Gadfly's Muse

Laugh... it's good for you.

[Image: Cactus Ball, stylized, 2013, JA Van Devender]

  Psalm 126:2 (NKJV)

² Then our mouth was filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing.

Then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”  

For all the world this image reminds me of a volleyball player with the ball perched on his out-stretched hand, setting up a serve.  Otherwise there's not much to commend it I suppose... just the (for me, you may disagree) chuckle-factor.

Sometimes we need some comic relief.  Life is so serious, so much of the time, that it's easy to lose perspective.  This has been a week of sorrow for me as we have received news that a much younger beloved close relative has contracted several forms of cancer and all in advanced stages.  On top of that some other things have happened such that I, lapsing into a bit of self-pity, was reminded of that old song on "Hee-Haw" - If it weren't for bad news I would have no news at all.  There are stages of life when that happens and joy appears to be nothing but a memory and a rapidly fading one at that.

But we are not to stay there and humor helps... sometimes it is the best anti-dote.  On the news last evening was a short-video clip of a large black dog welcoming back his master who had been away in Afghanistan for six months or so.  The dog was so excited and happy he couldn't stand it.  He was leaping all over the man and barking happily and licking his face... it was just delightful (it's a good thing the guy was big also... that dog would have broken an arm on some of us).  That's worth a smile.

The Lord Jesus was a "man of sorrows" during his trials on earth but He is not portrayed as being "down in the mouth" the entire time.  I think the entire "Wedding at Cana" episode  has an underlying loving humor to it as Jesus enters into a playful exchange with His mother.  In the interesting exchange with the Scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 11 Jesus acknowledges that He is charged with being a glutton and "wine-bibber" (read that as being one who enjoys more than just a taste).  Rather than denying the basis for such a charge, He points to the hypocrisy of those making it.  Thus there appears to be warrant for the idea that on occasion Jesus had a good time with His disciples and was not afraid to share those good times with folks who needed evangelizing.

In the passage above the people who returned from exile were filled with laughter and their mouths with filled with singing.  Those are good times... happy times... joyful times and the experience of those times by those Israelites were a type of the good times... happy times... joyful times.. which are the inheritance of the children of God.  

And since that is our heritage and future... and since these days in which we live are the days of inauguration... the beginning of the "last days" in which God finishes His eternal plans for history... then we should expect and embrace the things God gives us to add laughter and singing to our lives.  Good friends, warm families, witty conversation or well done comedy are integral elements of God's loving providential care.  He knows our needs... and sometimes we need to laugh.

Did you hear about the guy who hates to pay for garbage pick up?  So, he gift-wraps it and puts it in unlocked cars.  (apologies to Henny Youngman).

C'mon...  I know it's lame... but at least smile!

Why The Sad Face? It's Party Time....

[image: Trestle, 2010, JA Van Devender]

Location: Harper's Ferry, WVa

1 Chronicles 12:38–40 (NKJV)

³⁸ All these men of war, who could keep ranks, came to Hebron with a loyal heart, to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel were of one mind to make David king. ³⁹ And they were there with David three days, eating and drinking, for their brethren had prepared for them. ⁴⁰ Moreover those who were near to them, from as far away as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, were bringing food on donkeys and camels, on mules and oxen—provisions of flour and cakes of figs and cakes of raisins, wine and oil and oxen and sheep abundantly, for there was joy in Israel.

 I don't really know why but this image somehow made a connection with "20 Mule Team Borax."  For those of you as ancient as I, you know what that is.  For the rest of you young whippersnappers - "20 Mule Team Borax" was a laundry product that used to be more famous than it is now.  They once sponsored a TV show called Death Valley Days that featured "true" stories of the old west.  Ronald Reagan was host of that show for a while.  In the early days Borax was mined out west and hauled to market in wagons pulled by 20 mules... hence the origin of the name.  At some point that was replaced by more modern transport but, if I am not mistaken, the product is still available.

Above the tunnel, carved into the rock, are the remains of an old advertisement for some kind of "powder."  It was probably not "20 Mule Team Borax" but that might be what brought that product to mind.

But one can imagine trains chugging along that old track, carrying products from all over the nation to other parts of the nation.  The prosperity of the country once hinged on the railroads (though they are still very important) much more so than today.  But the "joy" of the land, the abundance that it furnished, the feasting that was facilitated, all depended on a vibrant economy moving stuff from one place to another.  Much like the feasting that went on when David assumed the throne in Israel, the "joy in Israel" registered in the pulsing movement of goods that were happily received and happily used by a prosperous people.

I suppose that this is all headed toward an idea of how "physical goods" are somehow essential to the expression of human happiness.  There is a reason why our Lord used "feasting" as the metaphor for the period of our great happiness with Him that is yet in our future.  In "feasting" good things are consumed happily.  The "physical" aspects of our happiness are not something about which God is scornful... not now and I don't think, in eternity.  We will always be physical people but in a glorified state.  As Jesus was able to sit down and eat fish with His disciples after His resurrection, so I think our resurrected bodies will be able to enjoy the "good" things of life without detraction.  There may not be trains chugging across trestles and through dark tunnels in supply of those things but the "things" themselves will be there.

God has made all things beautiful in its time.  I think we Christians should be mindful of not only our right but our duty to take notice of the good things about us and to enjoy them as is consistent with holiness.  It is vain spirituality which finds its ultimate expression in asceticism, in denying the body the joy that is inherent in the Lord's provision.  We are not to despise those things in favor of a false spirituality, more gnostic than Christian, which identifies the physical with evil.  

The Puritans get a bum rap I think in their stereotypical representation.  They not only didn't always wear black but quite often possessed and enjoyed fine clothing of various colors.  The size of their families indicates a healthy orientation toward sexuality and good food, wine and ale were not absent from their tables.  

The Gospel is the good news about Christ's Kingdom having arrived in and with His Person.  The Kingdom is here and our King has been crowned as head over all Israel.  Let the feast begin... or better, let's join the feasting and not put on robes of mourning when the Bridegoom is present.

 

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[Image: Downtown Annapolis -2, 2013, JA Van Devender]

 James 2:12–13 (NKJV)

¹² So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. ¹³ For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.  

The spectacle is over.  Whatever else one says about Major Nidal Malik Hasan, it has to be said that he played his trial with masterful strategy.  He offered no defense of his actions.  In fact, when "cross-examining" witnesses put forth by the prosecution, he actually drew out statements from them which described his actions in shooting his fellow soldiers and civilians in more graphic detail.  His plan was to highlight his guilt not mitigate it.  In closing he offered no closing statements and obviously sought the death penalty in sentencing.  I can not think of how he could have spoken more loudly than through his silence.

Now the sentence is in... death by lethal injection, delivered by a jury after less than two hours of deliberation.  The only question that remains is "will the government of the United States do it?"

It poses an interesting quandry for those opposed to the death penalty.  The man desires to be put to death for his actions.  There will obviously be no series of appeals, at least not initiated by him.  There can be no legal actions which represent themselves as "acting on his behalf" as if he was incapable of doing them himself.  He is obviously sane, controlled and fully aware of what is happening.  So what are those who oppose the death penalty to do?  

I imagine they will argue that even in cases such as this that it is morally reprehensible for the state to kill him.  There will be the usual statements about how it reduces the rest of us down to his level.  There will even be appeals to the notion of "mercy", that by allowing him to live we are giving him opportunity to change his mind... etc. etc. etc.

Towering above such arguments stands the cross... the effective communication of God's absolute decree that the just penalty for sin is physical death followed by eternal punishment.  There also is proclaimed God's absolute decree that mercy is shown to those who repent and embrace the Lord who there suffered that just penalty of sin on their behalf.  Judgment and mercy... not in competition or contradiction... but complementary and mutually reinforcing.  There, high above all human endeavors is God's fullest word on the subject.

Judgment is demanded for sin.  Mercy is extended to those who repent.  

Major Hasan denies the supremacy of the Lord Jesus Christ - for that he will face that same Lord Jesus Christ and give account to HIm for that arrogance.  Major Hasan killed those who, like him, were created in the image of God.  He did so without mercy and the words of James make it very clear, that judgment without mercy is justly deserved by those who show no mercy.  It would be vindictive rather than merciful to withhold the sentence of death.  It matters not whether he wants it... we should not entertain some vengeful idea that he will be more miserable alive than dead and therefore let's inflict the maximum amount of pain on him by keeping him alive and physically crippled for years.  That's not '"mercy" - that's hate.  Furthermore, apart from repentance, what he faces after death is far more hideous than anything that man can do by keeping him alive.  But that is not for us to contemplate... that is a matter between God and Maj. Hasan and we simply leave it at that.

He has killed... he deserves to die... it is just and merciful to execute him.  However there is one thing remaining to say.  The message Major Hasan communicated and seeks to reinforce by his execution must be repudiated with the same clarity that he has demonstrated.  It must be clearly proclaimed that his death is just, first and foremost because he has committed idolatry.  He has placed a figment of man's imagination, an abstract idol, in the place of the God of the Bible.  He has deluded himself by asserting the supremacy of a false prophet over the Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth the Christ of God.  His murderous actions were simply the logical outworkings of this underlying blasphemy.  For that alone it would be just for him to die, though under the present dispensation that is not given to human judges to decree.  But it would be just.  Mercy is offered conditioned on reprentance but not otherwise.  We must keep God's name above all others if we are to have any hope of justice.  We must extend mercy in God's name or else it is not mercy at all.

Here is the law and the prophets... here is justice and mercy.  And we must simply give Major Hasan over to the God who loves justice and mercy for his final determination.  This we know, mercy triumphs over judgment for those who humbly seek it through Christ... and no matter how hideous Maj. Hasan's life and actions, it is still available to him should he repent and seek it from God.  God who is alone the judge of human hearts would righteously and justly extend mercy if such was the case... if such was not the case, God's righteous and just determination would be that mercy not be shown to those who have not practiced it.

 

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[Image: The Good Life, 2013, JA Van Devender]

Location: Annapolis Harbor, Md.

1 Peter 3:10 (NKJV)

¹⁰ For “He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit.  

I once did a fair amount of sailing when I was stationed at the Naval Academy.  I had no idea then what God's plans were for me in the future so I entertained some fantasies about what it would be like to retire from the Navy, purchase a classy sailboat and take a couple of years and sail around the world.  Yes, I know, fantasy is probably not sufficiently descriptive of such a crazy and expensive idea... but, it was pleasant to indulge the thought.

It is pretty common for us to equate "the good life" with these type of associations.  We think "If I only had this ... or that."  or "If I could just acquire this much money... or have a certain kind of relationship... or attain this pinnacle of achievement."  Then, in our imagination, life would be wonderful... filled with contentment... loaded with pleasantness.  "Ahhh..." we think, ".... life would be grand."

I would still like to sail around the world.  But now I want it to be a different world.  The idea of being chased by pirates across the Persian gulf is not a pleasant prospect at my age,.... and there is the sheer fact of age issues.  If the world was different and I had the resources, yep.  But I no longer think in terms of how "good" life would be if I could do those things.  It's not the events of our lives, as good or bad as they may be, which determine the "quality" of our life.  The events of our lives are only the register in which the quality, whether good or bad, is evidenced.  The quality of our life is grounded on our moral and spiritual foundations, not on attainments or physical events.  It is possible to know the sweetness of life when wracked with cancer.  It is often the case that such sweetness is absent even when youth, wealth, fame and fortune are plentiful.

The underlying sadness that comes when I think of Miley Cyrus' recent publicity stunt at the Vocal Music Awards ceremony is evidence on point.  (I am not providing a link to watch it... I have not seen it... I don't intend to watch it... but I have seen still photos that provide me sufficient information to interpret the reports I have read.)

Why would an otherwise pretty, intelligent and talented young woman intentionally degrade herself in such a manner?  It can't be because, as is the case with other young women, that she feels trapped by circumstances and that she has to do such things to survive.  That might be the case with some prostitutes... it doesn't play with Cyrus.  No... it has more to do with an attitude toward life and what one has to do to attain some level of happiness.  

Is it just a reaction to being type-cast as a Disney "goody-gooder?"  Was it because she wanted everyone to know that she has a sexual streak to her?  There are hundreds of options available to change one's image.  But why would someone intentionally choose an image of depravity?  

Because of the desire to be fulfilled... to have that inner demon that pushes for more satisfied.  It's a longing for the good life but it is a longing that is sought to be satisfied in sterile and deadly paths.  And that is why it produces a great sadness in me to see or hear such things.

As Peter, and Jesus before him, plainly taught.  "Good days" are possible only when pursued in Godly or morally upright pathways.  The confidence that comes with knowing, in humility, that one is essentially free of wrong motives and sinfully indulgent practices empowers our daily walk, adds a surprising power to our ability to face what comes our way.  It is a moral standing that is not often the subject of introspective pondering.  The quality that comes to our lives is that of a freed conscience that is not preoccupied with our moral standing because it simply is not an issue.  The overwhelming majority of our life decisions and actions are thus met with that calming ground.  Hence our days are "good" because there is no need for constant self-doubt or second-guessing.  We are at home with who we are and hence have nothing to prove to any other mortal.

Yes we sin daily but those sins are dealt with through the grace shed on us by Christ through faith.  And increasingly, our sanctification progresses such that the sinfulness of our lives is less and less restrictive but rather directed toward deficiency of holiness rather than active egregious sin.  It registers in progress in holiness without which no man shall see the Lord.  The point though is the "goodness" of our lives that is our testimony.

When Paul teaches us that sin no longer has dominion over us he meant it and for every Christian this is a clarion call to holiness and the consequent "good life" which is its fruit.  Self-righteousness is always a temptation but as with every other temptation it is not inevitable nor a corollary to progress.  It has to be guarded against along with all other traps.  But the door way to peace is faith, submission and obedience.  Against these there is no law nor any condemnation and the fruits of the Spirit grow on that tree.

If anyone would see "good days" then let him (or her) turn from the tawdry and rotten ways that give no satisfaction and seek the Lord and His Kingdom and its Righteousness.  Our hearts' desires will be added to us along the way.

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[Image: Coneflower2, 2013, JA Van Devender]

Location: Severna Park, MD

Hebrews 10:1–4 (NKJV)

10 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. ² For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. ³ But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. ⁴ For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

The beauty of the coneflowers has long passed, at least for this year.  Now they are only wrinkled reminders of the beauty they had when this image was taken.  Interestingly enough though, it is now that the seeds are matured that the family of goldfinches are making daily trips to visit and grab some lunch.  When you arrive in the driveway, the stalks will be shaking and flashes of yellow gold can be seen darting to and fro.    If you look closely at the image you can see there was some kind of fly taking advantage of it even during the period of full bloom along with myriads of bees and butterflies later on. They are neat plants and there is much to commend them.

The passing beauty and usefulness of coneflowers might illustrate for us, if we stretch it a bit, how we ought to view the Old Testament "Law" or more precisely, the Old Covenant Administration.

Too often we modern Christians think of "Law" and in our minds we immediately narrow it down to moral restrictions.  We think in terms of the Ten Commandments and that's about it.  But such a narrowly restricted view of what is meant in passages such as above or in Paul's writings, actually perverts the truth that is being taught and, what is worse, may divert us into serious error.

What we must remember is that for the Jews of Jesus' day, such as the writer of Hebrews and Paul himself, "Law" stood for the entire edifice of Old Covenant administration that was the fullness of revelation that had been given by God before the advent of Jesus Christ.  It was a beatiful thing in its day.  When Paul said that the "law" is "holy, just and good" (Rom. 7:12) he was not simply talking about the commandments "not to covet" but rather the entire edifice of instructions ("precepts, statutes and laws", Neh. 9:14) that showed forth the righteousness of God and the pathway of "faith" as it was revealed in that time.  It revealed not only the form and nature of love for God and for man but also how God's grace was to be sought through the sacraments (circumcision, sacraments, etc.) that had been given.  It was a "way of life" that was governed by the Covenant of Grace as had been progressively revealed.

And it was truly a gracious covenant, a beautiful covenant.  The promises of God were true.  Those who were humbled by God's grace and sought to walk before Him in conformity with His instructions ("Law") were truly righteous in His sight as is evidenced by the many examples in Scripture where God has so declared them as such (e.g. Job, Abraham, and specifically Zacharias and Elizabeth in Luke 1).  

But, as the writer of Hebrews clearly teaches us, the "Law" which promised "atonement of sins" could not, of its own, produce that atonement.  It only promised the "way" of forgiveness... it only promised that the faithful servant would receive "forgiveness" now through the application of a better sacrifice that was yet to come.  A sacrifice that would atone for all his or her sins at once... but which the multiple sacrifices they offered in their time would all anticipate.  Their trust was not in the blood of bulls and goats but the blood of that perfect sacrifice  which, once offered, would in fact cleanse their consciences and fully wash them white as snow.

During its day this "Old" covenant administration fed the hungry who flocked to it and its beauty shone forth for all the world to see.  

But that day is past as the writer here says.  The Old Covenant is just a shell of its former self and its time is accomplished.  It has produced its "seed" although here that word is to be taken as singular, a single seed.  But that seed is sufficient for all the world to be fed.  The Old Covenant "Law" (as administration) has been replaced by an New Covenant "Law" - the Law of the Gospel.  The administration of this Law is "faith", a "faith" which is the same as the "faith" of Abraham and which registers in righteousness for us even as it did for him.  It is an administration that sees the new sacraments (baptism and the Lord's Supper) as commands of faith, to be observed in faith, with the same promise of faith in it.  The difference is the fulfillment.  The sacrifice has been offered.  It is no longer to be offered.  The Lord's Supper does not sacrifice the Lamb over and over again, as some would think, but rather, in a manner analogous to the OT sacrifices, points to the true atonement that is a finished work.  The grace it offers is so much "better" because it is the assurance that all our sins have been covered and that there is no sacrifice that must yet be offered.

What a glorious thing was that "flower" in its day.  How blessed were those who found peace for their souls under its wings.  But how much greater... how far more glorious... is the New Covenant and its Administration (and its Law) that is in place now.  How far more comforting is our peace knowing the extent of God's love for us as was evidenced in the sacrifice of His Own Beloved Son.  How much more is our hope seeing that the New Covenant in His Blood will sustain us "until He comes again" and hence guarantees that "He will come" and that we will be preserved until that day.

We are the flashing birds that come to that "Seed" and are nourished time and time again.  It may be a stretch, and I won't debate the accusation, but it seems to fit broadly considered.

But if granted, what a lovely thought it is.

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[image: Redoubt 10, 2013 JA Van Devender]

Location: Yorktown Battle Site, simulated aging.

Galatians 3:28–29 (NKJV)

²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

By all accounts 14 October 1781 was a very dark night.  The 400 American soldiers who were hand-picked to carry out an assault on redoubt 10 were given very strict instructions.  Muskets were not to be loaded.  It was going to be a difficult and deadly mission anyway and so the officers could not risk an accidental discharge alerting the enemy as the attackers approached.  It was to be a night bayonet attack.  That alone would be terrifying.  

But before they could close to bayonet range they had to get over the abatis (the long wooden pikes sticking out of the ground).  They used axes to cut away some of the pikes but on the initial charge they carried large bundles of sticks which allowed them to step up and over the pike and then use ladders to scale the remaining distance.

This was all done in black darkness.  The British soldiers were firing at them as the crawled over the pikes and they could not fire back.  Though the terror and confusion that must have accompanied this attack was overwhelming, yet fifteen minutes after they reached the redoubt the soldiers had conquered the defenders.  When morning came and Lord Cornwallis saw the American flag over this crucial strong-hold, he knew that it was all over.  Shortly thereafter he sued for terms and the documents of surrender were signed in this very spot.

Among the 400 soldiers who fought for the Revolution that night were many from the already battle hardened 1rst Rhode Island Regiment, an all-black unit commanded by white officers.  They had fought valiantly at the battle of Rhode Island against outraged Hessians and a monument to that battle and the crucial role they played stands in Portsmouth, Rhode Island to this day.

They were quickly forgotten after the war ended and black soldiers, unlike their white counter-parts did not receive compensation for their service and little recognition.  But they were there at the beginning of this country and in no small numbers.

And yet 200 years later Martin Luther King was dreaming of a day when race would no longer be determinative of status within American society... when freedom was not accorded based on color but by right of birth.  200 years!

Things are better today but not perfect.  Resentment still simmers among many of both races but on the whole the shame of segregation-era mentality is less and less a real presence among us.  

What is of concern to me is how long the artificial distinctions will be maintained.  How long will an intentional multi-ethnic distinction be promoted?  When will there be no longer a need for "Black History" month or intentional lines drawn between the races in common pursuits?  MLK looked forward to a day when in his dream "that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." [Full Text Here]  One can only wonder when members of both races will at last do that.

There is no question of it being our Christian duty, for those of us who acknowledge Christ as King.  As there are no ethnic distinctions between Jewish ancestry and Gentile at the table of our Lord so there are to be none whatsoever based on race.  We stand before God as accountable for every word that comes forth from our mouth and we are not to declare unclean that which He has purified with His own blood.  

The Christian church should be setting the pace here as it has set the pace in so many other areas throughout the years.  The love of Christ should constrain us to see the image of God in all human beings.  There should be no allowance for race in the pursuit of justice and there should be no distinctions in reward of merit.

As racial barriers to community life must be torn down so should the inequality of minority preference in college applications.  Christians should be speaking and proving that King's dream is a Kingdom goal that is not simply wishful thinking... but a present reality... in our churches first and from thence, in all the world.

We fought together to found this country... there is no Godly reason why we should not fight together to build God's Kingdom in it.

 

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Revelation 21:6 (NKJV)

⁶ And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.  

All lines converge on Him.  He is the source from which all things flow... He is the end toward which all things converge.

That it is about Him, and for Him, and through Him that gives meaning and purpose to life and enables us to know how to deal with it.  It is about the high places and low places being commonly ascribed and referenced to each other through the horizon of His Person.  

He is the one who gives life and requires it.  He is the source of all good things and who has decreed that He be glorified through things we call bad.  He is the fountain of living water and the judge of the living and the dead.  

History is the outworking of His purposes.. the stage of His acting... the drama of His redemption.  His is the Kingdom, the  Power and the Glory forever.  

He is the strength that overcomes our weakness... the sword that defeats our foes... the excellence that transforms our shame.   He is exalted, forever exalted, and I will praise His name....

In the midst of my brothers I will proclaim His glory and His power and His wisdom and the glorious salvation that He has accomplished.  With Moses on the banks of the Red Sea, ... with Hannah in joyful harmony... with Mary and Elizabeth and Simeon and Anna and Paul and all the saints in John's Revelation, I will sing.

For He IS worth it... and those are my thoughts today.

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[image: Roadside Stream, 2013, JA Van Devender]

Location: Wyoming

2 Peter 3:4 (NKJV)

⁴ and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”

The little girl was as beautiful as she was precious.  

I had just preached on 1 Pet. 4:7ff and I had briefly touched on Peter's sense of eschatological urgency.  "The end of all things is at hand." She was very young to have listened as carefully as she had but she was very disturbed.  Her face was wrinkled in concern as she asked me to bend down so that she might ask a question.  "If Peter lived a long time ago and he said the end was near... why hasn't it happened?" (words to that effect).  That is a very adult question and I had to do the best I could with the answer.  I told her that the end was  very near in God's timing and that we should all live, as Peter did, with a sense that it might happen today.  I didn't mention the fall of Jerusalem or any of the dramatic changes that would transpire shortly in those ancient days... but I did hug her as tight as I could and told her that the Lord Jesus Himself had said that the Kingdom was of such just as she.  Sometimes I think I have the best job in the world.

But there are many who take her question as the starting point for arguments that expecting the "end of the world" and a "final judgment" are just efforts of self-deception.  Time has come and gone... they say... it is foolish to think that God, if there is such a Being, cares what happens on this tiny planet... or that He will ever require an account of how any individual lives, or has lived, his life.  I have written about lawlessness this week and one outgrowth of a prevailing cynical attitude toward ultimate "justice" is that "lawlessness will abound" (Matt. 24:12).  Certainly this has proven true.  

There may be some statistics that say that people are less inclined to violent crime today... I somewhat doubt the conclusions that may be drawn from them.  The idea that people are somehow more "civilized" is contradicted by recent news about murders committed by bored young teenagers... women kidnapped and held hostage for years... suicides... etc. etc.  This cynicism is further reflected in the unprincipled strategies of political institutions, multi-national corporations and educational establishments.  Machiavelli is alive and well far as his general philosophy was concerned.  "Do what you have to do in order to get what you want" is so ingrained in our culture that it is no longer exceptional when people do things, small or great, out of pure, undisciplined selfish regard.  Why is this so?  Because as long as the general idea is that they can "get away with it" there is no real inhibition or counter-motive.

Apart from the wide-spread conviction, even if it is sullenly accepted, that there is a God who is vitally interested in us... Who cares not only about our ultimate blessing but is just as passionately concerned about our actions and motives, then there is no ultimate hedge bounding the actions of men.  It becomes only a question of opportunity and trade-offs... utilitarian ethics are the only logical way to live.  And in essence, utilitarian ethics are absolutely subjective.  The individual alone determines the criterion of "utility."  Here is man asserting that he is God and that he chooses to determine what is right or wrong in his own eyes... and there ends the argument.

And so the river keeps flowing... and God appears to stay in His heaven... and scoffers abound.  What does this mean?  It means that God, as He has done throughout history, is giving people rope to prove that they will only hang themselves with it.  The "judgment" that begins with the household of God and extends to the world is that God has given them time to repent and they have not.  They have used His longsuffering restraint as evidence that He is unconcerned or non-existent.  They have given themselves over to suppressing the truth in unrighteousness even though their nagging conscience did not die without a fight.  They have denied the truth that God has set a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man that He has raised from the dead.  Their cynical arguments will constitute the case against them, and as with all war-criminals, they will stand before the firing squad with their sentence demonstrably just in everyone's eyes including their own.

Where is the promise of His coming?  It is there, plainly stated, in His Word, as amplified and unflinchingly preached by His Son, Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God.

Beware scoffer... you will give account for every word that proceeds from your mouth.  Repent you evil doer... for God will hold you to account.  Woe to you who not only practice unrighteousness but lead others down the same wide and easy path to perdition.   

There is a God in Heaven and He will tear down the wall that separates this world of sin from Him and in the blazing light that pierces this darkness... the rats and roaches will scuttle for a place to hide... but none will be found.

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[Image: Passion Flower (May Pop), 2013, JA Van Devender]

Location: Severna Park, MD

Song of Sol  8:6

Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm;
for love is strong as death,
passion fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
a raging flame.

The English word "Passion" is not often found in translations of the Scriptures and almost overwhelmingly, when it is used, it is in a negative sense.  "Passions" are portrayed as being that which is incited by "lusts" and it conveys the idea of a "wild donkey" excited by the time of mating (Jer. 2:24).  This adverse connotation results from the way "passions" can over-rule our judgment and motivate us to sin and all forms of depravity.  Many times "passion" is equated to "rage" as the negative outworking of anger.  

If we consider "passion" only within that light we can understand why the ancient Stoics sought to give it no place in a well ordered human existence.  "Passion", or rule by emotions, was to be replaced, virtually completely, by "will", or rule by philosophy and reason.  This is too much and I contend that the Scriptures themselves, as the Word of God, do not condemn "passion" as such, but rather "wrong passions."

Human beings are created in the image of God and God is (in an analogical manner) "passionate."  Certain it is that He is unchanging and, imcomprehensibly to us, He does not move from one emotional state to the other as with us.  But there is that in God to which "passions" in human beings bear a relation.  

What is God's "fierce wrath" but His righteous anger stirred up to action?  What is God's "Grace" but His passionate love stirred up to salvation?  Strong emotions are impetuses to action.  If the action to which they are directed is righteous then "passion" is no sin.  The Shulamite speaks of her love for Solomon as a raging flame... a fierce power that seals her to her lord so totally and completely that no power on earth could shake her loyalty nor undermine her affections.  He is the sole object of her love and that love is a consuming power that grips her entire life.

Our Lord Jesus was stirred by this same form of Godly passion.  He had "bread" to eat that the disciples did not "know" for His God was His strong meat and strong drink.  His passion for His Father's will stirred His obedience, conditioned His decisions, directed His steps and lead Him to the cross.  It was not Stoic indifference to pain that caused the sweat drops of blood to flow from His forehead in the garden, it was the outworking of passions stirred to fever pitch by the prospect of being separated from His Father's benevolence and subjected to His Father's fierce wrath at the sin He would bear.  The cry of dereliction ("My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?") was not a longing for an answer that He did not know... it was a quotation from Psalm 22 pointing the disciples and us back to the passionate depiction by David of what He, Jesus, was suffering.  

This is the work of Passion.  This is the humanity of it... the filling out of it ... that translates human beings away from the animals and their lusts and to the powerful filling that is the Holy Spirit.  Passion is not to be "quenched", it is to be sanctified... directed toward God and His Kingdom... and is the foundation of zeal.  Apart from passion zeal is not just weak... it is non-existent... and we should be constantly directing our emotions toward the true Object of fervent love... fierce devotion... compelling desires... which are essential to growth in holiness.

Anyone who considers Christianity as cold adherence to dogmatic propositions knows not the Savior and Lord.  If there is no zeal then the best that can be said of our faith is that it is luke-warm which means that it is useless to God and is salt that has lost its savor.  

All it takes to stir the embers into a flame is to contemplate the passion that our Lord has for God and us.  To see His pure love is to be stirred by His pure love to love in return and to do good works in reflection of His.  To Know ... Know... Know Him is to Love ... Love... Love Him... and to know Him IS eternal life... a state of fulfilled passionate love that is eternal as He is eternal.

How can we contemplate a day passing in our life in which the stirring passion of love is absent.  Would that not be a day in Hell?  Is that not comparatively what it means to be "dead in our sins?"  

The Passion Flower is so called because of its exotic purple (among other) hues (and because ancient Christians saw symbols of the cross in it).  "Purple Passion" is passion that fills a soul and moves it to action proportional to that state.  Perhaps we, .... all of us.... need to be stoking up those fires such that they burn brightly... every day. 

 

 

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[Image: Gotham City Illusion, 2005, JA Van Devender]

Location: Chattanooga, Tn., 33rd PCA General Assembly.

2 Co 6:14

For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness?

From Reuter's News {see HERE]

"Too many Americans go to too many prisons for far too long, and for no truly good law enforcement reason," Attorney General Eric Holder, the top U.S. law enforcement official, said in a speech in San Francisco unveiling the proposals.

I do not know why I continue to be surprised at the way we citizens are so blase about actions which should be sparking outrage from coast to coast.  It appears that the Joker is running loose in Gotham city and I don't think that Batman is going to save the day anytime soon.

It is not that serious questions can't legitimately be raised with regard to the so-called mandatory sentencing guidelines that have sent people to jail for signficant periods of time over the last couple of decades.  They can be legitimately raised and they should be raised and that discussion is properly something that Congress should undertake. But where, in all of our history and under what section of our constitution, has it been given to an office in the the Administrative branch of our government to supercede both the judical and the legislative branches and to declare the judgments and laws that they have made to be such that many people "go to prison for too long and for no truly good law enforcement reason."  It is autocratic rule by fiat, tyranny in fact, when one individual takes it upon himself to declare authoritatively what constitutes just penalties for crimes and to subvert the most fundamental principles of rule by law.  This is lawlessness... it matters not whether it is evidenced in a man holding high political office and wearing the most expensive suits one can buy or whether it is manifested in the life of a drug lord running his organization with an iron fist.  Here we see individuals who are a law unto themselves... that is lawlessness.

This is beyond grounds for mere impeachment... these are, in my own mind, grounds for criminal charges not the least of which are contempt for congress and the judiciary as well as gross failure to abide by the constitution he is sworn to uphold.

There are no good reasons why these actions that the Attorney General has instituted had to be taken so quickly and comprehensively.  There was no build-up of discussion... no seeking to get congress to consider changing the laws... no appeal to the supreme court to review the specifics of cases ...   These actions were undertaken to prove that it could be done and that a precedent for autocratic rule would be swallowed whole hog without much more than a murmur of disapproval by a few and excuse-making applause by others.

Should mandatory sentencing be the law of the land... yes, for some things. (Capital punishment for first degree murder, in my opinion.)  Should judges be allowed some flexibility based on individual circumstances in other areas which are now governed by mandatory guidelines?  Probably... on a case by case basis.  Putting laws on the books and then revisiting those laws in the light of experience is always proper to a well run and law abiding free people.  But the actions being taken now are not only rife with peril... it is peril already present.

We are no longer governed by a system which even pays lip service to constitutional or even republican (as a system of government) principles.  We are governed by lawless men and history does not give us much encouragement about the future of such a system.

 

 

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