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The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives, And freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.@ (Isaiah 61:1-3)As I was contemplating the arrival of this new year, the passage above came to mind. It goes without saying that all the celebration which marks a new year pales in comparison to the celebration which God
=s New Year should evoke!The Hebrew for
Ayear@ is shaneh which has a root meaning of duplication, iteration, revolution, doing a second time, etc. That such a word should come to be used for the time it takes the earth to travel around the sun seems fitting. However, I believe translating it as Ayear@ in this context robs it of its significance. If we understand the nature of God=s New Year, we know it is an endless Ayear@ and we should be delighted to know the word Isaiah uses here teaches that concept. We know the kingdom of God endures for more than one calendar year (Ephesians 3:20) even though it was inaugurated in a specific year. Shaneh can, in usages like this, carry the meaning of an entire age and I believe this makes more sense of the text in this setting, as well as fitting the redemptive theme which runs throughout scripture.Now let
=s turn our attention briefly to the word favorable, or acceptable as the KJV has it. Ratsown (raw-tsown) certainly has the flavor of these two translations, but there is a more significant rendering which, again, I believe speaks more appropriately to the theme of this passage and the theme of redemption as a whole. That meaning has a conciliatory tone about it and might well be understood as reconciliation. A truly awesome view unfolds when we understand the implied reconciliation is done by oneself for his own good pleasure. Hence, we should understand Isaiah prophesying an age when God would reconcile mankind to Himself for His own good pleasure and glory.It is most appropriate that Jesus chose this prophecy to read when, after His wilderness temptation, He returned to the synagogue in Nazareth. He concluded His reading with, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." We should be absolutely astonished that many people today believe this passage is yet to be fulfilled!
God
=s New Year came right on schedule. There were no delays, no changes to the Divine itinerary, and certainly no failure of God=s promises! So, as we enter 2005, let=s remember it is but one tick of the eternal clock and rejoice that we live in the Age of Reconciliation. ÉFad Driven Faith
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I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.@ (2 Tim. 4:1-4)There are many directions one might go from this text. We could spend time discussing the Greek word mello which most texts (including the NASB above) omit in their translations and, thereby change the meaning of Paul
=s admonition from one that is imminent to something distant in time. Suffice it to say, Paul tells Timothy Jesus is Aabout to judge the living and the dead.@ This is just one of the many places in scripture which persuade me and others that Christ kept His promise to return in that first century generation.We could spend time talking about sound doctrine and note that the Bible never uses the term false doctrine. It is enough for God
=s people to know Truth. When you know the real thing, you can spot the counterfeit, if you are willing to be diligent and pay attention.We could talk about the need for us to be always ready to be God
=s instruments in the spreading of the kingdom message, or the need for patience with others while we share God=s good news. Instead, I want to focus on what is probably the biggest problem Christians, at least in this country, face.From bobby socks and pony tails, to crew cuts and side burns; from wrist radios and hula hoops to Power Rangers and GoBots, our culture is driven, it seems, by fads. Though the religious sphere has always been punctuated by fads, in our time it is almost defined by them. Today
=s Christians, like many before them, like Ato have their ears tickled@ as Paul says. It is a danger we all face, and to some degree one to which most of us succumb at times.Countless Christians have allowed themselves to become distracted from proper biblical study by
Afad faith.@ They follow the craziest of schemes hoping to find a short cut to diligently and prayerfully engaging God=s word. Whether it is the latest work of Christian fiction (and some of it is good) or things like the so-called Bible Code, they are like the men of Athens who were always seeking to hear some new thing, convinced that the latest craze is THE answer of the ages.Don
=t get me wrong, I love learning new things from God=s word. That is always exciting, and it is sometimes convicting and humbling. Our culture is consumed with the sensational. Pulpits and congregations around the country now cater to their need for sensory stimulation to the neglect of sound doctrine. I am blessed to regularly sit at the feet of men who actually teach from the text. Men who understand the importance of grasping the meaning of the text to its original audience, and who realize that how they applied it to their situation is of paramount importance to us. My experience is that is a rare situation these days.When I visit elsewhere, if scripture is quoted at all, it is usually as a pretext for immediately launching into an application. All too often, that application is inconsistent with what the text itself says and the real significance is lost.
How has this happened? To be sure, the rise of mass media has played a large part. Being a Boomer, I witnessed the early days of television but the pattern had been set even earlier by radio. Though there are certainly wonderful expositors of scripture to be found on the airwaves, they are seemingly outnumbered by those who find the electronic church to be a good way to achieve personality status.
I won
=t presume to name names. Folks who spend time studying the scripture have little difficulty identifying such Ateachers.@ There is little exposition of scripture and what is there is frequently twisted to tickle the ears of their audience. Their ministries thrive on several types of individuals.One type is drawn to the promise of financial prosperity which is preached in abundance in our time. They play the liturgical lottery on a regular basis and many end up financial losers who are then chided for their lack of faith by the very people who emptied their pockets with shameless self-promotion. Is there any wonder that unbelievers are prone to think Christians are just after their money?
Another type of Christian is looking for answers but doesn
=t want to personally do the heavy lifting. Their lives are often caught up in pursuing their own interests and there is little or no time to spend with God=s word. Like Sgt. Friday, they just want the Afacts.@ Many pulpits are willing to oblige by watering down their teaching; and much of it is based more on the latest popular book than the word of God.Now, I love books and they provide me with lots of challenging information as I study God
=s word. However, I don=t look for books to tell me what the scripture says and means. I want books which use the text to show me what it means. There is a huge difference here. The first method is focused on conclusions and offers little reasoned support. The latter depends upon and presents reasoned support for its conclusions. It may even present alternate conclusions leaving the reader to consider everything presented and make their own decision which, by the way, is what we should always do.Sadly, many Christians want their teaching fast, simple, cut and dried. They don
=t want to think about what is being said and challenge it with the truth of scripture. They look for personalities to trust. That is dangerous to faith. We should not trust men with our faith. The peril is just too great to risk.Good teachers provide you with information from God
=s word and explain possible understandings. Then, based on a broad knowledge of the text, they offer their understanding for our consideration. From that point on we are responsible for what we do with what we=ve heard. It is up to us to prayerfully consider the message before reaching our own conclusion.Paul warned Timothy that some just wouldn
=t want to hear the practical outworking of faith. They want people who tell them how good they are and how loved they are and how God is so happy with them. They want to hear how He understands their selfishness which has produced the pain they have in life. Oh, they won=t put it in those words, but that is the message they need to justify a lack of diligencePaul says they
Aaccumulate@ such teachers. Today we mostly accumulate them on the TV, but do realize that many pulpits emulate what is popular on the TV. I=ve had ministers tell me they aspire to be the Aso and so@ of their community. Their goal is to be like some TV preacher rather than Christ! They look past that huge red flag because they get so much approval from those who follow them. Who is leading whom?Accumulating teachers who tickle our ears is risky business. By nature, we don
=t want to hear the things we most need to hear. We need teachers who are not afraid to say what needs to be said, when it needs to be said. The Greek word Paul uses for Aaccumulate@ has its origin in Afuneral pile@ or heap. What a graphic picture that gives of those who spend little or no time with the scripture but hang on every word of some man who makes them feel good.A
Seeker friendly@ mentality has resulted in congregations filled with members who are marginal Christians at best and many are Christians in name only. They want a refuge from their secular lives which makes them feel good about their complacent lifestyle and numerous ministries thrive on giving them just what they want: no commitment, no accountability no responsibility - just come and take what you want from the smorgasbord they offer, go home with the self-satisfaction you=ve done your God thing for the week.Until I started writing, I didn
=t realize just how far things have deteriorated. Unless one is a known Astar@ in Christian circles, getting published by any major Christian publisher is virtually impossible. It doesn=t matter how well you handle the scripture or how timely the message, like everything else Christian publishing largely puts profit ahead of sound doctrine.Want to know the latest fad? Just see whose book is being promoted pretty much across the board. Because the publishing houses have the advertising dollars, they promote books with theological views they personally reject. Rather than balance the popular fare with quality writing which challenges it, they give lesser known works an honorable mention, if they are advertised at all. This practice tends to give what is popular more credibility.
AEveryone is doing it@ shouldn=t apply in this venue anymore than it should in the rest of life.It
=s not that everything produced is bad, rather it is the attitude of those who receive it. I recently overheard a discussion about a popular TV evangelist and his latest book. The extended discussion was entirely about this individual and how he teaches. Not once did God or the scripture arise as points of discussion. Not once was there a comment about how faithful his teaching was to scripture. He has star status and his every word is treated like manna from heaven. If we find ourselves reacting to anyone in this way, it is time for some serious consideration of what is really driving our lives. A good bit of what we are seeing is nothing short of veiled humanism, and it is a pretty thin veil.There is nothing wrong with a message resonating with our thoughts, but when those things are largely void of a scriptural context it is time to be really good Bereans.
Instead of lavishing ourselves with teaching which tells us how right we are, and how our view is the correct one, we need to be growing up in our faith by listening to those who challenge our perspective. It is not enough, to let those who agree with us tell us what opposing views have to say, we need to hear it from them, as they would say it.
All too often, we allow
Aour side@ to present all sides of an issue. When that happens, it is all but impossible for the opposing position to be presented without bias. That bias may be in the words used to convey the view; it may be seen in less than a full presentation of the view; or it may be presented in a tone and with body language which is intended to depreciate the view beyond what the speaker is able to present factually.Some fads are fun and leave us with memories for life. Perhaps we chuckle to ourselves, or even aloud, as we remember things past which captivated our attention for a season. Many fads are harmless and can be enjoyed for what they are.
However, our faith is not a place for fads. It should not be driven by the pop culture, Christian or otherwise. When Christians cease to support the fad culture, Christian media and Christian publishing will once again major in quality materials. What they produce is always a reflection of who we are. I
=d like to see a lot better image in that mirror.Signs of a Pagan Culture
One of the signs of a pagan culture is a pagan government. One sign of a pagan government is that the people act toward the state as if it is god. The defacto evidence today is our country is largely pagan - even among many who are Christians. Failing to understand a biblical world view, countless Christians have bought into the pagan idea that the state is supreme. They would never articulate such an idea, but their actions consistently demonstrate their belief. Let
=s look at one current event as a case in point.The recent tsunami which devastated so many communities and ended so many lives is an event of such scale it is hard to contemplate. Our hearts ache at the loss and it is only natural that we as Christians feel the need to give aid to those in need. The question is not if, but how we should assist.
To be sure there are many privately funded organizations and Christian ministries which are available to channel our expressions of love and concern to those in need. That is appropriate and we should support them as our conscience dictates. At the same time, many are upset because our federal government isn
=t doing more to help, and that is a sign we need to consider carefully.In 1900, a hurricane all but erased the city of Galveston, Texas from the map. No other natural disaster in the history of this country has cost so many human lives (over 2,000). As cries for help went out, they included appeals to the federal government to send relief. It may shock you, but then President McKinley responded the federal government had no authority to use it
=s resources for such relief. He was right, and we need to understand why.The number of good things which government might do is seemingly endless; the resources to do them is not. Our founders understood that government should not be allowed to be the conscience of the individual, rather it was to stay out of the way so we could live in all good conscience before God.
When government spends money on some things, that of necessity means it cannot spend the money on something else. If your conscience dictates you should support A, but the government takes your money to support B, you are forced to subjugate your convictions to other special interests. Our founders hoped to avoid that by limiting what government could do. But, due to our lack of diligence, the government has over-stepped what it can lawfully do.
The response of the people should have been,
AYou can=t do that!@ Instead, we have for decades entrenched special interest groups which pour millions of dollars into campaigns hoping they will be the ones to wrestle money out of their neighbor=s pocket, instead of the other way around.This practice pits one group against another and breeds class warfare which is destructive of liberty and our way of life. Ultimately, it is about redistribution of wealth rather than doing good. It becomes more about getting votes and staying in power than it does with humanitarian concern.
The flip side is that those who are subjugated to the system become its slaves. We are
Ahuman resources@ or Acomponents of production@ in a socialist (at best) state, rather than people created in God=s image. It is a demeaning system and it is sad to see people urging the government to further demean them by doing what is has no authority to do.The reality is, in spite of the tug of their hearts, most Americans will never write a check or send relief to the people impacted by this disaster. They appeal to the government to write their check for them because they think they
=ve already given and are satisfied to give the pittance such a gift represents.They are also satisfied to have the government get the thanks and praise for the relief it offers, rather than giving in such a way that God would be praised. It may not be their intention, but that is part and parcel of pagan practice. Christians need to give careful consideration to this important issue.
The Apprentice
=s JournalHappy New Year! It
=s hard to believe another 365 days have ticked off the calendar, and their passing is clear evidence of how fleeting life is. Our tendency is to focus on resolutions for the future, but I think we need to first take the time to reflect on how we spent the last year. What was accomplished? Where did we succeed? Where might we have done better? How faithful were we as stewards of our time, talent, and treasure?Then again, maybe our resolutions emerge from a keen awareness of the answers to questions like these. If so, that
=s a good thing. Keeping resolutions is much easier if made one day at a time. Making resolutions for a year is a lot more difficult! Where change is in order, commit yourself to that change today; and when tomorrow comes make that commitment again. In time you will be able to extend the time commitment, but start with baby steps and build on your success. Hint: you may even need to start moment by moment!Life for me is always pretty full and some rather significant restructuring is in the works right now. I
=ll be starting a new job this month and that will mean a shift in other priorities. This is a temporary position, but I am so thankful God has made it available. I love to work and manage to keep myself busy even if it is with non-paying venues. Getting a check is a huge plus and I am so thankful for the opportunity.Due to continued wet weather, the yard is something of a mess. I finally got most of the leaves dealt with but our weather has been so inconsistent the trees have been reluctant to shed them all. The azaleas are even appear to be about to bud! We have mid 70's weather one week and freezing weather the next. The frogs don
=t know whether to hibernate or not. I even uncovered a little garter snake while cleaning up leaves in one flower bed!Last year was one of the wettest years on record for us and this one is already on track to repeat that performance. The garden is way too wet to even think about tilling. I know that sounds like a broken record, but that
=s the way it is.The bluebirds are back checking out the house but I don
=t expect them to nest until at least April. We=ve been swarmed by gold finch and purple finch, and the chickadees are always loudly demanding their daily rasher of sunflower seeds. Early one morning after Christmas, I noticed a critter walking the top rail of the backyard fence. It was still dark and it took me a few seconds to realize it was a possum. I know they are in the area, but this is the first time I=ve seen one in the yard. I still need to add him to my backyard sightings at enature.com so I can keep that journal up to date.We had White Christmas leftovers this year. It didn
=t snow Christmas day, but we were in the Dallas area and there was still some snow around. We had a busy day visiting family and watching the kids enjoy all their new things. I got a stack of books from my wish list on Amazon.com . If you don=t have a wish list there, set one up and tell your friends and family about it. They have the opportunity to give you exactly what you want and you get to grow your library!This year will be all the busier since I volunteered to head up the Ballot Access Drive for the Constitution Party in Texas. Folks often wonder why there aren
=t more choices on the ballot. Most are shocked when the find out just how many hurdles have been placed in the way of those who would like to participate in our so-called Afree@ elections. If you really want change in our government, I urge you to work with those in your state who are laboring to overcome these hurdles; consider Texas for example.To be on the ballot, a new party must collect signatures equal to one percent of the votes cast in the last governor
=s race: about 45,000. But, the state only gives us 75 days after the primary elections to do the job and people who voted in the primary can=t sign! The verification process eliminates about 50 percent of the signatures so we need about 100,000 to qualify.No party has ever met the hurdle with a volunteer effort. You must have big money to get the job done, or figure out a way to beat the odds. I don
=t have big money so devising a plan to improve our chances is the name of the game. The sad thing is there are states where the situation is even worse.Many throw up their hands in despair and accept defeat as an easier alternative. I don
=t believe God gives us that option. We are to be a light in our culture and that means we do what is necessary regardless of the outcome. I want a bloodless alternative to the problems we face so I labor to make it happen. We need many more Christians to do the same thing. I challenge you to join me in trusting God with the outcome.