Ok, back to the blog. Given what is going on in the world, it's time for a post. I'm also migrating from Blogger to Wordpress, but sadly, when I copy the posts, I lose the comments.  

The killing of the 21 Egyptian Christians has caused a resurgence of discussion among Christians regarding our response to the persecution carried out by ISIS.  There are two extreme views that seem to surface.  On one extreme there are people who want to kill the persecutors because they deserve it, on the other extreme, there are people who believe we are helpless to do anything so we should just ignore it and get on with our lives. 

As usual, the truth is somewhere in the middle. How can we balance fighting injustice with turning the other cheek?  Aren't we instructed to do both? This post will be the first blog of two.  This one will get to the heart of the matter and the following post will talk about what we do about it.

First of all justice.  God is a God of justice; it is in his nature. Justice is seen throughout the Old Testament because God was judging his people based on the Law, rules that would reveal their sinfulness in comparison to a holy God. When they disobeyed, they got what they deserved. Then Jesus came and things changed. God didn't change, but his relationship with his people looked different.  Jesus was to proclaim justice to the nations (Matt 12:18).  He brought justice through victory over death (Matt 12:20).  He taught that the most important matters of the law are justice, mercy, and faithfulness (Matt 23:23). Jesus wants people to repent and has set a day to judge the world (Acts 17:31) and that the sceptre of justice will be the sceptre of his kingdom (Heb 1:8).  At the end of days, when the wrath of God is poured out, Jesus, the Rider on the white horse, will judge with justice as he wages war (Rev 19:11).

Justice is still in God's nature because he is unchanging.  But there's one Scripture at the end that shows me that we haven't seen the half of it yet.

⁹ When he (Jesus) opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. ¹⁰ They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”¹¹ Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been. REVELATION 6:9-10

So, why doesn't God wipe out the killers and avenge the blood of the 21? Because there are others still to die. 

This can either be seen as sick or beautiful.  I believe it is beautiful.  I look at them and realize the value of what Christ did for me, and how he strengthened them when they were faced with death, and how he's preparing others, maybe even me, to stand strong and face the same fate.

The story of Stephen in Acts  7  is beautiful.  He did not call his friends to get bigger stones.  Instead he endured a gruesome death, for presenting Christ and challenging religion. As they were killing him, he was asking God to forgive his killers, echoing the words of Jesus. 

I am not the judge of someone's immortal soul.  What would those who sacrificed their lives think about someone killing their killers?  Would they be ok with it, or would they weep for them and for us? I have a suspicion that it would be the latter.

I believe that vengeance is the Lord's, he will repay (Romans 12:19). I am not the Rider and the time of vengeance is not here yet. There is a day set aside for that. I'm not quite sure how we can choose war when Jesus was very clear we are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). Can we kill someone and love them at the same time?

I will remember to pray for the persecuted and their persecutors. I am praying for their persecutors to experience a revelation of God, just like Paul had. If someone kills the murderers, their chances of repentance are significantly reduced and God wants all men to come to repentance, that is why he waits.  That is why the Rider has not yet come. Who is in control here, us or God?

Persecution strengthens the living. I wonder if the Egyptian martyrs knew that they were strengthening the faith of believers around the world by taking their stand? I want to be one who honours the beautiful deaths of the 21 by valuing what they valued and standing for what they stood for. 

Lest you think I'm just going to go to the other extreme, stick my head in the sand and pretend this isn't happening, tune in for tomorrow's post. 

Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover

This is a follow up to my previous post. I recently picked up a piece of fiction, Deadline by Randy Alcorn. I've discovered over the years that I am too cheap to buy fiction novels which is why I've only read one over the past ten years until last week. Deadline I bought for a dollar, so I figured that even if I hated it, I wouldn’t have wasted much money. I was pleasantly surprised by this book on the discount pile. First of all, it took a couple of chapters just to build the characters. This can be annoying when you are waiting for the story to start. However, when you get into the story line it is easy to see why this depth of character development was so necessary. The book is about three friends, one, Finney, a follower of Christ, another, Doc, antagonistic to Christ, and the main character, Jake, who is caught in the middle. While Jake lives his life similar to Doc, he has a respect for Finney. A crisis occurs that rocks Jake’s world. If I told any more than this, I would be giving away the book. What impressed me most about the book, was not the general storyline but how it was written. The characters were very real and the book even showed the conversations Jake and the others have even with themselves. The debates and questions in their minds were very real. Alcorn also does a good job at describing heaven or hell. He takes a little liberties with the angels but also has a disclaimer at the back of the book. Even still how he describes different aspects of heaven or hell was well done. Something else impressive demonstrates how to live like a Christian in a world that does not have the same moral standards. It confronts some of the big issues but also portrays a realistic view of persecution for standing up for what’s right. This book covered so many aspects of the Christian life that I actually felt that the book drew me closer to God and strengthened my spiritual walk.

Deadline was so good that I wanted to run right back out and buy the sequel at full price. When I got to the bookstore, I learned that the sequel was not in bookstores - very depressing. So I asked the clerk if she had read any of the fiction books on the shelves. She said she was a Ted Dekker fan and had read all of his books. She recommended a stand alone novel to me and even though it was ten dollars, I bought Three. Three's plot started on page two, Dekker wasted no time. The plot was good, with mysterious main character and twist at the end. When I was finished reading, I felt I had read a good story but I was definitely not drawn to God through it. I had just wasted an entire day reading and thought to myself that it was one day I would never get back. Now in fairness to Dekker, I really should read another one of his works before I judge. But I have to wonder why he is so popular. His books take up almost two whole bookshelves at the store, whereas, other authors only have a couple of books each. Then I was reminded of Christian consumerism. There might not be anything Christian about about a book accept for a label. If something is labelled Christian then we seem to think it is ok. We do not have to be convicted about the use of our time because it is “Christian.” In this sense, “Christian” means simply that they took out the smut and crude language. So it is cleaner, but in reality it wouldn’t necessarily even have to be written by a Christian - any moral person could have written it without being a follower of Christ. Is not using bad words and not sleeping around all it means to be a Christian? Isn’t there a deeper more fundamental teaching that needs to go out?

And so in the span of three days I read two contrasting novels. Both were of the suspense genre. One author took full advantage of the platform writing a novel gave him and preached the gospel. The other wrote a novel that provided a Christian with a little suspense in their lives for as long as they read the book. In Alcorn’s book the characters were strengthened in their faith. In Dekker’s book the characters seemed to weaken in their faith and be more concerned with religion than faith. Alcorn’s book was endorsed by Frank Peretti, one of my favorite authors and Dekker had written a book with Peretti. Funny how there are so many similarities and yet one fundamental difference. And so I ask - Why are we not more discerning with what we buy and how we spend our time? Why do we fall prey to the Christian money making machine?

It's Fun to Stay at the YMCA

I was listening to CBC the other morning and I was amazed when I heard the Public Service Announcements. The first PSA was for an event held by a group in the city. This was not a Christian organization, but for some reason I knew I had heard this announcement before. I was saying it along with the announcer in my mind. After she finished describing the event that would be filled with music and special guests, she went on to add the last line, one that I new off by heart - “We hope you’ll join us for a time of fun, food and _____.” My mind filled in “fellowship” but the lady said “entertainment.” Even though that last word was different, the announcement itself was identical to the announcements I’ve heard for church events. In most announcements for church events, there is usually nothing particularly spiritual about them. The only thing different is the word “fellowship” - no prayer, no worship, no praise. But what does “fellowship” mean? I have gone to Christian events full of “fun (usually corny jokes and a couple of games), food (stuffing oursleves is something we always do well - it is really the main event and everyone knows that if you don’t have food people won’t show up), and fellowship (the rest of the world calls it hanging out). Very few times does “fellowship” leave me with anything more than the joy that I get being with my friends who do not believe in God. This makes me wonder if our version of fellowship today makes a mockery of what the Bible said when it describes the early church as being “devoted to the apostles' teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Maybe it’s just me but when I hear that we are going to have “fun, food and fellowship,” it makes me not want to attend that event. How different is the church today different than the world we live in? If we are to be a shining light, if we are to expect people to take notice, if we are to point people to Jesus, how will this happen when our light has blended in so well with the darkness. I long for more...

The second PSA was from a church. After hearing the first one, I was interested to hear this one. However, I was sorely disappointed. The announcement was for a fundraising concert for the church building project. The performers were listed and it was stated that the music would be “classical, sacred and secular.” What does that mean exactly? Once again there appears to be no difference between the church and the local community center. What would Jesus say to the church today? I think he would saddened as his body - his hands, his feet - got together for “fun, food and fellowship” listening to “classical, sacred and secular” instead of going out into the harvest fields. Time is short...

“You say that I’m coming back soon, but you act like I’ll never return” - Keith Green

The Ready Reader

People ask me: So what books are you reading or what are your all time favorite books? Well I've decided to post them here. Some will be current, others will be awesome ones I have read over the years.

A good book on leadership. Only the second one I've ever finished - I usually find them terribly carnal. This one was really good. He challenges some basic church structures and traditions. I found it a refreshing view on leadership. It gets better as you read it too, so you have to finish it. I almost put it down near the middle but kept going and I'm glad I did. I would recommend this to anyone in church leadership because it will stretch you - and its healthy to be stretched - It lets you find out where your limits are and then you have to question them.

This book is not for the easily offended. You will throw it out before you finish the first chapter.

The only annoying thing is that Cole promotes his products, but I just ignore that and take the meat out it. Believe me there is a lot to chew on. Much of what he says matches my personal values of what the church should look like - no paid clergy, multiple leaders, etc. However, this ideal is not always a reality, especially if the church has been in existence for a while and did not start with these principles. I enjoy that he did talk about this and that he's pretty balanced in his expectations of established churches. I found this book primarily written for church planters (which is what he's all about).

The First Commandment

A great message by Shelley Hundley that we probably need to listen to in this day: http://todayandthatday.podOmatic.com

Eulogy for Civi

Well today I finally had to retire my 1996 Honda Civic. In her memory, I have written a eulogy.

Loved by me and misunderstood by most it was a very sad day. Civi may have been old and feeble, but she had personality. She (yes my car was a "she") lived to see 13 good years. Well maintained by me and her previous owner, her underneath just got too brittle to keep going. Even in her last days she had comfortable seats and shifted easily. Civi will be mourned by me...and probably only by me. Her final resting place will most likely be the junk heap and her organs (whatever is left of them) will be donated. In lieu of flowers, please send Shawna some money so she can make the payments on her new car!

The View from Here

I was working on my computer on Friday and I worked right through the morning news, Regis and Kelly, and then The View came on. This snapped me out of what I was doing - not because they were having some loud obnoxious conversation but because of the topic they were discussing. They were talking about the Angels and Demons movie.

**As a side note: I read The DaVinci Code book and then watched the movie. I was glad I read the book first because the movie just scratched the surface. I will do the same thing with Angels and Demons - read the book first.

Anyway, they briefly talked about the movie and then Barbara asked the question about whether or not the ladies believed in an afterlife. Barbara and Joy said they did not. They say we just cease to exist. Sherri said she believed in an afterlife. Whoopi said she wasn't sure but she was going to say yes in order to keep all of her bases covered. Then Tom Hanks and Ron Howard came on and Barbara asked them the same question. Tom said he did not believe in an afterlife. Ron Howard said that he wasn't sure. While he would like to say he did not believe, there was something inside of him that makes him wonder about it.

I find it fascinating that we live in a day and age where the topic of an afterlife is one of the main topics of a talk show and that everyone on the panel can feel free to express their opinions honestly. I also find it interesting that there are so many different opinions among that small group of people. That small group is most likely a sample of our larger society.

I wish I was on The View. I have some things to say...oh wait...I get to have discussions everyday with people I know, who are asking the same questions! The media can pump a lot of crap into our society, but it also provides Christians with great opportunities to share the truth about Christ and most people are very interested in listening.