No Matter What Happens . . .

No matter what happens in the elections tomorrow, our basis of hope doesn't change. If the candidate you want to win in fact wins, you have no more hope than you did before. If the candidate you want to win loses, you have no less hope then you did before. Not if your hope is in God.

I was blessed to attend a meeting last Saturday with others who are looking at how abortion might be abolished. One video that was shown was from a lawyer in Texas and some of the things he shared were stunning, eye opening, and took me to a place of remembering the Israelites wanting a king like other nations. (Please know that in what I am about to share I am not attacking a political party, but giving Christians some much needed clarity on where our hope really lies.)

In the video (and according to web pages I researched since seeing it) this man showed how in the last 48 years the Supreme Court has, for over half of those years, been filled with a majority of Republican appointed justices. In both major decisions that have "legalized" (then upheld) the abortion holocaust in our nation (Roe v. Wade in 1973, then Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992) there were a majority Republican appointed justices—in Roe v. Wade there were seven Republican appointed and two Democrat appointed. Only two justices voted against it, and one of those two was a Democrat! Then, in PP v. Casey, a chance to undermine Roe v. Wade, eight of the nine justices were Republican appointed! And, of the five who voted basically in favor of keeping Roe v. Wade, all were Republican appointees. In fact, in many (if not most, I would guess) of the chances to "legally" undercut abortion that have reached the Supreme Court since Roe v. Wade, the majority of the court in each time that didn't grab that moment were Republican appointees. And, I would guess (without researching) that in many of the other "values" issues decisions that Christians abhor, the majority on the court has been Republican appointed as well . . . and we've seen that even during a Republican controlled Congress our nation has only shifted farther and farther from the values we believe are God-honoring.

Please believe me when I say that I share this not to bash the Republican Party. For the most part I believe the Democratic Party is far worse on the values issues Christians should value, though in my heart I don't think either truly honors God. The Democrats as a party (not talking about individuals in either party) might be stronger advocates for the needy, etc., but that depends, I guess, on how you feel the needy are best helped. More on that in a moment.

My point in this is that our hope doesn't lie in any man, woman, or party. It is in God alone. As Christians we have prostituted ourselves out to anyone who'd "pay" us with some lines and promises we want to hear, then used and discarded us once our vote is secure. Many of those justices were appointed by the "heroes" of the Republican Presidents list. Many from people who promised us to overthrow Roe v. Wade. We, the army of the living God, are pandered to, paid, used, and cast aside . . . and we are so desperate for some earthly hope we keep running back for more, letting ourselves be used and soiled and sold into false hope over and over.

We keep looking for our earthly "king" who will lead us, be it a man or a party. Israel did the same thing, they wanted an earthly king that they could put their hope in—and God gave them what they wanted and said, in so doing, they had rejected Him as their king.

We can chant all the right verses, and sing all the songs, and be so theologically correct as we say this earth is not our home, etc., etc., but then we put our hope in this earth. I am not saying we shouldn't vote, but I am saying that our hope is not in man, or in a court, or in a party. It is in God alone, and God alone can save our nation. And it won't happen through any election, but when the people of this land repent, confess their sin, and cry out to God.

And we, the church, are lying in the soiled bed we have made, and we have ourselves to blame.

1. Don't like abortion? Great. Are we willing to take in the pregnant young woman we are telling abortion is wrong to and let her, and then her and her baby, live in our home for a year or two? 
2. Don't like the welfare system? Great. Are we feeding the poor, reaching out to the homeless? 
3. Don't like New Age movement? Great. Are we showing people the power of God that our spiritual DNA knows is real so people don't have to look elsewhere for it? Are we healing the sick, confronting demons and seeing them flee? Are the gates of Hell collapsing against the onslaught of the church as Jesus promised they would? 
4. Don't like the direction our youth are going? Great. Are we mentoring into the lives of the fatherless, the teens on the street, taking them in, giving them rides, hanging out with them and all their ways that are so "offensive" to us?
5. Don't like the condition of marriage, etc., in our nation? Great. What example are we showing them when our divorce rates match theirs?
6. Don't like their disrespect for God's written word? Great. What do we expect when we have compromised on it, said it isn't true, selectively picked the verses we believe in, etc.?
7. Don't like how people are constantly on their cell phones, etc.? Great. What have we shown them in our homes about family meals, keeping the TV off and just being a family, etc.?

Who is it God says is the salt of the earth, the light of the world, the ones who are to serve others, take care of the least, feed the poor, clothe the naked, reach out to the rejected, protect the defenseless, etc.? The church! And if we aren't then we have nobody to blame but ourselves when the government steps into that void we were created to fill. Is that kind of ministry messy, costly, sacrificial, inconvenient? Yes. But if we simply read one of the Gospels we will rapidly see God hasn't called us to walk in any path He didn't walk in Himself . . . and if we are truly following Him, then our life will look the same.

It is time for the church to decide, are we the army of the Living God, or the prostitute of politicians? If the first, we need to start living and hoping like it. If the second, then it is no wonder the nation uses us like a prostitute. But it doesn't start with Washington, it starts with us. And praise God that His mercies are new every morning because no matter what we've been (or not been) before, God draws close to the broken and humble and promises His cooperating presence and power to those that are following Him.

Never Forget . . .

I had the honor and privilege recently of having a long, tear-filled conversation with someone who has struggled with same-sex attraction. They have literally taken a bullet, and watched a friend die by the bullet, of someone who simply hated gays. They shared how, without a legal commitment of relationship, the family of someone they loved (and had loved for decades) could cut them off from even seeing that person in the hospital if that person was unconscious. They shared how they couldn't find the depth of love in someone of the opposite sex they found in someone of the same. They shared their deep longing to love and be loved and to not grow old alone.

We talked. We listened to one another. We honored one another with listening and trying to hear one another's hearts. It was an amazing experience.

I still believe the Bible is clear about God's stand on homosexuality. I still believe that we, as Christians, can't legitimatize by law something we believe God says is sin. But it was a powerful reminder to me—one I hope I never forget—that this whole battle (or any battle, for that matter, be it abortion, etc.) is not about "them." The "them" are (granted there are extremists on both sides who make a genuine discussion hard), but the "them" are people with feelings, people who love, people who often want to please God, people who are hurt. They are real people and if we ever forget that, and walk not in love (which doesn't mean compromise), then no matter how correct our theology is, we will not be representing God.

I talked extensively about this with our fellowship yesterday, and I felt God bring two questions to my mind. They are questions the church must grapple with if we want God to wash this nation with His Holy Spirit (and I believe that is the only answer for us, that the individuals in this nation choose to love and obey Him above all else). Those two questions were:

1. I, who am so passionate and patriotic about America, am I even more passionate and "patriotic" about the true nation I am a citizen of, the eternal nation, the holy nation, that is God's Kingdom, His body, and about the eternal effects of it expanding and reigning or not?

2. I, who am so indignant about our nation's laws and direction, am I even more indignant and passionate and vocal about God's laws in my own life and within the church?

I do not believe God will pour out the only true answer—His Holy Spirit that draws men unto Jesus—if the church is not passionate about Him, about eternity, about holiness and purity in our own lives and ranks first. Why would He?

Nothing  I am saying here is a call to compromise on what we believe is true and right before God, who does declare some things as true and right. But it is a call to never forget. To never, ever forget. That our enemy is not flesh and blood. That the "them" are real people whom God loves, with hurts and hopes and needs that are real and deep, with tears that flow like ours do, and hearts that hurt like ours do. May we live and love like Jesus. May we be humble and broken in our hearts toward our own sins and violations of God's laws, and living toward others as one saved only by the grace of God to another.

May we never forget the tears. God doesn't, and won't. Rather, it says, He will one day Himself wipe them from our eyes.

I am deeply concerned about this nation, and the nation I will hand my children and their children. I am deeply concerned it not longer puts God or His heart as the top of its list. I am concerned by it, and grieved by it, and I intend to continue to teach and live what I believe is truth. But as I do, in these days ahead, if I ever have to error, may it be on the side of love. May I love with a passion born of God's love for me and my love for Him. May I love in a way that the lost, the hurting, the confused find in me such a picture of His love that they run into His arms, and find their a Holy Spirit willing and ready and eager to lead and guide them down the road into His truth.

May I never forget the tears.

Make No Mistake . . .

This post is long, but I believe it will be of value to you, as a Christian, as you process the course of our nation and seek to understand things through a Biblical perspective. I believe it will help you clarify the true issue at work.   —Erick

As the nation awaits the Supreme Court's decision on gay marriage we can not make the mistake of assuming that this is simply about marriage, or even the rights of homosexuals. It is a decision that will affect most Christian institutions, colleges, businesses, etc. It will be a decision that forever alters the fabric of our nation, and Christians in it who stand on Biblical principles and world view.

And, we can't make the mistake of seeing this as anything other than what it truly is—it is our nation's decision on what the very essence of its (our nation's) being will be. This is a decision that defines this nation at the core of what it is, and as such it carries a weight that is larger than we can fathom . . . and, unfortunately, is a battle it seems we've already lost.

As soon as this issue became defined as a civil rights issue it was lost to Christians who actually believe the Bible is God's inspired, written word to us, revealing Himself and His nature and heart. As a civil rights issue, as a fairness issue, I don't see people having a right to deny marriage to homosexuals—just as they wouldn't have a right to deny polygamy, or any other thing or type of marriage or lifestyle in the future that society may not embrace now but will embrace later as it gets more "tolerant" and more "progressive."

The thing is, this is not a civil rights issue, and as Christians we must understand this, as our resolve will fade eventually under the withering bombardment of being called small, hateful, intolerant, old-fashioned, fundamentalist, etc. This is not a civil rights issue, it is an issue at the very core of how we define right and wrong: Is there a God, above all, Who defines right and wrong, Who gives rights, and Whom we choose to submit to . . . or are right and wrong and rights something a majority or a legislative body or a court can decide and confer?

This question defines our nation. Our Declaration of Independence says, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." This sentence, taken in part, could be used to argue for the right of homosexuals to be happy and marry. But it is not written in part, but in whole. These rights come from a Creator, therefore the Creator must be considered in them . . . and the Creator, the God of the Bible, has very specific things to say about what is right and what is wrong, and homosexuality is absolutely wrong in His eyes, therefore giving it legal blessing in marriage is only further going against our Creator. (Note: He also calls adultery, lying, fornication—sex outside marriage, etc., wrong, and the church is, sadly, inconsistent and much less vocal about these things, even in our own ranks.)

How we stand on this issue—and other values issues the Bible has something to say about—will define us individually and as a nation. The moment we leave the argument that God is God, and God is real, and the Bible is His written revelation, and He says something about the issue, we have entered the moral quicksand of morality being defined by the masses or a despot or a court. We have given morality over to legal briefs and influential people, and we have walked away from God.

Over and over in the Bible it talks about something being evil or good in the sight of the Lord. No matter what man thinks, what matters is how God sees something. That is all that matters. And whether our nation embraces that as the foundational truth of itself, or whether it rejects it, we as Christians can not leave that moral high ground and try and argue morality on "practical" levels or we have left the only rock of truth we have to stand on. And if our nation does go that way (and it seems it already has), we, as Christians, must be firm in why we believe what we believe. And that is why, I believe, God calls the church which is the body of Christ and His bride, a holy nation, His own special people, citizens of Heaven. We live in America, but our citizenship is the Kingdom of God. We are His, and that identity transcends lines on a map. We were His when America embraced Him as their foundation, and we are His when it turns from Him. We are His, and that is eternal, and He knows who are His and who are not, and He holds eternity in His hands.

This issue will write into law the future of our nation. It, like Roe vs. Wade, will absolutely solidify and codify that we, as a nation, have no regard for what God says is right or wrong. It will say, "We, as a nation, have risen above God, knowing right and wrong, and conferring rights on people." Whatever the court decides, we as God's children must know, He loves the lost and desires to draw all men to Him . . . and He will never leave or forsake His children, whether America a few decades from now loves Him, or whether we are living a persecuted minority.

A Side Note—But Important Note—On Genesis and All of This
If you've known me, or read this blog, any length of time you know that defending the first ten chapters or so of Genesis as a literal record of Creation and a global flood is a passion of mine. In these decisions our nation is wrestling with we are seeing one of the strongest evidences for that importance play out before our eyes.

If we discount those chapters as allegory—submitting them to "science" instead of submitting science to the Bible, we have begun down a slippery slope we can't recover from. The church in the early 1800s found this out. They collapsed on the age of the earth (inventing Day Age Theory, or Gap Theory, to try and reconcile "science" and the Bible) and then along comes Darwin and they've already, as the church, climbed into bed with the major requirement of Darwinian evolution—vast periods of time. Suddenly the church is left holding a bag with a hole in it. They've already embraced the unBiblical vast periods of time. They've already said a key component of Genesis is allegory . . . and so they had no leg to stand on arguing the creation of man in God's image from the start was literal.

When we embrace those things, putting "science" (I say that loosely since many brilliant scientists whose voices aren't heard embrace a literal reading of Genesis) above the Bible, we are then hypocrites to defend a virgin birth, a resurrection, angels and demons, a parting of a sea, a feeding of thousands from a few loaves and fish, the turning of water to wine, etc. Each of these are areas "science" has no room for, and we are inconsistent and hypocritical to fight for them as true when we've already let "science" define the Bible for us.

And so, down the slippery slope, the Bible becomes untrustworthy, and subject to man's interpretation and molding to fit man's "wisdom." Does anyone else see a correlation between a nation professing to be Christian but embracing values that the Bible clearly speaks out against? When we start to see the Bible as a childish book, not able to stand against the progressive wisdom and mind of man, then we really shouldn't be surprised when we give it no authority on moral issues as well. It is truly the next logical stage of descent off the high mountain of the Bible (hence God's) authority. Why, oh why, church, are we so surprised. We who've watered down the very book God gave us?

And . . . should it be any surprise to us, and could it underline the argument I am making any better, then to see the very side defending traditional marriage argue before the Supreme Court use evolutionary terms, ". . . the marriage institution did not develop to deny dignity or to give second class status to anyone. It developed to serve purposes that, by their nature, arise from biology. Now, imagine a world today where we had no marriage at all. Men and women would still be getting together and creating children, but they wouldn’t be attached to each other in any social institution." (In fairness, he has made it clear the issue he was arguing is not about the definition of marriage, but if the people or the courts will decide it. Again . . . already lost . . . God is not even in that. He may be the reason the people—the states in court who are standing against homosexual marriage—voted against it, but whether or not their will stands is not about God, but about legality.)

Genesis does matter. Marriage hasn't "evolved," it is a God-ordained institution present in the first chapters of Genesis. It doesn't need to be defended on "practical" basis, it is what God has ordained and for us that is enough. And God has said certain lifestyles are wrong, and that should be enough for us as well. He is the only basis for the argument . . . and He is enough. For those who don't recognize that . . . those who may define much of our lives left here on earth . . . they will recognize it—on one side of the grave or the other.