FW:

The Internet is a marvelous thing. The idea that I can Tweet a thought, release it into the "Cloud," and within seconds the few score of people who follow me on Twitter can read and react to it... What will they think of next?

Of course we are all familiar with the ubiquitous email. No stamp. No fuss. You don't even have to know how to spell as long as you can right click. (Yes, the Mac Mighty Mouse does have a right click.) You even get junk email! What a world. And then there is the infamous forward, or simply Fw: Sometimes the "Fw:" can be very useful. Occasionally I receive a Fw: that is truly enjoyable or enlightening; however, far too often they are of the Chicken Little variety.

I was reading Psalm 11 today and it put me in mind of a Chicken Little Fw: I like the psalmist's attitude toward such information. It seems that someone had sent him the following:

“Flee like a bird to your mountain. For look, the wicked bend their bows; they set their arrows against the strings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart. When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Please forward this to everyone on your mailing list and don't forget to sign the attached petition and send a copy to your elected representatives. (Italics mine.)

OK, I'm all for democracy in action, but I'm far more in favor of God in action. Apart from the fact that at least half of the forwards that read like this aren't even true, what's wrong with trusting in God? The call is always to action but never, or rarely, to prayer. If Christians got half as motivated about serving God as they do about serving the whims of some political operative writing bogus panic messages it would be nothing less than kingdom come.

I love the psalmist's reply. "How can you send me this junk? I trust in the Lord. The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne. He observes the sons of men; his eyes examine them. The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence his soul hates. On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot. For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see his face." Now, what was that you were saying about the what the wicked are going to do?

My Dad

My father Harvey Carlton Meek went home to be with the Lord on July 9th, exactly one year ago today. He died at the age of 92, and while he did not approach the age of the biblical patriarchs, I think it could be truly said of him that he died “an old man and full of years.”

I was blessed to be his son though I was well into middle age before I really started to understand him and before we could at all say that we were close. He was a good man, perhaps even a great man, but he was a man. Here are my reflections on his three greatest strengths and a couple of weaknesses.

I will start with his strengths:

My dad was faithful. He was married to the same woman for 68 years until her death four years before his own. He pastored two churches. He stayed at one 16 years and the other 12 years. Those numbers in themselves speak of faithfulness; but there is more. Both of those churches only had about a dozen people when he took them. He and mom worked (usually full time outside the church) and persevered to build each one to over a hundred in attendance and established them in a suitable building. I have no doubt that he will receive the reward of those who hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

My dad was generous. My parents never had a lot of money, but they were careful in their spending, and more importantly they were always faithful in tithes and offerings. Therefore, even though they didn’t have a large income they were often in a position to help others. Certainly they helped me. They sent me into marriage free from debt. Because of the church situations they were in they would often put more into the plate than they ever took out. Moreover, they often helped the young and struggling in the church. How many times they “lent” money only to not only never be paid back but often to lose the friends they helped as well? Once those who borrowed decided to not pay back they usually disappeared. It was often a cause of grief to them, but the “next time” they were always ready to help again.

My dad was joyful. He grew up in a generation where joy was taboo in the pulpit so he rarely showed it there, but those who knew him often described him as a “cut up.” As a child I usually found this to be embarrassing but as I got older I came to appreciate it greatly. Old people usually either get sweeter or meaner. My dad definitely got sweeter. I have no doubt that it was his love of joy that brought this about. In spite of the fact that he spent over a decade caring for his invalid wife, even on the days he complained the most, he was always ready for a laugh.

His weaknesses:

My dad did not know how to show affection. This was likely my greatest charge against him when I was young. As I grew older I came to truly understand that this was not at all his fault. His father died when dad was 4 years old. His mother never remarried and raised five children during the depression in pretty hard poverty. He simply never saw that way of expressing love. One of my fondest memories of Dad happened a couple of years before he died. We were alone and he told me, “I see you and your family, and the way you and Isaac treat each other, and I think, ‘I could have had that.’” There were tears in his eyes. That’s when I knew for certain that it wasn’t his fault.

My dad did not deal well with change. OK, few do, but my dad seemed to carry the inability to embrace, or even acknowledge, change to Everest levels. Time seemed to stop for him somewhere in the 50’s. The only technology after that decade that he truly embraced was the television remote control. Actually, technology rarely appeared on his radar. The changes that really disturbed him were things related to the church. Modern Bible translations? Ridiculous. No hymnals? Blasphemous. No pews? Why on earth would anyone not want to sit the way the disciples did? It was mainly for this reason that I was loath to come and follow him at Smyrna “First” Assembly. To my utter amazement my dad saw change after change happen at our church, and while they were not always choices he would have made, he always supported me.

Obviously, there is much more I could say about my dad, but these things will do for now. It took me awhile to learn it but I am very blessed to be his son. I use that in the present tense not because I am still alive but because he is still alive as well. The greatest gift he gave me was to introduce me to his wonderful Savior Jesus Christ. Through Jesus he has eternal life, and so do I.

I don’t know if people in heaven read blogs, but I want to say, “Thanks, Dad. We didn’t always see eye to eye but you always did your best by me. If that could be said of all dads in this world this would be a far far better place.”

Israel? What I Really Think

Do I support Israel? Give me a straight explanation of what that question means and I'll give you a straight answer.

To support Israel has essentially become a litmus test to be a bona-fide card carrying Evangelical. Somehow faith in Jesus Christ, and perhaps even being born again, is no longer enough. There is a list of political positions you must seemingly also embrace and near (if not at) the top is support for Israel. Let's examine this together and perhaps you can help me determine how I might best answer that question.

First, here is what I do believe regarding the people of Israel. (By this I mean the descendants of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, and not just those who are citizens of the nation in the Middle East.)

• I believe they are God's chosen people. They were not chosen as the only ones to be saved but rather as the nation through which God would reveal Himself to the world. Being chosen is not an easy thing. They have been through much and the enemy of mankind hates them because of their position with God. Nevertheless, they have endured because God's hand is on them and He will fulfill all of His promises to them because of His love for the patriarchs.
• I believe that the land of Canaan belongs to them because God gave it to them. In Genesis 17 God promised the land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants. In Genesis 26 God made the same promise to Abraham's son Isaac. In Genesis 35 He made the same promise to Isaac's son Jacob. Still, this issue is not so clear cut as most would have us believe. Isaac's descendants included not only the children of Jacob but also those of Esau. And while Esau's descendants are essentially extinct there is still the matter of Abraham. I know the blessing and promise passed through Isaac but Ishmael was also Abraham's son and his descendants are very much alive today. And God promised to bless them as well. Do they have a share in Canaan? It can be argued either way. My position is to simply wait and let God sort it out because He's the only One who really knows.
• I believe that Israel will be saved by turning to Jesus as their Messiah. Romans 9-11 makes this point about as clearly as it can be made. I believe it will happen and that it is one of the most significant events to take place in human history.
• I believe that those who bless Abraham (and his descendants) will be blessed and those who curse them will be cursed. (Genesis 12:3) Therefore, it is important to bless Israel, but I can't help but think it's not a good idea to curse any of Abraham's descendants - even those not through Jacob.
• I believe that in the last days the armies of the nations will come against Israel only to be destroyed by God Himself. This event seems to be spoken of in Ezekiel 38-39 and in Revelation 19. It's not a good idea to be one of the nations in this coalition.

So far, so good. Where I tend to stray from the doctrinaire position is when I start to wonder what all this has to do with the policy decisions of the Knesset (Israel's legislature) and the political government of that nation? The truth is that the political government of Israel has a long history of being no better (and often worse) than any other nation. In Jesus' day the nation's local rule was incumbent upon the Sanhedrin. This ruling body was made up of the nation's religious leaders claiming to follow the law of Moses. It was this body that rejected Jesus and forced Pilate's hand to crucify Christ. In that day many would claim that to oppose the Sanhedrin was to oppose the will of God. I don't think so.

Today the Knesset is a mostly secular institution with little regard for God except for when there seems to be some political advantage from playing the "God card." While I can understand their preoccupation with security I find it very difficult to justify the brutal extremes to which they often go in dealing with the Palestinian population. In fact, I would argue that some of their policies have the adverse effect of making their nation less secure.

Let's say that someone perpetrated a terrorist attack and it was determined by your government that they might now be hiding in your neighborhood. You didn't do it. You may not even support the cause for which the attack was carried out, but it's your neighborhood. You awake to find heavy equipment moving down your street demolishing all the houses including yours. You rush to get your children out just in time. Everything else is lost. Where are you to live? How will you rebuild? That's your problem. How do you feel about the government now? Perhaps you weren't able to get all of your children out. Now how do you feel?

By the way, estimates of the number of Christians in the Palestinian population range from 3% to 9%. Clearly some of these people being attacked by this government are my brothers and sisters. How am I supposed to feel about this?

Do I support the people of Israel and their unique place in God's economy? Absolutely. Do I support the government of the present nation of Israel? Not really very much. I don't think God is going to send out Thank You cards to all those who supported the secular efforts of this secular government saying, "I couldn't have done it without you." God's promises concerning Israel will be accomplished not by human might, nor by human power, but by His Spirit.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

And In Conclusion...

The seventh, and final, principle stated in Brethren Hang Loose for a vibrant Christian fellowship is:

Build church unity on the basis of love.

This one, like several of the others, is so obvious that we often think we are doing it even though we are miles away in actual practice. We tend to build unity on the basic of many things that aren't necessarily "love" at all.

At the top of that list would be unity that is project based. We are unified because we are trying to build something or do something. These things may be eminently worthwhile. Maybe we want to build a great church, or we want to help the poor. Both of these are great things but neither is a very good basis for unity. Olive oil is a great product. It tastes great and is good for you, but it makes crummy mortar to hold bricks together. If we are together because we want to build a great church what happens after we get far enough along to discover that your idea of a great church is not exactly the same as mine? Our basic for unity is gone. If we are together to help the poor what happens when one of us thinks we need to give everything toward the poor while the other thinks we need to invest in the church in order to have a bigger base from which to give to the poor? Our basis for unity is gone.

Another big item often used as the basis for unity is doctrine. "You speak in tongues?" "Hey! I speak in tongues, too!" "You are Pre-Trib Rapture?" "Great! I'm Pre-Trib Rapture." "You tithe?" "I tithe, too!" Of course you can see where this is going. Not only does it build middle walls in the kingdom but ultimately it can't last. "You allow women to speak in church?" "Boy, are you messed up." Our basis for unity is gone.

There is even the flimsy but often used basis of style and method. We sing hymns. We only use the King James Bible. (It says in the front that it is authorized.) We have pews. Of course the flip side of this is: We do contemporary worship. Who is King James and why did he write a Bible? We sit on folding chairs (if we sit). None of this is the basis of Christian unity.

In doctrine we are unified around the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are joined by the fact that we have put our faith in Jesus' atoning blood. While this joins us in a mystical and powerful invisible bond it really isn't what holds together a local fellowship of believers. I share this with my brother in India whom I've never met. I share this with my brother down the street whose church I'll start attending if I get ticked off with you.

The only thing that can legitimately bind us together so that we walk in relationship with each other is love. Jesus gave us a new commandment: Love one another as I have loved you. Love doesn't mean that we feel gushy touchy feely about each other all the time. Love means that when we disagree we will work it our instead of leaving. Love means that even when I am ticked off at you I've still got your back. Love means that when I feel like giving up on you, I won't. And when you feel like giving up on me, you won't.

This is the basis for our unity. It isn't easy to arrive there. It's like marriage. It is hard work, but it is so worth it. God has ordained two institutions: Marriage and the Church. Both are hard work. Both are of great value. Both require a unity based on love.

Your's, Mine, and Ours

Principle six from Brethren Hang Loose is:

Recognize our place in the total Body of Christ.

This seems so simple. (All of these points seem almost obvious.) Yet, many churches are so often so very far from this concept. There are several areas where we tend to miss it big time. Here are a couple of those areas.

First of all there is the comparison game. "How big is your church?" "How many services do you have?" "How many missionaries do you support?" "Yeah? Well, our playground is bigger than your playground."

I like Eugene Peterson's translation of Galatians 5:25-26 in The Message. Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.

Get a life - life in the Spirit. You have no idea if the church of 2,000 is doing (I mean really doing) more for God than the church of 40. Only God knows who is really being obedient. There may be a soul saved in that church of 40 who would not be saved any other place. That's a big deal for eternity, but beyond that the soul that could only be saved in the church of 40 may go on to reach millions. Each of us is an original and hopefully so is each church. The idea isn't to be "successful" by the world's definition but by God's. God's definition of success is only one thing - one who is obedient to God's will.

Secondly, we tend ghettoize others because of doctrine. Put another way, we tend to say, "They don't (do) believe in..." Tongues? Eternal Security? Predestination? Total Immersion? The list goes on and on, and while doctrine has it's place there is only one matter of doctrine on which we must agree - the DBR! The Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Christ and what it means to sinners in a fallen world. The more tightly connected doctrine is to these issues the more essential it becomes. The more disconnected doctrine is to these issues the more esoteric it becomes.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:22-24, Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

What does this mean? Did Paul use miracles in his ministry? Of course he did. Did he use intellectual argument? Uh, that would be a big "yes." He is not saying that miracles don't have a place, or that wisdom doesn't have a place. He is saying that they are both simply methods and all methods must bow to the message. Doctrine concerning methods or preferences should never separate us as long as we are joined at the message concerning the DBR.

So, what does this mean? It means that I want to see the big Baptist church down the road and the tiny Independant Charismatic church down the road and the seemingly lukewarm Luthern church down the road all do well. This should not just be my words but my genuine heart. We can easily see how disruptive an influence a player with a "me first" attitude can be to a sports team, yet that is exactly how most churches operate. We've got to get past that. We've got to see the big picture, be willing to play our part, and be willing to help others play theirs.

Shall We Dance

"...and there is a time to dance." (Ecc. 3:4)

When I was a Youth Pastor I took as many of the dads as I could get to go with me to see Footloose. The reason I wanted them to see this movie was because of the relationship angle between the pastor and his daughter, but the reason the movie spoke so strongly to me was all about the dance. I grew up in a religious culture where dance was taboo. At least it was taboo if you had actually put some effort into planning it and work into getting it right.

Clearly the Bible not only says that there is a time to dance it also gives examples of such times. Miriam led the women in dance to celebrate God's victory at the Red Sea. David danced before the Lord to celebrate the ark coming to Jerusalem. Psalm 149 authorizes dancing to praise the Lord. Jeremiah 31:13 prophesies a day when even the young and old men will dance. (Yes, the "Weeping" Prophet brought this in the same chapter where the New Covenant is announced.)

There is biblical underpinning for dance. There is also much cultural underpinning for dance. Virtually all so called "primitive" cultures (meaning those that are closer to the Garden than we are) celebrate with dance AND while the beauty of the dance is usually best expressed through the ladies it is when the men start to dance that things really break loose in the spirit.

At SA we encourage all to dance. You don't have to. You won't be looked down on if you don't. But we are going to dance. We are living in the day of the New Covenant and my Bible says to love the Lord with all your "strength." When the men get up and give themselves to this form of worship it may not be very elegant, but things break loose in the spirit. As long as He gives me strength I'm going to be doing that David thing before the Lord. I guess that makes me a part of fulfilled prophecy!

9 Points From Galatians 6

OK, so I'm finding out how many people don't usually take notes of my sermons. That's cool, I only occasionally make notes myself. Yesterday I pulled a fast one and told everybody they needed to make notes because I has nine points. Well, here they are.

1. Sin is never a cause to point fingers. Restoration is the goal. David got a pass on a lot of stuff because he was so merciful to others. Blessed are the merciful because they will receive mercy.
   
2. Cary each other's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. The Law of Christ is, "Love one another as I have loved you." You are not instructed to judge whether or not this one or that one is worthy of you helping out with their burden. You are just instructed to pick up and carry.
   
3. It is dangerous to think you are something you aren't. Such people deceive themselves and are therefore easily deceived. This goes both ways. It is as bad to think too low of yourself as it is to think yourself too high.
4. Never evaluate yourself against others. You have no idea what advantages or disadvantages others have. You also have no idea what God's plan is for others. They may, or may not look like they are accomplishing much in the world's eyes, but that has absolutely nothing to do with a true evaluation which only God can see.
5. Share all good things with those who instruct you in the Word. What they bring is of eternal value and worth far more than material things. The only exception to this is when a person brings heresy.
6. We reap what we sow. If we sow to the flesh the result is destruction even if we are sowing to "respectable" things like money. If we sow to the spirit we will start to reap the benefits of eternal life even now. Eternal life is the quality of life God enjoys: fullness of joy, peace, creativity, etc.
7. Don't become discouraged by obstacles and appearances. The greatest stories about the greatest victories all involve severe obstacles. You don't know how far you've come so keep on walking.
8. Do good to all people, especially to believers. You don't get to choose who is included in "all." You should especially do good to other believers because they are your brothers and sisters, but this still doesn't let you off the hook of doing good to even those outside the faith.
9. Only boast in the cross of Christ. The true path to victory is not to tear down or defeat the world, but to lift up Christ. Jesus has made it clear, "If I am lifted up I will draw all men to myself."

I hope this helps. This is day by day stuff that will draw you closer to Him.

Ronnie