Grace on Display

Scientology

Time Magazine published an article talking about the Church of Scientology.  It is somewhat lengthy, and covers various aspects of this thieving, self-absorbed, godless cult- from the dementia of its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, to the ways they exploit its members.  Overall, it's a fairly good introduction to the cult.  The story is called The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power.

The Problem with Spiritual Duct Tape

Easy Mac.  Duct Tape.  Instant Oatmeal.  Ready-To-Make Cookies.  1-hour Dry Cleaning.  Wendy's.

I like quick fixes.  Hungry?  In less than 5 minutes I can enjoy a bowl of mac and cheese.  If I'm not feeling up to mixing cookie dough or even slicing cookie dough from a roll I can purchase pre-made balls of cookie dough.  It doesn't get any easier than that. That's a quick fix.

Often I want to take the easy route when it comes to spiritual matters as well.  I haven't read my Bible outside of church in a week, but I want a satisfying spiritual feeling after reading a Psalm.  I'm struggling with anger and bitterness toward someone at church that's spread gossip about me, but I want to just ask forgiveness from God about it and not deal with the issue with the person.  I'm stealing some really great  Bible Study lessons from the WWW but my class isn't growing spiritually or numerically, and I'm frustrated with God about it.  Lust has dominated my thoughts for the past several months, and I want it to stop.  I want to be able to be expressive when we sing at church, but I just don't feel anything.

Sound familiar?

The problem is that the above issues are very real and the desire for them to be fixed is legitimate, but there is no easy solution to them.  It's never fun when another follower of Jesus Christ spreads lies (or truths, sometimes) about you, and you need to take up responsibility to begin fixing the situation.  Growth is critical to the life of a small group, but stealing lessons just creates another problem instead of solving one problem.  Ongoing sin can be overwhelming, and since God is all-powerful it can be frustrating when those temptations never seem to stop (even though we know He could stop them).  I know that God is worthy of our deepest affections in my head, but my deepest affections haven't been stirred lately.  The problem is that there's just no such thing as spiritual duct tape.  There's not a Ready-To-Change-Your-Life Bible verse.  Growth usually doesn't come in spurts, but it takes time.  Lots of time.

My own heart was challenged yesterday as I read and we sang the words of the great hymn, Beneath the Cross of Jesus.  Consider these words:

Upon the cross of Jesus
Mine eyes at times can see
The very dying form of One
Who suffered there for me.
And from my smitten heart, with tears,
These wonders I confess:
The wonder of His glorious love,
And my unworthiness.

How long has it been since my affections were so stirred by the thought of the death of Jesus that tears were brought to my eyes?  Have I become callous?  Truthfully, if we were constantly aware of our unworthiness and His glorious love we would be in a flux between tears of joy and tears of sorrow to the detriment of every other activity in our lives.  As it is I know there is no immediate fix, but as with the situations mentioned above, true spirituality takes hard work.

Here are some words of encouragement from the Lord Jesus from Luke 18:

Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, "In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man.  There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Give me legal protection from my opponent.'  For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, 'Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.' 

   And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?  I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?

This is an argument from the lesser to the greater.  If this human judge who does not fear God or respect man give a favorable ruling to the widow, how much more will our heavenly Father hear us when we come to Him?

So, what is your issue?  Avoid looking for a "duct tape" answer.  Instead, heed the words of Jesus to cry out to God day and night, and have expectant faith that He will hear and answer in accordance with His will and for His glory.

Life and Sacrifice

I just came across this story and it was too good to pass up.  You can read the full story here.  It is the story of a mother, Lorraine Allard, and the sacrifice she was willing to make for her baby boy, Liam.  She discovered 4 months into her pregnancy that she had liver cancer.  Her options were to delay treatment, almost certainly ending her life, but saving the baby, or end her baby's life and go ahead to try and save her own life.  She chose the former, forgoing treatment, in order to save Liam's life.  After Liam was born, she began receiving chemotherapy treatments, but in the end they could not save her life.  She had given it up willingly.  In her words, "If I am going to die, my baby is going to live."  Two months after Liam was born, Lorraine died, leaving behind her husband, a 10 year old, an 8 year old, a 20 month old, and her newborn.

What a sacrifice.  What a display of heroism.  What an example of sacrificial love.  She willingly laid down her life so that her child could live.  This is a moving story, and one that I will not soon forget.

May she motivate us to think about our own families, to pray for the family she left behind, to pray for mothers seeking abortions right now, and most importantly to think about the sacrifice of our Lord when He laid His life down for sinners like you and me.

What We Can Learn From Obadiah Holmes

Last night I had the difficult, but rewarding task of speaking about Baptists and persecution.  The point was not to elevate particular people or Baptists as a whole above where they ought to be in our minds, but to exalt Christ as we spoke of these heroes of the faith.  One particular larger than life hero of mine is Obadiah Holmes.  There have been some valuable lessons I've learned from him and desire to pass on the information now. One particular story, probably one of the defining moments in his life, grips me every time I hear it or read about it:

Obadiah Holmes, an associate pastor, was traveling with his pastor, John Clark, and a layman from their church, John Randall.  The date was July 16, 1651.  They had sent word ahead to a friend, William Witter, that they would be passing by and he invited a few friends and neighbors to come and hear John Clark preach.

Understand that this was before America was formed into a sovereign nation, and any pastor not affiliated with the Church of England was subject to persecution.  Many in England wrongly assumed that America was free from any type of religious coercion, but the iron fist of the government still fell heavily upon any who would dissent.

Clark, Holmes and Randall arrived in Lynn, Massachusetts and came to the home of Mr. Witter.  Neighbors assembled and the three began preaching and teaching.  Local Magistrates who had heard of their coming burst through the door, informing them that they were under arrest.  The charges- unlawful preaching and denying infant baptism.  Clark, Holmes, and Randall were soon sent to Boston, where they were told they could either pay a fine, or be publicly whipped.  John Clark was released upon receipt of 20 pounds from an anonymous donor.  John Randall paid his 20 pounds and was released.  Obadiah Homes had a slightly steeper fine at 30 pounds (due to his outspoken nature).  There were those who offered to pay for him, but he refused and insisted on taking the beating.

After several weeks in jail, Holmes felt the lash on September 5, 1651.  His hands were tied to a stake in the Boston Commons, and his shirt stripped off of his back.  The "Whipper" spat upon his hands and laid the three-corded whip "with all his strength" thirty times across the back of Holmes.  Beforehand, some had offered him wine to drink to dull the experience, but he refused, saying, "my resolution was not to drink wine nor strong drink until my punishment were over" lest the world say he was sustained by wine and not by the Spirit.  He maintained that Christ alone had the authority to dictate when men could preach, and not the government.

There was no flesh on his back when they finished beating him.  His wife stood by and exhorted him the entire time as he preached to the crowd in spite of the brutal whipping.  When they were finished with him he looked at the magistrates and told them, "You have struck me as with roses."  The beating was so brutal that he had to remain in Boston for several weeks, often only able to crouch down on his elbows and knees because of the excruciating pain.  He spent the rest of his life with scars to memorialize the experience.

Here is what I find striking about the above story, and a worthy lesson for all believers:  Holmes later testified that he had long believed that in the time of trial Christ stood by His own, and that he now knew it for certain.  The lesson for us is that Homes had his mind made up before he ever faced persecution how he would face it.He didn't allow his circumstances to dictate his level of commitment.  Rather, his commitment to Christ was already decided, believing in his heart that Christ would stand by him even in times of trial.  In my own life I have a tendency to reverse the two and allow my circumstances to dictate the level of my commitment to Christ.  This is how it sounds in our heads, "I'll start giving when I get a raise," "I'll attend Sunday night once the Cowboys are out of the playoffs," "I'll start having family devotions once we have a child," "I'll start reading my Bible when I get a better shift at work," "I'll share my faith at work once ___________ is fired." We allow our circumstances to dictate our level of commitment to Christ when the opposite should be true.

Here is the problem with this line of thinking- What will happen when our circumstances become so unfavorable that we have no desire to pursue the things of God at all?  America is certainly headed in such a direction. What happens when religious liberty turns into religious tolerance, and then becomes religious persecution?  If we continue to allow our circumstances to dictate our commitment to Christ then we will surely abandon Him when the going gets tough.  Let us resolve to be like Obadiah Holmes and believe now that Christ will stand by His own in the time of trial.  Better yet, let us strive to be imitators of Christ, who knew excruciating pain and agony, but was faithful to follow His Father's will, even to death.

So resolve now to start giving, reading, evangelizing, teaching, whatever it is that God is calling you to do, but that you're still avoiding.  Do it now.  No more excuses.