A Red, White, and Blue Cross?

Patriotism can be a glue, holding a people together. Patriotism can be a virtue, propelling people to self-sacrifice for their neighbors and posterity. Patriotism for believers can be a way to worship God for his marvelous provisions for their peace and safety. Patriotism, for believers, may also simply be their prosperity, thrown into Aaron's fire ... out of which pops a calf, wearing red, white, and blue.

Sunday, I believe, such a calf popped. To be fair such a calf may have unwittingly popped, but popped it did on a bulletin, which appeared in a number of churches celebration of July 4th by Cathedral Press (http://www.cathedralpress.com/every_08.html). What, pray tell, is the central message of this picture?

Before I tell you the two messages that I take away from this picture, allow me to draw your attention to certain aspects. The word that immediately draws your attention is "FREEDOM." Below that is this family, complete with a dog, posing in front of the American flag. Fireworks are blazing in the background.

Let's stop here. What seems to be the message so far? To me it seems to be a typical message about the preciousness of our American freedom and its gloriousness.

Question: How many of our families, today, look like that? I would say not enough. Yet, even those of us who come from broken families carry with us ideas of "freedom." Freedom in pop culture means the ability to do whatever I want, whenever I want, however I want. Like it or not, this is the interpretation of the word freedom that immigrates into this picture. And I'm taught from day 1 of living in this country that freedom (however it's defined) is mine by right.

Now allow me to direct your attention to the obscure words under the picture, "...IS OURS IN CHRIST." I mentioned above that there are two messages I take away from this picture ... as a whole.

1. I, personally, can have the American dream (however that's defined) ... if I become a Christian.
2. In order to preserve my American dream, I need to get everybody to go to church on a regular basis.

Now there is actually a third message that explodes on the scene, once these two messages are understood:

• My American dream is the most important facet of Christianity and achieving my American dream is what God cares most about.

These messages are inherently selfish and borderline ... if not blatant ... idolatry. This is the American culture and way of life dictating to me what Christianity is all about. How might this picture look to believers, living in oppressive regimes overseas? Might it communicate to them that reward of choosing Christ as Lord is the American Dream? Might it then suggest that they are not as good a quality of Christians as those of us living in the States, because they are suffering under repressive regimes? Might it suggest that we Americans think we are somehow better Christians than those living under repressive regimes ... because we have the favor of God on us they do not?

Whatever the messages those people living in repressive regimes might take away from this picture, a statement by a Kenyan pastor to the largely American student body of Asbury Theological Seminary a couple of years ago is quite telling. He told them he believed it was harder to be a Christian in America, than in Kenya or any other number of African states. His point was that prosperity can dull one's sense of duty and need for self-sacrifice for others and need for real, living, breathing faith in everyday life ... which is the lifeblood of Biblical Christianity.

When the lines between patriotism and Biblical Worship of Jesus, our Lord, are blurred, our American culture often times dictates the terms of our Christianity. Given the secular-progressive value system of contemporary American culture, such a blurred distinction renders both flag and cross tarnished.

Is all of this what was intended by the bulletin picture creator? Let's hope not. Let's hope the creator meant that true freedom (which is freedom from sin and freedom for Christian ministry in the world) is found only in Christ ... but that message is stolen by the mingling of the flag, the fireworks, and the word "FREEDOM."

Consider portions of verses from our national hymn, "America, the Beautiful," published in 1895 and revised a couple of times since. Each of the four verses extols the natural beauty of our great country. She arrests our attention in each verse, "America! America!" to certain character traits she believes are necessary for our country:

• From Verse 1: God shed His grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.
• From Verse 2: God mend thine every flaw, confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law.
• From Verse 3: May God thy gold refine till all success be nobleness and every gain divine!

When was the last time self-control was extolled as an American virtue? At one time it was ... or at least a genuine prayer of the American people who were largely Christian. But that time is long passed. We must take great care to ensure the freedom of Bible-Jesus-Christianity from our American secular-progressive culture ... lest we find the sun setting on the American Church.

What Does "Free" in the Framers' "Freedom" Mean?

Approaching the country's birthday this Friday (which is actually today, the 2nd), we will hear many heart moving, wrenching, palpitating songs and messages about the founding principle of our country ... freedom.

But what exactly does the "free" in the Framers' "freedom" mean? We live in a free country, so I can do whatever the ____ I want ... right? The American flag being flown on loan advertisements means that I can be free to purchase whatever I _____-well please ... right? America is that place my school guidance counselor told me that I can be whatever I want to be ... despite the fact I'm a senior with an 8th grade reading level and an inability to spell my own name ... right? Freedom is that sponsorship from the government to do with my sex whatever I want ... because it's my body and I have freedom of choice (so long as I vote for them) ... right? After all they told me that "the man" is the point man for society holding me back ... so they're going to take care of me and ensure that I have the same life results as those unfortunate people who have to work all their lives. Didn't they get the memo that Uncle Sam would take care of them too?

Allow me to take the liberty to correct such "interesting" and all-too-common but highly inaccurate myths about the Framers' concept of freedom. Yes, it is true that according to Jefferson, the D of I's author, that we are "endowed with certain inalienable rights ...." Inalienable rights are those given by God that cannot be given nor taken away by man.

If you were to take the time to read the Declaration of Independence ... which means of course that some measure of effort is required ... you might come across the phrase "the laws of nature and nature's God." The hands that rock the cradle of the Framers' "freedom" are nature's laws and nature's God. In other words any concept of freedom that is inconsistent with common human reason and God's divine revelation as found in the Bible is not among the "self-evident truths" of the Declaration and the Framers. In other words still further, it is not I who defines my own life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but the God who is the God of both nature and of the Bible. And what did Jesus say were the two most important laws of God?

1. Love God
2. Love neighbor

Freedom is less about being free to do whatever the ____ I want to ... and more about being able to do the most good for my neighbor and society with the least intrusion from the government. Therefore the inalienable rights of the Declaration are not so much about individualistic and privatized rights as about the free opportunity to practice individual responsibility towards God and neighbor without having to worry about a tyrannical government that thinks it is above nature's laws and nature's God.

For further reading on the Declaration of Independence, check out the Heritage Foundation:

• http://www.heritage.org/research/features/almanac/pdf/declarationintro.pdf
• http://www.heritage.org/research/features/almanac/pdf/declaration.pdf

Daddy War-ring-against-the-bucks

In Annie's life the sun does come out tomorrow when Daddy Warbucks uses his wealthy pull to bring her home to live in his mansioned-fatherhood. Who has not been inspired by this true American classic?

In today's world the sun comes out when ... or even if ... Daddy's check arrives. For many children of divorce that check is the only tangible evidence they have had at one time a father to even think about them ... not to mention even visit them.

While this is sad in and of itself, the nasty thunderstorm clouds that hide the sun from coming out for us is our society's pressured acceptance of relegating fathers to Ben Franklin, George Washington, and their ilk ($$$$$$) ... while at the same time castrating fatherhood.

David Blankenhorn poignantly insists that the best answer for today's rampant drugs, sex, and violence youth culture is fatherhood. He does not simply mean making deadbeat dads pay their child support. He is calling on our society to work towards reinvesting in a fully married, male fatherhood. The stock market of secular-progressive androgyny has long crashed, leaving American society in deep depression.

"For children, doing without a father's money is the easy part. Money influences what you have and what you can do. Fathers shape who you are" (David Blankenhorn, Fatherless America: Confronting our Most Urgent Social Problem, p. 45).

My Shadows Are Chasing Me

I've been back from "vacation" for nearly a week now (Thursday will be a week). I must say that I can certainly tell that I'm no longer "on vacation." But more on that in a bit.

What my vacation consisted of was seeing family, visiting who I consider to be my home church, a pastor's retreat/conference, and spending time with my immediate family at the beach. You ever hear of the phrase, "I need a vacation from my vacation?"

All in all my vacation was "good" ... at times unpleasant ... but nonetheless good. Deciding to head off stress by discontinuing to keep score on the golf course is certainly less than pleasant ... but in the long run being able to spend the time with my brother is invaluable ... it was good.

I found out that I still have much to learn. For example my 4-year old nephew was about to sport some brand new Diego swim shorts and proceeded to inform me that Diego was not real. I asked him how he knew Diego was not real. A couple of minutes passed in our jostling debate, and he grew impatient with his obviously ignorant uncle. He ends the conversation with golden nugget of wisdom, "UNCLE WILLIAM ... Diego is NOT real. He's made in China just like everything else ... except for gnats."

I've never been put into my place quite like that before!

Yes, my life here in South Carolina is not my life in Georgia. I miss Georgia ... and I especially felt my longing for "home" when I had the opportunity to attend what I consider to be my home church. No, my life here is not my life there.

In fact, I really don't have a life there anymore. Oh, there are facets of my life here that are still in Georgia. But my life is not there ... nor is my life here. Rather my life is in Christ ... who has the authority to lead me to even the ends of the earth.

Don't get me wrong. There is a philosophy that many of precious older believers live out. Christianity to them is getting saved ... holding out here as best I can ... and waiting to make it to heaven. This is not what I mean.

I have precious treasure in my friends and family, precious memories in the various places I've visited and lived. These will always be a part of me ... a part of who I am. But all of these will always flow from my life in Christ Jesus ... who is my very life.

These special people and places are shadows of Jesus's great Salvation in my life. If I attempt to pursue them first, they become idols and Jesus becomes a mere shadow (and a bad one at that) of the Jesus in Scripture ... and I find that instead of Jesus casting his shadow over me, the devil does ... and his shadows are quite rough and scary.

Yet, if I chase Jesus, by taking up my cross and following him, I find that my shadows are chasing me.

• But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:33; ESV)
• If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it (Matthew 16:24 & 25; ESV)

Whiny Kids Are a Beautiful Vacation

Yesterday, I began my vacation ... and I did it at McDonalds with whiny kids! Well, despite the failure of the "Happy Meal" to live up to its name ... "I'm lovin' it."

Family has been circum-navigating my heart every since I left for my trip. While I know that most of you out there are perfect ... you humor me by reading my blog to gather some faint idea of what imperfection feels like. Often times my past relational boo-boos and blunders are thrust into my heart.

"How could I have even thought such a thing ... much less have said it!?" "Man, what a idiot!" You remember the feel of finger nails scratching across the chalkboard? Yeah ... then you understand my gut wrenching during these lovely trips down Memory Lane.

Then ... and thankfully "then" comes ... then I remember that I actually have children ... which several years ago I never believed would grace my life ... my less a wonderful darling of a wife.

At one time I entertained the fantasy of meeting who was to become my beautiful bride in high school or even college. Not any more! I would have ruined my chances from the first hello.

But look at us now ... not perfect ... but continuing to build a very beautiful friendship. What a mightifully wonderful God I serve! You see Salvation is not simply a one moment of conversion. It certainly includes that, but Salvation is so much more. Salvation following that one moment of conversion includes taking that idiot I was and molding and shaping me into the husband and father I am today ... not that I've "arrived" or obtained mathematical perfection in husbandry or fatherhood. But I'm not where I was ... and I'm also not where I'm going to be next month or even next year!

Salvation is not clean ... its down right kids-gettin'-the-ketchup-in-the-hair messy. The Holy Spirit is so marvelous. So ... yeah ... I'll take a vacation with less than sit-up-and-shut-up-style kids any day. After all the presence of my kids is the tangible evidence that I'm on vacation from the power of the sin that so easily beset me ... and I don't plan on returning from that vacation! Yes ... I can easily return to my former self and former mistakes ... but the good news of the Gospel is that I don't have to! A major part of the Gospel is the opportunity of being transformed from depravity into the righteousness of God. In a Ronald-McDonald-hair fashion ... that is wild!

The Sacrifice of Motherhood

Happy Mother's Day!

In celebrating those precious people God has elected to raise civilization, it often good to recognize motherly giants as examples to follow. For example Susanna Annesley Wesley was a woman of deep faith, praying that God would use her to spark a movement of God in the churches throughout the English world (Mother's of Influence--Inspiring Stories of Women Who Made a Difference in Their Children and Their World, 2005). Little did she know that she would indeed profoundly influence English Christianity and indeed global Christianity through two of her sons, John and Charles Wesley. They were only 2 of her 19 children ... actually only 9 survived until adulthood. At any rate, she spent an hour praying for her children each day ... and an additional hour per day with one of her children. Wow.

But what about our moms who don't feel they measure up to this spiritually giant status? What about our moms who upon looking back realized they royally screwed up their children? What about our moms who have tried their best and yet their children have become children of the devil?

And what about our moms who feel put-down and spat upon from the ultra-feminist culture for devoting time to their family instead of their careers?

I think we find in the woman who anointed Jesus with expensive perfume a healing example for us to follow. Let's look at Mark 14: 3-9.

And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. There were some who said to themselves indignantly, "Why was the ointment wasted like that? for this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor." And they scolded her. But Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her" (ESV).

Now we don't know is this woman was a mom or not, but we can find in her a balm of healing. Notice that she comes in and anoints Jesus ... in the midst of protests."Why was the ointment wasted like that?"I think our wonderful "femi-nazi" society looks upon moms who give up opportunities for full-blown, self-pursuit, career as rather wasteful. Let's don't even mention those moms who choose to raise their families full-time!!! "What a waste!" "She could have really made something of herself!"

I also think that many moms look at their current motherhood status and/or perhaps look back on their past motherhood exploits and cry out in despair, "What a waste!" "I could have done better!" "I am such a failure now ... what a waste!"Now this sermon isn't to justify evil ... as some mom's have much need for repentance. Yet, many moms are naturally idealistic and feel they don't measure up to some artificial ideal ... often imposed by other people.

In the same vein as Jesus, I want to emphasize, "Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her?"

The present-day dollar amount might well be nearly $25,000 for the perfume she poured out on Jesus.

"Let her alone. Why do you trouble her?"

I want moms to understand that the sacrifices they have made for their families is like this perfume poured out over the body of Jesus.For our moms who have been less than perfect, please allow Jesus to pour out the perfume of his Holy Spirit over you and feel his forgiveness running down your tear-stained face.

This is not at all to alleviate of our dear moms their responsibility for confession of sin and pursuit of repentance.

Yet, as an engine without oil will only lock-up and remain that way, our moms need to feel the forgiveness that Jesus offers, so they can do what comes naturally to them ... properly love their families. Jesus offers that forgiveness and transformation today. Will you reach out and take his outstretched, nail-scarred hand?

Happy Mother's Day

"Yes, We Can," Does Not Necessarily Mean "Yes, We Will"

In watching Senator Barack Obama give what could have been his general election victory speech, I was struck by just how appealing he was ... and all of this after coming out from under the "prophetic" mantle of Rev. Wright to invoke the blessing of God on America, dodging lightening from the potential thunderstorm of the Weather Underground association, marching the rural God-Country-Guns crowd from Pennsylvania to the verbal firing squad, etc. In a word, the electricity emanating from Obama felt real. For a moment ... a brief moment ... but a moment nonetheless ... Obama felt like the messiah for our times.

Problem.

What does Obama mean when he is proud of American values that are supposedly neither Liberal nor Conservative ... but are in fact laced with pinkish red socialism? Is it the government's responsibility to secure health care for all people ... despite whether they want to work or not? Is it the government's responsibility to ensure that all children can financially afford to go to college ... when some of those "all" refuse to do the work in middle and high school that is necessary to help them succeed once they are there? Is it the government's responsibility to pick the winners and losers in the game of life-economics?

In Obama's vision for America, equal opportunity for all seems to mean equal results demanded from all.

Problem.

Obama says that he does not expect the government to solve all of our problems ... yet, the Fathers' intent was that government would solve very few problems of the citizenry. Government was intended to only make the playing field safe and civil so that the citizenry could solve their own problems by their own hard work and moral integrity.

Solution.

This is where the Fathers' envisioned the place of religion in our society ... as an instructor for personal and social morality ... and ... to provide welfare for the poor and the needy. Big Brother is not and cannot successfully be the instructor of morals nor the largess provider for the populous.

Caution.

This has been tried has been tried before. Remember "The Great Society." Yeah ... it has helped to spawn the systematic dismantling of the family. Yeah ... it has helped to spawn the vast entitlement mentality embraced by so many in my own generation and in the one to come.

Question.

How does Obama value hard work and self-reliance while valuing pinkish-red socialism that has spawned weakened families and pandemic entitlement mentalities?

Vote.

Yes, vote for whoever you want. But please understand that government makes a very poor god.