GETTING HEALED

I can remember decades ago as a new believer hearing a preacher say that no Bible character who served God died from disease. He went on to say that we could & should expect God to give us divine health. We just needed to believe Him for it. With my limited knowledge of Scripture at that time, I accepted what he said. In the intervening years I have learned a few things that make me question the accuracy & wisdom of what he said.

Have you ever heard stories about people who believed that God should heal them or their loved one, or even that He was obligated to do that? Then, if what they believed didn’t come to pass, they fell away or stopped believing that God can & does heal today?

As a Pentecostal, I believe in praying for the sick & have seen God heal people. But I also know that not everyone is healed in response to believing prayer.

This issue of why some are not healed is a hard one. It poses both a theological challenge & a pastoral one. People have talked a lot about it, & I’m certainly not going to solve it here. But I do want to offer an insight that can help us to get a little more understanding.

Hebrews 11 (the “Hall of Faith”) is a favorite chapter of many who believe that God intervenes miraculously in the lives of people who are facing impossible situations. The first part (verses 1-35a) list miracle after miracle that people of faith in the Living God experienced. But beginning with verse 35b it describes the “others” who didn’t experience miraculous deliverance.

Another theme of this chapter is that the Old Testament witnesses experienced what they did because of their commitment to the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan as it was being carried out in their generation. Verses 13 & 39-40 hint at the idea that they were in a process that would not be complete in their day. There was something futuristic in their faith that motivated them to persevere, whether or not they personally saw its fulfillment.

I believe this is a key to understanding faith.

Faith includes praying & expecting God to do a specific thing in a specific situation. But it doesn’t stop there. It also submits itself to God’s will. This is where God’s redemptive plan comes into play.

What will most open people’s eyes to the reality of the power of the Gospel? When they see a dynamic demonstration of God’s power & grace at work? Sometimes that’s what it takes.

Is it the joy & peace in the life of a believer who is going thru hell? Sometimes that’s what it takes.

How can we know the best way? Unless the Holy Spirit tells us, we cannot know. That’s why we must trust God’s judgment.

When we try to answer the question about healing in personal terms rather than from God’s redemptive perspective, we set ourselves up to be disappointed. 

When we try to answer based on what God wants to do to bring revelation to others of who He is & what He can do, we open ourselves to greater clarity of understanding. We have peace that the world can’t give. And we can persevere & truly walk by faith.

WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN?

We were reading John 4 the other day & we ran across something really special at the end of the chapter. A lot of times it gets missed because people know about Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman & ministry in her town. This nugget is only found in the last paragraph of the chapter. It’s the miraculous healing of the royal official’s son & the immediate results. You can read it in John 4:46-54. 

One of the blessings of ministering cross-culturally for many years is that it opens our eyes to a lot of things we might never otherwise have seen. One of those things is more of a collectivist view of self. What I mean by this is that Westerners tend to see ourselves (& also read Scripture) in the light of an individualistic view.

In many parts of the world, individuals get much more of their identity from a group such as family.

So, when we read Scripture, we tend to see it thru the lens of individualism. As a result, our biblical understanding is affected. Also, our ideas about how to live as disciples of Jesus & how to do ministry are affected.

Here’s the end of the story in John 4:

So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives”; and he himself believed and his whole household (verse 53).

And his whole household.

Most of us know the verses like Acts 16:31 (Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household) & Joshua 24:15 (If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord).

The problem is that we don’t necessarily see anything there that as indicates a biblical value that should shape how we are to live for God & do service for Him.

Will the circle be unbroken? Hopefully not, either here or in heaven. An unbroken circle made up of family members who love & follow Christ in both time & eternity is precisely what Jesus gave His life to have.

JUDO

I really kind of envy kindergarten & lower elementary teachers because they get to use show & tell. That’s a very natural way of engaging students in the learning process. It’s especially effective because young children don’t even realize they are being taught. Since it employs their senses & motor skills, they naturally learn.

Where did show & tell come from? Although someone way back who was formulating theories about effective educational techniques may be credited with discovering it, that’s not where it originated. I believe God just let him or her in on a little secret.

I've never studied martial arts, but I understand a big part of the practical technique revolves around the idea that you use your opponent’s strengths against him. One of the ways is to exploit his physical strength & weight to your own advantage.

What does martial arts have to do with educational theory? Let me tell you:

“It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.” 

This is the Apostle Paul’s testimony in I Timothy 1:15-16.

You’re probably familiar with Paul’s history. As Saul, a Jewish religious leader, he was the guy who started out holding the garments of those who stoned to the first martyr for Christ, Stephen. He then graduated to being the guy who dragged Christians out of their homes or hiding places so that he could have them taken to stand trial. Many were stripped of their belongings & some were imprisoned or executed. Saul may have never committed adultery or robbery, but he was responsible for unimaginable suffering among his countrymen.

When Saul was brought to Christ his experience showed what kind of a transformation the grace of God can accomplish in a terrible person’s life. It wasn’t just so he could know, but so that the people around him could see it for themselves.

That’s God’s show & tell.

The darker his history, the greater claim the wrath of God had on him. But God’s grace & mercy were more than sufficient. The greater the debt, the greater the demonstration of God’s transforming work.

That’s God’s judo.

Don’t let the darkness in your past keep you from being a tangible demonstration to those around you of what the Living God can do. God does judo, so that He can have a show & tell – you.You're the show & tell that lets people know that God forgives & transforms lives, no matter how dark & corrupted.

NAKED IN THE PALACE

Maybe it’s a good thing that many followers of Jesus today use their cellphones for a lot of their Bible reading. I say that because it’s rare to see people who have the kind of reverence for Scripture that motivates them to treat a hard copy of the Bible with more respect & consideration than they do their cellphone. 

Or maybe I’m just too old school.

I was reading II Kings 22 today, the story of King Josiah. The 2 preceding kings, his father & grandfather, failed to follow God’s Word & lead their people in obedience to the covenant that God had brought them into. Remarkably, Josiah ordered a restoration of the Temple, which had over the last 2 generations been defiled & allowed to fall into disrepair & misuse.

When those in charge of repairs discovered a partial copy of the Law (very possibly the blessings & curses of Deuteronomy 28-30), they reported this to Josiah. “When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes” (vs 11). This behavior was an expression of sincere, desperate repentance. Josiah then sent representatives to a prophetess named Huldah to inquire further of the Lord. Ultimately, this led to national renewal & repentance that delayed God’s judgment for a little longer.

For a lot of reasons, we find it very easy to take the Bible for granted. A couple of other major problem today are general biblical illiteracy & intentional misuse of Scripture to advance a personal agenda.

The rediscovery of God’s Word in Josiah’s day led to a repentance that brought about national renewal. 

The Living God can do it again in our generation. A confrontation with His word thru the working of the Holy Spirit can bring us to a time of renewal & repentance. This can & must touch those around us & the generation that will follow us.

We don’t have to tear our clothes like Josiah did, but we do need to hear & respond to God’s Word as it convicts us.

FLIPPING

There’s a whole lot of flipping going on! I don't mean houses, or the bird.

You may be familiar with George Orwell’s book 1984. One of its big themes has to do with changing the meaning of words & phrases. This flipping of words & phrases, changing their historical & usually very obvious meaning, is a useful strategy for movements whose aim is to transform our culture. Doing this is intended to be part of the process of creating Utopia.

Let me share with you a few examples of how this has been done or is in the process of being done. 

Family: Traditionally, a family has been made up of a man & woman who have committed themselves to each other in marriage, & the children who come from that union. It seems now to mean just about any group of people who are in some way emotionally tied together.

Patriotism: This has always been characterized as a love of one’s country along with the traditions, values, symbols, & institutions that give the country its particular identity. Now it appears to mean the willingness to allow those traditions, values, symbols, & institutions to be torn down in the name of diversity.

Women’s health: If understood logically, this should refer to proper medical treatment for women. Now it is a euphemism for the supposed right of women to have their babies murdered in the womb. By the way, many of those babies would otherwise have grown up to be women. Go figure.

Voter suppression: The reasonable meaning of this is the placing & maintaining of legal or other barriers that would make it difficult or impossible for registered voters to participate in the electoral process. Most of the time it is used now, it is an emotional appeal to overlook voter & election fraud. Voter & election fraud actually disenfranchises legitimate voters.

Separating families: This has historically referred to circumstances where parents & their children have been physically split up due to various circumstances like divorce, a parent in the military or incarcerated, etc. Now it refers to the actions of law enforcement professionals fulfilling their responsibilities based on laws that have been on the books for longer than the current administration has existed.

I’m sure you can think of other examples, but these few will do.

What's my point? 

Let’s put it this way: Beware of & don't passively accept the efforts of the little social justice warriors around you who seek to be imitators of Orwell’s Big Brother.

FRAMING THE DISCUSSION

One of the dynamics in discussions about things that people have different opinions about is how the topic is framed. 

There are many ways that this can be done. It’s important to recognize when someone is framing the discussion, because it is in their interest & is an advantage for their point of view that the framing not be noticed.

Questions reflect the unspoken assumptions of the questioner. They are sometimes more of a statement than a question.

This video clip is a textbook example of someone using such a strategy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk4mTfWXeiA

What do you think are the unspoken assumptions behind Harris' questions? Those assumptions are the basis for her questions, which are really more statements than questions.

Here are a few things to remember (at least from my perspective as someone who has not worked in law enforcement) about the job of any law enforcement agency:

Their primary purpose is not to concern themselves about perceptions, but to enforce the law.

Any perceptions that they do generate should include be positive among those they are tasked to protect, which in the case of ICE is American citizens.

The people whom ICE deals with in fulfilling their task are those who are or may be breaking the law. Any perception among this group is correctly based on the fear of being caught. But this perception is incidental to the actual work they do.

The unspoken assumption of Harris’ questions is that ICE officers are to be concerned primarily with giving a positive, non-threatening perception to those who are in the US illegally. According to this legislator, ICE agents are to be PR people, not law enforcement professionals.

By the way, the nominee for ICE has no doubt conducted many interrogations/interviews with suspected violators & is probably amused by the “serious demeanor” being projected by Harris.  

Incidentally Harris may also be positioning herself for a 2020 Democrat run for president.

Just be aware of what's happening here.

A PRAYER FOR OUR COUNTRY

Psalm 144 reveals the heart of David. Although he was flawed & far from perfect, he was still a godly leader who in his heart longed to be pleasing to God.

Verses 1-2 show David's realization that it is God who in His sovereignty has placed him there & enabled him to fulfill his responsibilities as the leaders of his nation.

Verses 3-4 reflect David's wonder at how God would even take notice of him & of the people he rules over.

Verses 5-8 are a prayer requesting God’s help in dealing with people & situations that threaten the kingdom.

Verses 9-11 are a celebration & expression of confidence that God will continue to sustain him & his kingdom.

But today as I read this Psalm, the last part (verses 12-15) really grabbed my attention:

Let our sons in their youth be as grown-up plants,

And our daughters as corner pillars fashioned as for a palace;

Let our garners be full, furnishing every kind of produce,

And our flocks bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields;

Let our cattle bear without mishap and without loss,

Let there be no outcry in our streets!

How blessed are the people who are so situated;

How blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!

In many sectors of our country, we are experiencing material blessings. Our garners are full; just as healthy & productive herds represented great riches, we are in many ways experiencing God’s material blessings.

But for many of us, our children & the emerging generation have lost their way. In many areas of the country there is an outcry in the streets & even violence & lawlessness.

Would you join me in praying that God will bring back & restore the lost of the coming generation? 

Will you also pray that our nation will once again experience the peace & unity that come with God’s blessing?

THE ADOLESCENT ELECTORATE

After the 2016 election, some commentators referred to its results as a temper tantrum. So, fair is fair & I would like to compare some of the results of this year’s midterm election to adolescence. Let me say up front that this is probably going to come across as snarky, but that is not my intention.

Adolescence is very much a creation of 20^th century American culture. It is the awkward time between childhood & adulthood. In the American context, the idea is that the teenager will by trial & error, based hopefully on the lessons learned during childhood, learn to make the right decisions.

In the process of learning, the adolescent will make a lot of mistakes & will eventually come to realize that the adults really did know what they were talking about. Hopefully those mistakes are expensive enough to motivate learning, but so expensive as to cause long-term damage.

When I refer to the adolescent electorate, I’m talking in terms of moral/social issues & economics that they have voted about.

The electorate in my home state of Michigan has decided that recreational marijuana is a good thing. A lot of adolescents have made the same short-sighted mistake. Apparently, if you can generate tax money from something that debilitates people in tasks that they should do unimpeded, it’s OK.

A local ballot initiative in Albuquerque overturning a 20-week limit on abortion also passed. Isn’t it nice to be given additional time to sweep “problems” under the rug, never to be bothered by them again? Ask women who spend decades regretting the exercise of their “right to choose” if it really stays invisible under the rug.

A number of victories by Democrat Socialists have been won. Let’s see if this generation of people who in many cases have no real-world experience understanding of how economics works are able to FINALLY get Utopia to somehow stick its head up over the distant horizon.

The so-called temper tantrum of 2016 (were those who came up with this looking in the mirror after the began protesting the election?) had what an unbiased observer would see as positive results in many categories. It remains to be seen if the adolescent electorate will learn anything from their short-sighted choices in this year’s midterm election.

Unfortunately, not every adult is willing to learn the lessons of adolescence. My generation is full of such people. May God be merciful to us as the results play out. Because whatever comes out of Pandora’s box will not be...

THE NEED FOR LABELS

Every few years an interesting group of people that calls itself something like “No Labels” raises its head & demands to be heard. Since it is probably made up of progressives posing as unbiased observers & quasi-conservatives who want to sound smart, I always find it mildly entertaining & get a very small chuckle out of it. 

That is especially so, since the same people don't seem to have any inhibitions about labeling me & others whose ideas don’t fit into what they think is right.

I also chuckle because they are the kind of people who seem to think that there should be warning labels on just about everything under the sun.

One of the irritating things about political ads, at least in our area, is that you often need to dig deep to find out what a candidate’s party affiliation is. What motivates that? Fear? Somebody’s idea of good campaign strategy? I dunno.

Maybe its just me, but it seems like the best strategy is honesty, conciseness, & being straightforward about what we believe. If a candidate or party feels the need to be anything less about that, I automatically begin to suspect they aren’t being honest with the electorate.

WHY I’M NOT INTO THE IMMIGRANT FAD

I need to start out by saying thank you to some of my progressive friends for motivating me to write this. I’ve generally avoided this subject. It’s possible that because we are beginning a ministry to the International Community (aka immigrants) that a lot of people assume we buy into the idea that anyone who wants to come into the US should have the right to do so.

Just to be clear, we don’t believe that.

Here are a number of reasons we don’t buy into what I call the “Immigrant Fad.”

First, to do so would be intellectually dishonest. If someone does something that violates law, they are doing something illegal. It makes no difference how they view existing laws. Existing laws may or may not reflect someone’s view of morality. But if someone doesn’t believe the laws reflect his view, those laws don’t magically cease to exist. They are still in force, & he is still subject to them. In other words, illegal immigrants are still illegal immigrants because they violate existing laws.

Second, to do so is intellectually lazy. I’ve heard or read people saying things like they would be glad to have an illegal alien come & live with them. The analogy fails. In saying this, they agree with the idea that permission needs to be given to someone before that person can come into a place that is not theirs. It is one thing to extend hospitality to someone; it’s entirely different for them to knowingly & sometimes forcefully enter where they are not allowed to go.

Third, to do so betrays either an ignorance of history or the hope that others are ignorant of it. If you google the name of most any recognized Democrat leader to find out what they were saying about illegal immigration a few years ago, they took a similar policy stance as the current administration does. That kinda makes one wonder about the motives of those same leaders today.

Those are just a few reasons I don’t buy into the fad.

WE’RE NOT INVINCIBLE

If you’ve been in church for very long you may be familiar with the story in I Kings 18 about Elijah & the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. You may have heard preaching about that story or the one that immediately follows it in chapter 19, where Jezebel threatens his life & Elijah flees as far south as he can to escape her.

I was just reading those 2 chapters & it reminded me about something that is really important for all believers. It reminded me that no one is invincible or immune from getting hit hard on the gridiron that we call life. 

Something very notable in chapter 18 is that every step Elijah took in confronting & overcoming the challenge was taken in conscientious obedience to God’s direction. God directed Elijah to confront Ahab (18:1, 36). Every word & action of the prophet reflected the boldness & confidence of someone who had clearly heard from God.

The execution of the Baal prophets, along with the miraculous end of the 3-year drought likely caused Elijah to believe that Israel had turned a corner & could now be restored to right relationship with God.

Boy, did he get a surprise the next day!

When Ahab told Jezebel what had happened, she didn’t take it lying down. Instead she went on the offensive & threatened to have Elijah killed. Instead of the great victory he anticipated, he got hit in the face with a huge disappointment. Instead of Jezebel folding, the “invincible” man of God folded & ran.

We can fall into the trap of seeing ourselves as invincible. Sometimes because of youthful energy, faithfulness in spiritual disciplines, previous ministry victories, etc. we think that nothing can stop us. True, God’s redemptive plan cannot ultimately be stopped. But it may experience what appear to us to be setbacks. We can be disappointed when what we expected doesn’t happen as we hoped. We can experience emotional highs & lows.

In a word, we’re not invincible.

But the Lord is. 

Let’s be encouraged today by that, not by our own feeling that for whatever reason we won’t experience setbacks & disappointments.

WHY ECONOMICS ISN’T BORING TO ME

I’m neither an economist nor the son of an economist. But I have been puzzling over something for a while. It’s how individuals could each have a degree in economics & come to totally different conclusions.

For example, the new heartthrob of the Democrats, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, apparently has a degree in economics & is a full-blown socialist. 

On the other hand, Walter Williams has spent much of his adult life teaching economics at the university level & is a rock-ribbed economic conservative.

My question has at least in part been answered. There are at least 2 basic theories about how economic transactions should be done.

The first (objective view of economics) is based on the idea that the process is more equitable & just if an economy is managed. This view necessitates there being a governing authority over a nation’s economic system. What is the expression of this belief? Socialism. Planned or managed economies. 5-year economic plans. Government intervention to pick winners & losers.

The other major view (subjective view of economics) sees the process of economic transactions as a dynamic thing that in a sense has a life of its own. People simply participate in it, & it is constantly changing based on the changing desires & demands of the participants. What is the expression of this belief? A free market, where people are at liberty to make their own decisions as buyers, sellers, producers, etc.

This difference in views determines how someone will see the process of economic transactions. The objective view requires that there be a class of people who can predict what will happen in the future. They will (hopefully) base economic policies on what will be the fairest for the most people.

This view assumes a lot. First, it assumes that these “smart people” can somehow predict the future. Second, it assumes they will use this power for the benefit of the people they are supposedly smarter than. These are the assumptions that have brought us such failed experiments as the Soviet Union, Cuba, & today’s Venezuela.

IS THE HEX A HOAX?

Do you remember the movie, “The Exorcist?” A lot of people see such things as just entertainment, but not reflecting a dark demonic reality with actual beings exercising power to influence the visible world & destroy people’s lives. At least that’s what good, obedient post-Enlightenment secularists &

materialists are supposed to believe.

Biblical references to spiritual warfare involve a lot, including individualized demonization & exorcism & localized demonic activities. In addition to that, passages such as II Corinthians 10:3-5 & Ephesians 6:11-12 seem to imply satanic activity & influence that affect the way people reason & think. Satan seeks to control the thought processes of masses of people, not just individuals. He seeks to trivialize or drive away all biblical concepts from the way people view themselves & the world.

II Corinthians 10:3-5 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”

Ephesians 6:11-12 “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

http://insider.foxnews.com/2018/10/12/brett-kavanaugh-be-hexed-witches-brooklyn-new-york-liberal-sherpa-says

According to this report, a group of witches will host a public event for the expressed purpose of placing a hex on Justice Kavanaugh. Notice the clear difference in how the interviewer & interviewee regard the event & the potential danger.

As incredible as it may seem, we’re seeing the merging of radical secularism & a return to some of the traditional pre-Christian religious beliefs & practices of the Western world.

The battle is real. God’s people need to pray. And we need to pray in the authority of Christ, who is:

“Raised from the dead and seated at His (the Father's) right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 2:20-23).

THE INQUISITION COULD NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN, RIGHT?

I’m going to paint some broad strokes, but my hope is you can see the parallels I’m trying to point out. Those parallels are between the regression that is in danger of happening in our legal system now, & what we left behind centuries ago.

All of the things I’m going to mention have one thing in common. Here goes...

Many people in our country believe that the Inquisition was a pre-Enlightenment occurrence. They believe that was carried out by religious bigots who persecuted people they thought who wanted to leave a church organization. There is some truth to those ides, but the reality is that the Inquisition was more a reaction to the political changes that were affecting the ability of the Roman Catholic Church & various European monarchies to prop up each other.

The French Revolution was really not much different in its attempt to acquire & maintain political power. It simply targeted a different group of people. In claiming to right the wrongs that were committed by the monarchy, the revolutionaries executed those associated in any way with it. People who happened to be part of the aristocracy, regardless of age or any other consideration were assumed to be the enemy of the new regime & of the people.

Each of these historical processes, the Inquisition & the French Revolution, was similar to today’s class warfare that is waged by the Left; certain classes were assumed to be guilty & others were assumed to be in the right. The individual was judged based on what class he or she was part of. Does that sound familiar?

There is good reason to be alarmed at what is happening in the Kavanaugh hearings. Elected officials are attributing guilt to him simply because he is a white male. His accuser does not have the responsibility to prove guilt because she is in a class that is by default to be believed.

That’s the way the Inquisition worked. You were lucky if you weren’t in the guilty class. Too bad for you & your loved ones if you were.