Hobby Lobby And The America We Are Becoming

I know that most people are ambivalent to the Hobby Lobby case that has made headlines lately.  I don't see political commentary or much headline news on the story.

I don't see a lot of anger being expressed either in popular media or the blogosphere.  Most people I suppose think of it as a story far from them.  After all, what does a large successful American corporation suing the federal government over a mandate to provide an abortion pill have to do with them?.  I suppose most people think it's not about them.  Maybe they see it as political or legal maneuvering from big time lawyers.

They should think again.   They should be worried.  VERY worried.

First of all, what we have seen play out in the courts these past few weeks has everything to do with you because it has to do with your personal and religious freedom.  Hobby Lobby is not some impersonal corporate conglomerate.  It is a family owned business.  And as a good friend and pastor to many in this family I know them up close and personal.  These are not corporate tycoons.  These are not people who fly corporate jets and flaunt their wealth.  They are by all appearances an average American family with traditional American values.  They are about the least materialistic family you would ever meet.  They give most of their money away, pay their taxes, love their family, serve their church. They are patriotic, humble and outstanding role models and servants to their community.  They quietly support a multitude of charitable causes around the world.  

The Hobby Lobby success story is one of those feel good rags to riches stories of hard work, strong values and American enterprise that makes us proud to be Americans.  Their story is our story.  It is a story that says that anyone in this country can be successful if they work hard and do things the right way.  It is one of those stories that informs the American consciousness.  Hobby Lobby is us.  The Green family is a beautiful example of what it means to be American.

And that is why what is being done to them by the United States Government is so disgusting, frustrating and egregious.

The Federal courts have now ruled that Hobby Lobby and subsequently the Green family will not be provided relief from the federal mandate written into the Affordable Health Care Act (Obamacare) that could potentially fine the company 1.3 million dollars A DAY for non compliance.  The company is refusing to provide a pill they believe causes abortions within their private health care.  The company pays for their employees health care and has always met the healthcare needs of their female employees (including contraception) and did so long before Obamacare came along.

The reason this has everything to do with you and you should be worried is because this morning you woke up in an America whose government says it doesn't care about your sense of religious freedom if you happen to be a successful business owner.  The inconceivable punishment put on this company makes it frustrating.  But what makes it egregious and disgusting to me is that it is a direct violation to our long established and even sacred rights as citizens (read the first amendment).  In these initial rulings the government has made the unbelievable case that because Hobby Lobby is a "secular" business they are not under the same protections.

David Green put it like this:

“Our family is now being forced to choose between following the laws of the land that we love or maintaining the religious beliefs that have made our business successful and supported our family and thousands of our employees and their families,  We simply cannot abandon our religious beliefs to comply with this mandate.”

These first few court battles are not the end of the story.  Hobby Lobby will now begin the process of fighting it out in lower courts and may one day get a full hearing in the Supreme Court.  It will be an expensive, exhausting and senseless battle that should never have to be fought by such wonderful people.   The Greens are fighting it out in the courts for the freedom that is precious to all of us.  It is the freedom that is not just guaranteed in our first amendment, it is a freedom of consciousness that has been given us by our creator.  And that is why it has everything to do with you.

Mayans, Zombies, World Calamity and What It Says About Us

Now that we are done with the Mayan calendar obsession, I thought it would be good to reflect on what all this paranoia about the world ending says about us.  After all, this is not an isolated event.  Have you noticed that a year rarely goes by without some group somewhere or some self proclaimed prophet predicting that on such and such date all heck will break lose and the world will end?  And have you noticed how eagerly popular culture laps it up?

American culture apparently is fixated on the idea of global extinction.  If it's not preachers talking about Armageddon, it's scientists talking about global warming, politicians warning of a debt bomb or economists about the fiscal cliff.  Scores of movies have come out in recent years pointing to certain global destruction whether it be meteorite, pandemic or nuclear holocaust.  Not that any of those things aren't important to talk about, it's just the over- hyping of them that interests me.

The idea of world calamity has become such a fascination there is now an entire sub-group in American culture called "Doomsday Preppers."    

Many of the most popular shows on television have apocalyptic themes.  Shows like "Walking Dead", "Fringe" and "Revolution" are just a few examples of how American culture can't get enough of the idea of world wide destruction.  

What does all of this say about us? 

Perhaps the answer is less sociological and more theological.  Could it be the reason we look around our world and say "some day all this will burn like straw" is because that in a very real sense that truth has been in-scripted onto the human heart?   

Here's what I mean, the Bible teaches that the human heart has an ontological sense about it.  Consider this verse in Romans 1:20:

²⁰ For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)

The Bible teaches that there are certain things about God's creative work that the human heart understands instinctively.  It only stands to reason then that the contrast of this is that we can look around our world and see that something is eroding and deconstructing what God has perfectly made.  Just as we have an innate sense that God's hand is in all of creation, we can also see that something has gone wrong and that some kind of curse has been unleashed on the universe.

In fact the Bible teaches that as a result of the fall, all of creation is in a constant state of "groaning" (Romans 8:22, 2 Corinthians 5:2).  The word to groan in this context is a word that describes a deep emotional sense of dissatisfaction.  To groan is to say to ourselves that life is not holding up and that something has gone terribly wrong.  A part of the reason we are fascinated with world destruction is because we know in our hearts that the world is indeed deconstructing.

So in other words, the human heart wants something more, and incidentally, that sense is the best evidence I know outside of biblical revelation of the existence of God.   I remind you again of one of my favorite C.S. Lewis quotes:

“The Christian says, 'Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or to be unthankful for, these earthly blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for the something else of which they are only a kind of copy, or echo, or mirage. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that country and to help others to do the same.”

So the next time you find yourself in a conversation with your friends about some version of the apocalypse, be encouraged to talk about the "reason for the hope you have."  (1 Peter 3:15)  Point others to the biblical version of last things and that Christianity teaches that although life is falling apart, the end of the story is that through Christ it will all be put back together again.  Tell them there is a perfectly logical explanation to why our hearts are fascinated with end times.  That one day there will be a new heaven and a new earth and every tear will be dried and every tragedy will become untrue, that the curse will be reversed and all of us spiritual zombies will stop groaning.

Looking Through A Dark Glass

Yesterday we were confronted with the horrible news that twenty young children in Newtown Connecticut were brutally killed in a place where they should have been safe.  Children sitting in an elementary school classroom is as innocent and important a space we have in our American consciousness.  It is a sacred space.  It is a space for learning, nurturing and growing.  And yesterday evil and violence visited that space and as Americans our collective hearts were horrified, angered and deeply saddened at the result.

In this kind of horrible tragedy it is natural for people to ask the question, "Why does such evil happen in our world?"

When people are seeking ultimate answers to difficult questions it is a temptation to give answers that seem reasonable and comforting.  But in truth there is no answer to that question this side of eternity.  Every answer we might formulate will be incomplete.  Any person who pretends to have all the answers is simply not being helpful.   There are questions in this life that are so complex they cannot possibly answered in this life.

Paul the apostle made this observation in 1 Corinthians 13:12:

"Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.  Then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known."

So it is helpful at a time like this to hold on to the knowledge that it is only within the scope of eternity, looking back on this wisp of smoke that is our brief time on this earth, that complex questions have solid answers.  C.S. Lewis once said that he believes the first thing we will say as we enter eternity are the words, "Aha... now I understand."

Here are some of the common answers people give in response to tragedy that are incomplete and not helpful:

1.  There can't be a God if this kind of evil happens in our world.

This is an unreasonable and unhelpful response because if all we were left with in finding meaning in this life was to deny the existence of a creator and see ourselves strictly from the standpoint of biological scientific method and highly evolved protoplasm, then what would explain our sense of disgust in the presence of evil?  Why would our hearts crave answers to ultimate questions?  Darwinian science provides no solace and comfort when our hearts are shocked and angered by violent injustice.

2.  There is a God but he is helpless in the face of evil and human suffering.  

This too is an incomplete answer because it does not match up with our understanding of God.  None of us wants to believe in a God who is not all powerful and all knowing.  Such a God would not provide a sense of justice and meaning in this world.

3.  There is an all powerful God but he is not trustworthy

There are many people who question God in the face of suffering and come to the conclusion that God is either all loving and not all powerful or He is all powerful and not all loving.  He can't be both at the same time, because a loving God would not allow evil and since there is obviously evil and suffering in this world it only stands to reason that God is one or the other but not both.  So the only conclusion we can come to in the face of suffering is that either God is loving and powerless or all powerful and not trustworthy.  But this too is an incomplete answer because if He were not all powerful He would not be God and if were not all loving our hearts would have no place for love.  Because we know and long for love and joy in this life it can only mean that that impulse was placed there by a God who was loving.

It seems to me that the most helpful though incomplete answer to this question is to say that we know from scripture that God is both all loving and all powerful and that all the suffering that comes into this life is the result of the fall.  When we see evil and suffering we are reminded that something is terribly wrong and the fact that our hearts long for a solution is in itself evidence of His existence.   Our world is horribly broken and the only answer is the redemptive work that God has set in motion through Christ and will be culminated one day in eternity.  Tim Keller put it like this:

God did not create a world with death and evil in it. It is the result of humankind turning away from him. We were put into this world to live wholly for him, and when instead we began to live for ourselves everything in our created reality began to fall apart, physically, socially and spiritually. Everything became subject to decay.  But God did not abandon us. Only Christianity of all the world’s major religions teaches that God came to Earth in Jesus Christ and became subject to suffering and death himself, dying on the cross to take the punishment our sins deserved, so that someday he can return to Earth to end all suffering without ending us.  Do you see what this means? We don’t know the reason God allows evil and suffering to continue, or why it is so random, but now at least we know what the reason isn’t, what it can’t be.  It can’t be that he doesn’t love us. It can’t be that he doesn’t care. He is so committed to our ultimate happiness that he was willing to plunge into the greatest depths of suffering himself.

A grieving mother once asked the famous 19th century English pastor Charles Spurgeon "Where was God when my only son was tragically and violently killed?"  Spurgeon softly comforted her with these words,

"He was in the same place as when His only son was tragically and violently killed; He was on His throne."

This is not a complete answer, but it is a part of the answer that we desperately need. We need to know that God loves us and that He has provided a solution for what is so terribly wrong in our world.  We need to know that in spite of what seems so senseless and unanswerable, that God is still in control. And although we don't get it now, there will come a time when we will fully know even as we are fully known.

Yes to Christmas!

This time of year I get lots of questions about what I think of celebrating the Christmas holiday, advent etc... "After all," the thinking goes, "Christmas was not in the Bible and most of the traditions come from ancient pagan culture so why should we Christians celebrate it?"  

My answer is that I believe the advent season, though laced with semblance's of paganism in some of our modern traditions, is still a wondrous gift and the season is a terrific way to point people to the beauty of the incarnation.  Though many of the traditions do not have their roots in the sacred text, there is still plenty of biblical narrative in our celebrations.  After all, there is not another season of the year in which you can go to practically any department store in the city and hear actual scripture in songs of praise over the sound system.   And as D. Eric Williams points out, the fact that Christianity won out over paganism and embraced some of it's traditions in order to teach the meaning of the advent is in itself a great reason for celebration:

The Christian holiday of Christmas is a celebration that replaced a variety of pagan festivals and in fact adopted many of the practices of those pagan holidays. Evergreen wreaths and trees, gift giving, feasting and the burning of the Yule log: all of these have roots in non-Christians festivals which took place around the end of December. But that's okay. These familiar Christmas traditions actually serve to remind us of what Christmas is all about.  

You see, the coming of the Christ - the coming of God as a human - was a declaration of war. It was an invasion by the Kinsman Redeemer in order to conquer Satan and restore Mankind to his rightful place in the cosmos. The war was finished about thirty-three years after Jesus was born when He died on the cross and then rose again. His blood paid the price to redeem us from the clutches of Satan and His resurrection restored Humankind to the position of vice-regent in this universe. Now, all those who are found in Jesus, are seated in the heavens in Him (Ephesians 1:3, 2:6), and we have been given the responsibility to labor in this life to manifest the already existing kingdom of God in Christ (Matthew 11:28-30, Philippiams 2:12-13, 3:12-16 and many more). Remember, we do not earn our salvation through our effort to manifest the rule of Christ; there is nothing we can do to contribute to the grace of God in salvation. However, we do have the responsibility to live up to our high calling in Christ. He has conquered and so we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37), children of the most high God (Ephesians 5:1).  

Therefore, we should view the divergent cultural aspects of the Christmas celebration as evidence that Christ's invasion was successful. Satan has been stripped of the spoils of war and they are now used to glorify the Messianic King. Just as the plunder of pagan Jericho was used to beautify the tabernacle, likewise the heathen customs of the winter festivals are now the property of the King of Kings. No longer is the furniture of creation soiled by the ungodly; now it is used to remind us that our Great Kinsman Redeemer has driven the enemy from the field of battle.   

So, as you trim your tree, hang your wreath or fasten a sprig of mistletoe to the lintel, take a moment to consider the reasons you may do so without shame: Christ has cast down Satan, rent the curtain and entered the Holy of Holies clothed in human flesh. It is because Jesus has paid the price of redemption and ratified the eternal covenant with His blood. It is because the Everlasting Son became the Son of Man and restored Humankind to his place of grandeur. And it is because the followers of Christ in times past understood His Lordship and were willing to bring their sphere of influence under the authority of King Jesus.  This is what Christmas is all about. It is about a baby born in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago - and so much more. 

Just Because You Call Yourself "The Science Guy" Doesn't Mean I Have To Believe You

This morning I was thinking about a statement I read in a Daily Oklahoman article about BIll Nye the Science guy's anxiety about the influence of creationism in U.S. culture.  This is the particular quote that caught my attention:

"If we raise a generation of students who don't believe in the process of science, who think everything that we've come to know about nature and the universe can be dismissed by a few sentences translated into English from some ancient text, you're not going to continue to innovate."

At first blush this seems like a perfectly logical point to make.  If Bill Nye has found a generation of students out there who have been ignoring scientific research in favor of "some ancient text"  I think we would all have reason for concern.  But dig a little deeper into his comment and you see that he seems to be saying something very cynical about biblical theism that goes like this:

Belief in a created world via ancient text (The Bible) = ignoring everything we've come to know about science.

There is a vast difference between a belief that God created the world and somehow denying the process of science.  To all the Bill Nye's out there who continue to raise these "grave concerns" over creationisms influence in American culture I would simply ask, "where is your evidence that such a belief is killing science?"

In all due respect to the science guy, just because not everyone starts with the Darwinian framework of presuppositions about the origin of the earth it doesn't necessarily mean they are "anti-science".   And further I would say that this line of belief completely ignores the fact that a great deal of modern science arose out of the fertile soil of theological curiosity.   If we were to believe the line of reasoning that people who believe in creationism cannot simultaneously believe in scientific method we would have to ignore the history of Western Christianity.

For example, Newton, Pascal, Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and the very father of the scientific method, Sir Francis Bacon were all dedicated Christians who were curious about the world God created and became better scientists BECAUSE of their theological world view, not in spite of it.

I'm not alone in my thinking here.  Providence College Philosophy professor and historian David Bentley Hart has recently written a compelling counter argument to the kind of  popular Darwinian Atheism Nye espouses called "Atheist Delusions".  In this book he especially takes umbrage to the revisionist history of many modern skeptics who claim that Christianity has been the enemy of science.  This book is exhaustively documented in its counter arguments on this particular subject.  He summarizes his thesis this way:

Christian scientists educated in Christian universities and following a Christian tradition of scientific and mathematical speculation overturned a pagan cosmology and physics, and arrived at conclusions that would have been unimaginable within the confines of the Hellenistic scientific traditions.   For, despite all of our vague talk of ancient or medieval “science”, pagan, Muslim, or Christian, what we mean today by science – its methods, its controls and guiding principles, its desire to unite theory to empirical discover, its trust in a unified set of physical laws, and so on – came into existence, for whatever reasons, and for better or worse, only within Christendom, and under the hands of believing Christians. (David Bentley Hart in Atheist Delusions)

I make these points because I think it's important for us as Christians to stand our ground against the tidal wave of secular humanistic accusations about our supposed "anti-sciience" worldview that can seem at times overwhelming.  Especially when the person you find yourself not agreeing with identifies himself as "The Science Guy".

Recent Events Point Me to a Contrast Between Mohammad and Jesus

What exactly is the difference between Christianity and Islam?  That is a question that could fill volumes but I think the events of recent days in which large populations of adherents to the teaching of Muhammad have amassed incredibly destructive and furious protests around U.S. embassies and consulates around the Middle East point a glaring light on one important distinction.   And that is the stark contrast between what Jesus taught and what Mohammad taught when it came to how to treat someone you consider your "enemy".  It is an interesting subject to think about when considering the differences in the teachings of these two religions and how their contrasting world-views shape the way we accept and respond to insults.  Read what Mohammad said on the subject and then what Jesus said:

"But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, an seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war); but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practise regular charity, then open the way for them: for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful."   (Mohammad in Surah 9:5) 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.   (Jesus in Matthew 5:43-46)

That contrast gives those of us who have been transformed by the meaning of the gospel a guide for the way we are to respond to what we see and hear in the popular press regarding the hatred and despair we see in the Muslim world.

For one, we are to understand that the enemy is enormously effective at darkening the hearts of unbelievers and that false religion is the most effective tool in his toolbox.   Christianity teaches that the human heart is by it's very nature following an impulse of lust for power and control and hatred and revenge.  A religion that feeds that impulse is enormously destructive.  I really believe that this is why you see masses of people who have embraced Islam so easily worked into a frenzy of pious rage and anger for the "offense of the prophet."  

Secondly, we are to be careful not to let our own sinful impulses take over our hearts in the way we respond to what we see and feel.  Instead, we are to see that those same sinful and hateful impulses are at work in us and that if it had not been for Christ's rescue we would be in the same boat.

True gospel- centered Christianity says that God is the ultimate judge and Christ has set us free from the need for judgement and we are therefore freed from hatred, resentment and a desire to "get even".  

As Christians we say, "It is God's job to judge, it is my job to love, accept and forgive."

There is real freedom and joy in that world-view.   

Top Ten Wrap Up

Now that the dust is settled, and most of the boxes have been unpacked, Fiz and I have been looking back in wonder at the last year. What a wild ride! So many ups and downs so many new faces and new places. From the grueling long haul bus rides of Vietnam and Nepal to Festivals of Australia there are things which will always stay with us. Here’s our top-ten pick of the best of the best and the best of the worst.

1)    Cheap Seats
Vietnam is a long thin country with beautiful cities strung together like pearls on a length of hellish pavement. This is our first long haul tale.

2)    Lost in Hue
Forget the map, or bring one along and drive to the edge of it, find something wonderful like a monastery and a village and even some delicious local lunch.

3)    The Toll of War
The sins of the father are passed on to the son and the sins of a nation are passed on to its citizens.

4)    Angkor What? Angkor Wat!
Welcome to Cambodia where the terrifying reign of Pol Pot is a tourist attraction, the drugs are cheap and the party is non-stop.

5)    Possum Party
By far the most popular post of the website, this is the first of several encounters with Tatura Caravn Park's local possum family.

6)  Panya Permaculture
Nothing like getting your hands dirty! Our Permaculture time at Panya Project was one of the best parts of the trips, and the connections we made stayed with us all the way home.

7)    Rooftop Riding
Few moments in travel are as perfect as this one. Himalayas, Full moon, Jeep with broken lights, what more do you need?

8)   Down With the Sickness
The defining moment of our trip was when we very nearly had to fly home due to serious food poising. It was from here that we decided to end our Asia leg and head to the land down under.

9)    Rainbow Serpent: Inner Reflections  
 Welcome to Australia, the beautiful land full of beautiful people making amazing music and art. Welcome to Rainbow Serpent 2012 where we met two of the best people in the world and danced like crazy people.

10)    Party Animal
Travel, love and life don’t always go according to plan. That’s why you have friends, beer and nerf guns.

Obedience

I have a pastor friend who tells the story of his five-year-old daughter riding her new “big wheel” tricycle on their driveway the day after Christmas.  He told her that she could ride the trike anywhere on the driveway all the way to the line that separated into a slope leading to the street but no further.  He was concerned that she would venture out into the danger of the street, so he wanted her well away from the slope.  The line was not to be messed with.  “If you cross it, you will get a spanking,” he warned her. 

Predictably, the girl (who, my friend says, was by very nature a “line pusher”) kept riding right up to the line and then looking back over her shoulder at her daddy to note his attentiveness.  He watched her intently as she kept trying to test the line.   Over and over she rode, circling and circling closer and closer to the limits of obedience.  Finally she stopped the big wheel and said emphatically and defiantly to her dad, “Well, I guess you had better start spanking because I’m gonna cross that line!” 

I love this story as a way to illustrate what is in the human heart.  The Bible teaches that our hearts are in open rebellion against God and that it is in our nature to say, “I’m gonna cross that line!” 

Our study this week is a lesson in obedience.  How often have we questioned God and wondered about His ways?  How often have we found it difficult to truly obey His will and subject ourselves to His word? And yet our lack of obedience is a sign of our lack of trust.  Just like a five year old who doesn’t understand the meaning of a parent’s hard line, we rebel against God because we see His ways as primitive or demanding.  And yet we know intuitively that a parent makes the rules because of love and sees that obedience is first and foremost an act of love and trust.  That is the deeper lesson of the text this week.     

2 Samuel 24:10-19:David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.”
Before David got up the next morning, the word of the Lord had come to Gad the prophet, David’s seer: “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’”
So Gad went to David and said to him, “Shall there come on you three years of famine in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue you? Or three days of plague in your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”
David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”
So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lord was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, “I have sinned; I, the shepherd, have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall on me and my family.”
On that day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” So David went up, as the Lord had commanded through Gad.

There and Back Again

By Kathleen Broadhurst

 Well, it has been over a month now since I have been home and I apologize that this is the first that you have heard anything from me in that time. Returning home after almost a year away is it’s own sort of adventure.

To those who have been waiting to see what happened next, I’m sorry for the delay, life has been rough and my landing bumpy. There is a lot of work to do once you return from a trip like ours, getting new jobs, finding a place to live, unpacking boxes, trying to find your rice-cooker, sneakers, favorite blanket, ect.

It seems like after a month things are starting to settle down, I’ve found work, doing some writing no less, so I’m starting to feel like I may actually be able to connect my experiences in the world to something at home.

We found a sweet little apartment that sits in between an old fashioned New England green and railroad tracks. Though the noise from the train is loud it helps me feel connected to the wider world. When it rushes by I can’t help but think about where it’s been and where it is going. It eases the feeling of claustrophobia that has been haunting me since my return.

Coming home is at once deeply satisfying and also sad. It has been a marvelous thing to see the faces of friends and family again, to recognize people on the street and to be greeted in old spaces. But it is hard not to think of those who I left behind in Melbourne, or those who are still traveling. The friends I made on the road are often in my mind and knowing how far away they all are is hard to come to terms with.

The silence that accompanied my return has also been a bit strange. I don’t know why, whether it’s because I’m in America, or because a year is a bit to long to really ask about or if people simply aren’t interested but surprisingly few people have wanted to hear about the trip.

Some days I wake up and wonder if it was all a dream. Its hard to believe, sitting here at my new kitchen table, listening to the cicadas outside that I have ridden on the rooftop of a bus climbing the Himalayas, or watched as mourners follows a funeral procession through the streets of Varanasi. The scents and smells of a Cambodian marketplace, all fish sauce and ice and cheap polyester, the way the sky looked from my apartment in Melbourne, seem like dreams as unreal as any I have at night.

This is the trip in travel. It’s a bit surreal.

Plans…. Where we go from here? It’s hard to say, we don’t yet know ourselves. At the moment we need rest, which is proving hard to come by with a busy summer social calendar, and money, which given the state of the American economy, is also a bit of a challenge. It looks like we intend to stay in one place for a while to attempt to invest ourselves in projects that will take a few years to really show their merit.

Some of those projects are related to travel, some are completely different. Stay tuned to this blog for updates. If you are just joining us now, please, feel free to start the story at the beginning.

I do know that despite my best intentions to love being home I’m already scanning the articles on travel websites and the perusing guidebooks in the local bookstore.

Somebody once said that their favorite place part of travel was imaging the next country and planning the next trip. I second that.

Because really, the trip never stops, the trip is life. The journey will continue. Travel on.

Repentance

The word “repent” means to “change directions.” I have always found that explanation of the word to be helpful. When I think of this word, I picture someone walking one direction and turning around and going the opposite direction. To repent means more than just stopping in your tracks, it means to set a new course. Another good picture is of someone making a u-turn in a car. As a guy who has always been directionally challenged, this explanation resonates with me.  God did not bless me with an internal compass like he has a lot of people, so I have spent a lot of time in my life looking at a map only to realize that I need to turn around and go the opposite way. 

There are a couple of things I’ve noticed about changing directions. One,something or someone needs to reveal that a change of course is needed. And two, one has to be humble enough to accept the fact that you are going the wrong way and be willing to make the change. 

I stress the word humble here, because it is never easy for me to admit to my wife that I’ve made a wrong turn or that I’m lost. It is hard for me to humble myself in this way. Even after all these years and both of us talking about and even laughing about me lacking a sense of direction, it’s still hard for me to admit! I’ve noticed this is a trait in a lot of men and a sore spot in a lot of marriages. Someone has said that the reason Moses wandered in the wilderness for 40 years is because he wasn’t willing to stop and ask directions. 

Several years ago, I got lost trying to find a new “short cut” driving from our home in Texas to my parents’ house in Oklahoma City. I was lost, but didn’t want to admit that I was lost. In the process of finding my way, I also lost track of my speed and got stopped by a “minister of reminder” (Texas Highway Patrol). While he was ticketing me for speeding, I asked him to settle an argument with my wife and me, and to tell her that I was on the right road and on the right track. He just laughed and said, “You are actually going the opposite direction from where you need to go if you want to go to Oklahoma City.” 

That is what it means to repent. It is authoritative information and humility. It means to learn definitively that you are going the opposite direction from where you need to go and to be humbled to the degree that you are willing to turn around and change course. The experience is a vivid illustration of the true meaning of this biblical concept. As we will see in our study of David this week, repentance is an essential aspect of the Christian life. 

2 Samuel 12:1-7

The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

“Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”

David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.’”

Summary of Text: David is confronted in his sin.  

Memory Verse:  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit (Psalm 51:10-12 ESV).

Monday:  Read the passage. How did Nathan confront David? In what ways do you think this confrontation was helpful to David? Why is it important to have people in your life speak truth? How does the word of God speak truth to you? 

Tuesday:  Read the passage. How was David impacted by the parable Nathan used? How did God use the story to change David’s heart?  

Wednesday:   Read the passage again. Memorize the memory verse. Read Psalm 51. What does this Psalm teach us about David’s ability to repent? Why is repentance so important? 

Thursday:  Read and memorize the memory verse. Read the passage. What kind of courage did it take for Nathan to confront David? Do you have this kind of courage? Where did Nathan get his sense of security and strength to make this confrontation?

Friday:  Read the passage again. Do you have a Nathan in your life? Do you have people in your life who tell you the truth? Ask God to lead you to greater accountability in your life. Ask Him to show you how you can be this for the people you love. 

Saturday:  Read the passage. Read Psalm 51 again. Write down any new thoughts you might have about these passages.       

Sunday:  Make today a day of rest and worship. Pray for the right attitude and an open heart and mind today. Come to church.

Glory

Glory is an overused word. People will say they are doing all kinds of things for “glory.” The result is that when most people hear the word these days, they think of everything from athletic fields to post cards, but likely don’t think of its most important meaning. It literally means “weight” in Hebrew (kabod) and has a connotation that is extraordinarily important to our understanding of the Gospel and our spiritual lives. 

When the Bible speaks of God’s glory, it is telling us that nothing in this life should carry more weight. His joy and presence in our lives should be more substantive and should matter more than anything else. Our search for glory is, in essence, our search for meaning and purpose. The greatest fear people have in life is not the fear of death or pain, but the fear that their lives won’t matter and is a result of the way God has created us. The result is that we search for those things that give our life meaning. If we try to find meaning in anything other than God, then we are seeking our own glory and not His. This is the essence of our sin, and the Bible teaches that it is the biggest struggle we have. 

Our Bible study this week, found in 1 and 2 Samuel, is a graphic example of man’s struggle with an understanding of the glory of God. In this story, the Ark of the Lord was a physical manifestation and representation of God’s glory. It was not a religious artifact as much as it was a transcendent embodiment of His presence. As such, it was both spectacular and unbelievably dangerous. The same can be said of our search for His glory. It is the most important pursuit in our lives, and its destructive power in us is impossible to comprehend.  

1 Samuel 5:1; 2 Samuel 6:1-15

After the Philistines had captured the Ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then they carried the Ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the Ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the Ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon’s temple at Ashdod step on the threshold.

David again brought together all the able young men of Israel—thirty thousand. He and all his men went to Baalah in Judah to bring up from there the Ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the Ark. They set the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart with the Ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.

When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the Ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the Ark of God.

Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.

David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, “How can the Ark of the Lord ever come to me?” He was not willing to take the Ark of the Lord to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. The Ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed him and his entire household. Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the Ark of God.” So David went to bring up the Ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. When those who were carrying the Ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, while he and all Israel were bringing up the Ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.

Summary of Text: David brings the Ark of the Lord back to Israel.

Memory Verse: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).

Monday:  Read the passage.  If the ark of the Lord represents the glory of God, what does this tell us about His glory? How is it powerful? How is it dangerous? Why do people long for God’s glory? 

Tuesday:  Read the passage. In what ways is the ark a problem? How is it true that God’s glory is both essential to us and dangerous for us? How do people try to find glory in the wrong ways today? How does our search for His glory often lead us to religious works? In what ways do religious works destroy us?

Wednesday:   Read the passage again. Memorize the memory verse. How does David get it right by his celebration of the coming of the ark? In what ways do we find life and purpose and joy by celebrating His glory?

Thursday:  Read and memorize the memory verse. In what ways do we behold the glory of God in what we find in Christ? How does Christ lead us to His glory? The ark of the Lord is an illustration to us of the chasm between God and man. In the temple there had to be a sacrifice in order to come into His presence. In what ways does this point us to the truth that only Christ’s sacrifice brings us to His glory?

Friday:  Read the passage again. How does the ark of the Lord point us to Jesus? How is His glory satisfied in Christ’s work?

Saturday:  Read the passage. Read Exodus 33:19-21. How does this passage relate to the one we’ve studied this week?     

Sunday:  Make today a day of rest and worship. Pray for the right attitude and an open heart and mind today.  Come to church.

Christian Friendship

I remember years ago when I played high school football our team was watching films after a hard fought battle against a rival school.  Our team was always graded on film after each game and it was in this film grade that I got to see in retrospect a play I had completely missed.  The game was very aggressive and there were a lot of  “cheap shots”.  Especially from the other team!  (Of course that’s the way I remember it).  There was one particular play in the game in which I was waylaid after a play was over.  A guy hit me from blindside right in the ear hole and knocked me out cold.  All I remember was loud bells ringing and little birdies flying around my head when the play was over.  The result of the play was that about half our bench emptied and theirs to.  But of course I missed all that because I was on another planet at the time. 

But when the film was played back I got an insight.  Immediately after I was hit there was one player on our team who stepped in to get justice (notice how I don’t call it vengeance).  He happened to be my best friend, and in his attempt to hit the guy who hit me, he was blindsided to!  Our team had a big laugh playing that sequence of events over and over again at the films.  It really was quite funny watching me get laid out, and then my best friend right behind me.  Everyone was laughing in the film room but I sat there thinking about this verse:

6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend but
profuse are the kisses of an enemy.  (Proverbs 17:6)

It wasn’t so much the “kiss” from the enemy that affected me; it was the moving experience of seeing on film in front of my whole football team that I had a friend in the world who “had my back”.  I know it sounds somewhat simplistic and maybe a little profane, but the violent aftermath of that one play captured on reel to reel actually was very moving to me.  I’ve thought about that event many times when reflecting on the blessings of friendship. 

In our Bible study this week we see some examples of the attributes of Christian friendship in the relationship between David and Jonathan.   We see that this kind of friendship embodies the teaching of Jesus to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you…”  (Matthew 7:12).  Jesus concluded this teaching by saying that this way of living actually “fulfills the law”.  That can only mean that this is the way Jesus demonstrated His own love for us and that the work of Christ on the cross was the ultimate expression of this teaching.  As you read through the passage this week, look for expressions of the gospel in the friendship between David and Jonathan. 

This weeks Scripture:  1 Samuel 18:1-4; 19:1-7; 20:12-17

18:1 As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan (A)loved him as his own soul. 2 And Saul took him that day (B)and would not let him return to his father's house. 3 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because (C)he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt.  (1 Samuel 18:1-4)

19:1 And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. (A)But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David. 2 And Jonathan told David, “Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself. 3 And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you. And if I learn anything I will tell you.” 4 And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king (B)sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you. 5 For (C)he took his life in his hand (D)and he struck down the Philistine, (E)and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against (F)innocent blood by killing David without cause?” 6 And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore, (G)“As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.” 7 And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence (H)as before.  (1 Samuel 19:1-7)

20:12 And Jonathan said to David, “The Lord, the God of Israel, be witness![a] When I have sounded out my father, about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if he is well disposed toward David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you? 13 But should it please my father to do you harm, (N)the Lord do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not disclose it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. (O)May the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father. 14 If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the Lord, that I may not die; 15 (P)and do not cut off[b] your steadfast love from my house forever, when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” 16 And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, (Q)“May[c]the Lord take vengeance on David's enemies.” 17 And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, (R)for he loved him as he loved his own soul.  (1 Samuel 20:12-17)

Summary of Text: Jonathan and David are drawn together as brothers.

Memory Verse: 6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
profuse are the kisses of an enemy.  (Proverbs 17:6)

Monday:  Read the passage.  How does this passage point us to true biblical friendship?  Why is important to have good Christian friends?

Tuesday:  Read the passage. How did Jonathan’s friendship with David protect David?  How do our Christian friendships provide protection for us?  Are you the kind of friend who look after the good in others?  Does your friendship protect?  Why or why not?

Wednesday:   Read the passage again.  Memorize the memory verse.  In what ways are the wounds of a friend beneficial?  How was Jonathan wounded by his friendship with David?  Friendship always involves risk. Why is it worth it?

Thursday:  Read and memorize the memory verse.  In order to have friends we have to be good friends.  Are you a good friend?  Why or why not?

Friday:  Read the passage again.  What qualities of friendship do you see in this story?  What does it mean to love others the way you want to be loved?  How does Christ demonstrate that quality to us?

Saturday:  Read the passage.  How can we find this kind love for others?  How does walking in His spirit help us with this?   What is it like to have friends like this?      

Sunday:  Make today a day of rest and worship.  Pray for the right attitude and an open heart and mind today.  Come to church.