Loss of Innocence

Those who know some of my journey realize that I came to know Christ at 18. It was shortly after that when I responded to a call to the ministry. I went to college and to seminary; did evangelistic rallies for several years; was in youth ministry for several years and was a pastor in two churches over a period of several years.

During that time I was receptive to most anything people of “church” authority told me. There were some things I questioned, but not many.

When life began to kick me around some and I faltered and “left” the ministry, there was a real loss of innocence. You might say I grew up and began to see things from a different perspective.  Some of that has been good, some of it has handicapped me at times. Nevertheless, it has been better overall. I believe it was Socrates who said, “An unexamined life is not worth living.”  He is right.

On this blog, there is a “page two” that contains some poems and essays. The first essay posted is entitled “Perplexed”. It gives a sense of where I am going with all of this. So suffice it to say here, that I look at things differently now, than I did then.

In my reading through Revelation, I got started this morning and could not stop. It really is a great piece of literature, not to mention a challenging piece of prophecy. However, one cannot help but notice how it ends. At least five times “I am coming soon” or “the time is near” is noted. Now I don’t know about you, but that catches my attention. I want to have some understanding of what is meant by “soon” or “near”.

Of course, the standard responses are a day is as a thousand years to the Lord; we must leave it to the authors interpretation of what “soon” means; there is a sense of immediacy but we cannot take that literally, etc., etc..  All of which seem rather weak.  Is there more to it than that?

Many people are uncomfortable with these kinds of questions. I find them fascinating. God gave me a mind, He expects me to use it. Blind faith might be wonderful as an answer for the ultimate question of God, but it is a pitiful answer when it comes to explaining the Word of God.  Prophecy may be a genre with a certain element of mystery, but it is not one without predefined rules as set in scripture. (Deut. 18:20-22) Therefore I suspect there is a “now” answer for the readers then, and a “soon” answer for those in the future.

Loss of innocence is sometimes seen as coming of age. That may or may not be true. Nevertheless, as a student of scripture, I owe myself more than just reading with my mind disengaged.  Having full faculties on the “alert”, as I read, is what makes the Bible come alive and speak to my heart AND my mind. It stretches me, causes me to reach farther and learn more. It is also what makes a growing disciple.

God Bless the reading of His Word!

Now is the time…

My daughter posted a little quiz on their blog about some products that are common to both England and the United States but have totally different names.  For example “plasters” are what we call band-aids; “dripping” is what we would call lard; and “fromage frais” is what we know as yogurt.  Needless to say, I did not do well on the quiz.

While reading the book of Revelation, it strikes me that “worship” is going to be similar in many respects. There will be several that will recognize it immediately for what it is – worship. The praise and adoration of God Almighty. But…..

There may be another group that will take a step back and say, “Wait, I think that looks familiar, but usually we call it the power hour and we do it this way! May we offer a suggestion?”

Then there may be another group that says, “Okay, this is great. While we lift our hearts in prayer and everyone has their eyes closed – What do you mean we don’t close our eyes!!! How are we going to move the angels to one side and shift the incense bowls to the center? How will the  living creatures sneak off the stage? And what about those who need another cup of coffee? How are we supposed to get all that done with everyone looking?”

The truth is, most of us are not very good at praise and worship. We don’t understand the concept, study it as described and practiced in scripture, nor see it demonstrated very well on Sunday morning.

I know I struggle with it. At times my mind wanders and I loose my focus. Other times I am reticent to open myself up to God and let my heart be exposed and my spirit be vulnerable.  Often times I am guarded and self conscious.  This is something I can change.

When it comes time to praise and worship God in total freedom before His throne, I may find myself looking around and thinking – “Wow – so this is what it’s like!” Perhaps someone will come alongside and mentor me.

To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”  (Rev. 5:13b)

Royal Crown

It is hard to imagine that Royal Crown Cola can still survive against the likes of Coke and Pepsi, but somehow they do. I remember as a kid Royal Crown Cola and Diet Rite were the drinks. In fact, I believe, Diet Rite, may have been the first diet soda on the market. If you’ve ever had one you know it has a taste like no other cola drink. Nevertheless, it found its niche and has survived.

The idea of “crowns” in the New Testament continues to survive as well. In fact, it was part of a recent on line discussion I had with a few friends of mine. The focus was primarily on the idea of five different crowns being noted in the New Testament: crown of righteousness (2Tim 4:8), crown of life (James 1:12), crown of glory (1Peter 5:4), crown of rejoicing (1Thes. 2:19), and the incorruptible crown (1Cor. 9:25). My question to my friends, both pastors and PhD’s, was whether or not these were five separate crowns for five different references to the same crown.

Well, as you might imagine, there was not a definitive consensus but the trend was toward five different references to the same crown. Which seems most appropriate to Scripture and to the vision that John has in Revelation, since the twenty-four elders are said to simply have “golden crowns” (4:4). Not several crowns. In addition, they don’t seem to be wearing them anyway, but casting them before the throne of God (4:10), twenty-four seven. So it really becomes irrelevant in many respects.

Now – what I find interesting about this crown business, is that it would capture my attention. We all like “rewards” or recognition whether it is in the form of an “atta-boy” or a tangible reward such as a crown. I am no different. Some folks are collectors of rewards, they display them on their walls, around their necks, in their driveways, etc. So the idea of multiple crowns is appealing. The more the better. But our goal as Christians is not “How can I get more crowns than you”. Our goal is “how can I serve you?”

If there were a “crown of servanthood” in that list of crowns, then I might say, yes we are talking about separate crowns. But there is not. Being a servant for the cause of Christ is sometimes like being the Royal Crown Cola of the soft drink industry, it’s not very glamorous. It is not everyone’s first choice. But it is the one  “royal crown” of every true disciple of Christ.  Perhaps that should be our focus.

Prayer – Is it Necessary?

Before you seek to hang me from the highest tree, hear me out. This came up in our discipleship class when we were discussing teaching new Christians the importance of praying out loud and public prayer.

It was a timely discussion. That very morning I had a head-against-the-wall experience when it dawned on me the futility of my own prayers.

I approach my personal prayer time in one of several ways; I will write out my prayers in a journal, different from this one; I will voice my prayers; I will simply journal my prayer as an entry on this blog in prose; or I will simply sit and let my heart do the talking.

The particular morning in reference, I was verbalizing my prayer and it suddenly dawned on me that my words where not at all synchronized with my heart. What I was saying had nothing to do with what I was thinking or feeling. It was as though I was trying to cover up my true thoughts and feelings with my rhetoric. Thinking perhaps God would not realize what I was doing.

There is little doubt, because of my own demented mind, that I am alone in this particular phenomenon, so I will share with you what I did. I merely shut up and let my heart do the talking. For some of what I was thinking was too shameful for me to speak and too painful for me to form into words.

In Psalm 19:14, the Psalmist said

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.”

Is there a chance that he was undergoing the same type of masquerade? Then realizing that perhaps there were tawdry thoughts or submerged faults (v.12-13) and he best harmonize his words with what was going on in his heart? I tend to think so.

Speaking for no one but myself, this experience has both intimidated me and transformed me. It has opened me up to a whole new awareness of what it means to pray.  I suspect my words will never be loud enough to drowned out the voice of my heart, that does not mean I will not try from time to time. It simply means I know how futile it will be.

Prayer as we often practice it, may not be necessary. Prayer as God hears it, needs no practice.

I Can Do This!

You are three hundred feet in the air. The roof of the building you are standing on is level with the one directly across the street stretching below. There is a steel beam; not a rope or a wire, but a steel beam 24″ wide that stretches between the buildings. All you need to do is walk the one hundred and fifty feet from one side to the other. No safety net, no harness, just you, the beam, a slight breeze and the cool blue sky.  Could you?

I have never been a big fan of heights. There were times when I worked certain jobs that dealing with heights was necessary.  I didn’t like it, but I did it anyway. Does that mean I conquered my fear? No, it just means I managed it for that situation. I still get nervous climbing my extension ladder more than ten feet off the ground.

To conquer something means you have done more than convince yourself, “I can do this!” There is a deeper sense where your entire being is committed to such a degree that “failure is not an option.” It is similar to what Jesus said regarding putting our hand to the plow and not looking back.

Conquering is never easy. For those who think it is, they are mistaking the term conceding as being equal. It is not.

In the letters to the seven churches in Revelation, each one ends with the exhortation to “conquer”.  Whatever their unique situation was – whatever they were struggling with, individually or corporately, Christ is exhorting them to be conquerors!

To conquer, subdue, or prevail over something, someone, or a particular situation involves a process over time. If not, Jesus would have exhorted us to be “all-of-a-suddeners”.

Conquering requires the three D’s:

• Dedication to the task
• Desire to see it to completion
• Discipline necessary to reach the goal

Hence the letters to the churches. Christ was encouraging them to remember their dedication, rekindle their desire, and renew themselves to the discipline necessary to fulfill their calling.

I struggle with the three D’s. More often with “desire” than the other two, because that one is more emotional – And I am sometimes driven by emotion. However, my intention is to keep the big picture in view and know that today is just today.  Nevertheless, whether it is a day or a thousand days…

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13)