"After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them" (Matthew 25:19).
There are a number of days that people regard as special or significant, and I am no different. Even now, swirling about in my head like many flocks of geese, are the due dates of bills I owe, the birthdays of family members, holidays, and the like. For those men reading this who are married, we know the terrible fate that would befall us were we to forget our wives' birthday, or Valentine's Day--the ramifications would be far from pleasant (and I know because I have forgotten Valentine's Day once). Consider your average mortgage payment; debt obligations dealing with real estate or car payments hold a little more weight than a phone, or cable bill because of the greater consequences that could ensue if said payments are missed, and unfortunately, untold millions of Americans know the bitter reality of one-too-many mortgage payments missed.
I digress somewhat, but I think that we all can agree that the dates of the months on the calendar are not just neat squares with numbers in them--they have the daily potential to be life-changing slices of time on any given day. How much more the day when the Lord Jesus Christ suddenly, like lightning, comes for those who have been faithful to Him, who have loved His appearing, who have "walked in the light as He is in the light" (I John 1:7)?
This post is not meant to argue the feasibility of Christ's return based on Bible prophecy (which I could easily do), or to even convince anyone that He is coming soon, but rather to enthusiastically yet soberly charge those who are in Christ to make certain that they are ready for the accounting that is inseparable from the inevitability of His soon return (Matt 25:19). The expectation of seeing the One who bought the Christian out of bitter slavery to sin, death, and Satan with His own blood should overshadow every thought we think, every word we speak, and every deed we do; it should outshine, by an infinite brightness, every great or special day we have ever known or anticipate and our anticipation of that day should be all the motivation we need to live lives pleasing to Him.
Far too many Christians are worthless, lazy, selfish servants of their King and I would dare say that all such Christians commonly share an inaccurate or skewed understanding of what the return of Christ really means. There is a reason why God in His limitless wisdom chose not to share with man the exact time of the Lord's return for His own. Consider how we procrastinate. Consider how we put ourselves above the needs of others. Consider how nauseatingly slothful we can be. God knew that if we precisely knew when Christ would return we wouldn't get serious until right before His return--and if we're honest, some of us wouldn't start getting until as little as ten minutes remaining before His arrival.
Christ is coming as a loving King for His blood-bought Church, but also He comes to settle all accounts, to demand a return on His investment of His Spirit whom He gave to all truly born again. And this is not to cause anyone to question their salvation, but rather for us all to get brutally honest with God and ourselves concerning our service. Christ gave us gifts to exercise in this short life to reach others with the only thing that can deliver from hell and save from sin: the Gospel. To some He has given the gift of teaching, and to some He has given the gift of administrations but to us all He expects us to love one another; He expects us to love Him and our neighbor without equivocation; He expects us to eschew sin and deny ourselves daily; He expects us to trust Him for everything; He expects us to be holy.
In Matthew 26, Jesus tells the Parable of the Talents. On the surface, we can clearly observe the context of a master, or an employer entrusting to his servants certain sums of money, to not spend on themselves but for the sole purpose of advancing the master's agenda, to enrich the master and not themselves. It's important to realize that the master had given each servant money each according to their respective abilities and none of the servants were measured against another. All that mattered was for the master to have gained a return on his investment.
Plainly, Christ is depicted as the master in this parable and He expects a return on the investment of Spirit and power into His own, each according to their ability. Not all can preach, but all can pray; not all can teach, but all can love; not all can heal disease, but all can serve his neighbor with humility. Too often we think serving Him is best shown in some monumental act of moving mountains into the sea, or by preaching to thousands, but we honor Him most with love for Him and for each other.
Unfortunately, we are too busy posting to Facebook and Twitter and mindlessly mashing remote control buttons scanning endless channels filled with godless, ignorant drivel to understand how we should use the talent(s) He placed in our hands. Some of us are living lives so compromised, so wicked that we are incapable of hearing Him tell us what He would have us do with His talent(s). Many of us are in sex-crazed, alcohol-induced stupors, once again enslaved to the smut and slime of this world, spiritually anemic and paralyzed. Some of us are so church activities-involved to see our vanity, our profound spiritual emptiness, thinking our church busyness will save us.
The good news is should we maintain the proper view of Christ's return we will most certainly be found doing His will, behaving as we should, having no reason to be ashamed at His appearing. We must understand that His return is sure to occur, and that He is coming to demand a full and absolutely complete accounting of how we have served Him. Christ loves us, and wants to find us honoring Him in our hearts and in service, and whatever He commands His people to do, He empowers them to do. When we fail, we must look in the mirror, measure our conduct by the Word of God (Heb 4:12-13) and get back to waging a good warfare against the god of this world (I Tim 1:18).
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Jesus Trumps All Other Gods
This is simply a declaration to all, that Jesus Christ is FAR superior to any and every other god, religion, or philosophy. While the world is clawing itself to shreds, consumed by sin and debauchery, those blood-bought children of God await their Lord's glorious return to begin eternity with Him.&#160; With that said, His (true) Church is not waiting idly but is being salt and light in this brutal world (Matt. 5:13-16) showing though their lives the reality of Christ's resurrection and sustaining power.</p><br>
<p dir=ltr>Christ is superior to all other gods because He did what none could do.&nbsp; As history is packed with man's futile attempts through religion and self-righteousness to reach God himself, and to attain a "higher level" of existence, man has never been able to expunge the great evil of his own dark heart.&nbsp; Man has tried and mightily still is to "make the world a better place"; has murder and war and crime stopped, or even slowed down in the least?—Absolutely not, but has, in fact increased geometrically! Christ is superior because He, upon His own strong shoulders, bore the entire world's sin debt, paying it all forever with His own blood.
Christ is better than Allah, Muhammad, and Islam; He is greater than the sacrificial system of Judaism; He is superior to the nirvana state of Hinduism and Buddhism because all these are devoid of the grace and mercy and love necessary for a holy God to redeem unto Himself the unlovable, the untrustworthy, the unthankful, the unholy and transform them and choose to live in them. What grace!
Christ alone makes this possible. He came into this foul world for His bitter enemies, those who dared shake defiant fists in His face and save them ANYWAY; He saw us ignorantly drowning in sin, cursing Him as He approached and brought us out despite ourselves.
He is superior because He alone is King of kings and Lord of lords, and there is no god besides Him; He is superior because His grace is greater than our sin, His compassion far stronger than our rebellion, His blood more potent than sin was powerful.
Finally, He is greater because He forgives—for His own sake—and empowers His own to conquer sin in their own lives. He is greater for He lives and never shall again die, but reigns enthroned in glory from on high!
"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such WERE some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God"
(I Cor. 6:9-11, emphasis added).
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Satan Defeated
For all your blows, cruel and fierce,
Words of rancor and threats most dire,
And your attacks on all that I hold dear
And the intensity of your ravenous fire--
And I cannot forget your accusations
You make before my King day and night,
You see my pain overcome with elation
As my groans of agony climb and scrape highest sky.
With smiles of glee and unrestrained joy
You have long held sway over the lives of men;
You have manipulated them as children do toys
And mastered making enemies for me of my own friends.
Your legion of darkness destroys the beautiful
Feeding on the complete corruption of the innocent,
Making the world and all therein totally woeful,
And the evil men commit you never let them forget.
Beneath the massive boulders of all of my sin
You have entombed me amid my own tears and blood
With intent to never allow me to be free again
Having drowned me in guilt that descends like a flood.
But then a mighty King saw me helpless and empty
And with a word, He removed the burden of my sin
By taking it all on Himself, none remaining upon me,
When none else could, father, mother, brother, or friend.
His white robe, by His own blood, was stained red,
He stooped down to me and lifted me out from the mire,
"All that you were, from this moment is now dead,"
He said in His voice like distant thunder, looking into my eyes.
And shame kept me from continuing my gaze
Forcing my eyes toward the blood-covered ground
But with His strong right hand, my chin He raised,
"No more condemnation," He said, "for you were lost but now found."
In the King's shining face I saw no deceit nor any guile
And His every word resounded with the melody of Truth;
"Be faithful and you will rule with Me for all time,"
And His very Spirit entered me and made me completely new.
Then eyes overflowing with mercy and perfect love
In an instant became full of fury and scathing wrath
And a great sword emerged from His mouth in place of His tongue
And every future goal of my enemy lay before his feet, smashed.
The sword's edge was true and acute enough to cut all,
Even joints and marrow, even unseen spirit and soul,
And before my King the great dragon appeared to be so small
And ripped from his grasp was all from me he ever stole.
Then feet like burnished brass from the furnace
Stepped toward the enemy now on his hands and knees
Who knew his existence was reduced to only moments,
And I saw the dragon's head crushed beneath a regal heel.
Yet the dragon's lies stretched ensnaring man in its web
Having entrapped all children, women, and men.
But they knew not that by fear of indictment were they kept
And until their minds are renewed, by sin they were kept till then.
But in His own power, He immersed and fully filled me
While showing me those still mercilessly enslaved in the world.
"Go forth in power with the Truth that all can be freed,"
Then in my unworthy hand He placed His own gleaming sword.
And I went forth in the King's Name with joy I'd never known
To embrace a life of war and service yet kept in perfect peace.
Every resource of the King I was free to use as my own
And love for Him made me more than willing to decrease.
I looked back to see the broken dragon, defeated.
Only in his appearance was he fierce and frightening...
Words of rancor and threats most dire,
And your attacks on all that I hold dear
And the intensity of your ravenous fire--
And I cannot forget your accusations
You make before my King day and night,
You see my pain overcome with elation
As my groans of agony climb and scrape highest sky.
With smiles of glee and unrestrained joy
You have long held sway over the lives of men;
You have manipulated them as children do toys
And mastered making enemies for me of my own friends.
Your legion of darkness destroys the beautiful
Feeding on the complete corruption of the innocent,
Making the world and all therein totally woeful,
And the evil men commit you never let them forget.
Beneath the massive boulders of all of my sin
You have entombed me amid my own tears and blood
With intent to never allow me to be free again
Having drowned me in guilt that descends like a flood.
But then a mighty King saw me helpless and empty
And with a word, He removed the burden of my sin
By taking it all on Himself, none remaining upon me,
When none else could, father, mother, brother, or friend.
His white robe, by His own blood, was stained red,
He stooped down to me and lifted me out from the mire,
"All that you were, from this moment is now dead,"
He said in His voice like distant thunder, looking into my eyes.
And shame kept me from continuing my gaze
Forcing my eyes toward the blood-covered ground
But with His strong right hand, my chin He raised,
"No more condemnation," He said, "for you were lost but now found."
In the King's shining face I saw no deceit nor any guile
And His every word resounded with the melody of Truth;
"Be faithful and you will rule with Me for all time,"
And His very Spirit entered me and made me completely new.
Then eyes overflowing with mercy and perfect love
In an instant became full of fury and scathing wrath
And a great sword emerged from His mouth in place of His tongue
And every future goal of my enemy lay before his feet, smashed.
The sword's edge was true and acute enough to cut all,
Even joints and marrow, even unseen spirit and soul,
And before my King the great dragon appeared to be so small
And ripped from his grasp was all from me he ever stole.
Then feet like burnished brass from the furnace
Stepped toward the enemy now on his hands and knees
Who knew his existence was reduced to only moments,
And I saw the dragon's head crushed beneath a regal heel.
Yet the dragon's lies stretched ensnaring man in its web
Having entrapped all children, women, and men.
But they knew not that by fear of indictment were they kept
And until their minds are renewed, by sin they were kept till then.
But in His own power, He immersed and fully filled me
While showing me those still mercilessly enslaved in the world.
"Go forth in power with the Truth that all can be freed,"
Then in my unworthy hand He placed His own gleaming sword.
And I went forth in the King's Name with joy I'd never known
To embrace a life of war and service yet kept in perfect peace.
Every resource of the King I was free to use as my own
And love for Him made me more than willing to decrease.
I looked back to see the broken dragon, defeated.
Only in his appearance was he fierce and frightening...
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Christ is Coming--What He Wants When He Arrives
 |
| "For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be" (Matthew 24:27). |
The date is Thursday, the ninth day of August. It's a surprisingly cool summer evening in a Chicago that has had one of the most scorching summers in recent memory. The sky is cloudy and overcast as a light rain falls during the sun's descent. My started at at 5:00 a.m. and frankly, I'm a little fatigued right now. I began my day with prayer, about 90 minutes of Bible reading and study before I ran a few errands to return home to get some yard work done that I had been putting off. I'm sitting right now in a Christian men's class at my church (the Apostolic Church of God) with but a single event burning more brightly right now than it normally does, and one that had, I must admit, somewhat lost its luster amid the day's busyness. Just as parents get "too busy" to spend quality time with their children, and as working-too-much husbands neglect their wives and homes, I allowed the greatest event that will occur in every Christian's life to be momentarily forgotten: the glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I understand that not everyone believes that Jesus Christ existed, much less that He's going to someday return in glory. However the most astonishing thing about the issue of belief in this crucial event is that some Christians don't even believe that Christ will return despite all of the Scripture that vividly describes that Day, complete with all of the various and irrefutable signs that will occur prior to His coming; but even in those of us who do believe He will return, is it not our actions that so often say otherwise? With our tongues we say all of the right things, we regularly attend church services and volunteer our energies and talents and gifts to the church, but in the areas that really count, we blatantly deny the great seriousness of that awesome Day of joy, disregarding that it's also one of reckoning as well.
Christ assured His disciples that He would one day return for His own and would do so solely at a time of the Father's choosing (John 14:2, Matthew 24:36), but is the Lord returning to this world of sin to claim a people who have just given up on life, who have vainly sold their possessions, quit their jobs, withdrawn from society to congregate on hills waiting in white robes holding hands chanting and humming--?
A thousand times, no!
Christ rightfully expects to return to His people who have been relentlessly diligent in doing His will, who've dedicated their lives to uncompromised holiness and tireless service to God and man; His own who have been the salt and light of this world who have without apology or shame warred against the corruption of this age with the only weapon able to prevail against the kingdom of darkness: the Word of God. Those who call themselves Christian should be striving in every waking moment that at the fine brass-colored feet of Jesus to be able to offer two priceless things: faithfulness and obedience.
We must, especially in this very late hour in human history, understand that this planet and everything and everyone on it falls under the jurisdiction of the rule of God and He will have all things function according to His perfect will. He has for a time allowed rebellious man to go his own way, and we have all experienced the painfully harsh embedded consequences of sin. But God, who is rich in mercy (Eph. 2:4), planned before the creation of the universe to reserve an inumerable multitude of sinners purchased from the grip of sin and death and Satan to overcome the aforemention cruel slavemasters in both this life and the one to come (Rev. 7:9, 13-14). It would be these, a small minority in comparison to the members of mankind that would be lost, that would be called and chosen to believe on Jesus Christ as Savior, submit to Him as Lord, having the Holy Spirit living within them. To walk in faithfulness and obedience (expected by Christ) requires the abiding of the Holy Spirit. By the will of the Father Christ saved the Church forever making the Christian a citizen of the Kingdom of God, and most certainly God could have and can take anyone saved immediately to Heaven, skipping whatever years of remaining trouble-filled life--but He doesn't. God bestows on His own the Holy Spirit because following salvation and justification a great work must begin, one that must go on until that pre-determined time in God's mind to take His servant home.
We must understand that the service Christ demands is of an urgency so great that He will hold His own sternly responsible for it being undone with piercing words of rebuke and chastisement--there are precious, eternal souls teetering on the cusp of the never-extinguishing fire of hell! The same hell that Christ, in perfect, unquestioning obedience to His Father's will left Heaven to save you from if you are born again. Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ gives one a general idea of what Christ endured as the price of our deliverance from the due penalty for our sin. I say "general" because the Bible says that Jesus Christ was so horribly beaten and scourged that he no longer even looked like a man. Just had to make that crystal clear. So if anyone thinks even for one thousandth of a second that God will have allowed that type of brutality to His dear, perfect Son, who never hurt or hated anyone, who had only such a profound love for His Father that He would lay down His own life for those that the Father loved and for those bought by His own blood to half-heartedly serve Him and not share the greatest, most urgent message ever with the lost and not be strongly disciplined, then I have only pity on that person.
Christ expects His people to be faithful stewards of the resources, talents, gifts, and Truth that He has given. He expects His people to be obedient to the commands He has issued in the only two sources of His will: the inerrant, infallible, inspired and complete Holy Bible, and by His Holy Spirit.
And both will always, always, always agree with one another.
In Matthew 24:45-51, Christ tells a parable about the faithful and wise servants. It is in this parable that Christ describes the thinking and mannerisms of the unwise servant. His degree of faithfulnes was based on his thinking that "My master is delaying his coming" and therefore he lost the connection between the truth of his master's arrival and his faithfulness in managing his master's resources. It should be noted that the unwise servant never denied or forgot that his master was coming, but he failed to allow the truth of his coming to govern his actions. This thinking is shamefully pervasive in American churches today. So many Christians have taken their eyes off of the imminent coming of Christ and by default have done what the unwise servant did by eating and drinking with drunkards and treating his fellows with cruelty. (One of the main reasons for man's inhumanity toward man is because of covetousness; the American nation and church are so burdened and enslaved by materialism that it has become the idolatry of this present hour.)
I am a Christian. I am glad to be a Christian. I regularly pray for the strength--for the guts--to be able to hold to my confession of Christ as Lord even in the face of death and torture. Scripture plainly says that love for Him is simply shown by obedience to His commands (Deut 6:4-6, 11:1; Ps 119:97: Eccl 12:13; Matt 7:21, 22:37; Mark 12:30; John 14:15, 21, 23, 24, 15:10). It is the greatest act of hatred of Christ to disobey Him. This truth is staggering, especially because if we're honest with ourselves we often willingly violate the commands of Christ.
Christ already owns and governs the universe from the right hand of the Father so if you think about it, there's absolutely nothing we can offer Him that He doesn't completely own. Therefore, what can we offer Him other than faithfulness in "micro-managing" the things He entrusts into our care and our obedience to Scripture and His Spirit?
He expects faithfulness and obedience in every area of our lives, not just when we show up for worship or in the more obvious moments of life. He demands faithfulness in our time and energy and resources in those moments where no one is watching; in those moments where temptation entices to advance Self, or to steal, or to harbor hate in our heart toward others. Many sins are very convenient to commit like fornication, adultery, covetousness, drunkenness, and pornography but those are the times when we must show the greatest amount of faithfulness.
The return of Christ for His own is most assuredly the most joyously anticipated event that will ever occur for Christians but we must remember that from His judgment throne Christ with demand a full accounting for our faithfulness (with His gifts) and for our obedience (to His commands).
If we maintain the proper perspective of that Day then its imminent approach and subsequent full, scouring examination by the Lord will give supernatural sobriety to our lives and spur us on to hear Christ's words, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord" (Matt 25:21).
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
The Spiritual Origin of Sagging Pants
"Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings" (Genesis 3:7)
Modern-day pop culture is quite the fickle beast, isn't it? Buzz-generating trends in music, food, fashion--they all tend to suddenly burst onto the scene with much fanfare and applause but more often than not, they usually fade into obsolescence and obscurity just as equally. I don't know what it is about human nature that compels us to gravitate to particular products simply because a certain "celebrity" or some for-whatever-reason "noteworthy" person endorses them; I irresistibly think of possibly the most powerful name, marketing wise, to ever push anything on the American public: Michael Jordan. Yes, Mr. Jordan has pushed everything from shoes to underwear, from hot dogs to cigars and is doing it well, even after his legendary professional basketball career has long since ended. It's been said that as long as it's made to look good, Americans will buy it.
America has, almost from her inception, been a culturally diverse nation with a mainstream, nearly universally accepted macro-culture, and thriving deep in the subcutaneous layer of American skin has lain the myriad of micro-cultures belonging to the peoples of the melting pot. Style of clothing has always been one of the most effective vehicles to express one's individual or group culture (and norms and traditions). When one sees the jet-black suit and full ear-to-ear beard of a burly, rugged man you think Amish or Orthodox Jew. When a spry, yet serious-faced, redheaded man attends a board meeting with a "power tie" and a forest-green and black plaid kilt you obviously say, "Ah, must be Irish." These styles of dress are distinctly connected to proud cultures and peoples, respectively. But when looks out onto the streets of say, Chicago, and sees a young man, braids or dreads flowing, white tee-shirt untucked with his baggy blue jeans literally falling off of his body to the point he has to hold them up, what goes through you mind?
The fact remains that our outerwear (even, dare I say, our underwear) says quite a deal about our culture and, more importantly, how we think. What can be said about the thinking of a young man that bares his underwear to the world's eye? This disturbing trend (that had been thought of as a fad) of letting pants "sag" says much about the susceptibility of young minds to the suggestions of those clearly not under the leading of the Word of God. I know some might say that I'm being "legalistic" or that I'm just being an old stick-in-the-mud, steeped in traditional modes of stuffy, boring dress, but to that I say that the Scriptures have much to say about modesty, about carrying oneself in dignity befitting those who bear the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
But on a deeper, less obvious level, I posit that the roots of this sagging trend go all the way back to the Garden of Eden; before you check out, believing this to be a far-fetched, ridiculous connection, look at the response of Adam and Eve when confronted with the infernal birth of that which has ruled the human heart since that fateful moment: sin.
A very brief overview of what we call the Fall of Man, shows us simply that man was given complete blessing and privilege to indulge in everything present in the Garden--with only one restriction--which was JEHOVAH'S right to do. Man stepped outside of God's will by acting independently of his own volition. He intentionally violated just one inhibition--99.99% of the entire world wasn't good enough for Adam. He was duped in trading peace, joy, perfect love and Divine fellowship for the 1% that brought with it thousands of years of unrelenting pain, suffering, violence, and death.
The first thing that our original parents did when "the eyes of both of them were opened" (Genesis 3:7) was cover themselves. The full weight of guilt and the awful "wrongness" in their spirit came down on them with an asteroid's strike force and the best they could do to dissuade the horrible spiritual stain was to pitifully sew fig leaves together in a futile attempt to stand before a perfect, holy God that they absolutely, unequivocally, positively knew would visit them and demand explanation. I would imagine that since clothing was unnecessary up to this dark point that the first foray into raiment style was absolutely horrendous.
Their regret could only be balanced by the promise of the only hope, the only one who could balance the scales, the One with full power to pay the incalculable debt of sin: the Lord Jesus Christ. I would imagine the load of guilt is comparable to the guilt of Judas Iscariot that compelled him to take his own life after betraying One so perfect, so innocent, so honorable to those he clearly knew were duplicitous, wicked, and corrupt. But it's in our clothing that along with style and character that we find the sign of our inward shame and guilt that we inherited from our first parents. Man has been trying to cover up his shame ever since then, like a child who knows he stands before his parents who know his deviant behavior. While we have made creative use of fabrics, colors, and clothing-related accessories, clothing is just a sign of our profound sin, our irreconcilable separation from our Creator. Man in his basic nature is a rebel against all that is godly, holy, and morally upright in accordance with the Scriptures.
Yet looking at recent modern (and disturbing) trends in fashion, especially in Western cultures, the order of the day appears to cast off as much clothing as possible, to bare as much flesh as possible. Modesty is the antithesis of pop-culture and the Bible calls for men and women of God to be modest, because of the One the people represent. It's a casting away of our shame that is one of the most prominent indicators of sin in our hearts and in the world. So not just with women showing as much skin as possible to stay (barely) within legal limits, the men have followed suit and in the urban centers of America it's a common thing to see in the hot months, multiple scores of young men walking the streets shirtless and with exceptionally baggy jeans literally falling off of their bodies. The first thing that Adam and Eve noticed was that they were naked--their shame was rooted in the awful birth of Self on that day. As man continues to descend rapidly into the uttermost depths of lasciviousness he seeks to more and more display the spiritual state of his rebellion against holiness--whether he knows it or not. The showing of that which should not be publicly seen is clear evidence of modern man attempting just the opposite of what Adam and Eve tried and failed to do--to hide their shame and guilt. Man, in essence is saying, "God, there's nothing to be ashamed of anymore! I'm fine just the way I am and I don't need You to cover me!"
As already mentioned, our first parents attempted to cover themselves with their own works, with their own ingenuity which was not nearly enough. Man will try to cover himself but does not want God to cover his sin and guilt, and now in our popular culture we are unabashedly casting off even our own coverings of our sin and guilt and virtually every media outlet almost twenty-four hours every day is attempting to brainwash children to believe that "having it and flaunting it" is a sign of personal freedom from dogmatic and societal restriction just as Adam and Eve sought freedom from God's limitation for their good. Our clothing is a reminder of our great fall from grace and we spend great energy trying to forget it.
And now, those who carry themselves in such ways lock themselves into certain sectors of society. For the ladies, they force themselves into professions that abuse them and denigrate them; for the men, society tends to fear them and not take them seriously. Of course, I am not suggesting they be locked out of the Church, for the blood-bought Church is exactly what these men and women need so that Christ can bring about an everlasting transformation that will produce many fruits (e.g. love, joy, peace, etc.) among which are godly modesty and personal dignity in public as well as in private in dress and behavior.
Modern-day pop culture is quite the fickle beast, isn't it? Buzz-generating trends in music, food, fashion--they all tend to suddenly burst onto the scene with much fanfare and applause but more often than not, they usually fade into obsolescence and obscurity just as equally. I don't know what it is about human nature that compels us to gravitate to particular products simply because a certain "celebrity" or some for-whatever-reason "noteworthy" person endorses them; I irresistibly think of possibly the most powerful name, marketing wise, to ever push anything on the American public: Michael Jordan. Yes, Mr. Jordan has pushed everything from shoes to underwear, from hot dogs to cigars and is doing it well, even after his legendary professional basketball career has long since ended. It's been said that as long as it's made to look good, Americans will buy it.
America has, almost from her inception, been a culturally diverse nation with a mainstream, nearly universally accepted macro-culture, and thriving deep in the subcutaneous layer of American skin has lain the myriad of micro-cultures belonging to the peoples of the melting pot. Style of clothing has always been one of the most effective vehicles to express one's individual or group culture (and norms and traditions). When one sees the jet-black suit and full ear-to-ear beard of a burly, rugged man you think Amish or Orthodox Jew. When a spry, yet serious-faced, redheaded man attends a board meeting with a "power tie" and a forest-green and black plaid kilt you obviously say, "Ah, must be Irish." These styles of dress are distinctly connected to proud cultures and peoples, respectively. But when looks out onto the streets of say, Chicago, and sees a young man, braids or dreads flowing, white tee-shirt untucked with his baggy blue jeans literally falling off of his body to the point he has to hold them up, what goes through you mind?
The fact remains that our outerwear (even, dare I say, our underwear) says quite a deal about our culture and, more importantly, how we think. What can be said about the thinking of a young man that bares his underwear to the world's eye? This disturbing trend (that had been thought of as a fad) of letting pants "sag" says much about the susceptibility of young minds to the suggestions of those clearly not under the leading of the Word of God. I know some might say that I'm being "legalistic" or that I'm just being an old stick-in-the-mud, steeped in traditional modes of stuffy, boring dress, but to that I say that the Scriptures have much to say about modesty, about carrying oneself in dignity befitting those who bear the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
But on a deeper, less obvious level, I posit that the roots of this sagging trend go all the way back to the Garden of Eden; before you check out, believing this to be a far-fetched, ridiculous connection, look at the response of Adam and Eve when confronted with the infernal birth of that which has ruled the human heart since that fateful moment: sin.
A very brief overview of what we call the Fall of Man, shows us simply that man was given complete blessing and privilege to indulge in everything present in the Garden--with only one restriction--which was JEHOVAH'S right to do. Man stepped outside of God's will by acting independently of his own volition. He intentionally violated just one inhibition--99.99% of the entire world wasn't good enough for Adam. He was duped in trading peace, joy, perfect love and Divine fellowship for the 1% that brought with it thousands of years of unrelenting pain, suffering, violence, and death.
The first thing that our original parents did when "the eyes of both of them were opened" (Genesis 3:7) was cover themselves. The full weight of guilt and the awful "wrongness" in their spirit came down on them with an asteroid's strike force and the best they could do to dissuade the horrible spiritual stain was to pitifully sew fig leaves together in a futile attempt to stand before a perfect, holy God that they absolutely, unequivocally, positively knew would visit them and demand explanation. I would imagine that since clothing was unnecessary up to this dark point that the first foray into raiment style was absolutely horrendous.
Their regret could only be balanced by the promise of the only hope, the only one who could balance the scales, the One with full power to pay the incalculable debt of sin: the Lord Jesus Christ. I would imagine the load of guilt is comparable to the guilt of Judas Iscariot that compelled him to take his own life after betraying One so perfect, so innocent, so honorable to those he clearly knew were duplicitous, wicked, and corrupt. But it's in our clothing that along with style and character that we find the sign of our inward shame and guilt that we inherited from our first parents. Man has been trying to cover up his shame ever since then, like a child who knows he stands before his parents who know his deviant behavior. While we have made creative use of fabrics, colors, and clothing-related accessories, clothing is just a sign of our profound sin, our irreconcilable separation from our Creator. Man in his basic nature is a rebel against all that is godly, holy, and morally upright in accordance with the Scriptures.
Yet looking at recent modern (and disturbing) trends in fashion, especially in Western cultures, the order of the day appears to cast off as much clothing as possible, to bare as much flesh as possible. Modesty is the antithesis of pop-culture and the Bible calls for men and women of God to be modest, because of the One the people represent. It's a casting away of our shame that is one of the most prominent indicators of sin in our hearts and in the world. So not just with women showing as much skin as possible to stay (barely) within legal limits, the men have followed suit and in the urban centers of America it's a common thing to see in the hot months, multiple scores of young men walking the streets shirtless and with exceptionally baggy jeans literally falling off of their bodies. The first thing that Adam and Eve noticed was that they were naked--their shame was rooted in the awful birth of Self on that day. As man continues to descend rapidly into the uttermost depths of lasciviousness he seeks to more and more display the spiritual state of his rebellion against holiness--whether he knows it or not. The showing of that which should not be publicly seen is clear evidence of modern man attempting just the opposite of what Adam and Eve tried and failed to do--to hide their shame and guilt. Man, in essence is saying, "God, there's nothing to be ashamed of anymore! I'm fine just the way I am and I don't need You to cover me!"
As already mentioned, our first parents attempted to cover themselves with their own works, with their own ingenuity which was not nearly enough. Man will try to cover himself but does not want God to cover his sin and guilt, and now in our popular culture we are unabashedly casting off even our own coverings of our sin and guilt and virtually every media outlet almost twenty-four hours every day is attempting to brainwash children to believe that "having it and flaunting it" is a sign of personal freedom from dogmatic and societal restriction just as Adam and Eve sought freedom from God's limitation for their good. Our clothing is a reminder of our great fall from grace and we spend great energy trying to forget it.
And now, those who carry themselves in such ways lock themselves into certain sectors of society. For the ladies, they force themselves into professions that abuse them and denigrate them; for the men, society tends to fear them and not take them seriously. Of course, I am not suggesting they be locked out of the Church, for the blood-bought Church is exactly what these men and women need so that Christ can bring about an everlasting transformation that will produce many fruits (e.g. love, joy, peace, etc.) among which are godly modesty and personal dignity in public as well as in private in dress and behavior.
"Therefore gird up the loins of
your mind, be sober, and rest your
hope fully upon the grace that is
to be brought to you at the
revelation of Jesus Christ;
as obedient children, not
conforming yourselves to the former
lusts, as in your ignorance;
but as He who called you is holy,
you also be holy in all your conduct,
because it is written,
"Be holy, for I am holy.""
(I Peter 1:13-16)
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Fathers: Mighty Men of Valor!
"The son of Uzzi was Izrahiah, and the sons of Izrahiah were Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Ishiah. All five of them were chief men. And with them, by their generations, according to their fathers' houses, were thirty-six thousand troops ready for war; for they had many wives and sons. Now their brethren among all the families of Issachar were mighty men of valor, listed by their genealogies, eighty-seven thousand in all" (1 Chronicles 7:3-5).
Fathers, especially in a nation (and world) that seems to daily and exponentially descend into absolute moral depravity, need to understand deeply in their heart of hearts the solemnity of their calling and responsibility. I'm a father myself--a proud one at that--and looking at society's current incurable ailment with spiritual eyes I have come to understand the present state only by aligning these horrendous events with the immutable judgments of the Holy Scriptures. I have come to understand the current state of affairs as the tangible workings of an intricately constructed and efficiently conducted system that functions by harnessing very real energies, and I need not remind anyone that no system, machine, or procedure exists without having a very meticulously crafted purpose. And to determine the purpose of this immensely powerful and diabolical invisible system we need only look at its superfluous visible effects.
One of the most damning indicators of the sway of an unseen sinister machine is evidenced by the pervading culture of incarceration and recidivism in the United States. The rampant plague of imprisonment is ravaging tens of millions of homes across the country leaving tens of millions of children fatherless as the overwhelming majority of felons are male, many of whom are fathers.
The media colossus, at every turn, seeks to fill our homes and our minds with scenes from programs such as Family Guy, American Dad, Modern Family, and various "reality" television shows, all carefully designed to portray husbands and fathers as weak-willed buffoons with little to no moral fortitude. Yes, in popular culture today, the women rule the home. One must ask, however, is the art simply imitating reality?
A debilitating American welfare system encourages irresponsible sexual behavior, and a public school system skews the perception of young boys and girls of what real men, husbands and fathers are like as a whopping 82% of all public school teachers in America are female.
Hip-Hop music is dominated by misogyny and the portrayal of young Black males as empty-headed, threatening fools more concerned with jewelry and fashion than fatherhood (see The Brutal Execution of Hip-Hop). Even the public airwaves, mainly in highly urban areas are daily polluted with profanity-laced lyrics with many of which not even being discreet in their coarse descriptions and soliticitations of lewdness and various sexual acts.
I have three daughters, and my blood literally boils when I imagine anyone propositioning any one of them in the way that some of the most popular songs are indirectly propositioning females today. It is outrageous that this has become an acceptable form of music.
In the city of Chicago, especially in the summer months, the news reports come in almost daily of multiple shootings, many of which are fatalities as the gang culture on our streets sucks in more and more boys who become enslaved by illicit drug use, violent crime, and death. These gang members are overwhelmingly the tragic results of fatherless homes, or fathers who have not come to truly understand their God-ordained duty.
I could obviously go on for several days tabulating not even one percent of the tragedies that daily occur in America that are directly the result of godly fathers not powerfully carrying out their charge, but I would much rather even in the shadow of death and suffering present the solution to these problems. In the Bible verse that precedes this post from I Chronicles, it speaks of a man named Uzzi who had just one son, Izrahiah who in turn, had four sons of his own. Most often, when we read over the multiple genealogies contained in Scripture our eyes glaze over and at times we skip over these precise records (and I speak from experience) but I believe that they're there to teach some very practical lessons about how influential and world-shaping fathers can be in this sin-filled world.
Without tabulating the entire history of the conquest of Canaan, I will just say that those were days of constant struggle, war, and vigilance. Successfully inheriting the land required just what Uzzi produced: "thirty-six thousand troops ready for war." I find it astounding that from this man came these incredibly brave, stout men ready for combat. Obviously, there was a message and teaching that went from Uzzi to his four sons that was retaught at least forty thousand times bringing to birth a mighty division of the great army of Israel.
Within the land were peoples of tremendous violence, perversion, and wickedness. The Bible says that the Anakim were in the land (Numbers 13:33; Joshua 14:12) these were the giants of old (the most notable being Goliath whom King David slew). They dwelt in massive cities surrounded by well-fortified walls. Their enemies had weapons and chariots of iron. They had been skilled in war from fighting each other. The Israelites were former slaves and the children of slaves but when men align themselves to God's program and cast down fear, inadequacy, and their own concepts of leading their families and communities then we can see radical transformations of said families and communities. Instead of multiple thousands of boys and men to wreak havoc on society, imagine forty thousand men of God, committed to doing God's will without equivocation! The Scripture also says that all thirty-six thousand were ready for war!
I think there is a reason that the mothers and wives are not named, as we can identify other Scriptures where the women are specifically named with purpose. Uzzi obviously was raising his sons with the goal of making them like he was, because it clearly says that "All five of them were chief men." Uzzi was a chief man, a prominent, strong, brave, choice man, and for his sons to be ascribed the same modifiers reveals what is not explicitly mentioned--he was daily, diligently teaching his sons to be chief men, and not only that, but by his godly fatherhood his sons produced thirty-six thousand more duplicates of their father all ready to unhesitatingly carry out the will of God Almighty. What a marvelous testament to the long-range effects of just one godly father!
In 2012, God is not asking his men to raise sons to pick up swords to physically fight against His enemies. He is sending His men out armed with the Holy Spirit and the Gospel of Jesus Christ to tear down every one of Satan's strongholds (Proverbs 21:22; II Corinthians 10:4) that are crushing the lives and spirits of millions--billions--around the globe. Uzzi was showing through his conduct how mighty men of valor behave, because you can teach with words how to do something, but for the techniques to stick, you must show how to do it regular modeling.
I am more than proud to say that I belong to a church that is a family church, one that exalts the office of Fatherhood and equips men through teaching, preaching, and placement of good fathers into places of authority and responsibility. The Apostolic Church of God has teeming in its halls and sanctuaries men who are literally following the example of Uzzi, and perhaps most preeminent of those Uzzi-like men has been Bishop Arthur M. Brazier who by his own teaching and conduct [over a 48-year pastoral ministry] produced a mighty man of valor from his own loins, Dr. Byron T. Brazier, current pastor of the Apostolic Church of God. Dr. Brazier is, by his effective leading reproducing men not unlike his own father. I could go on with other examples: Elder Ronald E. Smith, Sr., Deacon Steve Small, Bro. Radford Smith, Min. Dwight Lewis, Elder Wendell Kendricks, and on and on.
As fathers understand the state of war that exists in our homes and communities, and the empowerment found only in Christ (as Uzzi and his sons did) we will, when led by the Holy Spirit, use the proper spiritual weapons to wage unending, merciless war against all of the institutions, practices, and schemes that are destroying our nation. Yes, fathers are the God-ordained difference!
Yes, the raising of the "thirty-six thousand troops ready for war" proceeds in earnest at the Apostolic Church of God. The kingdom of Satan will be shaken and toppled to ruins.
Fathers, especially in a nation (and world) that seems to daily and exponentially descend into absolute moral depravity, need to understand deeply in their heart of hearts the solemnity of their calling and responsibility. I'm a father myself--a proud one at that--and looking at society's current incurable ailment with spiritual eyes I have come to understand the present state only by aligning these horrendous events with the immutable judgments of the Holy Scriptures. I have come to understand the current state of affairs as the tangible workings of an intricately constructed and efficiently conducted system that functions by harnessing very real energies, and I need not remind anyone that no system, machine, or procedure exists without having a very meticulously crafted purpose. And to determine the purpose of this immensely powerful and diabolical invisible system we need only look at its superfluous visible effects.
One of the most damning indicators of the sway of an unseen sinister machine is evidenced by the pervading culture of incarceration and recidivism in the United States. The rampant plague of imprisonment is ravaging tens of millions of homes across the country leaving tens of millions of children fatherless as the overwhelming majority of felons are male, many of whom are fathers.
The media colossus, at every turn, seeks to fill our homes and our minds with scenes from programs such as Family Guy, American Dad, Modern Family, and various "reality" television shows, all carefully designed to portray husbands and fathers as weak-willed buffoons with little to no moral fortitude. Yes, in popular culture today, the women rule the home. One must ask, however, is the art simply imitating reality?
A debilitating American welfare system encourages irresponsible sexual behavior, and a public school system skews the perception of young boys and girls of what real men, husbands and fathers are like as a whopping 82% of all public school teachers in America are female.
Hip-Hop music is dominated by misogyny and the portrayal of young Black males as empty-headed, threatening fools more concerned with jewelry and fashion than fatherhood (see The Brutal Execution of Hip-Hop). Even the public airwaves, mainly in highly urban areas are daily polluted with profanity-laced lyrics with many of which not even being discreet in their coarse descriptions and soliticitations of lewdness and various sexual acts.
I have three daughters, and my blood literally boils when I imagine anyone propositioning any one of them in the way that some of the most popular songs are indirectly propositioning females today. It is outrageous that this has become an acceptable form of music.
In the city of Chicago, especially in the summer months, the news reports come in almost daily of multiple shootings, many of which are fatalities as the gang culture on our streets sucks in more and more boys who become enslaved by illicit drug use, violent crime, and death. These gang members are overwhelmingly the tragic results of fatherless homes, or fathers who have not come to truly understand their God-ordained duty.
I could obviously go on for several days tabulating not even one percent of the tragedies that daily occur in America that are directly the result of godly fathers not powerfully carrying out their charge, but I would much rather even in the shadow of death and suffering present the solution to these problems. In the Bible verse that precedes this post from I Chronicles, it speaks of a man named Uzzi who had just one son, Izrahiah who in turn, had four sons of his own. Most often, when we read over the multiple genealogies contained in Scripture our eyes glaze over and at times we skip over these precise records (and I speak from experience) but I believe that they're there to teach some very practical lessons about how influential and world-shaping fathers can be in this sin-filled world.
Without tabulating the entire history of the conquest of Canaan, I will just say that those were days of constant struggle, war, and vigilance. Successfully inheriting the land required just what Uzzi produced: "thirty-six thousand troops ready for war." I find it astounding that from this man came these incredibly brave, stout men ready for combat. Obviously, there was a message and teaching that went from Uzzi to his four sons that was retaught at least forty thousand times bringing to birth a mighty division of the great army of Israel.
Within the land were peoples of tremendous violence, perversion, and wickedness. The Bible says that the Anakim were in the land (Numbers 13:33; Joshua 14:12) these were the giants of old (the most notable being Goliath whom King David slew). They dwelt in massive cities surrounded by well-fortified walls. Their enemies had weapons and chariots of iron. They had been skilled in war from fighting each other. The Israelites were former slaves and the children of slaves but when men align themselves to God's program and cast down fear, inadequacy, and their own concepts of leading their families and communities then we can see radical transformations of said families and communities. Instead of multiple thousands of boys and men to wreak havoc on society, imagine forty thousand men of God, committed to doing God's will without equivocation! The Scripture also says that all thirty-six thousand were ready for war!
I think there is a reason that the mothers and wives are not named, as we can identify other Scriptures where the women are specifically named with purpose. Uzzi obviously was raising his sons with the goal of making them like he was, because it clearly says that "All five of them were chief men." Uzzi was a chief man, a prominent, strong, brave, choice man, and for his sons to be ascribed the same modifiers reveals what is not explicitly mentioned--he was daily, diligently teaching his sons to be chief men, and not only that, but by his godly fatherhood his sons produced thirty-six thousand more duplicates of their father all ready to unhesitatingly carry out the will of God Almighty. What a marvelous testament to the long-range effects of just one godly father!
In 2012, God is not asking his men to raise sons to pick up swords to physically fight against His enemies. He is sending His men out armed with the Holy Spirit and the Gospel of Jesus Christ to tear down every one of Satan's strongholds (Proverbs 21:22; II Corinthians 10:4) that are crushing the lives and spirits of millions--billions--around the globe. Uzzi was showing through his conduct how mighty men of valor behave, because you can teach with words how to do something, but for the techniques to stick, you must show how to do it regular modeling.
I am more than proud to say that I belong to a church that is a family church, one that exalts the office of Fatherhood and equips men through teaching, preaching, and placement of good fathers into places of authority and responsibility. The Apostolic Church of God has teeming in its halls and sanctuaries men who are literally following the example of Uzzi, and perhaps most preeminent of those Uzzi-like men has been Bishop Arthur M. Brazier who by his own teaching and conduct [over a 48-year pastoral ministry] produced a mighty man of valor from his own loins, Dr. Byron T. Brazier, current pastor of the Apostolic Church of God. Dr. Brazier is, by his effective leading reproducing men not unlike his own father. I could go on with other examples: Elder Ronald E. Smith, Sr., Deacon Steve Small, Bro. Radford Smith, Min. Dwight Lewis, Elder Wendell Kendricks, and on and on.
As fathers understand the state of war that exists in our homes and communities, and the empowerment found only in Christ (as Uzzi and his sons did) we will, when led by the Holy Spirit, use the proper spiritual weapons to wage unending, merciless war against all of the institutions, practices, and schemes that are destroying our nation. Yes, fathers are the God-ordained difference!
Yes, the raising of the "thirty-six thousand troops ready for war" proceeds in earnest at the Apostolic Church of God. The kingdom of Satan will be shaken and toppled to ruins.
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