RABBONI...which is to say, Master

Barb and I are reading the “One Year Bible” this year. Yesterday and today’s passage from the Old Testament is dealing with Moses confrontation with Pharaoh. The death of the first born will be tomorrows reading, and not to many days ahead we will read about the people that witnessed God’s wonderful and powerful displays of power as they turn in distrust and begin to complain to Moses and against God.

I used to scratch my head in dismay and wonder how in the world a group of people could be so blind to the hand of God and His blessings. Yet I realize more and more everyday that we are not so different from them. You and I are on the other end of the spectrum, in that we have had the blessings of God for so long we forget how blessed we really are. We live in a country that thrives on “boot strap” theology and thinks there is really little you can do for the poor that won’t just march right out of their poverty to success. Example of a few exceptional folks are always given as examples of those who made it out and therefore serve as an excuse to do nothing and expect the same from all.

Then to make matters worse you have the Health and Wealth gospel preachers with their opulent life styles whose basic message is that your financial status is a matter of faith. There message is one of give to get as if God with holds his blessings until you plant a “seed” gift---in their pocket by the way.

The scriptures are filled with verses that deal with our responsibility to help the poor. And it is not that we don’t do some things. We start programs and have places we can send folks that need help, but does this remove our individual responsibility to do something? Could it be that there are blessings and rewards from God that are missed when we don’t do what He says when it comes to the poor. Could it be that we, as Israel, miss so much by not trusting the Father? We are familiar with the passages in Proverbs and Psalms, but this one is from the prophet Isaiah 58:6-11

6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want:
   Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
      lighten the burden of those who work for you.
   Let the oppressed go free,
      and remove the chains that bind people.
 7 Share your food with the hungry,
      and give shelter to the homeless.
   Give clothes to those who need them,
      and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

 8 “Then your salvation will come like the dawn,
      and your wounds will quickly heal.
   Your godliness will lead you forward,
      and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
 9 Then when you call, the Lord will answer.
      ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.

   “Remove the heavy yoke of oppression.
      Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!
 10 Feed the hungry,
      and help those in trouble.
   Then your light will shine out from the darkness,
      and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
 11 The Lord will guide you continually,
      giving you water when you are dry
      and restoring your strength.
   You will be like a well-watered garden,
      like an ever-flowing spring.

The Lord set this up in a way that no one would believe it. The Lord tested us a lot this year, but he set this up to get all the glory. Tony Dungy, head coach of the Super Bowl-bound Indianapolis Colts

MIAMI (BP) — Super Bowl XLI will feature two teams making their first super game appearance in two-plus decades, two Midwestern teams separated by only a couple hundred miles, but most importantly two coaches who are strong believers in Jesus Christ.

Head coaches Tony Dungy of Indianapolis and close friend and fellow Christian Lovie Smith of Chicago gave credit to God following their respective teams' victories in the conference championships Jan. 21.

"The Lord set this up in a way that no one would believe it," Dungy said following the Colts' win over New England. "The Lord tested us a lot this year, but he set this up to get all the glory."

The news that two witnesses for their personal faith in Jesus Christ would have a two-week international spotlight for their beliefs thrilled Christian leader William Pugh, executive director of sports ministry's Athletes in Action (AIA), a branch of Campus Crusade for Christ.

"We are so excited to see the Bears and Colts in the Super Bowl," said Pugh, a close friend of both head coaches. "We could not have picked two better coaches to represent all that is good about sports."

AIA organizes and runs the annual Super Bowl breakfast the day before the game. Last year, Dungy was the keynote speaker just weeks after his son's tragic death, giving an inspirational message about God's love in the best and worst of times.

Smith is in his first tenure as a head coach and hasn't had the public opportunities to share his faith like Dungy, but he has told the Chicago media he believes in Christ, listens to Christian music when driving his car, and does not smoke, drink, or curse.

"I'm so happy for Lovie who does things the right way, without cursing and shows things can be done differently," Dungy said of Smith. "We give God all the credit."

Dungy has served as the cover spokesman for a special Super Bowl witnessing video and tract. Several of his players, including star tight end Dallas Clark, put out a special faith-based DVD entitled Power to Win  about their faith in Christ and their need to honor him in all that they do.

While the media will concentrate on the game itself, the men in charge of leading their teams to the big game plan on sharing the most important things in their life, something that has nothing to do with runs or passes or even the final score.

You can find this and other ministry-related articles in the Baptist Press archives at www.bpnews.net. Baptist Press is an international wire service that provides news with a Christian perspective to inform and equip readers for life, work and ministry. Baptist Press writers and photographers travel the globe to get news from the source. Sign-up for a FREE subscription. ©Copyright 2007. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

If you ask most Christians what they believe about the “end times”, they will probably tell you what they believe, and then quickly follow with, “but it really doesn’t matter what you believe, it is not a salvation issue.”  I would agree with the last part of that statement, but not so much the first part. Gary DeMar has written an article that gives a little incite into just how the “Left Behind” phenomena has impacted Christian attitudes.

The “great prophetic disappointment” of 1988 and the fizzle of the Left Behind franchise doesn’t mean formerly “rapture-ready” Christians have abandoned a belief in the return of Christ, but it has led to a fundamental reassessment of the interpretive methodology that has been used to make repeated dogmatic arguments for an imminent end-time event. Many Bible-believing Christians who cut their teeth on the works of notable prophecy prognosticators have questioned the popular end-time paradigm to such an extent that they “are not awaiting [Jesus’] return at the Rapture”¹ but instead are focusing on John Winthrop’s “city upon the hill” metaphor adopted from his “Model of Christian Charity” (1630). They have come to realize that the version of the end times that defined the twentieth century and continues to hold sway in this new century is a prophetic anomaly that had no history prior to 1830: (Click Here To Read The Rest Of The Article)

Yesterday I read a post at “Believing Thomas” about some of the repercussions his family has been going through since they decided to find a new place to worship. Later in an email Tommy shared with me a portion of an email from a close family member and the terminology in that letter reminded me so much of my childhood and what I was taught. Catch phrases like  "the denominations" and "our restoration plea". My understanding of those terms has taken on a different meaning altogether since those days.

A couple phases that were not used came to mind this morning as I was driving to work and was praying about what these great folks are going through right now. “The Old Paths” and “see that you make it according to the pattern” are just a couple that comes to mind. (By the way check out John Dobbs post from yesterday along these lines). These phrases were ripped from their context and used to teach a message they were never intended to teach. When God wanted to make something a “path” or a “pattern” He was very specific. Just read the instructions in the book of Leviticus and you will see what I mean. It should be obvious to anyone who has read the New Testament that no such “pattern”  with specifics as to “acts” of worship and “steps” of salvation are given.

What amazes me today is that the cry to follow the “Pattern” is still shouted from the roof tops, but no group of those shouting can agree on which “Pattern” we should be following. Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not arguing for no absolutes when it comes to truth or my faith. My concern is when we make absolutes out of conjecture, syllogisms and arguments from silence, which we set in concrete as if we had been given a “thus saith the Lord” for them.

Our concept of grace is so limited sometimes. We know is covers those who are walking in the light for their daily imperfections in performance and lifestyle. The question I want to ask is if it covers these short comings, why not our doctrinal imperfections as well? That is unless you think that you have that all worked out too.

Father I pray you will be with Tommy and his family as they deal with folks who just do not understand nor comprehend your mercy and grace. But Father please also be with those who are lashing out and help them realize that it is only by your grace and mercy that any of us can call you Father.

Communication is difficult. We know what we want to say, we understand the message we want to convey, but if what was understood should be repeated to us we would often be shocked.  When I hear some of the things that are said about Christians it simply blows my mind. Terms like born again, fundamentalist, conservative all take on a meaning of their own, dependent upon who uses them.

Have you ever wondered what “they” understood we said to come to the conclusions they have about “us”? Brian McLaren, in his book, “More Ready Than You Realize” gives an overview from “their” perspective through the years.

“For the other team, the game has gone like this: First, the opponents (that is us) tried to gain ground on slavery, but our valiant defense rushed and sacked them on that one. Then, they tried to score on the continued disenfranchisement of women—first not allowing them to vote, then not allowing them to make personal decisions about reproduction, and also refusing to pay them fairly as compared to men—but we managed to sack them again. Then, they tried to maintain their religious privilege and dominance over us through “blue laws” (laws restricting Sunday activities) and school prayer, but again we penetrated their front line and they lost yardage. Now, they’re still trying to defend immoral and outdated ways by treating homosexuals in the same unjust and uncompassionate ways they used to treat blacks and women and Jews. They’ve been defeated in their injustice in the past, and we can’t let them turn the tide now.” Page 30, 31.

What is ironic is that many of those issues came as a result of our lack of understanding the communication to us from God in scripture. It should be evident that if we are going to get the message of “Good News” to a hostile world, we are going to have to do something differently. Shouting messages from a distance has not worked and will not work today. The message of Christ will best be communicated with a visual display of it lived before those we want to touch with the message of Jesus. But this will require rubbing shoulders, establishing relationships, and most important of all, being a servant first and foremost.

"He (Josiah) did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left." 2 Chronicles 34:2

Found this at rural praxis

My brother Charlie was taken to the hospital yesterday with what they are calling a “heart event” He is undergoing an arteriogram as I write this. Charlie had heart bypass surgery almost 6 years ago. An RN told us yesterday that those veins they take out of your leg are not good but for a few years at most. So we wait to hear the outcome and learn what comes next.

I wrote about Charlie’s return to the Lord some time back. That is especially comforting as we are now faced with a “heart event”. I don’t know what folks do who don’t know the Lord. How do they handle “events” in their lives? I am not where I want to be in my walk with the Father, but I cherish the trust I have in Him to do what is right in every situation and circumstance. I don’t fret outcomes like I used to. I know Abba is in complete control and that is good.

I ran across the lyrics of a song that are so powerful along this line and I want to share it with you.

I had enough heartache and enough headaches
I've had so many ups and downs
Don't know how much more I can take
See I decided that I CRIED MY LAST TEAR YESTERDAY

I decided to put my trust in You
Yesterday, I realized that You will bring me through
There ain't  nothing to hard for my God, no
Any problems that I have
He's greater than them all, so
I decided that I CRIED MY LAST TEAR YESTERDAY.

P.S. I just learned that this song is performed by Mary Mary...Not a double type, that is the name of the performer/performers.

As I look back over my life as a Christian I am truly indebted to so many people for their influence on me. One of those is a fellow by the name of John Smoker. This is John in the picture to the left. It is not a recent picture; it was taken back in the early 70’s. I don’t know what John looks like now, but that is my image of him from the last time I saw him. John’s story is unique in that I have never heard another like it. He was a gigolo, a male escort/prostitute. This was his profession. I don’t know the particulars of how he was won to Christ, but John did a real 180. He attended the Sunset School of Preaching and one of his first places to preach was in Lancaster Pennsylvania. At the time he was in Lancaster I was in Glen Rock, just a few miles south. We got to know each other, played golf for a while on a pretty regular basis. To my knowledge I only beat him one time. John was a pest on the golf course. He could always spoil my concentration and keep me off balance. Anyway, I grew to love and respect John and he took a special interest in me.

A young preacher in my first full time work who was a lot like the young man who had just received his plumbers license and was taken to see Niagara Falls. He studied it for a minute and said, “I think I can fix this.” I was convinced that I had all the answers, just bring on the questions. John helped me see that there were other veins of thought that could lead me to different conclusions. This was especially true when it came to matters of justification, works and grace. John opened my eyes to God’s grace.

John had worked in construction for a while before preaching full time. On a job site one day he was torch cutting the bottom of a 55 gallon drum and exploded right in his face. One half of the side of his face and head had to be totally reconstructed, and it was miracle he lived through the ordeal. He told me of a trip he made to the dentist some time after he had recouped from the accident and the dentist had taken x-rays of jaw and told John we would not touch him with a ten foot pole because of all the wires and screws holding his head together.

I wish the story had a happy end, but the end that I know is not happy. John and his wife divorced and he moved back to Oklahoma where he was from. He started his own business and remarried I learned later through the grapevine.

I am so thankful for John Smoker. God brought him into my life at such an important and critical time in my spiritual journey. If you happen to be from Ok., I think around the Oklahoma City general area, and you happen to run into John, tell him Lee said hello and thanks…and tell him to give me a shout. I would love to hear from him again.

Yesterday I went with a group from Madison and had a prayer vigil outside an abortion clinic in Nashville. Kathy Hardin, one of our ladies at Madison, has made this a part of her mission for Christ. At one time she went every Saturday, but home duties to her eight children have limited her to one Saturday each month. I got there a little after they opened their doors and Kathy said there was a long line waiting to go in when she arrived at about 6:30 A. M. There were eleven of us from Madison and during the two hours I was there another 15 or so, not with our group came and went. A Catholic group was there, a Priest and a group from the college where he teaches come every week and stay for about two hours.

This was not a sign waving shouting protest, it was a prayer vigil. Some of the ladies passed our literature to any who would take it as they came and went from the clinic. The rest of us prayed. For about two hours as little lives were being snuffed out, we prayed.  That is all we could do. I have never felt so helpless in all my life. A travesty of heavenly justice was taking place and all we could do was pray. I don’t mean to belittle the power of prayer when I say that is all we could do. It is just that in our country we have allowed our hands to be tied while life is taken in the name of a person’s rights, and it is a sad, sad day.

So I would like to ask you to also pray. Pray for innocent lives that are being taken. Pray for these no longer mothers to be who will have to live with this decision long after the event is over and their bodies have healed. Pray for sanity to once again reign in our land and that the laws that allow this to happen be over turned. As Daniel did, pray for forgiveness of our own sin and the sin of our nation, and ask God to heal our nation. Oh Father forgive us and heal our nation.