Who's Phil?

I felt the need today to revive my old blogger account.  I haven't used it in a long time because I really haven't felt inspired to say much aside from occasional quips on Facebook.

The inspiration came from the story saturating the interwebs about one of the cast members from the "reality" television show Duck Dynasty.  I know only a little about the show and have never watched it aside from a few clips on YouTube, because I don't have cable.  It is my understanding that the show is about a family that is very open about their faith in Jesus Christ.  I believe some of the Duck Dynasty family members also do public speaking and preaching of the Gospel beyond the realm of the show.

This of course would be contrary to every single other thing on television.

For some reason, this reminds me of the account of Daniel-just prior to his being thrown into the Den of Lions.  Daniel as you know was a God fearing man.  He was also good at his job, so much so that the king had promoted Daniel up and up until he was basically second in command after the king.  The Bible says that "[Daniel] possessed an extraordinary spirit".  Daniel had risen to the top of his field, placed there in fact by God and for God's Glory.  Eventually Danny was set up by his inferiors.  They knew that Daniel would never replace Jehovah with another god.  Enemies of Daniel and Jehovah conspired to steal from Daniel the things that they could never have-Honor, Faith, and Integrity.  

We all know how Daniel's story played out.  He refused to renounce his faith and was martyred for it.  Or at least it was attempted-martyerdom.  God delivered Daniel by spending the night in the den with him and keeping the hungry lions at bay.  Additionally, those who set up Daniel, met their demise in that very Den of Lions.  This theme actually runs through the Bible.  Check out the lives of Joseph, Mordecai, and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and you will be amazed at the continuity of the Book.  Of course, the point of these Biblical accounts isn't just that God protected His people physically (we know that that doesn't always happen) but that God protects His people spiritually.  The promise is found at the end of the Epistle of St. Jude, "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His Glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be Glory, Majesty, Dominion and Authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."

Make no mistake, I am not making Phil Robertson out to be a saint.  He said things that should not have been said for sure. Personally, I don't think it's very becoming of a Christian to be in GQ magazine to start with.  This periodical is essentially soft porn.  Having said that, I can't help but wonder what the citizens of Rome and Corinth said when the Apostle Paul told them the same thing (without the crudeness of course.)  Don't be fooled, sexual deviancy in Ancient Rome was more common/mainstream/accepted than it is in our culture.  Ever heard of Nero?

I have read on the interwebs that the Bible was written by primitive people and that it doesn't apply to our modern society.  And that Christians claiming the relevancy of the Bible today were in fact holding back the advances of humanity.  The comments I am referring to were clearly written by a scholar, lots of foul language.  (Insert sarcastic eye roll here.)  Even the most pedantic look into Biblical scholarship or Roman culture reveals that, a) the Bible was not written by cavemen and b) it was fairly commonplace among Ancient Roman high society to engage in sexual activities that would make even the staunchest liberal shudder.  Ipso facto: It is as relevant as when it was written, very little in fact has changed with humanity-we are still desperately in need of a Savior.

So why am I adding to the plethora of garbage about this current outrage?

A few thoughts for the Christians in the crowd:

1) Don't let all this stuff distract you.  Stay focused.  We are so easily swept up in the latest attack on Christianity.  We shouldn't be.  Jesus said, "If they hated Me, they will surely hate you".  This has been going on for the past 2000 years, even longer if you go back to Joseph.  Our mandate was made clear by our Lord, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  At no time did our Lord command, "Defend yourselves against those who don't love and know me and my commands."  We need to focus on the Message.

2) Pray that God would be glorified over the course of the next few weeks as this is discussed and hashed and rehashed both with the cast of DD and A&E and with the every day Joe at the water cooler or on the interwebs or whatever.

3) Pray for Phil Robertson-that he would make it through this trial with his faith intact and that he would repent of anything that needs made right with his Maker.

4) This is Christmas people.  Let's share the Joy, Love and Peace that Emmanuel has given to us with a world that desperately needs it.

Contra Mundum

The Run: 20 miler. What can I say? Everything went well. 60 degrees, bright beautiful moon and heavenlies at 4:30 am. Even Jupiter, the king of planets was out illuminating our path. Even kicked it up a notch for the last 2 miles.

The Reason: I am almost finished reading a biography on my Kindle about the church father Athanasius. From the introduction by C.S Lewis in Athanasius' treatise entitled, On the Incarnation:

"Athanasius stood contra mundum ("against the world") in defense of the biblical doctrine of Christ. He opposed Arius when it seemed all the world would follow Arius's heresy. Athanasius's work remains even today one of the definitive statements of orthodox Trinitarianism."

Basically, Arius said that Jesus was not God. He said it so often and so convincingly that eventually nearly everyone believed it. Athanasius stood his ground and was exiled for it. He was able to stand firm in part because of he knew and trusted in the Word of God. Thanks to Athanasius, this heresy was eventually stamped out except for the Jehovah's Witnesses who are the modern day descendant of Arianism.

I say all of this just to say that we are called to be "in this world but not of this world." Just as Athanasius stood "Contra Mundum" and held firm to orthodoxy and the Truths laid out in Holy Writ, we as christians are called to do the same. Paul wrote to the church at Rome, "be therefore not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." The way that our fallen, sinful, depraved minds are renewed is by steeping them in God's Word.

In short, the Bible-Read it, Know it, Love it and Live it.

---

And Now for Some Spurgeon

The Run: Another Tempo run today. The temps were much more comfortable this morning. I think I had something like 64 degrees fahrenheit. This helped us to meet and even exceed our goal pace, something we haven't done for some time on this workout. As I sit here, an hour and a half after the workout was finished, I am still clammy and even a little sweaty. My internal oven is still on high and I don't think that my shower took.

The Reason: I thought I would stray from the norm slightly this morning and share some words from "The Prince of Preachers" Charles Spurgeon. C.H. Spurgeon was a baptist preacher who filled the pulpit in London at the Metropolitan Tabernacle for some 40 years. In addition to the vast number of sermons that he published, he was also a noted author. Many (and I mean many) of his messages along with more information are available at www.spurgeon.org

This excerpt is from a sermon found here. Although no Biblical text is directly quoted, I think you will find that the picture that Spurgeon paints here is deeply rooted in the Holy Book, quite stirring and true to our collective experience as believers and followers of Our Wonderful, Merciful Savior the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that these words by such an eloquent writer will bless you as they did me. Although the Victorian language can be difficult at times to our modern ear, the message is clear and simple.

Once more: I have one argument that methinks must touch your hearts and make you hate evil. You have a friend, the best friend you ever had. I know him, and have loved him, and he has loved me. There was a day, as I took my walks abroad, when I came hard by a spot for ever engraved upon my memory, for there I saw this friend my best, my only friend, murdered. I stooped down in sad affright and looked at him. He was basely murdered. I saw that his hands had been pierced with rough iron nails, and his feet had been rent with the same. There was misery in his dead countenance so terrible that I scarcely dared to look upon it. His body was emaciated with hunger, his back was red with bloody scourges, and his brow had a circle of wounds about it: clearly could one see that these had been pierced by thorns. I shuddered, for I had known this friend full well. He never had a fault; he was the purest of the pure, the holiest of the holy. Who could have injured him? For he never injured any man: all his life long he "went about doing good;" he had healed the sick, he had fed the hungry, he had raised the dead: for which of these works did they kill him? He had never breathed out anything else but love. And as I looked into the poor sorrowful face so full of agony and yet so full of love, I wondered who could have been a wretch so vile us to pierce hands like his. I said within myself "Where live these traitors? Where can they live? Who are these that could have smitten such an one as this?" Had they murdered an oppressor we might have forgiven them; had they slain one who had indulged in vice or villainy, it might have been his due desert; had it been a murderer and a rebel, or one who had committed sedition, we would have said, "Bury his corpse: justice has at last given him his due." But when thou wast slain, my best, my only beloved, where lodged the traitors? Let me seize them, and they shall be put to death. If there be torments that I can devise, surely they shall endure them all. Oh! what jealousy; what revenge I felt! If I might but find these murderers what would I do with them! And as I looked upon that corpse I heard a footstep, and wondered where it was. I listened, and I clearly perceived that the murderer was close at hand. It was dark, and I groped about to find him. I found that somehow or other wherever I put my hand I could not meet with him, for he was nearer to me than my hand would go. At last I put my hand upon my breast. "I have thee now," said I; for lo! he was in my own heart; the murderer was hiding within my own bosom, dwelling in the recesses of my inmost soul. Ah! then I wept indeed, that I, in the very presence of my murdered Master, should be harbouring the murderer; and I felt myself most guilty while I bowed over his corpse and sung that plaintive hymn:

"'Twere you my sins, my cruel sins,

His chief tormentors were:

Each of my crimes became a nail,

And unbelief the spear."

St. Pete's

The Run: Did that most dreadful of runs today...the tempo run. Our schedule calls for a warm up (we usually do a mile instead of the prescribed "15 minutes") and then an hour at said tempo pace. I would normally have wanted the pace to have been slightly faster, but with the heat and humidity, I think we did OK.

The Reason: Jeremiah 12, "

Righteous are you, O LORD, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you.Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?You plant them, and they take root; they grow and produce fruit; you are near in their mouth and far from their heart. But you, O LORD, know me; you see me, and test my heart toward you. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and set them apart for the day of slaughter."

I realize this does not seem like a very encouraging passage. However, I am sure that each of us have felt what the prophet is expressing here at one time or another. Oddly enough, this morning's run inspired this thought in me.

We happened to be running our "in-town 6" AKA the normal morning run, for the first portion of our tempo run. About half-way into the route, we pass St. Peter's church. St. Pete's has been a good customer of mine over the years. In 2002, I put in a new furnace and a/c system. It was the first air conditioner that that building had had. Leadership at that time were also wonderful clients, and I did a considerable amount of work at their private residence. For the most part, the new equipment at St. Peter's seemed to work fine. I had done the necessary heat loss/heat gain calculations (which can be crazy weird for a building that is empty 97% of the time and then suddenly is filled with hot bodies excreting tons of latent heat) and they had minimal reason to ever call for service. In short, things were good with me and ole' Saint Pete.

Flash forward to this morning's run. As we slowed near the church, a landmark on the well worn route, I noticed that the outdoor portion of the air conditioning system was missing. Intrigued, I investigated further. The copper lines that supply the "ozone dangerous freon" to the indoor portion appeared to have been cut. Oil residue was everywhere and looked to have been sloppily cleaned up. The larger copper line had a bottle cap from a 2 liter jug of Pepsi shoved on the end. The smaller "liquid" line was taped off with black electrical tape. Electric wires were dangling precariously. To me, it seemed obvious: some jerk had stolen this a/c condenser from the sad old Episcopal church.

As if these poor people hadn't been through enough. Their parish is very small. My guess is that collections would hardly cover expenses. Even though we may have major doctrinal differences, I felt compassion for them. A few winter's ago, a van full of kids huffing paint had plowed into the side of their brick building. I am sure that some of the costs were covered by insurance, but we all know that only goes so far.

Outraged, inflamed, enraged, and obsessed. This was my state of mind as I ran the remaining 5 miles. I decided that as soon as I got home I would make the necessary phone calls to contact church leadership and inform them of my discovery. Even though it was early, I felt the situation warranted it.

I dialed the one person I knew to call. "The number you have dialed has been disconnected," the mechanical voice on the other end told me. "They must have gone to cell phones only", I decided. I called the man's work and left a voicemail. While waiting and as several hours passed, I told several people. "Unbelievable"..."Does this happen a lot?"..."Well, I guess desperate times call for desperate measures", one friend quipped.

Finally, I made contact with my wonderful client...only this person told me that they were no longer in leadership and really had nothing to do with the church anymore. They attended somewhere else. They did however give me the phone number of someone whom I should contact. I called. And this is where the unraveling of the real thievery begins.

Him: "Hello?" (British accent?)

Me: "Hi, this is Jeff from Rayburn Plumbing and Heating...I don't really know how to begin...but I think the air conditioner at your church has been stolen."

Him: 'Huh?"

Me: "Yeah, well I put that unit in 8 years ago or so, and as I was about my morning constitutional I noticed that it was missing."

Him: "Wow, you're very observant."

Me: "*silence***(What do you say to that?)"

Him: "Well no...it wasn't stolen. It was removed yesterday. It was shot. Hit by lightning or something."

Me: "Oh. Well I am sorry you didn't call me."

Him: "Oh...Yeah... Me too... Didn't know you were the one to call. Nobody told me...**voice trails off**

Me: (Yeah right, "nobody told me." Who you trying to kid?) Yeah, Sneaky Pete (name changed so I don't get sued)is doing it. I guess he is licensed...**voice trails off again** Do you know him?"

"Yeah I know him. Well, sorry I couldn't help you...Good bye."

And that's it. Here we have a classic small town scenario: Man who is drawing disability from the government, comes in and undercuts the professional that has faithfully provided quality service for years. Mr. "Fly-by-night" presumably doesn't properly reclaim "ozone depleting freon". (As evidenced by the oil everywhere, sloppily wiped up.) He presumably has no insurance, no license, no proper reclaiming device, and most likely only enough knowledge to make himself dangerous. Furthermore, thanks to my sloothing (is that a word?) and connections, I have discovered that Mr. "Collector of Disability from Taxpayers but will work on the sly under the table anyway" plans on putting in a unit that is undersized and apparently has no plans on replacing the copper lines or the indoor coil (which is a must when switching between the old "R-22 ozone depleting evil freon" and the new "410-a Al Gore, We are the World, koom-by-ah refrigerant." It is highly probable that this unit won't even work, and if it does, probably not for long.

So the moral dilemma. Do you warn this sad little church that they are about to get the big screw job? Or do you wash your hands of it and say, "Well, they didn't ask me. It is not my place to get involved." Fortunately, this is not a decision that I have to make. It has been made for me by those in authority over me. The decision was handed down: "Stay out of it."

So what about the other person in our story. I have painted him as corrupt, wicked and the man who stole the food straight out of my children's mouths. Man! It really makes me rage! There will likely be no recourse, no "come-up-ins", no judgement on this earth. And this brings me to the same place the prophet Jeremiah was at, "Why do the wicked prosper?"

This question is repeated over and over throughout the ages. Although very stark to me this morning, this is not an isolated case. This kind of thing happens, unfortunately, everyday. Legislators pass laws, and the law abiding try to live by them-though their burden can be heavy at times. Meanwhile, at the local level, building inspectors don't do their job because of ignorance or apathy and unlicensed criminals do unscrupulous work-for cash.

As I try not to obsess, be bitter and angry (you didn't even think I was trying did you?), I find solace in the only place true solace can ever be found: the Sovereignty of God. The message of Romans 8:28 is concise and could not be clearer: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." It is Lord God Almighty that puts food on my table. He alone provides the work. Furthermore, it is He alone who gives the ability to do the work. Who am I to question? Did the Lord not say to Job, "Where were you when I laid the Earth's Foundation? Tell me if you understand." Or maybe I should read what the Apostle Paul shared with the Romans from the Law: "Vengeance is mine. I shall repay says the Lord." And if that doesn't quiet my soul, how about the words of our Savior: "Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"

So I guess I am going to have to lay down my pride on this issue. "Why do the wicked prosper?" Don't concern yourself with that, the Lord seems to tell us from the pages of Holy Writ. From the earliest pages of Scripture, God revealed Himself a Jehovah-Jirah which means "The Lord-Will-Provide."

It reminds me of that Chris Tomlin song "Our God." The lyrics repeat, "And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?

Then what can stand against?

Then what can stand against?"

Well, I think I have rambled enough for one post, but hopefully have given you some food for thought and some encouragement when things like this happen to you. Things are going to happen. Big things, little things, annoying things, unfair things, hurtful things. That is a given. But remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ on the very night that He was betrayed. He said, "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart. I have overcome the world." Glory to God.

The Gift

The Run: 10x800; Our times were really good this morning. Although we do this workout a lot, it is always grueling. We were a little "hot" (fast) for the first few which meant we paid for it in the end. Because of the high temp and high humidity, we extended the rest in between each repeat. Craig and I were joined at the track by some ladies doing 1 mile repeats. The more the merrier.

The Reason: I'd been thinking for a while what this post would be about. I have been reading a lot of great books lately (thanks Susie for the Kindle). God has also been doing some amazing things in our family and has also been laying various Scripture on my heart. Well, Holy Writ trumps even the best quotes from Christian authors so I'll lay out Romans 1:16-17: "I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to those who believe, first to the Jew and also to the Greek. For by it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith. For as it is written, 'The righteous shall live by faith.'"

I have been trying to memorize this familiar passage (memorization not being my forte). The more I worked on it though, the more each phrase seemed to sink in and I began to meditate and wonder about what each part meant. The phrase "the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith" really drew my attention. Upon further study I learned that most commentators believe that "righteousness from God" would be a better rendering of the Greek. This helped shape my understanding a lot and fits in with what the Reformers knew and taught as Sola Fide which means "faith alone."

This is just one of many places in Romans and throughout the New Testament that the apostle Paul teaches that we are saved not on the basis of any merit we have or act that we perform but that we are "... saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:8-10.

This is possibly my favorite passage of all time, here Paul is saying that we are saved by faith alone but even that faith is a gift from God. So we can take no credit and He gets all the glory. Now here is the part that really blows my mind. Try to stay with me here. This gift of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior inherits for us eternal life in heaven. What is faith? Faith is believing without seeing right? So when I get to go home to Glory I will see Jesus "...sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train fill[ing] the temple." (Isa.6:1). I will see Jesus. Therefore having seen-I will no longer have faith! "Faith is the evidence of things unseen" the writer of Hebrews tells us. So yet again, all Glory goes to God alone. Even faith itself will fall away and our only focus will be on the "Lamb who was slain." Amazing.

I hope I didn't lose you there. To paraphrase Wesley in the Princess Bride, "Truly [I] have a dizzying intellect." I hope that your mind has been blown, just as mine has by the Gift that God has given to those who believe.

Blessings.

Birthday Post

The Run: Rest Day

The Reason: Psalm 24:1 "The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein."

Pursuing God

The Run: 8 Yasso 800s. Good run today. It is still a tough workout even though we do it a lot. Our times were excellent today. Have to give partial credit to the beautiful weather for that. Considerably cooler and less humid than it has been. It is a welcome relief.

The Reason: "Christian theology teaches the doctrine of prevenient grace, which briefly stated means this, that before a man can seek God, God must first have sought the man...We pursue God because, and only because, He has first put an urge within us that spurs us to the pursuit. 'No man can come to me, ' said our Lord, 'except the Father which hath sent me draw him,' and it is by this very prevenient drawing that God takes from us every vestige of credit for the act of coming. The impulse to pursue God originates with God, but the outworking of that impulse is our following hard after Him; and all the time we are pursuing Him we are already in His hand: 'Thy right hand upholdeth me.' " This passage is from one of my favorite books, The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer. I am re-reading this book right now on my new Kindle (Thanks Susie). I love this doctrine. Upon reflection, it is easy to see this truth not only throughout all of Holy Writ-but also in our very lives. Glory to God alone.