Discern

In 1st Samuel 15, we see an instance where the prophet Samuel chastised King Saul, who had been
disobedient in his dealings with a conquered people. We read:
22 So Samuel said: "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king."

Saul had chosen to disobey, and in so doing, had participated in a practice that was likened to "the sin of witchcraft."  Disobedience puts us on the wrong side, the opposite side, from Almighty God.  The devil tempts us to sin, and if we give in, then we have placed ourselves at odds with God, until we confess our sins and repent.  The devil roams the earth, we are told, and he is bent on destruction - we have to be aware of his schemes to dupe us and to weaken our walk with God.   If we honor the Lord and resist the devil, we can experience the right relationship Jesus came to bring us.

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In Deuteronomy 18, we can see a passage that highlights how we, as followers of the Lord, are to
turn aside from religious or superstitious practices that are contrary to Scripture:
10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer,
11 or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
12 For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you.

Welcome to Halloween - the amalgamation of Christian and pagan traditions.  It's been characterized as a "high holy day," on the Satanic calendar, yet the name means "All Hallow's Eve," the day before the Christian celebration of All Saints Day, which, according to a piece by Travis Allen on the Grace to You website, was a remembrance of church martyrs.   In fact, Allen quoted from another version of that Scripture passage in his article.

Allen points out that as Christianity spread throughout Europe, it collided with some pagan practices, one of which was the Samhain (pronounced "sow" "en") festival which was commemorated around the end of October/first of November period.  The Celts, who resided in Great Britain and other areas of Europe, believed the curtain dividing the living and the dead lifted during Samhain to allow the spirits of the dead to walk among the living—ghosts haunting the earth.

He writes:

Some embraced the season of haunting by engaging in occult practices such as divination and communication with the dead. They sought "divine" spirits (demons) and the spirits of their ancestors regarding weather forecasts for the coming year, crop expectations, and even romantic prospects. Bobbing for apples was one practice the pagans used to divine the spiritual world's "blessings" on a couple's romance.

For others the focus on death, occultism, divination, and the thought of spirits returning to haunt the living, fueled ignorant superstitions and fears. They believed spirits were earthbound until they received a proper sendoff with treats—possessions, wealth, food, and drink. Spirits who were not suitably "treated" would "trick" those who had neglected them. The fear of haunting only multiplied if that spirit had been offended during its natural lifetime.

Trick-bent spirits were believed to assume grotesque appearances. Some traditions developed, which believed wearing a costume to look like a spirit would fool the wandering spirits. Others believed the spirits could be warded off by carving a grotesque face into a gourd or root vegetable (the Scottish used turnips) and setting a candle inside it—the jack-o-lantern.

Pope Gregory IV actually moved the celebration of All Saints Day to November 1 to counter these pagan practices. Samhein and All Hallows Eve actually mixed together - as Allen writes, "On the one hand, pagan superstitions gave way to 'Christianized' superstitions and provided more fodder for fear. People began to understand that the pagan ancestral spirits were demons and the diviners were practicing witchcraft and necromancy. On the other hand, the festival time provided greater opportunity for revelry.

So, there will be debate about whether or not Halloween is a pagan holiday that has been Christianized or a Christian holiday that has been secularized.  Nevertheless, understanding the origins of Halloween can shape the approach to how our families can celebrate it.

This so-called "holiday" (which it's not - if you're employed, did you work today?) can give us the opportunity to consider and even discuss the topic of spiritual warfare.  And, even though there's an organization called the Satanic Temple that claims not to worship Satan, we can acknowledge that there is a real devil who has a plan for your life.

Perhaps you've heard of the after-school clubs planned by this Satanic Temple group.  According to the Marietta Daily Journal out of the Atlanta area:

The Salem, Massachusetts-based Satanic Temple, which formed in 2012, is a political group known for attracting headlines for its efforts to get public agencies to adhere to the separation of church and state and equal treatment of all religions, such as trying to install a satanic statue at the Oklahoma Statehouse, reciting a satanic prayer at a Florida city council meeting and performing a ceremony at the gravesite of the mother of the Westboro Baptist Church’s founder.

On Aug. 1, The Satanic Temple announced its intention of opening nine After School Satan Clubs at elementary schools across the nation, including a program at Still Elementary in Powder Springs.

So, plan A seems to be that a school reject the Temple's application as an approved club, but also reject all religious-oriented clubs.  That's based on comments by the head of the organization's Atlanta chapter.  Apparently, the Temple doesn't "worship" Satan, but it "views Satan as a literary symbol of man’s enlightenment," according to its representative. According to the article, he says that "including Satan in the after-school program’s name is a tactic his group uses to attract attention in a way a 'humanist-secular alliance' would not."

The Temple doesn't worship the devil, but it certainly is allied with him.  And, that is a good lesson for all of us on this Halloween.  We may say we reject the devil, but when we succomb to or participate in the activities he wishes for us, then we are acting as a ally in those areas.   If we glorify evil, and even Christian believers must guard against it, we are furthering the devil's work.

We may say that we do not worship the devil...but, if we are not careful, we will become his servants and even his victims.  He is the one who brings temptation into our lives, and we have the choice - to yield to it, or to stand strong in the power of the Spirit. We have to recognize when we are being tempted and rely on the power of Almighty God.

And, there are those who deny the devil's existence or make light of or soft-sell his operation - this is dangerous and imperils the hearts and minds of those who would not be wary of his schemes.  For the believer in Christ, we are instructed to resist him, and he will flee.

Playing the Role

Our God is at work, moving in a profound manner according to His plan, orchestrating events in
order to bring glory to His name. Psalm 115 says:
1 Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your mercy, Because of Your truth.
2 Why should the Gentiles say, "So where is their God?"
3 But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.

If we regard the world as a stage, we are the actors, selected carefully for our various roles, under the guidance of the most skilled director of all.  Yes, indeed, we recognize the sovereignty of God and how He will move us strategically in order to bring glory to His name, to accomplish His purposes. We can even stop and think, wherever we are, "why I am here?"  In the macro sense, we're on this earth because God has declared it to be so, for a purpose.  In the micro sense, we can look at the circumstances of life and see that God will use those occurrences to do His work in our lives and will perhaps use us in those occasions in order that His name may be exalted.

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In Romans 11, we can read a passage that reminds us about the supremacy of God and how He is
working according to His wisdom to accomplish His purposes:
33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
34 "For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?"
35 "Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?"
36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

Since I began to read stories of the faith perspective of actor David Oyelowo related to his role at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the movie, Selma, I have been impressed with how he apparently integrates his professed faith into his profession as an actor.  He and I spoke prior to the release of the movie, Captive, in which he depicted a man on the run, who had shot and killed four people and ended up in the apartment of an Atlanta single mom who was on her own personal spiritual journey.  Her character read Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life to his character.

Now, he's featured in another faith-affirming film called Queen of Katwe.  And, his selection of this type of a film is no accident.  He told the Relevant website:

I hope that when all is said and done with my career what will be said is not that I only did films of any certain kind, but the truth is that I do gravitate towards films that I personally would want to see, films that I hope have something to say and are meaningful. Those can be categorized as films that are redemptive, life-affirming and, of course, reflect my faith as a Christian and my place as a husband and a father.

He plays the role of Robert Katende, who works for a sports ministry in Uganda. Oyelowo says, "...his role he believed, his calling, is to give these kids hope, to give them self-esteem by giving them love and chess is one of the means by which he does that."

So, already, this is an occurrence in a movie where you have a main character whose faith is apparently shown in a positive light.  Oyelowo is convinced, apparently, that his presence on a movie set can give him the ability to inject his worldview into the telling of the story.  He tells Relevant, "I know for a fact if I, as a Christian actor, am part of either getting a film made or am part of the telling of a story, I can bring my perspective. I can bring my truth, which is that I live a life built on faith and the results of that are undeniably positive in my own life. Therefore, if I’m able to be on a set, if I’m able as a producer to be part of building the story, I’m going to bring my truth to how that story is told."

He told of a spontaneous prayer scene in Queen of Katwe.  David knew that the real-life Robert Katende prayed with his team prior to chess matches.  So, he suggested that the actors gather in prayer during a scene - and the scene made the movie!

He states, "I know that wouldn’t be in the film if I as a Christian weren’t there to basically exhort the virtues of my perspective and what I know to be true about the positive sides of my faith."

By the way, the cover of the next issue of Relevant is graced by actor Andrew Garfield, who stars in the new film directed by Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge.  Coming up on The Meeting House, my conversation with one of the producers of the film, which is really resonating in some elements of the faith community.

David Oyelewo - I would say that he has placed by God into films that reflect his beliefs.  His story can reinforce for us the notion of recognizing that God sovereignly injects people into certain circumstances for His intended purpose.  Our challenge is to recognize how He is leading and be willing to follow His direction - or determine that He has directed us, placed us, in a set of circumstances so that He might use us for His glory.

We can also consider, what story or Whose story are we telling?  Do we desire to be distinctive and to speak and act in accordance with God's truth, or do we just go along with the crowd?  We have to be careful that our lives are not just pasted into a template, but that we are actually helping to shape that template with life and truth.

David Oyelowo has an idea of the type of roles he will accept.  This is impressive, and can challenge us to pre-decide, ahead of time, about the standards on which we will insist - as individuals, for our families, and in the workplace.  There may be lines that you have drawn, convictions that you have developed consistent with a Christian worldview.  We can pray for the Lord to give us strength, and perhaps discover we have the strength to stand if we determine how we will act when faced with certain scenarios.  If we desire to stand on God's Word, I believe His Word, energized by the Spirit, can sustain us, even in those difficult moments.

Treats

God is calling each of us as His followers and His ambassadors to walk in the light of Christ.  In 1st John 1, we read:
5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

God directs us to follow the light of Christ - He is the light of the world, and He calls us to unite with Him in radiating that light.  We are called to not only walk free from the darkness that is so prevalent in this world, but to shine His powerful light into dark places, to expose darkness, and to dispel it. Our actions, based on God's truth, can be powerful tools that He can use to overcome darkness and invite people to walk in the light of Christ.

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Jesus said that He was the light of the world, and He also tells us that we are the light of the world -
we are to radiate His light into the dark places. In John 1, in a passage about Jesus, we read:
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

This coming Monday, the day known as Halloween will be celebrated once again - and it's become a retail treat, and pastors see it as an opportunity to share the gospel, according to a new LifeWay Research survey which was reported on by Christianity Today.

According to the National Retail Federation, almost seven out of 10 Americans plan to celebrate Halloween this year, The average American consumer will spend about $83 on candy, decorations, and other goodies. That’s up from $74 in 2015.

Last year, a LifeWay study showed that around 6 out of 10 Americans said Halloween “is all in good fun.” But 21% indicated skip Halloween altogether and 14% avoid its pagan elements. Among self-identified evangelicals, 28% said they would skip it entirely and 23% said they would skip the pagan elements.

According to the recent Christianity Today article, this year's survey, which was limited to pastors, showed that, among Protestant pastors, 67% encourage church members to invite friends and neighbors to a fall festival, trunk-or-treat, or judgment house.  Just over half - 52% - encourage members to befriend neighbors who trick-or-treat, and 26% encourage church members to hand out gospel tracts to trick-or-treaters.

Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research, is quoted as saying, “This is a time when your neighbors literally come to your doorstep,” adding, “Pastors don’t want their church members to waste that chance to make a connection or invite someone to church.”

So, one of the morals of the story, sort of speak, is don't waste an opportunity, or as it's been said, God doesn't waste anything.  If a popular celebration can be used as a Christ-centered outreach opportunity, then go for it.  That's not to say we should completely ignore the dark origins of the so-called "holiday." There are distinct and well-documented "pagan elements," as the CT story calls them, associated with Halloween.  And, I believe that is a factor for why churches and ministries are offering alternatives. You could say it's a simple case of light shining in the darkness.

There are some ideas that have been shared on the ChurchCentral.com website by Kris Eldridge, who is Community Outreach Pastor at Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell, GA.  Here is a summary of his suggestions from the article, 7 ways to be missional this Halloween:

One is pray.  He suggests, "Prayer-walk the neighborhood several days before Halloween. Pray that God would go before you and prepare the hearts of those you will meet." He encourages prayer during Halloween night.

Another is answer the door.   Eldridge writes, "Don’t be the house that turns out the lights and shuts the window blinds. Instead, be warm and inviting. "

Others include: visit every home that has a light on, go trick-or-treating with other neighbors, and give out the best candy.  He also suggests a "reverse trick-or-treat," going out and giving "treats" to the neighbors.  And, finally, he says to "Be creative" and to "Brainstorm creative ways to serve the parents."

I think that creativity can play a significant role in our effectiveness in reaching out.  We can pray for the God of creativity to give us ideas and the wisdom to carry them out.  That can apply to Halloween and other opportunities that we might have.

Change of Name, But Change of Gender?

God is the great Reconciler, mending what has been broken and transforming the human heart. In 2nd Corinthians 5, we can read:
20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.
21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Our Heavenly Father loves us so much, and He is drawing us into relationship with Himself.  He has created us, He has made each of us distinctive, and He wants to infuse His identity with our human personality, so that our saved selves, who are being sanctified, line up with His intentions for us.  We are in Christ, and we are called by His name; we have the incredible potential, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to bring honor to our Father by living out of the resources of the new creation.

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God is our Creator, the One who has made us and ordained our lives, Who wants to bring us into a knowledge of Him through Jesus Christ. In Isaiah 43, we read:
1 But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.

This weekend in south London, at the Oasis Church in Waterloo, a Baptist minister, Steve Chalke., will conduct a "name-changing" ceremony for a woman living as a man, according to a piece on the Christian Today website.  Not satisfied with the gender with which she was born, designed and ordained by God, she wants to "identify" as someone else.

The person now saying she is a man will be "prayed for by friends and by Chalke and he will be renamed before being presented with a Bible with his new name written in it."  The BBC has taken an interest and will film the occasion.

Pastor Chalke said that the person is "a totally committed Christian – a fantastic guy. He's the kind of person you'd die for being in your church. There are some people that are there on a Sunday and there are some people that are really there. They are committed to God's kingdom – they are committed for living out their life for Christ and he is one of those."

By the way, the church also hosted a baptism for a man who had declared that he would like to be a woman. This person was told by her parents, according to the article, that "she" was inter-sex at birth and they had to make a choice.

For the guardians of the LGBT agenda, who shout "I was born this way and cannot change" concerning their homosexuality, the transgender element says "I was (or may have been) born this way, but I can (or need to) change," insisting they were "assigned" a gender and can change - by whom?  By the doctor?  The medical staff?  The hospital?  The so-called "identity" doesn't line up with the biology - so was the Creator wrong?   So, let me get this straight - you can change your identity, but not your sexual orientation - sounds like duplicity in the camp.

So, if I'm following this correctly, you have people claiming to believe in God and follow Christ, yet they reject who God made them to be, right?   There are several principles that I want to highlight here.

One deals with biology.  Biologically, you were born with a certain gender.  The Bible says in Psalm 139 that you were fearfully and wonderfully made.  This is a fixed element.

Another area concerns capacity.  You were wired by God with certain characteristics, genetically speaking.  He has a plan for your life.  Now, a number of factors, including the environment in which we are raised and the choices we make for ourselves, will no doubt shape how our lives turn out. But, I believe there are certain mental, emotional, and psychological elements that are there from birth.

We were also born, like all humans, with a capacity to sin.  There are even tendencies, I believe, that are inherited and passed down generation to generation.  Now, we can realistically talk about the concept of change.  While you don't change your biology and you can accept there are certain personality traits that have the potential to be developed, your spiritual identity certainly can change.

Because, when we come into a relationship with Christ, change occurs.  Real, transformational change - not the product of human manufacturing or manipulation, but the work of the Spirit to make us more into whom God has created us to be.  And, we are described in new ways - I have heard something like this said:  we are no longer called "sinners," who are trying to become saints, but "saints" who sin.  We are no longer "unrighteous," but the "righteousness of God in Christ."  We have embraced the name above all names, Jesus, and He has called us by name.  Man tries to manufacture change, but God is the One who can truly transform.

Series Setup

In the midst of our suffering, we can press into and rely on the grace of God, humbling ourselves before the Lord so that we might experience His strength. James 4 says this:
6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

In our crisis moments, we can motivated to turn to the Lord.  Even though there may be a human tendency to try to work things out ourselves, it is He Who is calling us to seek His face, so that we might experience what He wants to do in our lives even in our hardship.  He will give us the proper attitude toward our trial, and the strength to withstand.  Our goal should not be to have the difficulty removed, but to allow the Holy Spirit to do His lasting, inward work in the midst of it.  And, through it all, we can depend on the Lord to give us joy.

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The apostle Paul is a great example for us about someone who persecuted the early Church in
arrogance, but following his conversion, ministered with humility. Here is a passage from Acts 20:
18 And when they had come to him, he said to them: "You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you,
19 serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews;
20 how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house,
21 testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, you've heard the numbers. The Cleveland Indians last won a World Series in 1948 during the Truman administration.  That's according to USA Today, which reports that the Chicago Cubs last won in 1908, when Teddy Roosevelt was the President.  They haven't even been there since 1945.

So, when the World Series gets underway tonight in Cleveland, there will be plenty of excitement, as the longsuffering Cleveland sports fans have a chance for the second championship in the past year, following after the NBA's Cavaliers.  The Cubs, with an incredible fan base and venerable Wrigley Field, are attempting to win it all after having the regular season's best record.

More numbers relative to tonight: #8 and #20.  Two players to watch; one from each team.

8 would be Chris Coghlan, 2009 National League Rookie of the Year.  A CNSNews.com profile, referencing the website, TheIncrease.com, relates a crisis moment in Chris' life. When he was 15, Coghlan, who is now 31, came home and learned that his father, a Maryland police officer, had been killed in an accident. Coghlan told The Increase: “I was crushed,” adding, “I didn’t even know who God was, really, but I was mad at Him. I was thinking, ‘Why would you take the most important person in my life away from me?’”

He turned to baseball and signed with the Florida Marlins, where he met Darren Roberts. Coghlan relates: “He walked me through the scriptures...I remember him sharing Ephesians 2:8: ‘For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God, not by works so no one can boast.’ I realized there was nothing I could do to earn my salvation - that it was only through the grace of God.”

This year, according to CNS News, Coghlan and his wife Corrie adopted a boy, Judge.  Chris says, “Because of the circumstance and what God has allowed me to see an ego through...my heart is for kids who don’t have an earthly father.”

Rajai Davis wears #20 for Cleveland.  He was the 1,134th player selected in the 2001 Major League Baseball draft, by Pittsburgh in the 38th round, according to a story on the Beyond the Ultimate website, which related that things were tough for Davis as a pro, which led him to turn to God.

He says that growing up in Connecticut, “My mom took me to church, her parents went to church, adding, “Going to church was something that we all did, it was tradition." He went on to say: “In 2002, I got to my brink. I wasn’t playing, I wasn’t on the track that I wanted to be on, so I started reading the Bible in the morning time, I prayed before I’d get up to bat, I’d read the [Bible] at night.”

Change began to occur as study of the Word became part of Rajai's daily life.  He says,

"It became something that I looked forward to doing,” adding, “I would gain strength in just listening to the Word, and then I would apply that word to the field, and I would believe that God was going to work through me.”

Davis attempts to stay grounded in his approach to major league baseball. He is quoted as saying,
“It’s difficult because your ego tends to get in the way...What I do is I try to surround myself with the right people so that they might influence my spirituality more than my faults, my failures.” One of those "right" people is Torii Hunter, who encouraged him during his time with the Detroit Tigers.

So, there you have it - Coghlan and Davis; two guys who possess faith in Christ who will be in the World Series, which begins tonight. I think there are a couple of takeaways from their stories:

The first is so very important, even for us today. Perhaps your testimony includes your discovery of God's love in the midst of a crisis moment, and that crisis led you to pursue a walk with Christ. A crisis can lead to salvation, and for those who are saved, crisis moments can provide us with an opportunity to turn to God. Troubles can help us to experience God's strength; so when there is a trial, we can seek the Lord and allow Him to perfect His work in our hearts.

I think something else that can be instructive for us is the concept of humility. When you perform at a high level as a professional athlete, no doubt ego can become a strong factor. I would say that Chris Coghlan put aside ego and devoted himself to helping children without fathers, even to the extent of adopting a child. Rajai Davis experienced the temptation of ego getting in the way, so he turned to people who could keep him grounded. Staying humble involves taking our eyes off ourselves and placing them on the Lord and what He would have us to do.

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In 1st Thessalonians 4, we see a template for a life that pleases God, one that impacts others and
communicates hope:
(10) But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more;
11 that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you,
12 that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.
13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.

God is calling us to build our lives on His strong foundation, and upon Him, in the strength of Christ, we can experience rest.  We can, as the Scripture teaches, lead a "quiet" life, not a life of silence, but a life that is characterized by the peace of God, demonstrating a reliance on Him, not a restless life that reflects instability, but a restful life that reflects an unshakeable hope in Christ.  Under the control of the Holy Spirit, we can be confident that He holds us.

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We have to be so careful that we are building our lives on a strong foundation, the foundation of
Christ. 1st Corinthians 3 says:
11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
13 each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is.

There's a popular Christian song from MercyMe that features the songwriter or the singer reflecting on what he would say to his younger self.  Bart Millard, lead singer of the band, said this in an interview with Guideposts:

I started thinking, If I could sit with the 8 year-old version of myself, what would I say to him? It was one of the hardest songs I’ve ever had to write. A lot of people carry those issues with them, they carry that guilt and shame around their neck like it’s part of them. That one is particularly special because of the response that we’ve had. I’ve gotten emails from people saying, "This has broken me free of something that I’ve carried a long time," so, that’s really cool.

He referred to grief counseling he and his wife had gone through after the death of her brother over a decade ago, as well as the damage done by his own abusive father.  The song says:

Dear younger meI cannot decideDo I give some speech about how to get the most out of your lifeOr do I go deepAnd try to changeThe choices that you'll make cuz they're choices that made me

If you are an adult now, so what were you like at 16 or 17 years old?  And, what would you tell your "younger self?"

I came face to face with that "younger me" recently as my wife and I attended my 40-year high school reunion.  I mastered the art of smiling and looking into faces, while cross-referencing the face I saw with the senior portrait that was reflected on the name tag.  You see, when I was that age, really my senior year in high school, I had only really begun a spiritual journey - even though I was raised in a Christian home and accepted Christ at a relatively young age, I really never got what church attendance or the Christian life was all about, but I began a search during my senior year in high school.

I wonder how many of the people in that room were really satisfied with the trajectory of their lives. I wouldn't be surprised at the number of people who might say that life doesn't always work out the way that you plan.  And, sometimes that's good!

I had one conversation I had that night with two other guys who were just some of those in my class who had ended up in ministry.  That can remind all of us that we might make our plans, but when God intervenes and His power is released in our lives, He will do incredible things in our lives.  And, even though I remember very few God-conversations during most of my high school years, now taking stock of that class, it is interesting to see how He showed up in a significant number of lives.

And, I'm one of them - and I might tell that "younger me" to look for God's hand, to be an outspoken disciple of Christ, and to expect incredible things when God shows up in your life.

A few other random thoughts:

For one thing, you never know how you are going to be remembered, but we can each be challenged to live your life in order that you would be remembered well.  This doesn't mean to be "people pleasers," but to live for Christ.   It is certainly interesting what people remember about you, and we are each building a reputation. Even today, we can be challenged to build well on a strong Christian foundation.

And, I think that we can also cherish lifelong friendships that we have.  Up until a few years ago, I have lost touch with a number of those that I hung out with 40 years ago.  Fortunately, through Facebook, I have been able to keep up with some of those people, and there was a greater sense of connection this year at the reunion because of it.  I had a conversation with someone who had encountered some difficult times in his life and he related to me about how he was grateful for those lifelong friends, those who can walk with you in your darkest moments.

In that setting, you can relish the fond memories that you have shared together and really be thankful.  I was even blessed to have some conversations with some people whose lives that I impacted, that I really didn't realize, which can be deeply gratifying.  Sometimes, you really never know how the way you live your life can affect someone else.

Bart Millard sings:

If I knew then what I know now
Condemnation would've had no power
My joy my pain would've never been my worth
If I knew then what I know now
Would've not been hard to figure out
What I would've changed if I had heard

So, what would I tell myself 40 years ago?  It's a relevant message for today - be faithful.  God's got this. With all the struggles of high school and college, many of which will shape our adult lives, I think a greater reliance on God and realization of our identity in Him can certainly get our lives headed in the right direction, His direction.  And, even when we stumble - and we all will - we can find the course on which He wants to place us.


Dear Younger Me
Songwriters: Barry Graul / Bart Millard / Ben Glover / David Arthur Garcia / Mike Scheuchzer / Nathan Cochran / Robby Shaffer
Dear Younger Me lyrics © Music Services, Inc

from Google search

Not Finished

We have been re-created, regenerated in the image of Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit - we are new and we are free! 2nd Corinthians 5 says:

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

As new creations of the Lord, we have a responsibility to live in the power of that reality:
20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.
21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Jesus became sin for us - He became our substitute on the cross.  We could not save ourselves and could not pay the penalty for our sins.  We deserve eternal punishment and separation from God because of our sin, but Jesus took that punishment and brought us near to our Heavenly Father by His death, burial, and resurrection.  And, each day, the challenge is to live in the power of the new creation rather than in the insufficiency of the flesh.

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Romans 6 reminds us of the significance of our salvation experience and that we are new people in
Christ:
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

The legendary country music singer took the stage, accompanied by his wife.  Well-wishers had celebrated his induction to the Country Music Hall of Fame, singing songs such as "Forever and Ever, Amen" and "Three Wooden Crosses."  Finally, it was the star's turn to take the stage.

And, there he was, with his wife, Mary, helping him take the steps to the stage.  According to a report on People.com, she..."encapsulated her husband’s lengthy career as one that would 'change the face and the fate of country music.' She shared about his five months in the hospital in 2013, facing double pneumonia, collapsed lungs, comas, brain surgeries, transfusions, tracheotomies.  The article says that he faced a massive stroke three years ago.

Mary went on to say her husband "...stared death in the face, but death blinked,” adding, “Today God’s proof of a miracle stands before you.”  Then she talked about how she and her husband still sing to each other every day.

The People narrative continued with Mary saying:

"It’s a special thing to hear Randy Travis sing, I think – don’t you agree?” The audience greeted her words with bittersweet applause, hardly anticipating what she would say next: “Ladies and gentlemen, heroes and friends, today I want to give back to you the voice of Randy Travis.”

An audible gasp filled the room as Travis moved toward the microphone with a broad smile, and he began to sing. Brooks, still on stage, steadied himself and tipped back his head, surely to keep tears from rolling down his cheeks.

The lyrics weren’t crisp. The melody was unsteady. But the sound was clearly, unmistakably Randy Travis. When he finished the final note, one more precious time, a deafening ovation greeted one of country music’s greatest voices.

The song: "Amazing Grace."

It has been a tough life for this country music legend.  A CBN.com interview from many years ago documented his rough life that was punctuated by alcohol and drugs.  He began to read the Bible, and 10 years after that, he "surrendered his life to the Lord" and was baptized.  He did ministry in churches and was even featured in several Christian films.

But, things really began to unravel after his divorce in 2010.  A timeline on the E! Online website documents the tragic tale.  He was arrested for public intoxication in 2012 - in front of a church.  He was sued by his ex-wife, who was also his manager for a number of years, for breaching their management contract.  He wrecked his car, was arrested for DWI and making threats against the arresting officers - and was found to have no clothes on.  Two weeks later, he was cited for simple assault after a fight.

In early 2013, he plead guilty to the DWI charge in the arrest that occurred following the wreck. Among other things, he was sentenced to two years probation, and was ordered to spend 30 days at a treatment facility.  About 5-1/2 months later, he was hospitalized.

Also inducted to the Hall of Fame were Fred Foster and Charlie Daniels, who had invited Travis to join him onstage at the CMA Music Festival this summer, according to Rare Country, which quotes Daniels as saying:

“That meant a lot to him, but I felt bad for him when you stop and think about what a great artist this is and how this sickness has robbed him of his mobility and his voice. I pray for Randy every day. What a wonderful miracle it would be for him to come back and sing and praise the Lord on his guitar. I’m sure he would.”

So, there is the rise and fall of Randy Travis - but apparently, even though he has stumbled, badly, But, even through it all, I know that God is not finished with him.  How can I be so sure?  He's still here on this earth.  And, that's our story, too - we've been brought into a relationship with Christ and bought for a purpose, so that our souls might be save and so that we might testify to God's greatness!

And our human story is not a perfect story, but the good news is that it has been intersected with a perfect God.  That's really the story communicated through Amazing Grace - Jesus came to save sinners, or, as the author, John Newton wrote, a "wretch like me."  I don't know the state of Randy Travis' heart or relationship with God - I trust that He has repented of his sins, some of which were played out in a very public way, and recognized that God has given Him the gift of life, a life that could have ended within the past three years.

But, again, that's not so much different than our stories.

We will stumble, we may even fall.  But, the key for us is what we do after the sin.  Through Jesus and His "amazing grace," we can get back up again.  By asking for and receiving His forgiveness, we can do better, we can experience the power of God to overcome the power of sin.  The Travis story is certainly a cautionary tale about someone who reverted to old sin patterns, and we can be reminded those old patterns - the old man, or old self - are powerful.  But, we have the capability to walk in the new man, the new creation, and experience newness of life.

What To Take into the Voting Booth

From Psalm 47, we can be encouraged by recognizing the supreme hand of God and His ascendancy above all the nations:
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding.
8 God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne.

We can be in awe over those words - and we can take comfort in them.  Even in the midst of a contentious and troublesome election season, we can gain the clarity of the Scriptures.  Ultimately, we need to focus or re-focus on God's plans for the earth and for America.  We have a part in that plan - and the clarity we derive from the Scriptures can help us in confusing times.  No matter who sits in the White House, we recognize Who sits on the throne, and we are called to be His followers, His disciples, looking to grow each and every day and to do what He has called.

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We serve a great and mighty God, and every knee will ultimately bow to the name of Jesus, which is above all names.  We can be confident that, even though there is a tendency of some to worry about
political matters, He is the One who is supreme and sovereign. Daniel 2 says:
20 Daniel answered and said: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His.
21 And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.
22 He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him.

One of the subsets of the current election season is now over, and that is the series of debates between the two major-party candidates.  Last night in Las Vegas, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump debated a variety of issues, including economic and foreign policy, as well as the opening salvo on the Supreme Court.  That portion of the discussion ended up centering on the abortion issue, with Clinton continuing to state her unwavering support for Roe v. Wade, and Trump taking her to task for support of partial-birth abortion.

Well, there's something very telling about the importance of the Supreme Court in this election to evangelical voters, and it comes from a LifeWay Research survey.  The results were analyzed in a recent Christianity Today story.

Here is a paragraph from that story:

For Americans with evangelical beliefs, a candidate’s ability to improve the economy matters most, followed by national security and personal character. For self-identified Christians who go to church at least once a month, the economy, national security, and personal character top their concerns. In both groups, few prioritize Supreme Court nominees, religious freedom, immigration, or abortion.

Drilling down, 26 percent of evangelicals say that improving the economy is the most important characteristic of a candidate, followed by 22 percent who said national security.  Notice I haven't said Supreme Court or abortion yet - third, it's personal character, at 15%.  Then, you have Supreme Court nominees at 10%.

Only 7 percent of evangelicals in this survey said that religious freedom is the most important determinant, and 4% said that abortion was.

All in all, 45% of people in the survey with evangelical beliefs said they would support Trump, with 31% for Clinton.  The story also says:

White Americans with evangelical beliefs favor Trump (65%) over Clinton (10%). Those with evangelical beliefs who are African American, Hispanic American, or Asian American vote virtually the opposite, favoring Clinton (62%) over Trump (15%).

LifeWay executive director Scott McConnell is quoted as saying: "This group of Christians shares the same core beliefs, but they don’t vote the same way,” adding, “There are significant cultural and political divides among evangelicals that will remain long after the election is over.”

And, to reinforce the point that emerges from the data on specific issues or characteristics, he says: “For churchgoers and those with evangelical beliefs, their pocketbook and personal safety are paramount,” adding, “Moral issues aren’t a priority for many of them.”

So, just over 20% of those surveyed who have evangelical beliefs say that the Supreme Court, religious freedom, and abortion combined are the dominant issues in their decision making. Economic and physical security win the day.  

The conventional wisdom that people of faith are motivated largely by the social issues is challenged by these survey results.

Interestingly enough, in the last WORLD Magazine evangelical insiders' survey of leaders, the top 3 issues were: abortion, domestic religious freedom, and the Supreme Court, in that order.  In that survey, respondents were asked to list their own top 3 issues.  Trump had almost 44% of those leaders, with Clinton at just under 7%, even with Evan McMullin and behind an unspecified write-in candidate and Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse.

Election Day is less than three weeks away, and the voter registration deadline in Alabama is this Monday, October 24.  I want to challenge you on several areas as you prepare to vote:  the words are worship, worldview, and worry.

First of all, I believe that voting, at the risk of sounding overly spiritual, but I believe it - voting is an act of worship.  So, take that attitude with you as you go to vote.  We have the incredible right and opportunity to speak into our society and select the leaders who will govern us.  It matters to God, and it matters to our country.

Also, I challenge you to take your worldview into the voting booth.  Select candidates who best reflect your own Biblical perspective.  Determine the issues that are important to you, consistent with that worldview, and allow the Holy Spirit to direct your choice.  But, you need to be, as I say often, prayerful and informed.  You need the information, good information, so that you can make that choice about the candidate who lines up the best with those Biblically-informed issues.

Finally, there's something not to take into the voting booth - worry.  Do not worry about the outcome. I will speak more to this in the coming days.  We recognize the sovereignty of God, and He will work through whatever leaders are placed in the position.  A President or other lawmaker may have an adverse view or set of views on issues we hold dear and champion policies that we find offensive, but even in the midst of adversity, we can continue to trust in Almighty God to work His purposes.  

Who Are You?

You are a unique creation of God, endowed with incredible worth.  In Psalm 139, the Psalmist writes:
13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.

There is only one "you."  You are absolutely one-of-a-kind.  You have certain personality traits, as well as physical attributes, that God wants to use for His glory.  Now, there are some negative traits that He wants to refine or prune so that you will reflect the likeness of Jesus in you, and there are positives that He wants to grow.  All in all, as a child of God and a servant of Jesus, He wants His identity to flow through your life, so that He can take your unique giftedness and bring glory to Himself.

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In Ephesians chapter 4, we see some elements of the sanctified life, a life in which we embrace our identity in Christ. We are told in verses 22 and following to...
(22) put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,
23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Christianity is certainly not immune from new "hot trends" that will arise from time to time.  Some of those can be beneficial, others can be outright dangerous.  It's important that when we see a new practice that is being embraced that we are discerning and hold up all things that purport to be Christian to the standards of Scripture.

So, when I see that something is perhaps "catching on" among Christians, it may bear a second look - or more, with a raised eyebrow, in some cases.  Such is the case with something I came across called the "enneagram."  Here's the down-low on it, according to a Christianity Today article from several years ago.  The author, Laura Ortberg Turner, writes, referring to a book called, The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective by Richard Rohr and Andreas Ebert:

If it sounds a little mystical at first, that’s because the roots of the Enneagram stretch back to the fourth century —or so authors Rohr and Ebert posit. Its exact origins are contested, but by many accounts, the idea of having nine types (“Enneagram” means “nine-pointed shape”) derives from Evagrius Ponticus’s eight deadly thoughts and the central thought he called “love of self.” Ponticus was a Christian monk and ascetic, a Roman citizen in the late 4th century who lived in a monastic community outside of Alexandria many years of his life.

During his tenure in Alexandria, Ponticus developed a list of deadly thoughts: vainglory, anger, greed, gluttony, sloth, sorrow, pride, and lust, to which he added “love of self” as the first thought of all. This list provided the blueprint for what were to become the Seven Deadly Sins of the Catholic Church, which Pope Gregory I would assemble from this list some 200 years later.

A recent Religion News Service article listed the 9 personality types:

One: The Perfectionist
Two: The Helper
Three: The Achiever
Four: The Individualist
Five: The Investigator
Six: The Loyalist
Seven: The Enthusiast
Eight: The Challenger
Nine: The Peacemaker

Turner goes on to say that:

The types all correspond with a specific need or temptation. The two, for example, has the need to be needed—they will make themselves indispensible to others and worry they are not valuable when they are unwanted. The eight has the need to oppose whatever threatens to control them or whatever forces of injustice they perceive. The three—my type—lives under the need to succeed. We are driven by a fear of being worthless, and so we will tap-dance our way through life in order to receive the accolades we so deeply desire.

The RNS story attempted to further the theory that this is something that is growing in practice.

There's a new book about the Enneagram, and one of the authors, Ian Morgan Cron, who is described as "an author, counselor, songwriter and Episcopal priest," who discovered it when he was in seminary, set it aside because someone likened it to a horoscope, and picked it back up again, said, "Now 20 years later, it’s fascinating to me even the (conservative) evangelicals are completely fine with it. … I have not received any pushback from anybody..."

Jarell Wilson, the church start resident at Urban Village Church in Chicago, sees the Enneagram’s popularity as part of a larger trend of Christians rediscovering ancient spiritual practices. He is quoted as saying, "I think there’s a tendency to want to go back to things that are deeper,” adding, "There’s a ton of Buzzfeed quizzes. There’s Myers-Briggs and all of this other kind of stuff. To connect to something that’s been working (for centuries) is just a little better. It feels more holistic. We’re connecting to other cultures, too.”

To me, this practice seems to have taken root in the more liberal elements of Christianity, who are also termed, "progressive," but Wilson, as well as Rich Havard, campus pastor of The Inclusive Collective at the University of Illinois at Chicago, believe that this practice could appeal to "progressives" and conservatives. It's “really popular” at Havard’s church, too, and the pastor related that an evangelical friend studied the Enneagram while working on a doctorate in ministry.

Skepticism?!  Absolutely.  Endorsement?  Not hardly.  But, this can lead to a discussion or examination of some of the basic tenets that you could associate with the Enneagram.

One positive here is the embrace of the concept of human sinfulness.  We live in an "anything goes" culture, so in our desire to experience the love of God and to "feel" loved, there are those that would have a diminished view of God's holiness and the necessity to live by His standards.  To be able to properly identify our sinful areas and take the necessary steps to ask for forgiveness and to repent are worthwhile pursuits in the Christian life.

There is also the notion of identifying elements of our personalities.  There are a number of personality type "tests" that are out there that can assist us in an improved life.  What is our personality type?  Well, we can know that  are wired in a certain way by our Creator, and God wants to infuse our personality with the identity of Christ.  If we take the time to scrutinize who we are, then we can take steps to maximize the positive traits, minimize the negative, and even turn, through the power of the Spirit, negative traits into positive outcomes.

Finally, a word about discernment.  It is critical that spiritual practices line up with Biblical instruction.  And, just because something claims to be "spiritual" doesn't mean it's Biblical.  We can train ourselves in the Scriptures so that we have that working knowledge of what lines up.  One further note - associations can be important.   If you have a collection of trusted Christian leaders and organizations that are endorsing or opposing a practice or product, that can be very helpful, as well.  I use associations as a leading determinant in choosing guests for the radio show here.  Fortunately, in partnership with the Holy Spirit, we can make wise choices that can enhance our spiritual growth.

Destroying Idols

From the belly of a great fish, the prophet Jonah, upon the return of his heart to obey the Lord, spoke these words, found in the book of Jonah, chapter 2:
7 "When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; And my prayer went up to You, Into Your holy temple.
8 "Those who regard worthless idols Forsake their own Mercy.
9 But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord."

In the 10 Commandments, we are charged with having no other gods before the one true God.   The children of Israel were warned against worshipping "graven images."  So, we have to consider what we are erecting in our lives that take the place of God - is it a physical possession, or ambition that is not anointed by God?  Have we allowed the strongholds of pride and pursuit of riches to replace the Lordship of Christ?  If an idol takes the place of God, I believe Scripture teaches that we are to take the necessary steps for its destruction.

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In 1st Corinthians 10, Paul outlines some of the shortcomings of the children of Israel; he describes
their behavior in this manner:
5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.
6 Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.
7 And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play."

He goes on to caution against sexual immorality, tempting Christ, and complaining.

An archaeological discovery in Israel is consistent with a Scripture about King Hezekiah and his destruction of the places where pagan gods were worshipped.  According to a report published at the ChristianHeadlines.com website:

CBN News reports that excavations in the Tel Lachish National Park in central Israel revealed a “gate-shrine,” dated to the period of the First Temple, about the eighth century B.C.

The story quotes excavation director Sa'ar Ganor, who said: "The size of the gate is consistent with the historical and archaeological knowledge we possess, whereby Lachish was a major city and the most important one after Jerusalem..."

The article quotes 2nd Kings 18:4, which says that Hezekiah "removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles."  According to the Scriptures, this occurred at the city gates, and indeed, there was evidence found of the destruction of pagan artifacts near the city “gate-shrine.”  This included horns on the pagan altar which had been “intentionally truncated.”

Ganor said, "That is probably evidence of the religious reform attributed to King Hezekiah, whereby religious worship was centralized in Jerusalem and the cultic high places that were built outside the capital were destroyed..."

The ChristianHeadlines.com story also said:

Archaeologists also found a type of latrine in the temple, apparently also meant to desecrate the pagan place of worship. Tests showed that the latrine had not been used, and was purely symbolic.

2nd Kings 10:27 referred to the sacred stone of Baal and temple of Baal being used for a latrine.

The CBN News story stated:

Israeli officials were excited about the discovery. Minister of Jerusalem and Heritage Ze'ev Elkin said the discovery is an example of how excavations "show us time and time again how biblical tales that are known to us become historical and archaeological stories."

And, that's the first takeaway I'd like to mention - it can reaffirm our faith when we hear of discoveries, whether they be archaeological or scientific, that reinforce the authenticity of the Bible.  These discoveries can not only inspire us, but can be a strong testimony to the world about the hand of God and the truth of the Scriptures.

Also, we can be inspired by the story of Hezekiah - we read in 2nd Kings 18: "He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan."

The headline at ChristianHeadlines.com says: "Israel: New Discovery Confirms King Hezekiah Really Did Destroy Idols."  So, what are the "idols" in our lives - what do we worship above the Lord?  Just as Hezekiah took the steps to destroy those false gods that the people of Israel had placed before the one true God, we can identify and eradicate those physical, as well as mental and spiritual idols that come between us and Him.   We can be challenged to commit to the Lord every area, every ideal, every possession that stands between us and wholehearted obedience to Him.

Being Brave

We are called to be people who endure, and God gives us the resources to persevere in Him. Hebrews 10 says this:
36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:
37 "For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry.
38 Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."
39 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

Opposition to our deeply-held beliefs, rooted in the Scriptures, can cause us to retreat, if we're not careful, and be less-than-bold in expressing our own convictions.  He does not want us to cower, but to be confident in the Lord.  He has provided the antidote to fear - He gives power over it, He has extended His love, that casts it out, and He wants us to think in accordance with the Scriptures.  2nd Timothy 1 says that He hasn't given us the spirit of fear, but we have power, love, and a sound mind. We can be brave in Christ because of these effective resources.

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God calls us to be brave in Him, and He equips us in order to walk in confidence in His abilities.
Joshua, as he was called to lead the people of Israel, was reminded of this; we read in Joshua 1:
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Brendan Eich could be considered to be a technological wizard. He created the tool known as JavaScript, and he is the co-founder of Mozilla, which developed the Firefox browser.  But, in 2014, he was forced out of the company he founded. Why? Maybe you remember this...because he had made a political donation - $1,000 - to support the marriage amendment in California defining marriage as one man and one woman.  Oh, and the amount doesn't matter - it could have been a dollar or a million - this man should not have lost his company because of his political views.

According to a piece on the LifeSiteNews website by Mark Hodges:

Eich was publicly shamed because he believed in natural marriage and family. He was openly called a racist, Nazi, and inhumane.

But the tenacious techie didn't give up. Without apology, Eich continued to innovate and ultimately came up with a whole new concept in web browsers: the ad-free, tracking-free, fast internet browser Brave.

In November 2015, Eich raised $2.5 million to create an advanced super-technical team. By August 2016, the company had raised $4.5 million in seed money to launch the browser.

Brave is called an entirely new way to browse the web without being intrusively tracked, and without time-consuming download ads.

Michael Brown writes for The Stream:

In reality, in all his years at Mozilla, no one had ever accused him of acting in a bigoted way, and the influential gay journalist Andrew Sullivan commented that “there is not a scintilla of evidence that he has ever discriminated against a single gay person at Mozilla” and so the whole episode “should disgust anyone interested in a tolerant and diverse society.”

Brown pointed to the millions that corporate leaders like Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Tim Cook of Apple have poured into promoting the homosexual agenda and discussed how Eich's donation was made in 2008, when President Obama, as a candidate, "unequivocally stated that, for him as a professing Christian, marriage was the sacred union of a man and woman, and he rejected gay marriage outright."

The LifeSiteNews piece states:

Because of Eich’s history, Brave was opposed before it was officially launched. Major media websites took legal action to stop it, sending a cease and desist letter, claiming Brave was illegal because it blocked advertisements.

Eich countered by saying that, "We do not tamper with any first-party publisher content, including native ads that do not use third-party tracking." Catherine Corre of Brave told LifeSiteNews, "Brendan picked the name 'Brave' because we need users who will take a stand and fight back," adding, "We see third party ads and tracking as toxic, and we block that by default."

I would say that the use of the name, Brave, is indicative of a demand by consumers for a better browsing experience, it is also ironic that it has been launched by someone who took a principled stand on a social issue and was ostracized for it.   Of course, who knows if it even occurred to him that he would receive so much flak for a political donation.

So a few thoughts on being "brave" today:

First of all, even for the believer in Christ, bravery may be counter-intuitive.  Bravery involves taking a bold step in the face of danger or opposition.  We may feel like we need to be comfortable and cower in fear, but we remember that God has not given us a spirit of fear, according to 2nd Timothy 1; rather, we are given power, love, and a sound mind.  Our minds will put up resistance - we will talk ourselves out of taking bold steps.  But, the Lord will give us the capacity to speak and act with bravery.

We also recognize that bravery may be counter-cultural.  What Brendan Eich experienced - losing a job because of a principled stand he took - is something that he shares with a number of people these days.  For Christians, we are living in a culture where the predominant wave is to accept a variety of forms of expression, without regard of right or wrong as defined by the Scriptures.

Finally, we acknowledge that God wants the very best for us, but sometimes we are fearful of stepping out; therefore, we can recognize that lack of bravery may be counter-productive.  We are not called to be people who hold back when God is calling us forward.  In some situations, the best course of action is to deal with issues head-on, relying on God's power.  But, if we give in to fear, we may not experience what God is wanting to do in and around us.

Making & Telling Stories

We have died with Christ, we no longer belong to ourselves, but our lives are surrendered to and
belong to Christ - we are His, and He expects us and equips us to live for Him. 2nd Timothy 2 says:
11 This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him.
12 If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us.
13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.

God is so faithful, and as we allow Christ to live His life through us, we can be confident that God is writing, expressing His amazing story through our lives.  And, as we have seen Him work, then we can tell others what He has done for us.  When we have seen His faithfulness, that can encourage us when we face difficulties, and we can be reminded that as we are humble and obedient, we can experience His hand upon our lives.

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The Bible teaches us that God has empowered us to be faithful witnesses to Him. You might say that He is expressing His story through our lives. 1st Corinthians 1 says:
4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus,
5 that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge,
6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you,
7 so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ...

I just received word yesterday about yet another movie that is doing some filming in the Birmingham area.  It's called, Run the Race, described as: "Against the backdrop of high school football and track, two brothers in a small Southern town face escalating problems with two different world views, straining - but ultimately strengthening - the bonds of brotherhood."  One of the executive producers is Robby Tebow, who has a rather famous brother.  According to the IMDB page for the film, it will star Francis Fisher, Mykelti Williamson, Kevin Wayne, Rob Moran, Jaci Velasquez, and...Eddie George.  Ken Carpenter (One Generation Away) is a producer and Chris Dowling (Where Hope Grows) is director.

That production in Birmingham follows on the heels of Let There Be Light, which Kevin Sorbo was filming back in the summer. And, of course, the Birmingham natives Jon and Andy Erwin have set their films in the Birmingham area, including their latest, Woodlawn.

According to a bio on the Bob Tebow Evangelistic Association website, Robby is the third child and oldest son in the family, a former regional director for FCA.  Meanwhile, what's Robby's little brother up to?  Well, Tim's playing for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League, and after his first game, he stuck around to do post-game interviews and sign autographs for fans, according to ABCNews.com. Tebow was notified about a man who had fallen sick in the stands. His name was Brandon Berry and was in the front row - he had "dropped to the ground as his mouth began to foam and his body convulsed in what was later determined to be a seizure."  The man then stopped shaking and went limp.

The story continues:

According to local ABC affiliate KNXV, the former NFL star turned baseball minor leaguer ran to the side of Berry, reached down, and placed a hand on the sick man as he bowed his head to say a prayer. Witnesses say seconds after he was touched by Tebow, Berry jolted up and gasped for air, coughing loudly.

Tebow stayed with the man until the EMT's arrived.  Tebow said: "You just remember what's important," adding, "Baseball's awesome it's something I'm so excited I get a chance to pursue, but what's important is lives matter, people matter. This young man, he mattered. So my first instinct was to just be with him, put my hands on him and pray for him." He went on to say: "We get caught up in so many different things, things that we're pursuing and we forget about what matters most is the people around us."

More celebrity news: actor Mark Wahlberg has recorded a video encouraging "vocations" to the priesthood.  In the video, which was shown at a conference in Boston, he said, according to the Boston Pilot: "I want you to know my support for your work to foster vocations to the priesthood, because I want my children and future generations to have good priests in their lives, just like I had." The actor says, "My Catholic faith is the anchor that supports everything I do in life. In my daily prayers, I ask for guidance, strength in my vocation as a husband and as a father."  The video has also been posted to Facebook.

The article notes that Wahlberg served as the emcee when Pope Francis came to Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families.

On Fridays, I want to focus in on famous people who are taking a moment to display or talk about their faith.  I have cited three instances who recognize their faith is part of their story.  And, you know, if you believe in Christ, your personal faith is a key element in your story.  God is making and telling His story through you, and He has given you that story as a witness to His work in your life. Jesus Christ has made you and is making you who you are, and we must recognize that He is sufficient and faithful, and has given us the unique gifts and abilities to make an impact for Him.

And, in the course of our lives, as God opens up doors, we can develop a sensitivity to go and do according to the will of God.  Tim Tebow had played a baseball game and a man fell ill - his first response: to be with him and pray for him.  Interestingly enough, that has made news.  Wahlberg was asked to testify about his own personal faith.  Robby Tebow has a chance to make a movie.  So, live the Christian life faithfully each day; and if we regard each day as a gift, we can have the expectancy that there just might be an opportunity for God to add another chapter to your extraordinary life.

Election Fatigue?

In Ephesians 5, we see a passage that can serve to remind us of our responsibility to shine Christ's
light and to address the darkness we encounter:
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),
10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.

This Scripture provides a clear contrast between light and darkness - if we are walking in the light, then we can know what is acceptable to the Lord; if we are seeking what pleases Him, that places us in the light.  We are called to renounce darkness - and the Bible presents clear definition of what that means.  Problem is, the lines have become blurred and behavior that has been deemed unacceptable is now acceptable.  We have to recognize the absolutes of the Scriptures and adhere to them.

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Paul related this strong word of exhortation to Timothy in the book of 2nd Timothy, chapter 4:
2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

Do you have election fatigue yet?  The hits just keep on coming this week, as Donald Trump wages war against the Republican Party, of whom he is the nominee, as well as his opponent, Hillary Clinton, who has been hit with a barrage of leaked e-mails from WikiLeaks about the inner workings of her campaign.  Some of the content includes disparaging comments about Catholics and evangelicals from people associated with the campaign, according to comments from Tony Perkins, of FRC Action, a partner of the Family Research Council

Trump, meanwhile, is facing the ire of many in the evangelical community, which has some prominent leaders who are walking a tightrobe by supporting the candidate, even though the leaked audio tape reflecting disgusting sexual language has presented a huge problem among evangelicals.

But, in a broader sense, even before the tape release last Friday, evangelical pastors had rather tepid support for the billionaire.

Christianity Today reported on a LifeWay Research poll taken August 22 - September 16, which showed that 44% of evangelical senior pastors remained undecided last month about which candidate to vote for. 38% indicated they would vote for Trump, with 9% planning to vote for Clinton. 4% favored Gary Johnson.

94% of those surveyed believe that voting is a Christian duty.

A new Barna Group poll offers some insight into support of the faith community.  In this poll, Trump leads Clinton among evangelicals - 55% to 2.  Among non-evangelical born again Christians, he leads 49-31%. Adults who claim to have a biblical worldview break 57 to 30% for Trump.   Granted, these stats are from mid-September and were announced this past Monday.

George Barna, founder of the organization who served as a special analyst on the project, said:

“Although Trump has a huge lead over Clinton among evangelicals, the most noteworthy finding in this regard is that more than four out of ten evangelicals currently refuse to vote for either of those two candidates. Nearly three out of ten are presently undecided, making them the largest block of undecided votes still up for grabs. One out of eight evangelicals plan to protest the quality of the major party candidates by voting for a third-party or independent candidate. This behavior by evangelicals is unique over the course of the last nine election cycles.”

He said that if the election were to be held today, the evangelical vote would be at least 20 percentage points lower than that of evangelicals for the Republican candidate in each of the last five elections.

How will Trump's lewd tapes affect the Christian vote? A survey released Tuesday by Public Religion Research Institute, which conducted a poll with The Atlantic Survey October 5-9 shows, according to Religion News Service shows that Trump's support "has eroded among female voters and most religious groups during the past week."

The story reports that "...white evangelical Protestants show no statistically significant change in their willingness to vote for Trump, with 65 percent of them in his camp."

It goes on to say: "That contrasts with white Catholics..., for example, who are defecting from the Republican presidential nominee. They went for Trump over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, 56 percent to 31 percent, in a survey concluded on Oct. 2. In this latest survey, white Catholics reversed themselves, favoring Clinton over Trump, 46 percent to 42 percent."

There is so much more to cover here about the Presidential campaign and the role of evangelicals. Just this week, two Christian publications have published strong editorials regarding opposition to Mr. Trump: Christianity Today and WORLD, which has called for Trump to withdraw from the race.

Noted Bible teacher Beth Moore issued four tweets earlier this week that appeared to address the unacceptable Trump comments. The content included:

"Try to absorb how acceptable the disesteem and objectifying of women has been when some Christian leaders don't think it's that big a deal."

That was followed by: "I'm one among many women sexually abused, misused, stared down, heckled, talked naughty to. Like we liked it. We didn't. We're tired of it."

Earlier today, Beth Moore went back to Twitter to make plain that she was not endorsing a candidate.

First tweet: "1/2 Be aware that almost every word out of a leader's mouth right now is being twisted, turned & taken out of context for political agendas.

The second: "2/2 My tweets on 10/9/16 had 1 purpose: to speak up for sexually abused women who feel voiceless. I do not endorse/support either candidate."

She added in another tweet: "My whole ministry life is serving Jesus thru serving women. To expect me not to speak up in their behalf is like expecting a dog not to bark"

I know, the question that many are struggling with is: is it right for a Christian condemn Trump's behavior and still vote for him?   In other words, does voting equate to endorsing personal behavior? And, evangelicals are all over the map on these issues.  At the minimum, this incident should remind us that a role of the Church is to maintain a bold witness about sexual immorality, because it is displeasing to God.  We should be very strong to condemn all forms of inappropriate words and actions and we should take every opportunity to reflect holiness in our own speech and behavior.

And, it's time, I think, for us to take stock of the role of the body of Christ in the world today.  I have heard it said that the reason that we have two unacceptable candidates to many Christians today is a result of the failure of the church to be a witness to the world.  Think about that - we are place here in a position to influence with truth and power, so when we see corruption and departure from Biblical ideals, perhaps we do need to look at ourselves and evaluate how compelling we have been in our witness.

One way we can do that, I believe, is to be involved in the political process - not looking to political leaders for our salvation, but to exert strong influence on decisions that affect the well-being of our society and the practice of our faith.

  

Life in a Sex-Saturated World

We have been redeemed through the blood of Jesus and by His life given for us.  As we identify with what He did for us, we release the resurrection power in and through our lives.  1st Corinthians chapter 6 says:
17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

We are reminded that the life to which God has called us and the values that we hold are vastly different than those who embrace the principles of this world.  We are called to purity, but the world is steeped in impurity.  That is why we have to carefully navigate, by the power and wisdom of the Spirit, how to navigate as citizens of heaven through the world in which we live.  We recognize that we are to be distinctive people, holding up a higher standard than the standards the world would set for us.

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In 1st Thessalonians 4, Scripture lays out for us how we are to walk in purity before God:
3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;
4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,
5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;
6 that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified.
7 For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.

By now, there has been plenty of discussion about two seminal events in the Presidential race - the 2005 tape of Donald Trump making lewd and unacceptable comments about women and the debate performance, in which he attempted to pivot from those words, even highlighting the behavior of his opponent's husband.  He has even issued an apology for the words which were spoken.

There has been attempt by Mr. Trump to dismiss this situation over a decade-old tape as just "locker room" conversation.  Honestly, when you look and/or listen to some of the comments of the demeanor of the candidate, this tape confirms behavior that is consistent with his personality.  As Mrs. Clinton pointed out, this is who he is.

Donald Trump's obnoxious comments represent a value system that he has held to for a majority of his adult life, but it's a system that is quite common in this world.  You have men who demonstrate a horrendous desire to view women as objects, but there are women use their appearance and action to lure or tantalize men.

We are in the midst of a sexual revolution, where we as a culture have developed an insensitivity to matters dealing with sexuality.  It is played out on television and movie screens, in books and pop music.  We are saturated with it.  And, we are reminded that Christians are called to be distinctive.

Perhaps you heard my conversation with Dr. Jim Denison the other day.  He has written the book, 7 Critical Issues.  As we talked, it occurred to me that five out of the seven issues deal in some way with a perversion of God's plan for sexuality - abortion, homosexuality, same-sex marriage, transgender bathrooms, and even religious freedom - all are representative of the harmful effects of the sexual revolution and the erosion of God's truth.  People of faith are routinely called out and ostracized because they hold to ethics that are contrary to what we find in the world.  The night before, John Stonestreet had referred to the by-products of the sexual revolution, where sex, marriage, and babies had been separated, leading to the rampant growth of these deviant ideas.

We recognize our obligation in the culture to speak about issues concerning purity, and that brings us back around to policy and our choice in the upcoming election.  Truth is, we as Christians should be outraged at Donald Trump's comments and the attitude that he has projected.  

But we are in this world, and we are called to elect leaders, some of whom may hold to a value system that differs from our own.  And, we grapple with what to do when there are two unacceptable candidates from which to choose.

I understand the dilemma that many are facing: evangelicals for Trump believe he best aligns with Biblical values, and recognize that he is a flawed individual, just like we all are.  Evangelicals against Trump believe that his value system is so much different than ours that they cannot in good conscience support him.  But, they will not support Clinton, either, due to her track record supporting abortion-on-demand, same-sex marriage, and other issues.  Plus, truthfulness could be a hindrance to supporting either person.

But, are the latest revelations on Trump a deal-breaker?

Franklin Graham is not endorsing a candidate, but he offered these comments on Facebook:

The crude comments made by Donald J. Trump more than 11 years ago cannot be defended. But the godless progressive agenda of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton likewise cannot be defended. I am not endorsing any candidates in this election. I have said it throughout this presidential campaign, and I will say it again—both candidates are flawed. The only hope for the United States is God. Our nation’s many sins have permeated our society, leading us to where we are today. But as Christians we can’t back down from our responsibility to remain engaged in the politics of our nation...

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, who has endorsed Trump, said, in a Facebook post:

As a husband and father of three daughters, I find Donald Trump's behavior deeply offensive and degrading. As I have made clear, my support for him in the general election was never based upon shared values, rather it was built upon shared concerns. These concerns include the damage the Supreme Court would continue to do to this country through the appointment of activist justices, concerns over the security of our nation because of our government's refusal to confront the growing threat of Islamic terrorism, and concerns over the prospects of continued attacks by our own government upon religious freedom.

Perkins said he refused to find "sanctuary on the sidelines."

Theologian Wayne Grudem of Phoenix Seminary, who had written a piece in favor of Trump is now reconsidering his position.  He wrote at Townhall.com:

There is no morally good presidential candidate in this election. I previously called Donald Trump a “good candidate with flaws” and a “flawed candidate” but I now regret that I did not more strongly condemn his moral character. I cannot commend Trump’s moral character, and I strongly urge him to withdraw from the election.

He also said that he would not vote for Clinton and hoped Trump would withdraw.

Ed Stetzer published some comments from one of the members of Mr. Trump's religious advisory council in a piece on the Christianity Today website.  James MacDonald wrote:

Mr. Trump's comments released yesterday—though 10 years ago (he was 60)—are not just sophomoric or locker room banter. They are truly the kind of misogynistic trash that reveals a man to be lecherous and worthless—not the guy who gets politely ignored, but the guy who gets a punch in the head from worthy men who hear him talk that way about women.

He continued:

If Mr. Trump isn’t seeking our counsel now— 1) to be repentant 2) on how to portray that repentance, then the idea of a faith council (which has deteriorated into influence brokering anyway) is really kind of a joke right? I have spent my life helping men get free from such disgusting commentary on women—even writing my doctoral dissertation on self-disclosure of sin among men. I cannot and will not offer help to a man who believes this kind of talk a minor error.

And, there is a report from Yahoo! News quoting Ben Carson, who said that Trump prayed with Christian leader James Robison prior to Sunday night's debate, and his prayers included asking for forgiveness.

But, the list of Republican office-holders and others affiliated with the party who have said they will either no longer endorse or not vote for Trump has grown over the past few days.

So, what shall we do?  Well, you could vote for no one or an alternative candidate.  That is a perfectly legitimate course of action for those who still desire to participate but are not comfortable in voting for either of the major-party candidates.  And, remember, down ballot races are very important, as Stonestreet discussed the other night.

We've covered policy and purity, but I want to discuss something else that concerns me, and that is the lack of civility during the entire episode - among Christians.

I am troubled by the negative comments on social media from one set of evangelicals - those who don't support Trump - toward those that do, and vice versa.  To question one's spirituality or commitment to Christ because of his or her views on political matters is toxic to the cause of Christianity.  Legitimate discussion is healthy, but potshots at other Christians that come across as holier-than-thou potshots are not. Respectful disagreement should be our goal and set our tone. I believe that applies not only to this situation, but in our use of social media in general.  Divisiveness will render Christians ineffective, and the wedges that the enemy has used through this election process has turned Christians on one another.  We have to be careful that disagreement does not turn into deep division and diminish our effect for the gospel on our culture.  

We need to pray for our culture, for the decisions we as Christians will make, for the candidates in the Presidential race and others running for office.  And, remember that on November 9, no matter who wins, God will still be on the throne and He will equip us to live in this culture to be effective witnesses for Him.