Ages

So, you think your home town is old? Archaeologists think they found a place in southeast Turkey that is a temple of worship from 11,500 years ago. They found evidence that they've tried to date, but some of these techniques are a little inaccurate. It might be 11,500 years old...or it may be 115 years old and the site of the first and most unsuccessful Turkish game show...

But it raises a question.  What is old, and how do we really know?  Most "scholars" today hold that the earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old.  That's old.  All sorts of "factual" and "scientific" evidence is used to prove the assertion.  And, in fairness, if the rules we're playing by affirm these dating techniques as 100% flawless AND consistent with the physical laws of the universe, then it's hard to dispute.  But, what if we don't really understand everything we think we understand?  Is there a chance that stuff we take for granted was never really granted by anyone except...us?

And that's the problem.  Most of us are so anthropocentric (man-centered) that we forget to be theocentric (God-centered).  We mistakenly assume that if we figure something out, we own & control it.  But that would make us God, and He won't have that.  There's a charming little interplay in Job chapters 38-31 in which God unloads His perspective on things.  I'm betting that after Job stood there & took it, he didn't care nearly as much about the age of stuff as he did about the glory of God.

This new discovery may indeed be 11,500 years old.  Or maybe not.  The earth may be 4.5 billion years old.  Or maybe not (I personally think it's about 10,000 years old...).  This much I know, though, eternity is a lot longer than either one, and that's what matters most.  Find it.

Ethnic Food

If you've ever gone into an ethnic food restaurant, you have probably been susceptible to a wide variety of awkward feelings.  A friend of mine recently chose to eat at an Ethiopian restaurant.  I'm no cosmopolitan globe-trotter, but I've never known the Ethiopians to be renowned for their culinary conquests.  He was brought some "chicken stuff" which he ate & enjoyed, but not until after he made the choice to accept his surroundings...and the potential of some later lower g.i. rebellion.  I recently got a beef burrito at Taco bell, and was served at the drive-thru by a young lady who was clearly sub-continental in origin.  I felt guilty at the implication of what she was being forced to serve me.

So, we're left with a choice:  Do we go to an ethnic eatery where the food is truly ethnic, or do we "settle" with going to restaurants that claim to be ethnic but are really Americanized versions of reality?  What are we trying to prove by going to a sushi restaurant and ordering California rolls?  A buddy of mine has this rule: "If you walk into a Chinese restaurant and everybody there is a white anglo-saxon protestant (W.A.S.P.) hammering spring-rolls the size of travel pillows, turn and politely leave cuz it ain't the real deal."

What about missions?  Are we content to Americanize the world so that we feel good about our awareness of and assistance to the heathen?  Or, do we go and become like that which we want to save.  It might be awkward, and it might include some lower g.i. rebellion.  But it's worth it.  Paul (1 Corinthians 9:22) put it all out there, and I'm pretty sure he believed in what he was doing...and he made a difference.  Let's go.

OK, seriously!?

About a year or so ago, the president of Iran (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad... or, let's just refer to him as 'Tim') was invited to speak in New York.  Amazingly, he accepted the invitation, and was subsequently skewered in public based on his human rights record.  Specifically, when challenged on his treatment of homosexuals, he simply offered this gem: "There are no homosexuals in Iran."  Following the uproarious laughter from the attendees (and the cancelation of San Francisco's bid to become Tehran's "sister city"), I found myself thinking, "he's really convinced himself of this!"

As ludicrous as that sounds, I recently met with a pastor who told me that, "we don't have any lost people in our church."  He wasn't referring to their exquisite skills with MapQuest. Rather, there was an assumption that all who had entered this "wide gate" were believers.  That would be nice except for that whole Matthew 7:14 thing...   No, there are lost people.  And there are lost people in our church.  I think the hardest thing to do is to give someone a drink who is convinced that they're already water-logged.

Here's to making folks thirsty.

Directional Pots

Jeremiah 1:13 has the charming visage of a boiling pot being poured out from the North.  May God be praised!  Not exactly the most straight-forward of passages, unless of course all you ever watch is the Food Network, and if that's the case, I doubt there's any danger that you're reading this...

The point is, God was telling Jeremiah precisely where the destruction of his nation was going to originate.  So!?  Well, his leaders didn't listen.  "Good" King Josiah ignored this counsel and decided to step in the way of Pharaoh Neco as he marched north (from Egypt...in the SOUTH) in an attempt to donkey slap the Assyrians.  Neco shot several arrow-shaped holes in Josiah because of this.

So!?!?  Don't go preparing for wars that God hasn't told you to fight; you won't like the outcome.  Most of us have this "axis complex" in which we believe we are the center of the earth's rotation (forgetting that God has existed before, during, and outside of time...and that it's all about Him!).  And so we have a tendency to believe that our area of life & influence is always what God is talking about.  "Well of course the end-times will include America and of course the Anti-Christ will be American..."  Really?  How come?  Where's THAT said in Scripture!?

Stretch The Kingdom.  America is great, but it's not the Millennial Kingdom, so don't start trying to defend it as such.  God will have His way!  Now, when the pot starts to pour from the north...

Decision Day

Yes yes yes, today is November 4th, and that means it's the election day for the good old U. S. of A.  Right wing conservatives are convinced that the end is near; left wing liberals firmly believe that the beginning is at hand, and the other 300 million Americans just want a cheaper tank of gas and to not be lied to by their officials.  Still, the election matters.

Serious issues are in view, not the least of which is abortion.  Near to the heart of God is justice and protection for those who cannot protect themselves.  Clearly, an unborn baby has absolutely no ability to defend itself.  The issue, however, is not as much political as it is spiritual.  Much has been made, stated, and written about it already, but the point I believe God wants us to understand is that life matters, and He is moved to action when the defenseless are victimized.

Obviously, every bit of legislation is an attempt at some level to try and formalize morality.  That's tough to do in the absence of spirituality rooted in truth.  It's disastrous, though, when a governmental system formalizes the abolition of personal choice and consequence.  Deuteronomy 28 and the "minor" prophet Joel speak out very forcefully about this.

Ultimately, though, the election doesn't change The Kingdom.  John Piper (a hero of mine...which I'm sure makes his day...) put it best when he stated that as Christians, we already know that we lose in the short-term but win in the long-run (Revelation 21-22).  Let's live like it.  Yes, vote.  But don't bank your eternity on the butt occupying the chair in the oval office.  God is still sovereign...

Tingly Forearms

I have noticed that every now and then, I experience something euphoric, and when I do, my forearms feel light & tingly.  Now, I have been accused of being a closet leprechaun before, but that's not what's in play.  No, instead, it's that the spirit and the body are undeniably bound.  When we have an intense emotional experience or we worship in a really focused manner, sometimes our spirits erupt and the only physical release mechanism our bodies can employ is crying.  In the same way, sometimes I experience a peace that passes understanding from having come through a spiritually grueling situation, and on the back side of it, my forearms tingle...almost like they've been lifting a heavy weight for a prolonged amount of time and then suddenly been relieved of the burden.  It's already plain where I'm going with this:  Handing off a burden to the One that is equipped and willing to carry it is euphoric, and I'm wondering why I don't do it more often.  Maybe because somewhere down deep, I believe that I can do a better job of carrying the weight than He can...so I clutch.

Augustine said that, "God has made us for Himself, and we are restless until we find ourselves in Him."  I would modernize that slightly and say that, "God has made my forearms weak, and they will not be tingly until I hand Him all my stuff."  Euphoric.