There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil.

Esther 4:14 ...and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for [such] a time as this?

 

 

 

One of my favorite scenes in the LOTR trilogy is in the caves of Moria where the following conversation takes place between Gandalf and Frodo Baggins:

Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.

Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil. 

Parents in Minnesota complain to the school district that singing Christmas carols is a form of bullying. Little children and teachers are gunned down by a crazed mad man, the headlines tell the story of our age and our time. We did not choose to be born in this age, it was chosen for us, we make a grave mistake in life if we fuss about those things we have no control over. Each generation has had its own challenges, but one constant remains: will you blend in, or stand out? In what way will you work to shape the world around you? That truth is pressed upon Frodo with the words: "All we have to decide is what do with the time that is given us." 

Many people view their role as nothing more than that of commentators, as if talking about the way things are somehow improves them. We live in an age where too many have become comfortable being armchair critics.  Somehow we must rise above that and become like Esther and realize we have a responsibility to take action, however small or great that may be. One young boy was found on a beach where thousands of starfish had washed up, he was throwing them back in one at a time. A passerby noticing how many there were washed up, and the seeming futility of what the boy was doing, asked him, "do you think you are making a difference? He picked one up and before throwing it back into the sea said, "it makes a difference to this one." 

This is our time, this is our generation, may God so help us to let our light shine that it makes a difference, we may not be personally able to change the world, but we can start a ripple that will resonate across time. We may not be able to save the world, but what we do does make a difference. Keep your fire burning.

Go Back and Get Your Gun

For thirty years I have carried an image in my head of a scene from a movie long ago. The movie was called, "The Longest Day," and was about the D-Day invasion. It starred (among others) Robert Mitchum (center of pic above) as a tough man's man, gung ho type general. It's D-day they are on the beach he is leading the charge and he turns around and sees what appears to be an 18 year old, scared out of his wits, hiding behind one of the German beach defenses. (Below is another pic from the movie where you can see the little thing the soldier was hiding behind.)

The general notices the young man has dropped his gun, and is paralyzed in fear from all the bullets whizzing around. Mitchum steps out in the open, fearless, and simply says, "don't you think you ought to go back and get your gun?" The ocean behind, the enemy in front, the only real option the young man had was to fight his way out of the mess. Encouraged by his general, he retrieves his gun and joins the fight again.

People drop their guns for all kinds of reasons, and there are all kinds of guns people drop. I want to mention just one. There are many people who drop their guns, because they tried and failed, or because others and/or life shot them down when they tried. Moses was that kind of guy. He tried to help his people, his motives were right, but he overreacted and killed a man. Not only did he fail, but his failure was also one of the worse types of sins imaginable. He dropped his gun, ran to the wilderness and there he lay, paralyzed on the beach of life for 40 years. Then one day his general (God) interrupted him on the beach and basically said, "I am sending you back to do what failed to do so miserably at last time." God speaks to failures and says, "c'mon let's do this thing again." That is usually when the excuses start. This blog is just a shout out to all those of you who have dropped your gun because of fear or failure, your General is here today to say to you, "c'mon let's do this thing again." The ocean is behind, the enemy in front, the simple reality is that you can no longer live on the beach of inactivity. The general is not here to condemn but to motivate you forward. - Get your fire burning again.

He Whom You Love is Sick

John 11:3 The sisters therefore sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."

This is a very hard passage of scripture wrap your mind around, because of the way that it clashes with everything we expect from a loving God. He whom You love just filed for bankruptcy. She whom you love just got served divorce papers. There are just some things that will never seem right to be in the same sentence with, "he whom You love." Yet there it is, front and center in the Gospel of John. I mean its not like God tried the hide the fact some of His best, get dealt the worst hands in life. So why is it so hard for us to accept, why does it seem so incongruous with what we think we know of God?

I think it is because we can never equate something good coming out of something bad. Jesus Himself said in Luke 6:44 ..."For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush." No men don't, but what applies to us doesn't apply to God, God can gather figs from thorns or grapes from a briar bush if He so chooses. Perhaps that is the reason in Romans 10 it says, "...with the heart man believes," there are some things better left to the heart than to the mind. My heart tells me that the One who saved me from drugs and everything else I was involved in that was destroying my life, He will not turn around and give me a poison apple. So when your mind is vexed with life's circumstances, and you can't answer all the questions the devil is throwing at you, remind yourself all the things you have learned of Him, love believes all things. That will help you keep your fire burning when life is trying to throw water on it.  Blessings

The Law of Attraction

There are people who believe in a "law of the universe," they call "The Law of Attraction." The gist of which is that if you think happy, positive, self-affirming thoughts, then good things will magically be attracted to you. (Sounds like Hinduistic karma stripped of its religious overtones, and applied to thoughts more than actions.) The "law" does have some basis in truth, there are scientific studies that show people who are given placebo's (sugar pills), a statistically significant number of them show improvement, just because they believe the pill would help.

In college psych classes I learned about what was called self-fulfilling prophecy. If you think something bad is going to happen, you may inadvertently cause it to happen, when it didn't have to in the first place. (For example all you golfers out there who think the ball is going to go in the woods... it probably will) Or in the case of the woman above (I hope she is not related to any of my readers!), if you don't think anyone could be attracted to you, you may not put the effort in to look and act your best, thus causing no one to be attracted to you.

There is a biblical law of attraction, it is summed up in this passage: 2Sa 22:27 With the pure You will show Yourself pure; And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd. (NKJV) How we act towards God and others causes a similar type reaction from God. There is one twist with the biblical law, and that is thinking low thoughts of yourself can produce great results. Mt 23:12 "And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. Quite a bit different from the way the world's law of attraction, and one of the many reasons God says His ways are not our ways...    A dash of humility will help keep the fire burning.

David's Kryptonite

I read a portion of scripture that caught me by surprise today: Ps 64:1  « To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. » Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
Ps 64:2 Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:

What surprised me was Davids prayer to be kept from fear. I never thought of David as someone who struggled with fear, after all as a teen, (or juvenile!) he killed both a lion and a bear, and then in his late teens he went toe to toe with the biggest, strongest, soldier in the world. Yet here he is in this psalm voicing concern about secret fears and struggles. "Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked..." Plots hatched in dark places, with his destruction in mind.

I don't see the devil in every misfortune life throws my way, yet the scriptures admonish us about the, "snare of the fowler" (Ps 91) The truth is everyone has weak spots, that our enemies would like to exploit. Even the David's of the bible. Everyone has their kryptonite, that which can pull you down and wreck havoc in your life. Paul spoke of, "fleeing youthful lusts," and the apostle Peter said to avoid such lusts which, "war against the soul."

Fear that paralyzes is no good, but a healthy fear, such as of fire, can save your life. David's fear was a healthy one. May God keep you from your kryptonite, and so keep your fire burning.

The Fulness of Time

But when the fulness of the time came... (Gal 4:4)

"And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you..." Is 30:18
I usually think of waiting from my perspective, I don't often think about it from God's perspective. Thousands of years passed from the promise to crush the serpents head, till Jesus died on the cross. Thousands of years, think about it. I mean why did God have to wait so long to save us? Couldn't He have done it sooner? It appears that God was waiting till, as we would say the time was ripe. You can do the same thing on a different day and get a very different result. He was getting all His ducks in a row, crossing all His T's and dotting all His I's so that when at last He shot His arrow He hit the dead center of the bullseye, on the very day that it would have the most impact for eternity.

When I was 19 years old, I was desperately wanting to find the one who God planned to be a life mate for me. I couldn't understand why He wouldn't hurry up. My wife is 8 years younger than me, if He would have pointed out an 11 year old to me, I probably would have thought it was the devil who was speaking and not God. So He waited to be gracious to me, in spite of all my petitions and requests that things be speeded up, in spite of my complaints, He even risked my doubting in His love to wait till the time was right. I am so glad He did.

If you are struggling with waiting for something today, take comfort that God is also waiting, waiting for the absolutely best and perfect time. Keep the fire burning.

A Branch Over the Wall

Ge 49:22  "Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall."

Joseph was a man who brought great blessing to the land of Egypt. The bible tells us Pharaoh had a dream of seven skinny cows eating seven fat cows, and when they were done they looked no better, they were still malnourished. Joseph interpreted it to mean 7 good years would be followed by 7 bad years, that would be so bad the 7 good years would be completely forgotten. He told Pharaoh that Egypt should prepare for what was ahead. Pharaoh hired Joseph, and through his efforts Egypt not only survived, but thrived in a very difficult time.

Joseph got to Egypt by being sold as a slave by his step-brothers. Nice family, huh? He didn't stop being fruitful or a blessing because of the harm done to him by others, but instead was a source of refreshing wherever he went. He decided to bloom where he was planted. In this case people outside of his kingdom (Israel) were  able to enjoy some of the fruit of his walk with God. Everyone has bad stuff happen to them, what the world needs more of is people who can continue to bear fruit in spite of the hurdles life, and others put in their way.

The text tells us 3 things about Joseph:
1. He was very fruitful. That is what God wants and expects from us.
2. He was planted and received nourishment from the spring he was planted near (Psalm 1). Irrespective of what life may throw at you, you will find that God will always see to it you have enough nutrition to prosper, flourish, and bear much fruit. Isaiah 5:1,2; and John 15 especially v. 8 and 16.
3. He climbed over the wall of his circle of family and friends and was a blessing to others who enjoyed the fruit his life was producing. Fruit is meant to be shared, not hoarded.

May God make you fruitful, and may your fruit nourish many who live on the other side of the wall. Keep your fire burning.

The Wine of Astonishment

A few years ago I was having some sharp pains in my lower back. I have been blessed that rarely in my life have I suffered back pain, and this time was no different. I knew the pain wasn't in my back, but probably in one of the organs in my body. I went and saw my doctor, who referred me to another doctor, it was thought I might have a kidney stone and so a test was arranged.
As part of that process I was given two tubs of castor oil to drink the night before, in order to purge my system. The doctor may have used the term, "evacuate." All I can say is that when the purging began, everyone wanted to evacuate my house!
The next day I was injected with a dye, and the test came back negative. I never experienced that pain again, I think the purging, purged the cause of it. Which brings us to this text in Psalms 60:3 Thou hast shewed thy people hard things: thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment. (KJV) The lesson is simple, when something inside you is wrong, God may give you castor oil to drink, to get rid of it. Take it from me, you don't want to be drinking any castor oil. Keep the garbage out, and keep your fire burning.

Dig Deep

     Digging Deep is what you have to do when people or circumstances have ripped you open, when all the surface strength you had has been evaporated by life's noon day sun. The most difficult and the most blessed day of your life will be when you reach for your energy reserves and realize that you are tapped out. Difficult because in that moment of time you have to face the awful truth, that you can't handle everything that life can throw at you.
     Blessed, because it will force you to look for other sources of strength. One of the Psalms I have prayed often in my life, is the opening verses of Psalm 61: Ps 61:1 Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.
Ps 61:2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock [that] is higher than I.
     Where does life find you today? If you are in over you head, why don't you reach up, to the reaching down hand. From the words of an old song:

Reach out and touch the Lord
As He goes by
You will find He's not too busy
to hear your heart's cry.
He's passing by this moment
Your needs He will supply
Reach out and touch the Lord as He goes by.

Head to higher ground and keep your fire burning.

Invasive Species Warning

Giant Asian Carp

Did you know that we are constantly under attack in the natural world? There are plants, animals, and microbes, that if given the chance would completely overtake and reshape our biosphere. The threat is so real that our government even has a website dedicated to the issue?     http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov

In the Great Lakes for example At least 25 non-native species of fish have entered the Great Lakes since the 1800s, including round goby, sea lamprey, Eurasian ruffe, alewife and others. These fish have had significant impacts on the Great Lakes food web by competing with native fish for food and habitat. Invasive animals have also been responsible for increased degradation of coastal wetlands; further degrading conditions are resulting in loss of plant cover and diversity.

All those animals are trying to do is survive, and the way they do it is by taking over territory. You see it is always about territory. Consider the contradictions in the following photo:

You have the wailing wall, the only remaining intact wall from the temple complex of Jesus day, and overshadowing it is the Dome of the Rock, a Islamic holy sight. Jewish worshippers are often bombarded with rocks from Muslim protestors. The Dome of the Rock began as a small prayer house, and due to the invasive nature of those behind it, today it is the most prominent feature of the temple mount. The spiritual message in all this, is that there are things that are very invasive that can take over our lives if we are not diligent. They start out small and if not checked become the dominant feature of our life, from which the enemy can hurl stones of condemnation at us.

On the flip side, is this wonderful passage of scripture: Lu 13:20, 21 And again He said, "To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? "It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of meal, until it was all leavened." God's kingdom is also an invasive species. Make sure that is the one advancing in your heart and keep the fire burning on your altar.

You Have Not Passed This Way Before

"...You have not passed this way before." (Joshua 3:4)

I believe we are coming into a new season, one that will test the metal from which you have been forged like none we have ever known. In some ways I don't think it is actually a new season, I think the church is going to end the same way it started - the miraculous mixed with horrific persecution. Jesus said, He wished we were either hot or cold, the days ahead will push us in one of those two directions. The question for you is, which way is your tree leaning?

The picture of the sign at left reveals what I believe to be one of the difficulties of the days ahead, and that is, what can we be sure of? In the first century James was killed, and Peter was miraculously released from prison by angelic helpers. Quite a contrast. Some will suffer the worst possible outcomes, and some will experience the greatest of miracles. The only thing that really matters is not your outcome, but your outlook. The fickleness of politicians will come more into focus, there will be those like Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 2 who is rewarding Daniel for revealing secrets, and declaring there is no God like the God of Daniel. Yet in chapter 3 he is ordering, under penalty of death, everyone to bow down to an image he had made. What can we be sure of? The three Hebrew boys were sure of two things, and one was of greater importance than the other: Dan 3:16 ... O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 17  If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18  But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. The best preparation for the days ahead is to keep the fire on your altar burning. - Blessings

Solicitation

Solicitation is a verb that is defined as urgently asking, and also as to entice or incite to evil. The usual use is for someone trying to sell us something, or we use it to refer to prostitutes. Today I want to use this blog to remind you that satan goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. We put worms on hooks, and meat in bear traps, the goal is the capture and destruction of our prey. We hope that the fish is so caught up in its desire for food it pays no attention to the hook. Likewise we want the bear to be more in touch with his animal desires than his common sense. These are simple illustrations of the nature of temptation.

When it comes to prostitutes, they usually lurk on the seedy side of town, and most often people (men) go there looking for them. Every now and then someone happens to be in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and there defenses are down. They didn't go looking for trouble, but it found them, they never intended to fall, but in a moment of great stupidity they saw what the flesh wanted and ignored the danger.

Solicitation has changed, big time. It is more aggressive and proactive than it has ever been. It has left the seedy side of town, and gotten just about everywhere, even in to the most Godly and spiritual of homes, because of the Internet. You don't have to go looking for it, it is gunning for you. Let me illustrate:



Last year there were over 5 billion direct mailings of offers for credit cards, to say nothing of those on the Internet. The average household has more that 86 such requests a year. (Lots more if you still have a home phone, and haven't gone all cellular.) These solicitations are an invitation to go in debt, and pay the banks interest and hopefully penalties. They are trying to pull you in their net. They are seeking whom they may devour. They are prying every way they can to get in your voice mail, you inbox, and your mailbox. They hope you pay no attention to the hook under the worm.


Even conservative Foxnews.com has provocative, sexually appealing stories on its web site every day. For what purpose? You click on the story and the advertisers on the page have to pay.
In like manner prostitutes and pornographers are prowling all over the Internet, seeking whom they may devour. A mistyped word in the address bar, an innocent search in google images, you can't even read your e-mail without ads "singles in your area" popping up. (Yahoo) (Gmail is much better in this regard) It's all over the place. I think that the aggressiveness of sin is increasing exponentially. In Genesis God told Cain, "sin is knocking at the door..."  We live in an age where it is not simply knocking at the door but is attempting to break the door down. It's not just the Internet, its TV, magazines, outdoor advertising, its everywhere.

So be sober, be vigilant, remembering the devil is out to destroy. He is the hunter you are the prey! He doesn't want to give you a worm, he wants you to swallow the hook, he wants to mount you on his wall as a trophy of his conquest. Essau sold his inheritance for a bowl of soup. Too many have destroyed their marriages for momentary pleasure. This is simply a reminder and warning, that in order to keep fire on your altar, you need to be diligent to avoid strange fire. There is still power in the blood, and mercy triumphs over judgment, but it is still better to avoid filth. Keep your fire burning.