Abhorrent

Some words just sound like themselves.  Abhorrent.  It has the sound of a strong thought.  It speaks of repugnant things. Detestable and loathsome actions. It accurately describes an abomination.  It’s simply abhorrent.  Abominable.

Here’s the shocking thought:  God actually calls us to this place.  He calls us to abhor, even though that may not sound very Bible-like.  He encourages us to feel abhorrent, disgusted.  His direction for us is toward a detestable, loathsome attitude.  Abhor!  I don’t even like the taste the word leaves in my mouth.  It almost sounds nasty.  It leaves a slimy film on my lips.  Yet, He commands it.

Abhor evil.  Two simple words of the same vein.  Two simple thoughts that go well together until pitted against each other.  Evil must be abhorred.  Don’t pick at evil.  Don’t trifle with it.  Don’t pussyfoot around darkness.  Don’t toy with trash.  Don’t even dip your toes in the stuff.  That’s sort of like tinkling your toes in the surf of the Urine Ocean.  I know that’s strong and nasty and disgusting but it illustrates my point.  Evil is abhorrent and thus must be abhorred!

I’m afraid we are losing our outrage.  Gradually being desensitized like the frog in the soup.  Toying and toying.  Rationalizing and making excuses.  Explaining away.  Poo-pooing.

“Don’t be a prude.  It’s not that big of a deal.”

God thinks it is.

Abhor what is evil.  Hold fast to what is good. Romans 12:9

In this sea of evil, my arms are around the One who has overcome it.  Holding fast.

Wen

Maybe It’s Enough

2 Chronicles 29:2, “And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord…”

Maybe, in a time when achievement rules the day, this simple statement will be enough.

Maybe, in a land where words are devalued, this sentence will retain it’s worth.

Maybe, in a culture where the biggest, baddest and most beautiful are adored, these simple words will inform.

Maybe, for those who feel they have fallen so short of so many expectations, these words will satisfy.

Maybe, for those who work so hard to be so recognized, this little snippet will suffice.

Maybe, for those who have seen the collapse of so many sure things, this thought expressed will rebuild.

Maybe, for those who have set their focus on good and opened their minds to God, this little idiom will confirm.

Maybe, just maybe, when all is done and words are spoken, this locution will rise and usher in the Truth that nothing else truly mattered.

Maybe, by the grace of God, we can walk in the knowledge of this truth now.

In Him there is no maybe.

It is enough.

Gratitude With a Capital ‘G’

Many have forgotten and many have simply been misinformed regarding the heart and soul of the Thanksgiving holiday. Gratefully, the host of a national radio show reminded me yesterday of the fundamental purpose of this season of Thanksgiving.  It is fundamentally a time to openly thank God in Heaven for Who He is and for His gracious provision.  As President George Washington so beautifully put it when instituting the national Thanksgiving holiday:

Signed by Washington on October 3, 1789 and entitled “General Thanksgiving,” the decree appointed the day “to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God.”

Thus, just as the original Pilgrims gathered to thank God Almighty for His provision, so we also gather with those we love to thank God Almighty for Who He Is and for what He has done and for what He will continue to do.  My friends, even in times when things are bumpy we give Him thanks.  Our very existence depends upon and our salvation rests securely in Him.

Colossians 2:6,7 Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, overflowing with gratitude.

Those who are calling upon Christ as Lord are those who are literally overflowing with gratitude.  In many respects gratitude has been lost in our world.  Thankfulness has fallen by the wayside and is simply no longer practiced.  When God is excluded from our thinking, gratefulness is lost.  To Whom is one ultimately thankful if there is no Benevolent, Personal God?  As the ever irreverent Bart Simpson prayed on one of the early commercials for the animated series, “The Simpsons”,

“Dear God, we worked hard and earned the money for all of this food so….thanks for nothing.”

Just remembering this still strikes angst into my heart.  May we never, ever become such ungrateful punks.  We are those who live in relationship with the One who has created us and redeemed us by His own will in His own power for His own glory.  How could we not be thankful?

In the beginning, God spoke life into existence by His Word.  At the cross, God offered Himself, the Only Son, that His perfect Love and His perfect Justice might be fulfilled.  He has created us with His Word and redeemed us with His Sacrifice.

Give thanks.

Wen

Spiritual Stamina

“And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.  But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”  Matt. 24:12,13

Let’s face it, lawlessness has increased.  We live in desperately evil times.  We are surrounded by wickedness and by those who pursue new, novel approaches to the expression of evil.  It takes a lot to shock us anymore.  Love has become a casualty of our times.  For believers, it is harder to love those who have no respect for law.  In a philosophically and thus politically polarized culture it is difficult for those on opposite poles to have “love” – however they would define it – for each other.  It is simply harder to have an “overcoming” perspective on life when life just seems to be “lawless”.  Jesus says that love will grow cold in many when lawlessness has increased.  I repeat, lawlessness has increased.  Love will naturally grow cold.

To illustrate how many of us feel (I can read your emotions because I know mine so well  J) in these lawless times, I share a simple experience from a dear brother of mine.  His son is learning to drive and as they were progressing in one of the higher crime areas of our city recently he noticed several adolescents riding their bikes and walking in the lane of he and his son.  The boys were actually proceeding against traffic and as my friend and his son approached in their vehicle the young men; i.e. lawless punks, made no attempt to vacate the lane.  They actually proceeded with those very familiar looks of disdain, haughtiness and rebellion.  They made no attempt to get out of the way and actually progressed in the direction of my friend’s oncoming vehicle.  Eventually, my buddy and his son had to change lanes in order to avoid running over the bicycling boys.  Now, for the honest person, love does not typically proceed from such an encounter.  Anger.  Fear.  Disgust.  Loathing.  Righteous Indignation.  The desire to run over someone.  (Did I say that out loud?)  All of these tend to run through us whenever we encounter haughty, blatant lawlessness.  Love does not naturally emerge.  In our day, when approaching any group of adolescent boys who did not just come from a Bible study, the natural expectation is trouble and the natural emotions are fear and anger.  These are lawless days in many respects.  Our love is tested almost daily.  The atmosphere of evil in which we live has a natural tendency to “freeze-dry” the love in our hearts.

Thus, in my typical fashion, I have created the current, morally troubling scenario and it is at this point I typically produce the magical spiritual bullet.  You know, the one step, easily enacted method for spiritual success.  “Just close your eyes and dream of love.  Lovely, loving love for everyone.  Even love for little disrespectful, haughty, hateful, unguided, mealy mouthed punks.  Love, love, love, love…..” Apply this quick fix to the wound of your condemning heart and proceed with life as usual.  Problem solved.  Life continues in grand fashion.  The problem, of course, in this instance is that Jesus does not offer such a solution – nor does he often offer such a solution.  Honestly, I don’t want to love wicked, lawless people.  I don’t want to like, love or associate with such people.  Honestly, I want to dislike them and blame them for the ills of our society and the pain of our existence.  For bringing trouble upon my children.  For interfering with the “good life”.  Honestly, I have trouble loving anyone whenever evil surrounds me and the wicked attack goodness daily.  My love is growing cold.  Would someone please get me out of the spiritual freezer?

Jesus’ solution is simple and direct but not easy.  In days like these, He says, the love of many will naturally grow cold.  In days like these, He still calls us to love our enemies and frankly, I don’t like that very much.  However, I think I have discovered that as my love for those I deem “lawless” grows cold so also does my love for most everyone.  I find myself focusing on the ills of society and lamenting the destruction and degradation of our culture.  I find myself filling my thoughts with the wickedness of wickedness.  Negative thoughts produce negative emotions.  The downward spiral has begun.  Nausea begins.  Vomiting will follow.

Jesus solution is simple to say but almost impossible to live.  Endure.  “…the one who ENDURES to the end will be saved.”  Focus on the love of God that has been poured into your hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5) and endure.  Endure TO THE END and you will be saved.  Salvation awaits the one who is able to endure in love until the end.  We aren’t called to love evil deeds, yet, we are called to love all people and people are evil.  Jesus’ “fix” for the “love coldness”  that attempts to invade our hearts in lawless times is to endure and to fight. He did not come to make peace, but war.   Make war with those ungodly feelings and thoughts.  Wage battles with evil.  Be strong in your faith and stay focused on goodness.  Be committed to love.  Jesus’ true “fixes” are always ongoing.

My Daddy left a diary from his time in the Philippines in World War II.  He was in the Army Corps of Engineers and worked building landing strips in the heart of the Pacific.  His diary is short and less than detailed but two overarching themes prevail:  The fear of being bombed in the recurring Japanese raids and his enduring love for my Mother.  He writes about scrambling to take cover whenever the air raid sirens are sounded.  He writes of his deep, enduring love for my Mom and his dreams about her and his letters from her.  In the midst of the war, he continued to fight and work and through it all, he kept his focus on Christine and did not let the daily war distract him from his deep love for his dear wife.  He endured the evil of war by focusing on the love of his life and amazingly, his love for her never grew cold.  If an earthly love can work such a miracle, just imagine the Miracle that a Heavenly love can work.

I must say, although it will sound very cliché and quite churchy, that in these lawless days when love has a tendency to grow cold, we must keep our eyes set on the One Who has renovated our hearts and poured the love of God into  them.  We must endure.  It doesn’t sound very ‘Precious Moments-like” but it is true.  We fix our eyes on the Goal of our faith, our Salvation, Jesus the Christ.  We endure the lawlessness of every age with Christ’s increasing strength that is made manifest in our weakness as we press on with our faces set like flint on the One Who HAS endured and conquered…”yet for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross…”  (Hebrews 12:2)

In days like these love means…

Sometimes just getting out of bed

doing the unthinkable and showing kindness to a jerk

biting your lip and shutting down evil thoughts

exposing our hearts to the Word of God daily

sharing the only really Good News

expressing gratitude to the One who has made true love possible in your heart

cultivating a love that stays warm in lawless days

enduring because our Salvation awaits

The grace of God to you all.

Wen

In This World…

It seems I am obsessed with the problems I face. Lately, I have even begun to chide myself regarding my attitude toward the nature of things. Things just can’t be as bad as I perceive them. Materially, I’ve been given so much. Spiritually, God has blessed me. Yet, there is this overarching feeling and perception of trouble. I see trouble. I hear of trouble. I witness trouble in my friends and family’s lives. I experience trouble of my own. Trouble has become a life companion and Mr. T and I are still learning how to get along. He, Trouble, seems to be less willing and/or able to “learn”. He holds his ground. I, on the other hand, am learning to bend, be malleable (big word meaning “change or die”)

Now, as the picture of the average middle class American, I realize that trouble is in some respects relative. My troubles wouldn’t even compare with some of the troubles faced by others who live in less favorable conditions. Even today, millions are living the lives of refugees from war and are simply hoping to be able to eat for a day.  Millions in Haiti are groping for sustenance and life.  So, I am not saying, “Poor me. My life is a living hell.” By no means am I saying this. I am simply observing that each and every life on this planet, including my own blessed life, is visited, even accompanied daily, by Trouble.

For me, as I look back on my writings and musings, I find myself concentrating on the subject a lot. Truly, I’ve seen some tough things. I won’t delineate these but you can trust me whenever I say that I have encountered Trouble and even now find myself walking with him or it – however you want to look at trouble. It is inevitable in the life of a human. The truth is –  Trouble happens.

In light of this it is sad to think that most walk without the promise of Christ – a promise that gives perspective and strength. Most walk in the sadness of knowing that Trouble is just around the corner and there is nothing that can be done about it. It will come and we must simply grin and bear it. Christ, however, makes a different promise for those who trust Him.

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

This has to be one of the most significant statements of encouragement that Jesus ever made and continues to give to those who will trust Him. Trouble is a fact of this world, yet the promise of Christ is just as solid.  Jesus has overcome this world. There is nothing relative about this truth.  It is absolute and applies in every situation.  Worldly Trouble is left impotent. It is short lived and puny. It no longer walks with a capital “T”. trouble is a loser. Jesus has overcome.

More and more I am blessed by the seemingly simple promises of scripture and of Christ. Jesus can negate an entire lifetime of pain and stress with one simple sentence. He is slaying His enemies with the Sword of His Mouth. It is two-edged, cutting both ways as it swings the Truth and Strength of God.

Take heart my brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ HAS OVERCOME the world.

Much love,

Wen

Willing Consecration

1 Chronicles 29: 5,9

5“…Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the Lord ?”  9 Then the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the Lord with a whole heart, and King David also rejoiced greatly.

consecrate - give entirely to a specific person, activity, or cause

willingness - cheerfully consenting or ready: a willing worker

So many things and activities vie for our attention and effort.  So many things cloud our vision.  The cares of this world.

Children’s activities.  TV shows.  Daily News.  Bills.  Irritating people.  Disrespect.  Apathy.  Finals.  Lost jobs.  Rampant sexual immorality.  Seemingly complete moral degradation all around.  Wars.

A large task has been laid out before those of us who are calling upon The Lord even in the midst of all of these impediments – the advancement of The Kingdom.  You know, the one against which the gates of Hell shall not prevail – THAT Kingdom.  All of the prep work has been completed fully.  It has been set in motion by none other than God Himself.  The King has given His complete self in the process of establishing this Kingdom.  The question that follows is ever before us.  Who is willing (emphasis mine, of course, because although I am writing for others, I am really trying to persuade myself) to consecrate himself or herself this day to the Lord?  Which of us is actively willing to be fully devoted to the building of this advancing Kingdom?  Who is cheerfully giving their whole heart – thought, word and deed – to this eternal work of God?  Who is willingly consecrating themselves to God’s eternal purpose?

The scripture above is clear.  Consecration is founded upon willingness.  Willingness brings rejoicing from within and from without.

Rejoice.  You have consecrated yourself willingly to the purpose of God.  Feelings are fleeting.  Willing consecration is a solid, dependable choice.  Everyday.  Rejoice.

Rejoice.  You are offering yourself and your talents with your whole heart.  Every gift you have received is for the purpose of being poured out for God, turned over to others for the glory of your Father, to advance His Kingdom.  Rejoice.

Rejoice!  Your King is greatly rejoicing in response to your willing consecration to Him and His purpose.  In the mystery of His creative work He has chosen to use human vessels and He takes great joy in their willingness to be consecrated to His purpose.  Rejoice!

Willingly consecrate yourself to Him today.  Willingly consecrate yourself to His purpose today.  ReJOYcing follows.

Cloud of a Crowd

“Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.  And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”  Hebrews 12:1,2

Even now, a crowd watches and surrounds God’s people as He works in them and through them.  Those who have gone before now wait with the angels for the redemption of those of us who are making our way to that Heavenly land.  Surely they cheer us on.  Surely they pray and hope for us.  Their perspective is clearer now that they stand in the presence of Jesus Christ.  They see things differently now and watch and wait with expectancy for the day when the Father gives the word and Jesus returns to retrieve His own.  They are a cloud of a crowd and the encouragement is ours.

This thought of a witnessing crowd brings motivation and brings focus to our soul.  As we fix our eyes on Him, Jesus Christ, it is He who redeems us and perfects us as we walk.  It is He who has Pioneered this path into eternity and has made THE way for us into the Heavenly land.  So, we “zone in” on Him.  We fix our eyes on the horizon of this existence, the gateway to Heaven, watching closely for His return.  We chuck anything that might hinder our journey or get tangled up in our feet.  Sin is left behind when our eyes are focused upward.  Nothing will come between us.  He is our Goal.  Heaven is our destiny.

Paul speaks of the day when Lord Jesus will return to this Earth with those who have gone on before us.  God will send them with Jesus when he comes back for His own.  (I Thess. 4:14).  What an encouragement!  Christ is returning.  That’s amazing enough but the thought of Him being accompanied by those who have gone on before brings great strength and blessing – and this reunion lasts forever!  “Encourage one another with these words.”  (I Thess. 4:18)

The day will come when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his powerful angels and he will be glorified in (emphasis mine) his holy people and marveled at among all those who have believed.  (II Thess. 1:7,10).  Sweet.  The Greek language has a word that sums up our yearning:  Maranatha.  Come Lord!

May the Spirit of our Lord be with you all.

Wen

P.S.  Would love to see you at our upcoming Bugscuffle Praise night on May 16, 2009 at the Allendale Baptist church beginning at 6:30PM.  It will be a night of praise.  We will also be raising money for our upcoming trip to Ghana, West Africa in August.  My family is traveling there to lead worship at the annual West African Missionary Retreat.

Bugscuffle Praise

The Bugscuffle Praise Band will be leading worship at Allendale Baptist’s revival beginning this coming Sunday, March 29, 2009 at 6:00 PM. The Revival gatherings will continue each evening at 6:00 PM through Wednesday, April 1, 2009. Come join us as we lift up the Lord Jesus and seek God’s gracious Spirit and His revival. Let’ openly praise Him together. The Allendale Baptist building is located at the southwest end of Allendale road just off of Southwest Parkway.

God’s Palette

With the expert hand of a Supernatural artist

He paints the Heavens with Joy;

He colors the sky with Peace and Hope;

He reminds us of His Presence with His palette.

wen

1/11/95

Angel’s In My Bed

I saw an angel this morning!

I know it must have been;

Tender skin, a glowing face,

And a perfectly “u” shaped chin.

I touched an angel this morning;

So soft, so smooth, so still.

She slept in heavenly soundness,

Is this our same little “pill”?

I kissed an angel this morning.

I couldn’t stay away!

These moments must be seized, you know.

They don’t come every day!

It was an Angel this morning,

Like no other on the earth.

Surpassed in beauty only,

By the one who gave her birth.

Wen,1/31/95