Amnesty

Today I feel embarrassed to be identified as an evangelical. I was raised in an evangelical, in a conservative church. For generations, my family has been part of the evangelical movement. I have met Jesus and he has changed my life--what evangelicals usually call a "born again" experience. But today, I feel embarrassed to be identified with that tradition.

We gladly accept God's forgiveness for our sins. We have committed crimes against the Kingdom of God and against the King of that Kingdom. But we have been given amnesty because of the blood of Jesus.

We look forward to the day when we will join billions of others in heaven. When we get there, we will know nothing of its language (in spite of the claim of pentecostals and charismatics that they already speak a heavenly language). We will not know heaven's social structure. We will not know anything of how it operates. Even the glimpses that the apostle John gives us in the Revelation remain difficult for us to understand and leave us wondering what heaven will be like. Still, we anticipate when we will get there. But when we arrive, we will be newcomers. And we will get there in spite of the fact that we have committed crimes against the very kingdom to which we aspire. We will be welcomed in heaven because we have been given amnesty through the blood of Christ.

Occasionally on the news, we see instances of followers of Christ who forgive their attackers. We think to ourselves, "What a wonderful example of the forgiveness of Christ." That forgiveness is called amnesty. Whether the crime involves mass murder, such as the Amish tragedy, or robbery or assault, we see followers of Christ forgiving their offenders. They grant amnesty to the wrongdoers.

In doing so, we follow the example of Christ. From the cross, while he hung in agony, our Lord Jesus Christ granted amnesty to his persecutors. Around the world today, thousands of Christ's followers sit in prison experiencing torture for their faith. But they forgive--they grant amnesty--to their persecutors. This forgiveness, this amnesty, has become a hallmark of the followers of Christ.

But yesterday, millions of people who claim the name of Jesus, rose up en masse to demand of their senators that the proposed bill on immigration reform be defeated. These people who gladly accept the amnesty Jesus offers refused to offer that amnesty to people who are of another culture and ethnicity--even though the bill did not offer true amnesty.

True amnesty would have given these undocumented immigrants a free pass. But this bill included penalties to be paid and certain legal steps to be followed. Still people who have been forgiven by God through Christ refused to offer any access to a resolution of their undocumented status.

Didn't Jesus say something about that? At the close of his model prayer, didn't He say something about "If you do not forgive those who have offended you, neither will my Father who is in heaven forgive you of your sins"? We have sinned against the laws of the King of the Universe and have received amnesty. These undocumented workers have sinned only against the laws of our finite country. Can't they receive at least some mercy?

I feel embarrassed to be identified with a group who refuses to offer even a measure of mercy when they/we have received such infinite measures of mercy and amnesty from our Lord and Savior.

What do you think?

Bible Study: Joshua

I always feel captivated by the story of Achan in the book of Joshua. On the one hand, it seems incredible that out of a million or so people rushing into the city of Jericho, only 1--Achan--would fall to the temptation to pilfer a beautiful cloth, silver and gold. I'm not challenging the veracity of the story. It just seems amazing and always raises to me the questions: Was it only Achan? and Why only Achan?

Then I wonder: How did Achan feel? When he took first one then another and then a third item and hid them--first under his cloak and then under the earth in his tent, how did he feel? How did he feel when 36 of his fellow invaders died in the next battle at the tiny town of Ai? Did he join in the rabble who blamed Joshua for sending too small an army? Or did he just keep quiet? How did he feel when Joshua and the elders spent all day on their faces interceding with God? Did he yet feel any responsibility? Any culpability? Or did he just pass it off as a coincidence? As no connection between the defeat at Ai and his sin at Jericho? (I suspect the latter in this case.)

How did he feel as the process of illimination began the next day? When God chose the tribe of Judah, then the clan of Zerah, then the family of Zimri, at which point in there did Achan start feeling nervous? At what point did he begin to panic? Did he ask himself something like, "Was I the only one who did this?"

How did he feel when Joshua said, "My son, give glory to God and tell us what you did"? Did he feel relief? At last his feeling of guilt would find release. But then he must face the terrible consequences. But at least he could die with a cleared conscience. Had the agony leading up to this confession built so much that he felt relief? (I suspect this would be the case.) Did he keep telling himself, "Surely someone else also took something! I can't be the only one!"

But also when I read the story of Achan, I re-hear the messages I have heard and preached from this story. I think of the preachers who have preached about hidden sins while we have carried hidden sins in our own hearts. I think of times when I have preached about Achan, all the while thinking, "I hope they don't discover my secrets."

In this age when sin runs so rampant among the people of God.... In this time of God's grace toward our sin(s).... In this era when we have made cheap grace the prime commodity of the church....

How do we begin to inch back to an attitude in which we feel tremendously responsible for each time and each way that we fall short of the glory of God? But also, how do we inch back to that attitude without resurrecting the suffocating view of legalism?

What do you think?

wedding blessing

During the wedding ceremony, after Joe & Gen had been "pronounced" and had kissed, etc., the pastor asked the fathers to come to the platform to give our blessings. Normally, I speak out loud and clear. But this time, I felt so overcome by emotion that I could barely get anything out. My mother, sitting on the first row, said she could not hear what I said. I noticed at the time that I was speaking too softly, but I hoped the sound tech would turn up the volume, because I could not do so myself without "losing it." All of that to say, I will try to recreate here what I said there.

After a few seconds to pull myself together [see the pic], I said to Gen, "We have prayed for you for years." She told me later that she had also prayed for Joseph long before they had met.

I will come back to this asap. [Okay, we're finally home and I can continue on this.]

So then I said something like: "Genevieve Louise--you are a humble fighter for God and for purity. Joseph Aaron--as your faith grows your light grows and also the light of God. Together--you will bring others to the fullness of Christ and His light will shine more fully."

In case you're wondering where I came up with those thoughts, here is the answer: I looked at the meaning of their names. I already knew Joseph Aaron's: Joseph means "increase" and Aaron means "light bearer". I looked up Gen's names: Genevieve means "white" which is often taken to refer to purity but one source also suggested it refers to humility; Louise means "honored warrior." The last part about their mentoring [I didn't use that word but I had that in mind] younger believers just came.

wedding rehearsal

Well we spent the day preparing for the rehearsal dinner. Then we had the rehearsal. Then we had the dinner and everything went great. So, I'm going to try to post some pics along with this post.

wedding--my red face

Well, I have to tell this story about myself. Not that I have to, but I want to. Joseph is not renting a tux; so the rest of us get to save that money too. So we had agreed that I would wear my black suit from when I was a mortician. We bought a new pink dress shirt and found a tie from my (father's) collection. We hung these with the suit coat and pants and examined them all together and they looked great. The evening before we left, I finally noticed that the coat from the suit was actually a tuxedo jacket. Upon closer inspection, it did not match the black pants. Plus, it was clearly a tuxedo jacket and no one else would be wearing a tux.

What had happened? The day before I got fired from the funeral home I had picked up this brand new black suit. Since then, I had only worn it a handful of times. It included 2 pairs of pants as well as the coat. Even at a corporate, group rate discount it had cost $300. But now all I had was the extra pair of pants that had never been worn at all. The first pants and the coat were gone.

I knew immediately what had happened. Shortly after we moved to Hood river, our church was collecting clothes to send to pastors in Russia and Ukraine. I had swooped up all my old coats and jackets, stuffed them into a ba and taken them to the donation box at the church. In my haste, I obviously had put that virtually brand new suit along with the others that were almost worn out.

So today, somewhere in Russia or Ukraine, a Christian pastor is wearing a virtually brand new Perry Ellis suit. He might wear that suit the rest of his life as he serves God and the Kingdom of God grows. He will thank God for the "generosity" of an American who donated that suit. God knows it was not generosity but carelessness and haste on my part.

But we thank God that one of his faithful servants will be able to serve him more effectively with this suit. And we thank God that he has provided for us sufficiently that we can go down to the store and get another suit coat that (almost) matches the pants.

Well, "God is in all things working for [His] good\" and the good of the Kingdom of God. And yes, God does indeed work in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform.

wedding

Tomorrow is the wedding of my son Joseph with a delightful young lady, Genevieve. So we are in Springfield, Oregon, for the weekend. I'm a little surprised at myself that I have not been more contemplative about this event. I am excited and I support their decision. But I have not been able to identify any dominant feeling.

Yesterday we arrived in town and did some last minute shopping at the mall. Then after dinner, we went to her parents' home where everything was aflutter with preparations. When Gen could finally break away from something she was doing, she came over and we hugged. The hug lasted longer than usual. Then we continued to hold each other while we looked into the other's eyes. She appeared so excited. And I enjoyed sharing in that excitement. At the end of the evening, when we were saying goodnight, she came over again and we shared almost a duplicate moment.

Tonight is the rehearsal of course. Bw and I are hosting the rehearsal dinner. "Everybody" is arriving today. So it will be a busy time and we're very upbeat about the whole thing. (In case some stranger reads this who doesn't know me/us, Joseph is my youngest, and the first to get married.) This is a new experience for us and we are enjoying it!

Did he? Or Didn't he?

I finished the Book of Acts yesterday. Meant to post about this at that time, but things came up. (Today I started the Book of Joshua. But that's a topic for another day.)

Do you recall the name of the centurion who oversaw transporting Paul from Caesarea to Rome? His name was Julius. He has the authority to order the ships they used in their journey. He rarely actually exercises this authority, although toward the end, he does. Also, toward the end of the narrative, it becomes clear that he has a favorable attitude toward Paul. He spares the lives of all the other prisoners in his care, because he wanted to spare Paul's life. Even near the beginning, he gives Paul limited freedom to visit with friends at one of their early stops.

Now, we know that for months Julius and Paul traveled in close proximity. We know that Paul never missed an opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, we can conclude that the apostle talked with Julius about our Lord.

Soooooo, what did Julius do? Did he put his faith in Christ? Did he become a disciple? Or did he resist?

Luke does not tell us the answer. Whereas in other contacts, the chronicler gives detailed accounts of other people who came to Christ--their background, their occupation, the events leading to their conversion. But he tells us virtually nothing about Julius. In fact, after the first half of the journey, Luke stops referring to the centurion by name, only by title. This might suggest (nothing more than that) that the centurion remained courteous toward Paul but closed his hear to the gospel.

At the same time, the kindness Julius showed to the apostle might suggest that the Roman had come to faith in Jesus. The liberties granted toward the end of the journey might support this view.

But Luke--a careful and detailed writer--does not tell us this point.

What is your opinion?

Basketball, part 2

Yes, I did watch the NBA playoffs--even though I had mixed feelings. It would have been okay with me if Cleveland had won, because I still have some negative leftovers about San Antonio. But I've lived in the western region all my life. So I can rarely bring myself to root for one of the eastern conference teams. So in spite of what I said previously about the Spurs, I still was cheering for them. I still like Duncan and Parker and most of the rest of the team (not that that matters to them). But when they interviewed Horry after the game, I kept picturing his body slam against Steve Nash.

So, I still like the Spurs overall. But Horry was largely a non-factor in the playoffs. And I still think of him as "cheap-shot" Bob, rather than big-shot Bob.

And that's all I have to say about that. As usual, your comments are welcome.

Teens praying

Last night we gave a Voice of the Martyrs presentation at the teen gathering for the Vineyard fellowship in our town. The leader said the attendance was down, because there were other end-of-the-school-year activities going on. Still there were 27 or more people there, including the adult volunteers.

When it came my turn to speak, the young people were very attentive. I suspect that this would not always be the case with every teen group. But I appreciated their cooperation and participation. I gave a powerpoint presentation that lasted about 30 minutes. I told stories to go along with the pictures on the powerpoint. Then I closed with a video of some of the suffering Christians in Indonesia.

After I was done, we passed out info sheets about suffering Christians in various countries around the world. They broke up into small groups--each with an adult volunteer. They read accounts of the suffering. Then each shared what they had read with their small groups. Then they began to pray.

I will simply say: I was very impressed with their prayers. I didn't listen closely. But I could hear some of the prayers being voiced. And they prayed with passion and lifted their suffering brothers and sisters to the Lord. They also prayed for God's victory over the enemies of Christ.

Many youth groups would do well to learn from this ministry.

Thank you Vineyard teens for your example.

Thank you

Well, someone(s) must have prayed for me in response to my post last week when I said I felt discouraged and in a fog. Thank you for your prayers!

That afternoon two good things happened: First, I got a follow-up call from a friend, Jeff. Being self-employed, he was working frantically on a project. What had him bogged down was he needed to transcribe some material he had on cassette tapes. He does not enjoy that and was having trouble plodding through it--on top of all the other things on his "to do" list. Well, I happen to enjoy transcribing, typesetting and any other project in which I can learn and earn at the same time. So I spent Thursday and Friday transcribing his tapes. That would have been a pleasant break from my routine by itself. But he also paid me for it! So: a double blessing. (If you or someone you know needs some transcribing done, get in touch with me. I can do it quickly and accurately.)

That same afternoon (Wednesday), I got a call back from a mission agency (www.rimi.org) that focuses on bringing the message of Christ to people from India--both in their home country and around the world. For all intents and purposes, that conversation cemented the decision to go to India for a 2-week ministry trip at the end of October. My contact is sending me material about the trip, costs and schedule, as well as modules that they want someone to teach. So we'll see what the info packet contains and see where I can fit in with their ministry.

Saturday, bw and I went to the Grand Floral Parade, the highlight of Portland's Rose Festival. The weather forcasters kept saying the rain (a virtual tradition for this parade) would hold off until the afternoon--after the parade concluded. Maybe a few drops toward the end, but most of the parade was supposed to be dry, albeit cloudy. Not! It was already sprinkling on our way into the city. Fortunately, we had purchased tickets to watch the parade from the comfortable (read: "DRY") confines of the Memorial Coliseum. You can see the pics I took by going to: http://community.webshots.com/user/culbered. I have more than 20 photo albums there. But the most recent one is titled "Oregon things to do" and it should be at the top of the list of my albums. Let me know if you visit there. They have a place to enter comments on their website. Or you can drop me a line here in the comments section below.

Thank you again for your prayers!

Bible question, Acts 17:15

Found an interesting term this morning in Acts 17:15. As is generally agreed, Luke wrote the book of Acts. Up to 16:19, he writes from what Paul and others related to him. But in that verse, he clearly joins the troup of missionaries. Later in chapter 16, he records the experiences of Paul and Silas, but he is understandably absent from the prison experience. In chapter 17, he says "they [Paul & Silas et al.] had passed through ... [and] came to Thessalonica...]." The account remains in the third person for some time after that.

But the word that caught my attention, in 17:15 is the word "brought" (NIV). The men who accompanied Paul "brought him to Athens...." I have become a bit sensitized to the words "bring/take" and "brought/took". These are terms that my Filipina BW confuses frequently. (In their language, the word they use basically means "carry" without distinction to bringing or taking.) So we have created a catchphrase that says: "Bring here; take there."

So when I came to the above term, I stopped and asked: Is Luke intentionally saying, "they brought him here to Athens"? Or is this a slip of the pen? Luke, a physician, is not prone to slips of the pen. He writes very intentionally and accurately. So I conclude that he means to say "they brought him here to Athens."

The following question is: From what perspective is Luke saying this: Did Luke go ahead of Paul to Athens for some personal reason? Did he go ahead of the team in order to prepare lodging and other arrangements? Did he act as what we would call today an "advance man," getting things ready for the missionary team to arrive? Or did Paul just not need him for a little while and released him to earn some money through his profession as a doctor?

An alternative view: Did Luke write the book of Acts from the city of Athens? After Paul's imprisonment in Rome, did Luke return to Athens to resume his medical practice and there write the book of Acts?

I don't have an answer to these questions. I am inclined to the former scenario: That Luke went ahead of Paul for whatever reason or a combination of reasons. And therefore, he was already in Athens when Paul arrived there from Berea.

Just some questions.

What do you think?

Feelings

I know that emotions come and go. I know I must not give great significance to them. I certainly do not make decisions based on emotions.

Still, I must take note of my emotions. I learned long ago to identify them.

Today, I feel very discouraged. I feel lost--wandering around in a fog.

That's all I have to say about that.

Bible Study Acts 12:14, Rhoda

Okay, just a quicky this time (I think). Never know for sure how much I'm going to write until I actually get going on it. But here goes........

Yesterday when I was in Acts 12, I refreshed my memory on the story of Peter's release from prison. I've preached from this before and heard others do the same. Not sure I've seen this aspect though. We have remarked on the disbelief of the others in the prayer meeting. They were praying for Peter's release. But when he arrived at the door, they did not believe he was there. They were praying. But the question always arises: Did they pray in faith?

And we have chuckled over Rhoda's (the servant) running off in excitement to announce Peter's arrival but leaving him outside. Humorous scene.

But this time I noticed: Rhoda--if no one else--had been praying in faith. She heard the knock at the door and asked who is it. The voice on the other side said, "This is Peter." Do you see: She did not doubt! The very fact that she ran back to tell the others that Peter was at the door says that she believed Peter had somehow gotten out of jail. She believed. Did you notice: she had not yet seen Peter. ("Faith is being ... certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1) Still, she knew he was there. The others had other explanations for the sound and voice she heard.

But Rhoda believed!

Bible Study, Acts 9:40, How to Pray

First, a disclaimer: I am not a great prayer warrior. I do not pray nearly as much as I should. This is not a guilt trip, or false humility. I know I should; but I don't.

Nevertheless, I have tried to teach people a view of prayer that I think makes our communication with God more effective than we usually experience. Specifically, I propose that when we pray we should first ask God what does He want to do in a given situation.

Several years ago I was asked by a young husband to pray for his healing. He had brain cancer. He had been anointed for healing several times already by other pastors. He had undergone multiple surgeries on his brain. But the cancer continued to grow. At the same time, his father-in-law asked me to pray for his own healing (in addition to his son-in-law). He had serious heart problems and was taking massive doses of prescription medicine every day to keep him alive.

As I prepared for the service when we would anoint each, I felt very clear prompting from God: He seemed to say to me, "Do not pray for [the young husband] to be healed. I have already decided not to heal him." I was shocked to get such clear leading from the Lord. What should I do? The whole congregation wanted him to be healed. It would be an obvious show of God's power in this young man's life. But God said No.

In contrast, God seemed to say to me, "Do pray for [the father-in-law] to be healed. It is my will to heal him." Now I was really in a dilemna. The same people who wanted the younger man healed did not want the older man healed. (They had major issues with him it turned out.) But God said Yes to this man's request.

Many people do not seem to have the courage or faith to believe that God would actually lead this way. But He does--sometimes. And when he does, we must obey of course. But most of us never seem to ask what His will is, or if we ask, we fail to listen for His reply. So we end up praying something like this: "Lord, whatever is your will please work it out." Is that prayer? Is that faith? I will grant that it falls into the general category of prayer, because it is a communication with God. But it is not faith: It does not see what cannot be seen; it does not touch what cannot be touched.

God wants us to exercise the faith gift. He wants to reveal to our spirits what he desires to do in given situations. He wants us to ask, to seek, what He plans. Then He wants us to speak that plan into reality.

Thus, when I worked through Acts 9 recently, I stopped suddenly at verse 40 when I read: "Then he [Peter] got down on his knees and prayed. [Then after the prayer] Turning toward the dead woman, he said, 'Tabitha, get up.'" It seems clear to me that Peter first prayed to seek God's will. Not every Christian in the first century was brought back to life. So maybe it was God's will that Tabitha remain dead. Presumably, years later this latter scenario actually occurred. But this time, Peter had the sense that God wanted to raise Tabitha back to life. So then--after Peter received direction from God--then he could give the command of faith: "Tabitha, get up."

Please, let us stop praying, "Lord whatever is your will please work it out."

Please, let us start praying, "Lord, what do You want to do about this?" Then let us declare God's plan into reality.

Admittedly, God does not always tell us what he wants to do in a given setting. Or maybe we just don't hear/sense His prompting. That calls for another, separate discussion. But if we start asking God for His plans, He will occasionally reveal it to us.

What do you think?