The Weekly Wrap-Up: October 9-13, 2023

Heyo! I have returned!

Vacation was lovely, thank you. Not without its struggles, but I honestly had a great time with my parents. We visited family, toured some museums and battlefields, and slept in weird beds. All the things you could hope for on vacation, really. 

But I'm back in the office now. All good things must come to an end. (I don't know where that phrase comes from, but I don't actually believe it's true. It's just funny to use in certain instances.)

Anyway. I'm really just still catching up on things. I was gone for two weeks, but it always feels like much longer. And I still haven't slept in my actual bed since I immediately started a dog sitting gig when I rolled into town. Choices. 

I did start some work on a group of Swahili, which is going well. My boss actually left two days after I got back, so I am holding down the fort here in Greenwood. 

Two things you can pray about:

First, we lost one of our homeland missionaries quite unexpectedly on Sunday. Marty, our hospitality coordinator at HQ, had a heart attack. She had a big personality around here, and I know that she is already sorely missed. She had been with OMS for 42 years, living in Japan for much of that time. Pray for her husband David and for her children and grandchildren she leaves behind. 

Second, Israel. 

I'm struggling with this one. I saw way more of what has happened than I ever wanted to. There's this notion that Christians have to support Israel no matter what, and I'm not sure where that came from. What exists now is quite different from who God established as his Chosen People (who kinda lost that status when they rejected the Messiah, but whatever). Yet I can't and won't condone wholesale murder and rape from anyone. 

And OMS has a presence in Israel. I would ask you to pray for those individuals. Pray for the innocent civilians who are suffering. Pray for peace. I don't know what else to do. 

I think that's it. I don't really want to leave it on this note, but I'm just drained. I hope your weekend is restful for you.

Bye!

The Politics of Lamentations

433 years.

It seems like a long time, right? Four whole centuries of history and culture and ideas. It's certainly longer than the United States has been around as a country. I'm sure when Lincoln was saying 'four score and seven years,' he was wishing it was more like 'twenty-one score and three years.' At least there would be some meat on the country's bones, then.

But it's also a really short time when you're looking at the whole scope of history. (Even with a young Earth perspective.) That's potentially just four people living their lives in succession. It's not even half of England's existence.

To the author of Lamentations, it was too short a time by far.

See, 433 years (give or take a few) is how long the kingdom of Israel lasted. And yes, I know there was a civil war and then technically two kingdoms, but let's ignore that for a moment and just consider Jerusalem as the symbol of this idea of one united people, God's people.

It started out well. Ish. Saul brought them all together and then David brought them power and fame. Solomon really cemented the deal. People came from all over the known world in order to see what his secret was. Jerusalem was the place to be.

And then...

Then the kingdoms split. They were still individually powerful. Just not as powerful as they had been together. And of course, they alternated between fighting each other and fighting their neighbors. They went back and forth (Judah more than Israel) between following God and following their own depravity.

Then Israel ceased to exist. And Judah (and Jerusalem) were in a real pickle. Because if the existence of Israel had weakened them, it's non-existence was like a mortal wound.

Before too long, Judah was reduced to a city. Jerusalem was the last vanguard. But it was more like a prison for its inhabitants. And in 587 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar came along and left no stone unturned.

"How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations! She who was queen among the provinces has now become a slave ... Her foes have become her masters; her enemies are at ease. The Lord has brought her grief because of her many sins."

In just 433 years, Jerusalem went from being the shining city on a hill to the dust beneath her enemies' feet.

There's probably a lesson to be learned, there.

I've been reading through the Bible this year. I'm not doing it chronologically or in book order. I'm reading a little of the Old Testament, a little of the New Testament, a little of Psalms, and a little of Proverbs. It makes for an interesting juxtaposition, sometimes. For example, I was reading Lamentations at the same time I was reading Hebrews.

Hebrews covers a lot of ground. Everyone remembers the 'by faith' chapter, but there are also many warnings about the dangers of falling away. So while I'm reading about faithful people and being told of the many pitfalls, I'm also reading about a city and people that didn't heed those same warnings made 500 years earlier.

And then you come to Lamentations 3. (Which I'd love to read in the original Hebrew, btw. It's an acrostic poem. Jeremiah was a very gifted individual.)

At first, it's more of the same. Lamentations is a lament, after all. (In Hebrew, the title sounds like a longsuffering sigh, apparently.) Jeremiah has just spent 52 chapters warning people about what was going to happen because of their sin. It's not even a warning to turn back. It's a reminder that they had their chance, they will be punished, and if they want anyone to be left after the city is conquered, they'd better shape up - only to be forced to sit back and watch all of the things he'd been talking about come to pass.

So yeah. He's been through a lot.

In fact, Jeremiah is literally at the end of his rope. "I remember my affliction and my wandering," he says, "the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me." He says a few verses earlier that he'd forgotten any good thing that might have happened to him. This is a man who has been beaten down by his own, forced to record his city's destruction by his enemy, and he's nearing the end of his life. He reached bedrock and was forced to keep digging.

And yet...

"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him'."

Hold up. He has hope? How? Everything these people have worked for is gone. No country, no home, they are literally slaves again. Everyone who was fawning over them before is now laughing in their face. What hope is there?

"The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him."

Oh. So our hope isn't in a city. It isn't in a government, our family, a job, weapon, food, exercise, a car.

No.

Our hope is in the Lord. We have hope when we seek him. Everything else is incidental.

That's not to say there won't be bad times. Of course there are. I can control exactly one person, myself, and even then, I'm not very good at it. Take a look at Adam and Eve if you doubt it. Sure, they were tempted. But it didn't take a lot to get them to abandon whatever common sense or fear of God they had for the chance to be something more. So yeah, we can screw things up by ourselves just fine. We can already see what happens when 7 billion people are working in their own self interest at the same time.

But regardless of what happens, whatever bedrock we hit, we have hope. "For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone."

That last verse threw me off for a bit. It's the classic 'why do bad things happen' question. I already answered part of it. But God is God, right? Why couldn't he just make things easier for everyone?

Well, ironically, because God is God. Because of who he is, there are certain rules to the universe that can't change. Peter tells us that God doesn't want anyone to perish, but because of who he is, he has to let it happen. We make a choice. If God changed the rules, he wouldn't be God, and there wouldn't by any reason to worship a god who is fickle and unreliable. I'm glad there are rules. It lets me know where I stand.

So no, he doesn't want there to be affliction and grief. But he'll allow it. He'll even cause it if there's a chance of us waking up and acknowledging his rightful place as ruler of the universe. As Jeremiah says, "Why should the living complain when punished for their sins?"

If Lamentations were being written in today's church culture, it would end with chapter 3. "Sure, lots of bad things have happened. We're at the end of the line. It could probably get worse, but we don't really see how. And we're not really sure how it could get better, either. But we know it will because God is with us. He has punished us for our sins, but even in doing so, he has shown compassion. He will lift us up once more, and he will wipe out our enemies. We will have vengeance on those who persecuted us! Happy days are here again!"

There's a clear plot line. We like things to be neatly sewn up with us rightly in our position of power, honor, and righteousness again.

Except Lamentations doesn't end with chapter 3. The fourth chapter, while still using poetic language, gets even more explicit about what has been lost.

Precious gems and jewelry? Tarnished. Scattered. Stolen.

Children? Starving. Helpless. Being eaten by their parents.

Public officials? Sticks. Dust. Unrecognizable.

Priests? Unclean. Dishonored. Outcasts.

Everything we held dear, everything we thought would always be true, every dream and hope we had for a future - all of it turned to ash. We thought we were hot stuff because God was on our side from the start. It didn't matter that we turned aside and pursued other gods. Surely God would still protect us. Why bother continuing to seek after him when we can simply trust that the foundation he laid will stand up to us constantly chipping away at it?





Are you picking up what I'm laying down?




Jeremiah finished up with a prayer. Does he still believe what he said back in chapter 3? Absolutely. But he has to deal with his current reality. He can't linger on a nebulous future he may never see in this life. Life for him at this moment is just really not good. "Joy has gone from our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning."

There's this joke that Mark Lowry likes to tell about his favorite verse. He says that it is this: "And it came to pass..." That's it. It came. And then it passed. My sister says this to me all the time, but especially when things aren't going well. "It's going to pass! Things will get better."

And sure. I know that. Deep down, I am fully cognizant of this fact.

But before it passes, I have to live with it. I can't ignore the fact of what is for the hope of what will be. Because if I don't deal with why something is the way it is, the way things are is the way things will continue to be, and that future I'm counting on is going to start getting further and further away.

Which is when Jeremiah's last though should really start to worry us. He ends his prayer by asking God to "restore us to yourself ... that we may return." Awesome. Let's do that. "Renew our days as of old," right, with you so far, "unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure."

Oh. Well, crap.

Don't forget this critical point: God does not want us to perish. But it can happen. Whether by the firm dismissal of Truth or the slow attrition of time, we can absolutely come to a point of complete separation from God.

It's a sobering thought. It's the thought that is constantly in the back of my mind. I know, in theory, what separation from God means. I don't ever want to know it in practice. And I don't want that for others, either.

This is my reality. Because while I have hope, there are so many who don't. Everything I do works toward the goal of making my hope a reality for others even as they deal with this present darkness.

No one wants to live in the world of Lamentations. Jeremiah never wanted to have to write this book. But he did. And I think we're headed in that direction.

Still a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

All right, so yesterday was self-indulgent and stupid. I let things get the better of me. It'll happen again, but I'll try not to be so melodramatic about it.

Let's talk about something important.

The world has gone mad.

In the States, we're two steps away from electing a bombast (fill in the blank with your least favorite candidate). Cops and civilians alike are getting killed for no other reason than that they are cops and civilians. 30,000 people are battling wildfires that have killed dozens more. And the trending topic is a feud between Nickel Menace and Wiley Coyote. Or something like that.

In Europe, four million people have fled Syria because the Islamic State doesn't care who it kills as long as there's some kind of murder with breakfast. Millions more have fled other countries for similar reasons. These refugees are drowning or being packed into railway stations or beaten at borders because most of Europe really doesn't want them. And the trending topic is a misting shower designed to keep people cool.

In Asia, at least two countries have passed strict anti-conversion laws. Bombs are going off in major cities. North Korea is puffing its feathers again, and China has decided they want a bigger slice of the pie. Their trending topic is flipping Mel Gibson.

And Latin America? Well, the Guatemalan president has resigned. Ecuador is rounding up religious leaders and putting them in prison. Increased hurricane activity is taxing resources more than ever. Increased violence just about everywhere. And the top video on the BBC Latin America page is about making tacos al pastor in Mexico City.

I could go on. And yes, obviously some people are paying attention and trying to do something.

But even more are burying their heads in the sand.

Every time I watch the news, I think, Surely, this will be it. People can't possibly ignore this. This will be what finally makes them wake up.

Unfortunately, the thing that ends up waking these people up? Will probably be the thing that kills them two seconds later.

Sorry. This was supposed to be more uplifting. So here we go.

THERE IS HOPE!

This is what a world looks like without Jesus. Now imagine a world that knows and loves and follows Jesus.

You know what to do. 

In Which I Rant. Again.

"God did not instruct the church to force the rest of the world to have the appearance of the church."

I'm going to warn you right off the bat: this post will be long, it will be ranty, it will be confusing. It will be my thoughts as of the moment I post it, which are not necessarily set in stone. I welcome opposing viewpoints as long as they aren't attacking me as a person.

I was doing my normal thing, reading through a day's worth of Facebook posts, when I came across the above quotation. Right away, I knew I wasn't going to get much done other than thinking about the implications of the above statement. It comes from this article, also a popular share on my news feed.

Yesterday, as you know, the Supreme Court was hearing arguments on the Defense of Marriage Act. I have friends on both sides of this debate. Actually, there are about fifty sides to the debate. There's an "I think all people everywhere aside from me and mine are going to hell" camp, a "God is love so free love for everyone" camp, a "I am morally opposed to this but afraid saying so will alienate me" camp, an "I really don't care let's get tacos" camp, a "What's with all the equal signs" camp... You name it, there's a camp for it.

But in most of the media I've digested, there's an attempt to get people to believe there are only two sides: "Yes, gay people should be allowed to get married because all are equal in the sight of the law and people who disagree are homophobic hatemongers (probably so-called 'Christians') who are out to create a new Third Reich"; and "No, gay people should not be allowed to get married because it's morally reprehensible and God doesn't love everyone and how far are you taking this, are we going to let people marry their dogs now?"

Do these camps exist? Yes. I personally know people who hold these opinions. But why do we have to take an all-or-nothing approach to this? In the article I mentioned, the author seems to take the approach that, because the Church has done a terrible job of conveying what it means to be the Church, they need to roll over and be the kind of church that people want - which is apparently an all-inclusive love-fest that is a social/political/economical activist and our mother rolled into one. Or in other words, a better government than our government.

A lot of Christians have spoken out about this matter. Some (the loudest) are of the God-hates-gays variety. Others are extremely cautious in their disapproval. Most try to side-step actually answering the question. Like Rick Warren. He showed up in my newsfeed a lot, too, saying "Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.”

And it's true. An individual does not have to compromise convictions to be compassionate. But that message isn't getting across to a lot of people. The Church in America is being forced into the political realm, kicking and screaming, and they don't know how to deal with that. People suddenly have to decide if religion is going to dictate their morality.

This is a foreign concept in the rest of the world. Europe has already experienced the Enlightenment, a mass overthrow of their religious overlords, the beginning of the end of the Catholic Church. Self became the new god, until people realized where that could lead without some kind of check, and then Government (in defense of Self) took over manning the moral compass. And if you're not in Europe or Australia, then there's no question that religion or tradition rules.

Enter America. We're young, we're sure of ourselves, and we're founded on two opposing principles. One: God is our guide. Two: Man defines his own freedom. We tried merging the two ideas for a while, but when that didn't work, we decided to keep them completely separate. The Church doesn't tell the Government what to do, and the Government doesn't interfere with the Church.

And this position is no longer viable.

Over the years, there have been other clashes, and both sides have taken hits and given them, somehow emerging with their foundations mostly intact, a little worse for wear but mostly preserved. But I'm worried that this isn't going to be the case this time. This may be the start of the American Enlightenment. And you know why? Because for all the media tries to tell us it's true, the fact of that matter is that gay marriage is not a polarizing issue.

Why not let gay people get married? What real harm does it do? It's not really going to affect me, so what's the big deal? Look at all these cute old people finally allowed to be open about their love. What's so wrong with that? Maybe if we stop arguing about this, the church can finally choose "to focus on real problems with serious consequences, like unnecessary war, sex trafficking, extreme global poverty, gender inequality, our prison industrial complex, increasing poverty at home, growing income inequality, greed, rampant corruption and an unlawful and unaccountable federal government."

After all, "God did not instruct the church to force the rest of the world to have the appearance of the church."

You're right. God didn't tell the Church to force the rest of the world to become drones. God told the Church to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."

Here's where I have to define terms. Because there's the Church, and then there's the church. The Church, in my mind, is the global community of believers, followers of Christ, people devoted to doing what Jesus commanded them. The church is a building. It's a corporate identity and a social club, devoted to doing some nice things for people because that's just the right thing to do.

So yes, the church will probably roll over and conform to whatever role the Government gives them. And by Government, I mean the world, the individual quest for freedom from any kind of moral constraint, the desire to not have anyone telling you what to do outside of the collective consciousness of 'society.'

But the Church needs to realize that the battle lines have been drawn. This is the hill on which they must decide whether or not to die. And they need to choose well, because we're living in the age of scorched earth.

I actually agree with parts of the article. The church isn't doing a good job of taking care of its people, and the Church is struggling with a lot of dead weight.

I don't know where I want to go with this. I find myself struggling with so many different versions of truth, when really, Truth has not changed and never will.

It goes back to the serpent in Eden. "Did God really say that? And even if he did, is that what really what he meant?"

That's all it takes. That one moment of doubt. And I think what really bothers people with the Church is that fact that believing one thing, one simple Truth that there is a God and his Son Jesus is the only way to Heaven, demands a radical change, and suddenly you have to be accountable for your actions.

And apparently, that's just unthinkable.



I did warn you. I didn't even make half the points I set out to. Because for me, it always comes down to Truth. And the absence of it.

A Duty and a Privilege

I got into a bit of trouble during an election a few years ago. A friend of mine who was (and continues to be) very involved in politics asked a favor of me. I, being young and naive, agreed. I didn't really ask questions - at least not the right ones - and pretty soon, what I thought was a small favor turned into a huge mess that left me holding the bag.

I learned a lot from that.

I like to think that people see a different side of me these days. I tend to form pretty strong opinions about things, but unless I've done my homework and feel confident that my position is correct, I try not to air those opinions publicly. I like debate, but I like a more casual style - you have your opinion, I have mine, we can discuss it like adults and not devolve into 'Your Mama' territory.

Unless it's funny.

I don't like debating with people who won't listen to what I have to say. (For example, I frequently read Discover and New Scientist and other such magazines because I've always liked science and I like seeing what new things are happening in the scientific community. In the last issue of Discover, however, the author of a particular article was ranting against school systems that have chosen to teach Creationism as an alternate theory to evolution. They still teach evolution, mind you, but they teach both side by side, presented as theories, so that students understand all of the possibilities. The author, a scientist who should know better by definition of his chosen profession, couldn't believe that these 'religious nuts' were 'polluting' the schools with rubbish while there was a 'proven theory' that perfectly explained everything. Sorry buddy, but 'proven theory' is an oxymoron. See how I didn't call you a moron even though I wanted to? That's because I'm attacking the argument, not the arguer.)

Where was I?

Oh yes. People who won't listen to what I have to say really aren't interested in finding Truth. As far as they are concerned, they already have it. (Also interesting because I was sure the new line was that there is no such thing as one, absolute Truth. Oh well.) You can't reason with these people. It ends like this every time.

I lead with all of that because I need you to understand where I'm coming from when it comes to politics. At this stage of my life, you will not see me endorsing a particular candidate. I might tell you who I prefer, but I'm not going to stand outside a polling center and shout it at the top of my voice. (Mostly because that is illegal.) I'm not going to put stickers on my car. In fact, the only sticker on my car right now is this:

It's cute and funny and most people get the hint. I don't feel bad for what I say to the ones who don't. (Unless they don't get the joke. Then I just weep for them.) (BTW, thank you, Elida, for the use of that sticker.)

I'm not going to do it. It's not happening. In fact, I won't even listen to anything about the election until the weekend before I vote. That includes the presidential debates. I didn't watch them. I didn't listen to them. I didn't read articles about them. (And that was hard to avoid, let me tell you.) I read them. But not until the weekend before. In fact, that's all I did Sunday. I read the debates, I researched candidates at all levels, I read opinion columns on both sides. I picked up the non-partisan voting guide. I talked to people I trusted. By Sunday night, I knew exactly who I was voting for.

Today, I exercised my duty as a citizen of the United States of America to vote. (You'll notice I didn't say my right to vote. This right is not in the Constitution. There's a huge debate about this that most people know nothing about. This article was one of the least partisan.) I was informed, excited, nervous, annoyed and relaxed.

Informed - because I believe that if you don't have the facts, you shouldn't vote. Yes, it's your privilege to vote. Yes, you are free to step into the voting booth and do a straight ticket or make fun patterns with the buttons or close your eyes and point. But that does absolutely nothing for your country. Know who you're voting for and know why. Please. If you don't know that, stay home and shut up.

Excited - because it really is a duty and a privilege to vote. I first voted in 2004, and I haven't missed an election yet. I love my country, and I want to see it prosper. One of the best ways to do that is to be involved in electing its leaders.

Nervous - because you never know what the future holds. What if my guy doesn't win? What if he does and turns out to be a complete jackass? There's a lot of power in my vote.

Annoyed - at the people who think their vote doesn't count for anything. Yes, I did just tell you to stay home if you aren't informed because I think you are wasting your vote and throwing a lot of power away. And no, our system isn't perfect. But one of the ways you change it and make it better is by voting. So don't tell me that my vote doesn't mean anything. (This is especially true for Christians. Don't think you should be involved?

Romans 13:1-7

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. ...

Nice try.)

Relaxed - because ultimately it's not in my hands. Whatever happens happens. God reigns, He knows what is to come, and I know that no matter what, He is in control. Does that mean He won't let this country end up in the toilet? Not at all. God is merciful. But He is also a Judge. Life isn't like a soap opera where you can lie and cheat and murder and some miraculous twist gets you out of it. Sometimes, you have to pay for your crimes. And most of the time, your crimes drag the rest of the world down with you. Did you read that verse up there? Or did you just skim it? Because I'm pretty sure it says "Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good."

I hope you did vote today. I hope you were informed and conscientious in your decisions. If not, I hope you remember what I said for next time. Because this will likely be the only time you hear this opinion. (At least until the next election.)