY?   Let’s get together!  Will it be easy?  No, probably not  in some ways.  Will we see eye to eye always?  Not in every way, no!  Do we HAVE to?  NO. (Even married couples don’t  so why would we?)  But if we don’t meet and talk, then we let the enemy win! And we DO have an enemy, but it is NOT flesh and blood!  We all KNOW who he is, and his fruits: to steal, kill and destroy!  And he also works through people.  It’s not too hard to see and recognize those he works THROUGH, in our neighborhoods, cities,  nations, and unfortunately even churches.  He always has his “moles,” we all know ThAT!    He and his people don’t want people to talk because they know that TALKING means HUMANIZING  the “enemy,”  and God knows,  they don’t want THAT! 

But God PRIZES RELATIONSHIP and RECONCILIATION, as I said before.  And THAT happens, in most cases, through face to face CONTACT and COMMUNICATION.  Not much can happen without it.  It happens when we CHOOSE to love instead of hate, and that often looks like serving , not feeling (feelings often follow,  just to warn you!).  It involves DOING what is in the highest & best interest of someone,  whether that means working side by side on a project ,  tutoring children after school,  doing  home repairs,  bringing food to the needy,  standing together against gangs that destroy lives, or whatever is needed.  And praying together, which is where we have to start and continue in to get God’s ongoing direction to proceed.   So who’s going to be the first to lay down the gauntlet and pick up the phone?   Can I get one or two pastors in the Seattle area to start?  I know there are a lot of EXCELLENT ones out  there!   Pray and lead the way… and share  - not out of pride but to let everyone see the progress of what can happen in Jesus’ name!

Biblical Encouragement for a Rocky (but hope-filled) Road!

                I have been thinking a lot recently – as I’m sure MOST Chiristians have been since last week’s EPIC Supreme Court decision about Same-sex Marriage. The LGBT Community (activists, not ALL!) KNOW – because they, like EVERYONE, are made in the image of God, through their natural conscience - that their actions are indefensible rebellion against God. Because they refuse to humble themselves and repent  (agree with God that their actions are sinful and turn FROM them) -  as EVERYONE must who comes to Christ to accept His gift of Salvation – of ALL sins (not EXCLUSIVELY homosexuality),  they push away and out of sight the ones who remind them – simply by their presence (with or without words)  of their deep down unrighteousness requiring judgment  and so they double down with PRIDE (as with parades, which are getting increasingly rude, crude and lewd) – basically a form of flipping God and His holiness “the bird.”

    
            After years when they felt locked in the proverbial “closet,” ( due largely to widespread  Judeo-Christian values),  they now feel they have finally been “set free” and “won” due to an UNCONSTITUTIONAL act of the SUPREME COURT crossing over the legal scope of their jurisdiction [their JOB is to explain and work out the details of laws ON the books, NOT to WRITE laws!].  

             
           For many, the issue is finally resolved, and they have what they wanted all along.  They are willing to “live and let live.” OK.  The First Amendment of our Constitution reminds us that we have freedom of Speech and Religion,  even though the battles for both are raging around us and we may not have them for much longer, as we already see them disintegrating beneath our increasingly mud-encased feet!  We can agree to disagree  and  let the battle be the Lord’s while we show them God’s “kindness that leads to repentance.”  But we can’t force change on anyone;  ultimately it has to be each person’s choice. We can love and pray, but are not responsible for their choice or the consequences thereof. Trying to be sets on our shoulders a burden that the Lord never put there.  C.S. Lewis spoke, in his book The Great Divorce,  about pity, how it was meant to “be a spur that drives joy to help misery.”  But then, one of the characters says that it can go wrong, describing it as “blackmail” in order to get one’s way (“I will choose to be miserable until you give in to my demands”).  I love the Heavenly response that we should remember – for this and many other situations and people in our lives.  The spirit says to the “tragedian” (“actor”-puppet attached to her former husband visiting her from Hell), “Did you think joy was created to live always under that threat? Always defenseless against those who would rather be miserable than have their self-will crossed?...Can you really have thought that love and joy would always be at the mercy of frowns and sighs? Did you not know that they were stronger than their opposites?” (p. 115-116)
   

            For many of the Militant leaders of the LGBT community,  the “win” has only begun to whet their appetite for the ONGOING agenda. Blackmail is one way they ply many.  False pity and a seeming appeal to compassion and “equity.”  And if that doesn’t work,  there is outright vindictive hatred toward those they feel they have at last – and in their eyes, justifiably trounced – the Christians, whom they feel have been their “slave masters,” keeping them down for so long.  Having a limited – in many cases (and warped) view of Scripture, they run back to their favorites in an effort to attack on equal footing:  “Judge not lest you be judged,” and “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone,” ignoring the contexts (and forgetting a few verses down from the latter, in John 8, where Jesus saves the woman caught in adultery from being stoned to death,  He tells her in parting, “Go and sin no more.”)

    
           This is going to be the beginning of a rocky ride for Christians who have grown complacent,  and some even “entitled” and “self-righteous.”  And many have. For every believer who knows Jesus and seeks to love and be light and salt in our world, unfortunately, there are others who either being well-meaning give the message of condemnation without the hope of grace, or have fallen for the mistaken pity-threat and feel that it is “compassionate” to go along and agree with same-sex marriage based on “equality” or “fairness” over truth, which can come across as cold and hateful. This is WHY we need to stay close to  Jesus when we talk or write to people who have fallen under any one of these “spells” of darkness.

  
         To be fair, I’ve seen some “true believers” coming across badly online as well, which saddens me.  I even resorted to sarcasm myself once in response to a particularly virulently hateful comment someone leveled at a friend who responded honestly but kindly.  For this I am sorry.  I had to remove myself from the fray and plan on apologizing for it.  It’s easy to let the flesh take control of the conversation and forget that “the battle is the Lord’s” (2 Chron. 20:15) and that “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”  (Eph. 6: 12).

  
          But in some ways I think that this may also be the beginning of good things to come for the American Church. As with the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis (chapters 37-50),  I believe that while Satan means this new experience of persecution for evil for the Body of Christ,  Jesus will mean it for our good and growth – and won’t let go.  I just hope that WE don’t!  Churches WILL be tested – and SHAKEN!  Many will lose their tax-exempt status, pastors may be sued for not marrying same-sex couples,  Christian individuals have already started losing or being unable to obtain jobs due to their deeply held beliefs, Christian schools, organizations and businesses may be sued or arrested, forced to close or hire people who (as in the case especially of schools that want to hire people who adhere to a particular “Statement of Faith,”) do NOT believe as they do (it’s already happening to Campus Ministry communities around the country!) though other groups are not held to the same requirement.  While in one way these developments will be devastating,  in another, it may bring about the “revival” that so many have for so long prayed!

         “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church” is an old saying.  Now, while this is not an “ISIS-in-the-Middle-East” kind of  persecution (another post for a different time and most surely on the way) and I don’t anticipate actual shedding of blood – I hope – as a result of this new, stepped up persecution,  I think it COULD result (if we draw near to Jesus rather than pulling away out of fear or fleshly self-reliance!) in a number of POSITIVE outcomes for the church.  Among them some of the following I hope will see: 

         1)   Christians being drawn closer to the Lord and to His Word.  This IS a battle – not against flesh and blood but in the Spiritual realm, and we will NEVER SURVIVE spiritually if we are in “the flesh.”  But as we draw closer to God, we WILL be strengthened and even GROW in grace, mercy and peace,  and  learn to “love our enemy,” which we will NEED to learn for greater battles ahead!

         2)    Christians realizing our need of each OTHER and gathering together for greater maturity through teaching, comfort  and encouragement of fellowship,  assistance in difficult times, and UNITY. Basically,  returning to what the New Testament Church did in the book of Acts (2:42-47)!  [Washington State currently has a dismal regular church attendance rate of 24% - neither the lowest (Vermont at 17%) nor the highest (Utah at 51%), but low nonetheless!]

        3)     As we start to be who we were called to being, more people will see our increasing love and ask questions, leading to more conversions than we have known in many years or even generations!  The Spirit WILL once again grow HIS Church in the BEST way:  REVIVAL!

        
        4)    The “Sleeping Giant” of the Church will awaken at last as many are awakened from their spiritual slumber and see the needs around them and begin to meet them in Jesus’ Name! 

       
         5)   As faith begins to arise in believers,  we will begin to see what Jesus foretold:  that we would do GREATER things than He even did!  Miracles of healing – body, mind and spirit – happening, people set free – literally and from drugs and other substances.

         6)    While there WILL continue to be division as Jesus promised, there will also be, I believe, a spirit of reconciliation like we may never have seen in our day!  Families coming back together:  parents and children, couples, siblings:  all reuniting as a result of first reconciling to God in Christ! 

         7)     God only knows what ELSE might happen as a result of OUR – the Church as a WHOLE - repentance and  reconciliation in His Love!   What is impossible in the flesh is possible in the Holy Spirit with God through Christ! 

         Those are not predictions or prophesies, but possibilities! With God, ALL things are possible!

          In the meantime, brothers and sisters, let us remember these words from the book of James (maybe ESPECIALLY when online or with unbelieving or homosexual family or co-workers):  “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”  (James 1: 19-20).  We can  and maybe SHOULD expect that some will hurl vile epitaphs our way when we stand for what is right.  Peter said (1 Peter4: 12 – 16) speaking to the church experiencing SEVERE persecution that I hope we NEVER see but expect we probably WILL before too long.  Still, it could have been spoken to us today:   “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.  If you are insulted because of the name of Christ,  you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.  If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even a meddler.  However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.”  And Jesus said, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Mt. 5:11 – 12)  Prophets in the Old Testament were not known for political correctness.  They were given a message – often of impending judgment due to outrageously sinful behavior that God put up with long enough and was  letting people know that SOON He would TOLERATE sin no longer and there would be wrath.  I imagine that the people reacted in not too different ways than those today – the men of Sodom called out for the angels who came to Lot’s house (to bring destruction for the sinfulness of the city, unbeknownst to them at the time) to come out, “so that we can have sex with them.”   Maybe things haven’t changed as much as we thought over the past few thousand years?

            
          Much as we believe this world is more evil than ever before – and it certainly may be heading that way – in the darkest night the stars shine brightest.  Stay close to Jesus – and I’m talking to myself first here).   If you are going to “do battle,”  make sure it is Christ who calls you there, and that you are there as HIS ambassador of love and reconciliation, where possible – at least from YOUR side.  If and when provoked, PRAY and respond in love.  If you can’t, get OFF the field, for BOTH your sakes, but especially so that you don’t say anything you may later regret.  And if you DO stumble, repent and  ask forgiveness.  It may not be accepted, and may even result in a nasty response, but we’re only responsible for doing the right thing, NOT for the response TO it. 

            
         As Atlanta Pastor Charles Stanley always says, “Obey God and leave the consequences to Him.”  I think that’s a pretty good way to live in general and in this case specifically!