Blessed Be the Name

In 2nd Corinthians 4, there is a great reminder for us to trust God, even when things do not go the way we think they should.  We can be challenged to love God and serve other people, even when we are facing personal adversity:
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
8 We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 
9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed-- 
10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

This is where we live so often, isn't it?  The pressing weight of our daily concerns, the troubles that we endure, the confusion that we encounter.  But, through it all, we can know there is Someone who walks with us, to whom we can turn in any situation.  And, one of the powerful perspectives that we can adopt as we journey through this life is to serve while we suffer...there is a tendency to get so caught up in our own needs that we miss what is going on around us, when God wants us to focus squarely on Him and then to love others through Him.  This shifts our focus from the weight of our own burdens to be able to help release others from theirs.

Upon receiving the news about great loss of family and possessions, Job's response was to fall before the Lord and worship.  Here's a passage from the first chapter of Job:
20Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped.21And he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord."

Yesterday marked the third day of storms a significant section of the country.  Much of the Faith Radio broadcast area was spared a second wave of tornadoes and severe storms yesterday.  We still remember those who suffered devastation and perhaps the loss of friends and family members in the recent storms.   Our thoughts also go to the Gulf Coast, where enormous amounts of rainfall have caused some concern there.

And, we can be inspired by the heroic stories of those who were helping others in the midst of the storm - there are two cases, two men lost their lives in the process of trying to save others.  I mentioned yesterday on the air the story of 21-year-old John Servati, a University of Alabama swimmer who lost his life as he tried to protect his girlfriend as an apartment wall collapsed in Tuscaloosa during a storm on Monday.

His high school swim coach, Lucas Smith, told AL.com that John said, regarding his plans to go to Lake Tahoe in June for a 10-week Christian-outreach program, "He was about as happy going to do that, getting accepted to go to camp as he was to sign his scholarship to go to Alabama -- if not more..."

Smith said, "He wanted to help. He thrived off helping others...As you can see in the same way in which he died. He lost his life by saving somebody else's."

AL.com also quoted Alabama assistant swim coach James Barber described John Servati as "a hero really every day...He was always quick to say, 'Oh yeah I'll help you move this' or 'I can help with that' to any teammate. He was just that kind of guy."

A hero - who, in death was doing what he did in his life - serving others.

That's the story of Rob Tittle, as well.   He was a staff member for FamilyLife, and yesterday's FamilyLife Today radio program was devoted to the story of Rob and the Tittle family.   He lost his life, as Dennis Rainey put it, "...doing what a man does—putting his family first and trying to get two of his daughters to safety—when the twister hit."

As related in a piece called "The Lord Gives, the Lord Takes Away," from the FamilyLife website, Rob, as well as two of his daughters, perished in the storm as they were shepherding their nine children under a stairwell when the tornado disintegrated their home in Arkansas.

All that is left is a grim grey slab of concrete.

The Tittles' 19-year-old daughter posted this on Facebook from a friend's house: “... my mom, and my six brothers/sisters are alright. We have lost three of our family … Dad, Tori and Rebekah, prayers would be appreciated. The house is gone stripped from the foundation. The Lord Gives and the Lord Takes away, Blessed be the Name of the Lord.”

She also posted, “Dear friends, Do one thing for me. Hug your dad. Hold him tight and don’t let go, that man is the greatest gift God gave to you. Tell him you love him, tell him you will always Love him.”

Another FamilyLife couple, Dan and Kristin, lost their home, as well.   Dennis relates that Dan saw the twister coming across the river and hurriedly moved his wife, six children, two dogs, a bunny rabbit, and a lizard into the master bedroom closet, which was designed as a storm shelter.

He closed the door. And as the seconds ticked by, Dan said to his children, “This is the day of salvation! If you haven’t accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, NOW IS THE TIME TO DO IT!”

A moment later, the tornado tore into their home, sucking the vent plate out of the top of the shelter. Dan said, “The pressure in that shelter was 10 times that of any airplane ride I’ve ever taken!”   They survived, but their home was destroyed.    Dan, facing the urgency of possible death, had the presence of mind to try to make sure that his children were saved - spiritually and physically.

After they left the rubble of what was once their home and were riding in a van, one of the children said, “This is the worst day of my life!” To which their 10-year-old daughter, who has prosthetic legs, replied, “That may be, but we need to talk about the good things!” The rest of the ride was spent celebrating the “good things.”

I think that these stories can teach us some valuable lessons as we continue to remember the heroes and their families.  John Servati and Rob Tittle lost their lives, but they were acting in the face of death in a manner consistent with the way they lived.   They will both be remembered for their Christian service.  We can make it a goal of ours to develop a servant's heart - to the extent that putting others first in times of tragedy is not inconsistent with the way we normally operate.   Dan survived, and his bravery is also inspiring, as he was intent on leading his family to safety while certifying that his children knew Jesus.

We can also think about the legacy we desire to leave.  When we're gone - and we know we are not promised tomorrow - we would want to be remembered for how we have served: As spouses, how we have loved our mates.  As parents, how we have led our children.  As friends, how we have demonstrated that friendship.  And, more than anything else, how we have loved our Lord, which drives everything else.

And, finally, we are encouraged by the attitude of Job - he had essentially lost it all, but in the face of terrible tragedy and loss, he declared, "Blessed be the name of the Lord."   That is not denial or glossing over the facts at hand, but recognizing God's presence with us in the adversity we encounter.

What Lies Beneath

The Lord has come to bring light into our lives, and when we encounter or uncover areas of darkness that limit or inhibit us in moving forward in Him, then it's important that we deal with those hidden thoughts and intents, past areas of sin that continue to affect us adversely.   And, that can only be done through the power of the Spirit and the restorative power of the Word of God. Jesus taught in Luke 11:
34The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.35Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.36If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light."

Because we have the light of Christ in us, we have the possibility each day to choose to walk in His light. And, where there are areas of darkness that reside deep within our hearts - hidden sin, misplaced priorities, painful memories, and detrimental life experiences - we can rely on the power of the Spirit to identify and help us to eradicate the harmful effects so that we might live in the freedom that Christ offers.  But, we have to be willing to allow the penetrating light of the Holy Spirit to show us the areas that hold us back from moving forward in Christ.

God desires for us to rely on His Word, His truth, to expose areas in our lives that are not pleasing to Him, that perhaps we have buried deep in our souls, but can still cause trouble.   He wants to bring us into a position of freedom.  Here is what 2nd Corinthians 3 says:
16Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.17Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.18But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Do you remember the Atari video game manufacturer?    Well, you may actually have one or two of those games around the house - or maybe they were thrown out with the antiquated system that you may have once owned.   You may even have one of the 3.5 million copies of the "E.T." video game, based on the popular movie, that was hurriedly rolled out in time for Christmas in 1982.  

The game was a colossal flop, hobbled not only by its short development time but by a license and royalty agreement that promised the film's director, Steven Spielberg, $21 million, according to Curt Vendel, the co-author of a book about the Atari company, released in 2012, who was quoted in a recent CNN story.  The company needed to sell out of the 5 million units it produced to break even; it sold about 3.5 million by the following fall, he said.

About the time "E.T." hit the shelves, a poor and badly delayed earnings report troubled investors, "and everybody started running to go sell," Vendel said. At its peak, it employed about 11,000 people; it was shedding employees by the thousands in 1983, and had only about 900 left by the time it closed down.

And, what about the unsold units of the dud of a game?  Reportedly, many of them were dumped in a landfill in New Mexico and covered in concrete.  But, over the weekend, with a couple of hundred onlookers watching, excavators led by a documentary film crew began to unearth stacks of 30-year-old Atari cartridges from a landfill outside Alamogordo.

"Urban legend CONFIRMED," Larry Hryb, one of the creators of Microsoft's Xbox gaming platform, reported via Twitter from the dig site. Microsoft's Xbox Entertainment Studios is one of the backers ofthe planned documentary, tentatively titled "Atari: Game Over." Hryb also tweeted a photo of the first cartridge to be dug out.

Vendel said the "E.T." cartridges were just one of more than 20 titles found over the weekend, and may not make up more than a fifth of the estimated 700,000-plus units the ailing Atari discarded in 1983, he said. As far as he's concerned, the great "E.T." caper remains "a myth."

One of those on hand at the landfill Saturday was Howard Scott Warshaw, the game's designer.  He said,
"I've been carrying this thing, the theoretically worst video game of all time, for 30 years now...It was a game that was done in five weeks. It was a very brief development. I did the best that I could, and that's OK."   He also said, "I don't really believe it's one of the worst games ever, but I really like it when people identify it that way." And because he also designed of one of Atari's best-rated games, "Yars' Revenge," he said, "I have the greatest range of any game designer in history."

But, at least at this point, a mystery in video game lore has actually been confirmed.   Amazing what can actually be buried below the surface of the earth, and there is great curiosity sometimes to find out what is down there, because old stories can be told or retold and old answers can be discovered.  

Spiritually speaking, there are things that we bury in our hearts that can actually be harmful to us if they are not uncovered and removed.   I really do think that we act the way we do because of negative thought patterns or bad experiences that we bury underneath the layers of life or perhaps the layers of denial that we never deal with.  I'm certainly not suggesting that we try to dig up forgiven sin that God says has been cast into the sea of forgetfulness - we don't go fishing there.   And, we can learn from our past mistakes and move forward in the power and presence of God's Spirit.

But, what about those areas of unforgiven sin, unresolved relationship issues, and troublesome thoughts and attitudes that lie beneath the surface, that are certainly not useful, but perhaps still nag at us subconsciously?   In some cases, we need to go digging so that we can remove them and experience God's freedom.

That's where we have to rely on the probing presence of the Holy Spirit, the One who will help us to understand why we behave in a certain manner and point out ways that are embedded in our souls that can ensnare us.   As we expose ourselves to the Word of God, that we're told in Hebrews 4 will be a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, we can depend on truth to help expose the error of our past behavior that can continue to haunt us and perhaps even control us.   

A healthy understanding of ourselves can come through immersing our minds in the Word of God and being willing to change - for the better, in a manner that brings increased glory to our Savior.  

What If All Of Our Thoughts Were Public?

A passage from 2nd Corinthians chapter 10 highlights the ability that we have to bring our thinking into submission to the Lordship of Christ:
3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God,and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

God has given us the amazing power of thought - He has constructed our minds in an incredible way so that we can control our thinking in a manner that either glorifies Him or not.  We can choose which thoughts that we meditate on, that we dwell on and allow to become part of us and govern our behavior.  While the enemy would want to lure us with thoughts that run contrary to God's will for our lives, we can choose whether or not to allow those thoughts to control us.   We have to make sure that we maintain a clean heart before God and not be shaped by material that enters our minds that does not bring Him glory.

In Hebrews 4:13, we are reminded of our all-seeing, all-knowing God, who sees our hearts and knows our thoughts:
13Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Psalm 139 says:

23Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.24See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

At Yale University, researchers recently used a brain scanner to identify which face someone was looking at — just from their brain activity. At the University of California-Berkeley, scientists are moving beyond "reading" simple thoughts to predicting what someone will think next.

These are examples mentioned in a recent USA Today story, also published in the Montgomery Advertiser, that explores the possibilities of so-called, "mind reading technology."

At Carnegie Mellon, in Pittsburgh, cognitive neuroscientist Marcel Just has a vision that will make Google Glass seem very last century. Instead of using your eye to direct a cursor — finding a phone number for a car repair shop, for instance — he thinks about a device that will dial the shop by interpreting your thoughts about the car.

Just directs the school's Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging and stated, "In principle, our thoughts could someday be readable...I don't think we have to worry about this in the next 5-10 years, but it's interesting to think about. What if all of our thoughts were public?"

Rather than devices that would lead to mind control, he envisions something more positive, such as devices that would offer opportunities to people with disabilities, as well as the rest of us.

Marvin Chun, senior author on the Yale work, published last month in the journal Neuroimage, sees a more limited potential for mind reading, at least with current functional-MRI technology, which measures blood flow to infer what is happening in the brain.

In his experiment, an undergraduate working in his lab developed a mathematical model to allow a computer to recognize different parts of faces. Then, by scanning the brains of volunteers as they looked at different faces, the researchers trained the computer to interpret how each volunteer's brain responded to different faces. Lastly, the volunteers were asked to look at new faces while in a brain scanner — and the computer could distinguish which of two faces they were observing. It was correct about 60-70% of the time.

"This will allow us to study things we haven't studied before about people's internal representation of faces and memories and imagination and dreams — all of which are represented in some of the same areas we use to reconstruct faces," said Alan Cowen, who led the research as a Yale undergraduate and is now a graduate student researcher at Berkeley.

Get this: The Yale work helps confirm that the brain doesn't just have one area dedicated to a task like perceiving faces.  Instead, "thinking is a collaborative process," with three or four areas of the brain working together to allow people to distinguish, say, between the face of their spouse and that of their best friend.

I want to key in on the question posed by Marcel Just, who asked, "What if all of our thoughts were public?"   That could be a frightening proposition, couldn't it?   It probably would force us to control or even cloak the machinations of the mind.   And, it would bring about a level of transparency that probably none of us would want to experience.   But, for the Christian, it could give us some spiritual principles to think about...

For one thing, we recognize that our thoughts are not hidden from our all-knowing God.  So, even though we may can hide our innermost thoughts from other people, even those who are closest to us, we cannot hide them from the God who made us and loves us.   And, He wants us to think in a manner that is consistent with His presence and His principles.   If we recognize that He knows the thoughts and desires of our minds, it could motivate us to bring our thinking under the submission of the Holy Spirit.

Also, it has been said that the devil can't read our minds, but he can and will plant thoughts into our consciousness, and we have to skillfully deal with those tempting and distracting thoughts that would serve to pollute our walk with the Lord.   If we meditate on the wrong things, we will find strongholds erected in our minds, errant thought patterns that are contrary to Scripture, ways of thinking that need to be reprogrammed by the Word of God and the work of the Spirit.

Finally, the Bible tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made - an example is found in that quote about the Yale study, that there are three or four areas of the brain that help us to distinguish between faces.  You have numerous researchers that are exploring the mysteries of the function of the human brain - how complex it is!  The intricacies of the human brain are yet another example that point to design.  And, every brain is different, uniquely formed by our Creator.   Our brains are a gift from God, and as stewards of His resources and the temple of the Holy Spirit, we have to be so careful what we allow to reside in our minds.

Who Really Speaks for Science?

Please consider with me the origins of the universe, and the presence of our God at the beginning and even before.  John 1 says:
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2He was in the beginning with God.3All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.4In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
He was there at the very beginning - the Bible teaches that He spoke the world and the entire universe into life.  He created humanity in His own image and breathed into them the breath of life.  He is also the God who has given life to each one of us.  When we consider the heavens and the earth, the beauty of creation and the intricate design of each human being, we can be convinced in our minds that these things did not happen by chance, but were the incredible product of a magnificent Creator God who has called us, who has chosen you, to be in a relationship with Himself.

Hebrews 11 refers to God as the Creator, a powerful starting point as we consider and discuss where we came from:
3By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

There's a new survey out on what is described by TheWire.com as one "which asked a series of questions on politically controversial scientific inquiries." It is an Associated Press poll, and several prominent scientists who were presented the results by the AP were "depress[ed] and upset" by the findings.

What could cause such consternation? Well, the poll found that people believed smoking causes cancer - not an earthshaking outcome there. Or, how about that who we are is influenced in part by our genetic codes?

No, here's the kicker - a slim majority of Americans aren't so sure about the "Big Bang" theory of the origin of the universe. A slim majority also believed that "there must be a supreme being guiding [the universe's] creation" because of its complexity.

According to the results, just 21 percent of Americans were "extremely" or "very" confident in the Big Bang theory, which posits that our universe was born in a violent expansion about 14 billion years ago. Another 25 percent were "somewhat" confident in the theory, while 51 percent were "not too" or "not at all" confident.

TheWire.com goes on to pontificate:

So we, as a society, seem to strongly agree that "smoking causes cancer," that "a mental illness is a medical condition that affects the brain," that "inside our cells, there is a complex genetic code that helps determine who we are," and that "overusing antibiotics causes the development of drug-resistant bacteria." Although the first fact used to be politically controversial, the rest of these seem to be basic scientific observations about the world that transmit from person to person without very much political baggage. While some religions challenge the above definition of mental illness, there's not really a big policy argument at the national level questioning this scientific conclusion.

It also says, "Then it gets complicated: Just 53 percent of Americans are extremely confident that vaccines are "safe and effective" for children..." And the article states, "... the results get worse for science when you go down the list of science "controversies:" 33 percent of Americans are certain that greenhouse gasses are contributing to a rise in average world temperature (another 28 percent are somewhat confident); and 31 percent are comfortable with evolution (24 percent are "somewhat" OK with it).

"Confidence in evolution, the Big Bang, the age of the Earth and climate change decline sharply as faith in a supreme being rises," the AP writes about the poll's results.  A total of 54 percent of those surveyed were very confident or somewhat confident that a supreme being was guiding its creation.

In a piece on the WORLDmag.com website, Steven Meyer of the Discovery Institute said the results concerning origins shouldn't be surprising. He said: “...I don’t find this surprising, and I think it’s overall evidence of the public’s good horse sense in being able to distinguish ideology from scientific facts and evidence.”

WORLD reports that scientists surveyed by the AP dismissed the public’s skepticism of Darwinian evolution as “scientific ignorance”—facts versus faith. Nobel Prize winning biochemistry professor Robert Lefkowitz of Duke University attributed the poll results to “the force of concerted campaigns to discredit scientific fact,” citing significant interest groups—political, business, and religious—campaigning against scientific truths on vaccines, climate change, and evolution.

Meyer said that view under-represents the real facts being discovered in evolutionary biology.

“Very few leading evolutionary biologists today think that natural selection and random mutation are sufficient to produce the new forms of life we see arising in the history of life,” Meyer said. “And then when the public is catching wind of the scientific doubts of Darwinian evolution and expresses them in a poll like this, these self-appointed spokesmen for science say that the public is ignorant. But actually, the public is more in line with what’s going on in science than these spokesmen for science.”

And, I have to go back to a Gallup poll on origins from just under 2 years ago, where 46 percent of Americans indicated they believed in the creationist view that God created humans in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years. The prevalence of this creationist view of the origin of humans is essentially unchanged from 30 years ago, when Gallup first asked the question. About a third of Americans believe that humans evolved, but with God's guidance; 15% say humans evolved, but that God had no part in the process.

So, the takeaway for us is multifaceted.  For one thing, I believe that the evidence shows that there is still a sizable percentage of the population that believes in a theory of origins that is consistent with a Christian worldview - even though people like Bill Nye would want to discredit those that believe in a Creator, it seems that his extreme views are definitely in the minority, and as Meyer says, "the public is more in line with what's going on in science that these spokesmen for science."   This should cause us to be confident in our system of beliefs and not to be intimidated into silence about our belief in the existence of God.

Recognize that a discussion of origins can be a first step in a process of someone coming to faith in Christ.  I am an enthusiastic supporter of intelligent design, and I will have guests regularly on my radio show, including Dr. Meyer, who embrace that perspective.   But, there is a connecting of the dots that has to take place - intelligent design presents compelling evidence of a designer and effectively discredits popular theories, such as Charles Darwin's writing on the origins of species.  It's up to us, as believers in Christ, to provide the Biblical perspective on the identity of that designer - a loving God, who created humanity for fellowship with Himself.  A humanity that fell away from God, but who was being wooed back to Himself throughout the ages, to the point of sending His Son to die so that we might be reconciled to Him. He is God whom we can know, and who expresses Himself through us - our God Who is at work in and through us, and manifesting Himself all around us every single day.

Proud to Be a Christian

I came across a challenging portion of Scripture earlier today that can really stress to us the importance of developing Godly character, reflecting the person of Christ in us.  It's from Philippians 2:
19But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state.20For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state.21For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.22But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel.

Did the apostle Paul have high standards or what?  He said in verse 21 that "all seek their own," except for Timothy, who possessed "proven character."  That is certainly raising the bar, and should be motivational for us as we seek to glorify God in our words and actions.  I think that we should want to display that proven character, molded by Christ, who does His work of transformation in our hearts.  We are instructed to seek Christ, not our own agendas.  If we are doing that and walking in a triumphant manner over the temptations and distractions of this world, He will express His very life through us.

The presence of Christ in us will enable us to develop Godly character, which will be displayed in our lives as we submit to Him in obedience.  Here's what 2nd Peter chapter 1 says:
5But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,6to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,7to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.8For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

They play at a stadium nicknamed "Death Valley," but the head football coach is a proponent of eternal life - in Jesus Christ.   His name is Dabo Swinney of Clemson and he has become the target of the ink-heavy and litigation-light atheist group known as the Freedom from Religion Foundation.   According to Baylor professor Dr. Thomas Kidd, a Clemson graduate, Swinney...

...is an outspoken Christian, who is accused of employing a chaplain, sharing Scripture with his players, and inviting players to church. This pattern of behavior, the FFRF contends, is inappropriate for a public university employee, and violates the First Amendment’s establishment clause.

That is excerpted from his Anxious Bench blog at Patheos.com.  Kidd goes on to say:

We might laugh off the FFRF’s threats as typical secularist hi-jinks, except that threatening lawsuits has become the most successful approach for secularists over the past fifty years, and it has scored incremental victories to restrict religious speech and the free exercise of religion. In the absence of legislative or popular support for their agenda, they intimidate public employees into silence, and occasionally find sympathetic judges to agree with their peculiar interpretation of the First Amendment.

He said that the FFRF is accusing Clemson of exhibiting an institutional preference for “religion over nonreligion.” He related that he had professors at the school who were overtly hostile to faith perspectives and two who spoke directly of their faith as Christians. Here's what he says:

No problem – at a university, it is ok to have different perspectives represented. I don’t recall that the FFRF has ever sued a university, Clemson or others, for preferencing nonreligion over religion because of the views of a secularist professor…and it never occurred to me to seek a lawsuit because of the times when I did not share the opinion of such secularist professors.

He does point out that, "Sports teams are, of course, very different settings from a university classroom. Any coach worth his or her salt is not only trying to win games, but to invest in the lives of players. For people of faith, such investments naturally mean directing players to one’s own faith. As a matter of propriety, Clemson officials should expect that Coach Swinney not be rude or discriminatory toward his players, but this is a requirement that should apply on a whole range of issues (politics, ethnicity, etc.), not just faith. Fairness makes for good education, business, and manners."   Kidd concludes that Swinney is on sound constitutional ground.

Coach Swinney has now spoken out on the situation, which he said took him "a little off guard," according to ESPN.com, which reported comments made by the coach at the ACC teleconference yesterday.  He is quoted as saying that, "Anything that we have in our program from a spiritual standpoint is and always has been voluntary. We're no different than any other program out there in how we operate as far as providing our players opportunities to grow in any aspect of their lives."   Swinney did not comment on the specifics of the complaint.

"I have coached and recruited just about every faith and religion that's out there, or non-religion, and have never had a problem with any of it before," Swinney said. "I am who I am. I'm proud to be a Christian, and by being a Christian, I'm a Christian in everything that I do. People that know me, they know I'm a long way from being perfect. You can ask my players or my wife -- I'm a long way from being perfect, but I do try to live my life with a positive influence on those around me.

"I've never been a guy who's forced anything on anyone. I just am who I am, and I'm proud of how we run our program. The reason I've had success as a coach is because I love my players, and I take great pride in having relationships with my players."

Earlier this month, university spokeswoman Cathy Sams issued a statement saying the school would evaluate the complaints raised but that it believes Swinney and his staff are not violating any laws.

I hope that Clemson does not capitulate here.   That seems to be the countertactic to the secularist heavy-handedness that FFRF engages in - just stand up, say there's nothing to see here, and tell them to move on. They've come after banners before football games, pregame prayers, displays of faith in school hallways, and even tried to sue the National Day of Prayer.   And, apparently, Swinney is not backing down, and Dabo said these wonderful words I want to seize on: "I am who I am. I'm proud to be a Christian, and by being a Christian, I'm a Christian in everything that I do."

So, when the pressure hits, when people challenge our actions, do we back down or try to nuance the message, or are we forthright in declaring our faith?   The Bible teaches clearly that we are to carry our faith into every area of life.  We don't compartmentalize the sacred and the secular; rather we allow the presence of Christ to infiltrate every area of our lives.   Our decisions are to be controlled by the Word of God and the direction of the Holy Spirit.   

As Dabo says, "I'm a Christian in everything I do."   Because there are people and organizations who are hostile to the expression of the Christian faith, expectations are placed on us to somehow separate that personal faith from personal activity.   That is wrong.  Personal faith, if it is being lived our correctly, will produce personal character that is consistent with the nature of Jesus Christ in us.  The challenge is to make sure that our lives are lining up with who we say we are.   Being a Christian is more than just trying hard to be good, it's allowing the goodness of God to work through us to produce His fruit through us.  

Praise Can Set Us Free

Psalms 16 reminds us to lift up praises to God as we keep our hearts fixed on Him:
7I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.8I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.9Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope.

There's a great and beneficial challenge to us each day - to keep the Lord before us.  I believe that involves placing the Word of God before our eyes as well as in our hearts.  It also involves living in a state of worship to Him, with our minds fixed upon Him, thinking about and perhaps even verbalizing about who He is and what He means to us.  It could mean saying a passage of Scripture out loud or even entering in to God's presence in song.  If we set the Lord before us, He will keep us secure and He will make our hearts glad because we have encountered Him.   How we need the presence of Christ!

Can our praises set us free?  I think so...look at the story of Paul and Silas in Acts 16, as they sang in the midnight hour - in prison:
25But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.26Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed.27And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself.28But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here."29Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.30And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"31So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household."

Paul and Silas experienced a physical release from captivity as the result of their praises.

So did a 9-year-old boy in Atlanta recently, whose love of gospel music, according to 11Alive.com, may have saved his life.

A man reportedly kidnapped then nine-year-old Willie Myrick from his southwest Atlanta driveway.  He allegedly drove the boy around for some time before dropping him off unharmed in East Point.

But Willie's actions during those terrifying three hours are inspiring people around the country. Willie says he sang the gospel song "Every Praise," which was recorded by Hezekiah Walker, until the man let him go.

Thursday evening, community leaders held a meeting in Willie's honor, celebrating his happy ending, but also telling other parents and children what to do if this happens to them.

In front of a crowded sanctuary at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, Willie recounted the moment he was freed from the car. Willie said while he was singing, the man kept cursing and telling him to shut up before eventually kicking him out.   Willie said that, ""He opened the door and threw me out...He told me not to tell anyone."

Willie certainly did not follow that instruction, he didn't keep it to himself - his story traveled fast and soon caught the ear of Walker, who is a Grammy Award-winning gospel singer.

Walker said, "It's just emotional to me because you never know who you're going to touch."   When he heard the story, Walker made the decision to fly from New York City to Atlanta to meet Willie.  He said, "I just wanted to hug him and tell him I love him."

Last week, the singer entered the sanctuary of Mt. Carmel Baptist Church to a standing ovation, grabbing Willie into a tight hug as tears streamed down the boy's face. Walker then led the church, and Willie, in singing "Every Praise," the song that may have saved the boy's life.

My goodness, what a horrific story, when you consider this young boy being driven around by a total stranger - but he kept singing.   He just kept singing...

God has ordained for us a powerful resource in good times and in bad - He desires for us to acknowledge His presence and worship Him.  Paul and Silas, as well as Willie, experienced a physical release, and I think their stories can help us to focus on God in adversity.  More often than not, we are not facing physical restraint, but we may need a lift of the soul.   Life will bring us a variety of emotional and spiritual forces that can weigh us down and hold us captive, but if we praise God and enter into His presence in worship, we can break free from what holds us down and restrains us.

In times of trouble, we recognize that God is an ever-present help.  And, we can be challenged to make prayer and/or praise the first thing we turn to, rather than a last resort.  We must reject the attitude that we will try to solve our problems first, and then turn to God.  He is more than just a safety valve - He desires to show Himself faithful, that He may be glorified.

One further word - I do want to commend Hezekiah Walker for travelling to Atlanta to meet Willie and stand with him.  He said, "you never know who you're going to touch."  That is so true about the things of God - if we are faithful and obedient to the Lord, perhaps He will use what we surrender to Him to touch the life of someone else.   In this case, it was the outgrowth of a creative talent; for you, it may be an encouraging word, or an act of service, or some other action - when we are in a position of being in proper alignment with Christ, we can be confident that He will work through us.   

By the way, Hezekiah Walker recorded a video in Birmingham last year for the song, "Every Praise."  It was filmed in Five Points South and featured a flash mob - it's certainly a jubilant celebration of worship to Him:

For the Beauty of the Earth

In Acts 17, Paul proclaimed to the men of Athens...
24God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.25Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.26And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,27so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;28for in Him we live and move and have our being...

We serve a mighty Creator who has made us in His image and has given us stewardship responsibilities, over ourselves and our spiritual lives, over our families, our resources, and a variety of other areas.   We also discover there is a stewardship responsibility over the...earth, the earth which He created, the earth that testifies to His greatness.  We can appreciate the beauty of His creation and look for opportunities in which we can be involved to honor Him by being responsible and respectful in how we interact with the environment, not in political extremism, but in practical application of our call to stewardship.

In Genesis 1, we see that humanity was given stewardship over the earth:
26Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."27So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

It is Earth Day - and today marks the 45th time that this occasion has been observed.   Kevin DeYoung writes on The Gospel Coalition website that the original Earth Day “capitalized on the emerging consciousness [in the wake of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring], channeling the energy of the anti-war protest movement and putting environmental concerns front and center.”

National Geographic states that the original Earth Day launched what has become the modern-day environmental movement.    And, even within evangelical Christianity, there is a range of ideas of what it looks like to be properly position with regard to the environment.   I think that we can be involved in responsible care for creation without worshipping it.   But, too often there are quotes about preserving the environment that undercut the value of humanity's ingenuity and creativity and lead to a mindset that man is at odds with the earth.

DeYoung writes that, "Too often a model is assumed where the earth is a healthy organism and humans are cancerous cells. All we do is pillage, pollute, and destroy. The world would be better off without us. Our goal then is to minimize our 'footprint' at all costs. All we do, it is implied, is consume the planet’s valuable resources."

He adds:

But the Bible also teaches that we are (sub)creators. We are capable of spilling 11 millions of gallons of oil off the coast of Alaska. But we are also capable of turning virtually worthless sand into silicon chips. We can create beauty as well as despoil it. We can actually make a harsh planet more inhabitable, more conducive for human flourishing. Would anyone but the most ardent environmentalists rather live on Earth now or 4000 years ago? By God’s grace, humans have learned to feed more people and help those people live longer, healthier, easier lives.

He says that, "we must resist the temptation to think of humans as intruders from another world wrecking carnage in a pristine environment. Instead we must see ourselves as stewards, called to subdue, enjoy, protect, use, develop, and make more humane God’s fallen creation," and concludes by saying that, "we want to think carefully about how we can use our hands to make the earth more hospitable for more people, so that we might enjoy the beauty, grandeur, creativity, and productivity of our Father’s world."

The commemoration of Earth Day can serve to remind us of our role as responsible Christians, who are called to be faithful stewards of what God has entrusted to us, and that includes care of the earth. A good word for today is "stewardship."   What has God given you to care for today?   Well, obviously we are to care for ourselves, as the temple of the Holy Spirit, and to not bring harm to ourselves physically, emotionally, or spiritually - we are to be good stewards of our hearts and not allow agents that would pollute our souls to enter in.   Likewise, there are pollutants in the physical realm - activities in which we participate, items that we consume, that do not contribute to good health and longevity of life.   

We have stewardship responsibilities in our homes - living as Godly examples to our children and teaching them Biblical principles.   And, we have stewardship in the church and the workplace.   We have possessions over which we have been granted stewardship as well, and we are called to earn, spend, save, and give our resources in a manner pleasing to God.    

And, Genesis 1 is clear that we have stewardship over the earth.   We can be stewards over creation and participate in activities that help us to appreciate what God has given to us.  We can find ways to interact with and appreciate the beauty of creation.   That may involve something simple like picking up litter and making sure we are not contributing to littering the environment.   We can look for outdoor activities in which we can be involved that can help us to see God's handiwork. 

Finally, we recognize that creation testifies to the existence of a Creator.   God has painted on a wondrous canvas before us and has demonstrated for us unbelievable beauty that did not happen by random chance occurrence.   The environment gives us an opportunity to point to the Designer, to think more deeply about the earth on which we've been placed, and to worship the One who has created it and continues to sustain it.  And, a discussion of design can help people discover the realities of our great Creator, who sent His Son so that we could experience Him firsthand, the One who can change a human heart and make a person a new creation in Christ Jesus.

The Answers in Genesis website says:

...a proper and balanced perspective on caring for the Earth and its inhabitants comes not from merely promoting “environmental awareness” but is only found within the Biblical framework, i.e. recognizing humans were created by a loving God and given the responsibility to rule over, subdue, and care for the rest of the Creation, once “very good,” but now suffering from the curse of sin.

We need to beware of the tendency to worship and serve created things, as can happen with some “Earth Day” activities. Instead we should give glory and honor to the Creator and return to the authority of His Word.

Heaven is For Real - and How to Get There

The Bible teaches clearly that there is a place where we will reside forever.   When our time on earth is over, we have much to look forward to, in the presence of Jesus for eternity.  Here is what 2nd Corinthians 5 says:
1For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.2For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven,3if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked.4For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.5Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

Throughout the book of Revelation, we see descriptions of this place where we will live with Jesus forever in the presence of God the Father.  Revelation 4 describes the throne of God and the scene of worship there. Chapters 21 and 22 address the new Jerusalem, the Holy City where we will reside for eternity.  And, the way to inherit the riches of heaven for eternity has been provided by Jesus - He said that He was preparing a place for us and that He was the way to the Father.  Our entrance to heaven is assured as we have believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ, who is risen from the dead, who will raised us up with Him and will take us to be with Him in eternity.

In John 14, during His final hours before His death, Jesus is teaching His disciples, and He comes to the topic of heaven:
1"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.2In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.4And where I go you know, and the way you know."5Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"6Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

There may be a bit more about heaven in the collective consciousness today, with the celebration of Jesus raising from the dead, the One who promised us a home in heaven.  And, after over $20 million at the box office, the movie, "Heaven is for Real," about a little boy who made some gigantic claims about visiting there, is a tool that can be used to stimulate discussion about our eternal destination and to share with people how they can actually get there.

We can study and be convinced of the reality of heaven based on the Scriptures, and we also know from the Bible how to get there.   And it's not from good works.

I don't know how serious the former mayor of New York City was when he made some spiritually-tinged comments the other day in announcing that he intends to spend $50 million of his personal fortune on gun control legislative action.  Here's what a Daily Caller report, quoting a New York Times story, says about Michael Bloomberg:

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Bloomberg plans to spend $50 million of his estimated $31 billion fortune this year to combat the National Rifle Association. Speaking of his advocacy of liberal causes like gun-control and preventing New Yorkers from enjoying “Big Gulp” sodas, Bloomberg told the Times, reportedly with a grin, “I am telling you if there is a God, when I get to heaven I’m not stopping to be interviewed.”

“I am heading straight in,” he went on. “I have earned my place in heaven. It’s not even close.”

It adds, "In pursuing his self-professed heavenly mission to fight gun rights, Bloomberg says he plans to be ruthless in opposing politicians who refuse to fall in line on the issue."


I don't know what Bloomberg's spiritual bent is, but these are certainly statements that contradict what the Bible says about getting to heaven, which is no laughing, or grinning, matter.   And, if he thinks that good works will get you there, then I might add that his administration's crusade to prevent schools from renting out their buildings to churches would count off on the heavenly scorecard.    By the way, his successor has been supportive of the churches, many of whom met in schools throughout the city yesterday, even though a court ruling had come down against them - the case has been appealed, so the order did not go into effect.

Back to the former mayor's comments...he says, "if there is a God."  Well, if you're not convinced about the reality of God's existence, then I don't see how you can expect to reside with Him in eternity.   He also says that he has earned his place in heaven, and it's "not even close".   This is indicative of a works-based view of heaven that rejects the work of Jesus at the cross, and emphasizes human effort - heaven becomes a reward for man's accomplishment, rather than what Jesus has accomplished for us.

So is heaven for real?  Absolutely.  The Bible clearly teaches that there is a place beyond the realm of this earth.  A place where we will be with Jesus for eternity.  Where we will receive glorified bodies and endure forever. A place where there is no more suffering or death, where tears are wiped away.  The wondrous experience of God's holy presence.  If we are convinced of the reality of Christ and have made Him our Lord and Savior, then we can believe what He has said about our eternal home.

But not everybody goes.  Because Jesus lives, we know that we can live with Him.  Because of the resurrection, which we have celebrated during this past weekend and should ideally celebrate on a consistent basis, we can be certain of that eternal reality.  But, He also said that He is the way, the truth, and the life. We can only come to the Father through Him.   The promise of eternity with Jesus is a provision of Jesus, and by accepting other ways to go to heaven, then we are contradicting His very words.

And, it's by faith, not works.   We cannot be caught up in the mentality of trying to work our way into heaven - sure our rewards in heaven will reflect the lives we have lived on earth, but our entrance is provided.  And, there will be an interview - Bloomberg will be numbered among them.   The question, essentially, is "what have you done with my Son?"   That's the question:  now, if we have accepted Christ, then we will produce fruit for His glory, but the fact remains that our salvation in Him is what qualifies us to get to heaven.  We must make sure that we have made that most important decision.   You can be sure of your eternal destiny - heaven is assured for the Christian.

Holy Week IV - Communion

As we consider the extent of what Jesus did for us in laying down His life, we recognize that we had an enormous sin problem, and that the condition of our heart was, as the Bible says in Jeremiah 17, "desperately wicked."   Romans 3 puts it this way:
10As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;11There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.12They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one."
The indictment doesn't stop there - Paul is reminding His readers of humanity's separation from God and our need for a Savior.   But he turns it around later in the chapter:21But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,22even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,24being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus...
We are all sinners in need of a Savior, but because of the incredible love of God, Jesus came to earth to be put to death, to purchase our redemption and to provide for our freedom from the power of sin.  The human condition defaults to depravity and desolation, but the condition can be changed as we accept the free gift of salvation in Christ Jesus - bless His holy name!
The time was drawing near for Jesus to be put to death, and He spent extended time teaching His disciples about the truths of the Kingdom, as we find in the book of John. He was about to become subservient to death so that He might be a worthy substitute for our sins. In John 13, verse 1, we read:
1Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
Another translation says that He showed them the "full extent of His love."

And, He gave a powerful illustration.  Not only had He shown through the evening meal that His body would be broken and His blood shed, but He also demonstrated the motivation - His love for fallen humanity.   Reading on, now:
3Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God,4rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.5After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.
Peter was, well, aghast, that Jesus had stooped to this level and to wash the feet of His followers.  But, it was done for a purpose:12So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you?13You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.14If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.15For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.16Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.
This began what we might call an extended Farewell Address, as Jesus demonstrated the love He had for those with Him and for all of us.  
I came across a story that could be a metaphor for the human condition that Jesus came to address.   It's from the TIME.com website, and it involves an island off Venice. To pay off its public debt and appease the European Union’s budgeting guidelines, Italy is auctioning the island, that just happens to be considered one of the most haunted places on earth!

The article asks the question, "Why should you be afraid of the deserted Venetian island of Poveglia?"

For starters, it is deserted. Even though it’s beautiful and incredibly close to Venice, one of the most fannypack and Segway-tour-filled cities in the world. Literally 10 minutes from Saint Marco Square.

Poveglia’s sordid history serves as a good explanation for why no one wants to go there. The 17-acre island became a dumping ground for Europeans dying of the plague. Things took a turn for the lighter in 1922 when a hospital for the elderly—thought to be a cover for mental institution—was opened.  There are rumors of cruelty and a crazed doctor.

Other fun facts: there’s a local saying that goes “When an evil man dies, he wakes up in Poveglia,” there are rumors that the soil is made 50% out of human ash.
This story drew my attention, because it could provides an illustration of the human condition and the depravity of our hearts.  Because of sin, we are destined for desolation.  This weird island is being offered up for sale, even though it has seemingly little value, but the right developer with the wherewithal to restore the enclave could be successful - or not.   One thing we can be sure of:  Jesus came to lay down His life so that He might restore us, that He would pay a price to bring us back from the death that we were destined to inherit, the hell that we deserved.  He has purchased us out of His great love, and He cleanses our hearts and brings hope for eternity.
I want you to think about the "full extent of His love".  Think about the cup that He took, representing His blood shed, the suffering He endured, so that we could know His forgiveness.   Think about the bread, representing His body, broken for you and me.   And, think about the humble Savior who loved His disciples so much and knelt down to wash their feet - He submitted to suffering, shame, and death so that you might come to know Him.   He endured it all, He paid the ultimate price, so that you and I, in our desolation and rebellion, could have a relationship with Almighty God.  What amazing love!