COVID

 

You turned something beautiful into something awkward. A fresh-flowing river, watering a green field into a dammed up trickling stream, the plants withering in the growing desert. Your tight-fisted grip has choked the life out of a life-enhancing bond. Your iron hand has turned a free child into a scared robot, doing a weird dance under your scowl; making him afraid to feel what he so needs to feel. Afraid to touch and be touched. Walled off from the embrace of love and delight---the gifts that control can never give. Something that to him was warm, open, safe and secure has now become contaminated; threatening, out of reach, out of touch. Togetherness has become alienation. Communion is now scattered and forbidden by the tyranny of fear. “Love casts out fear” the Bible says. But fear, when allowed, displaces love. And fear and uncertainty and alienation compose a toxic atmosphere for a growing soul.

Oh Lord, by Your grace empower us to let Love flow---the River of Living Water; unencumbered. Let us dance again to the music of Love. Let it arise in our hearts driving away all the foolish fears, like the sun driving away the dark of night. Let us, like all true warriors, claim the liberty of Love over the fear of sickness---and even of death. Empower us as we strain to reach out across the divisive abyss; hands and hearts reaching out to touch and be touched. Cleanse and sanctify us in Your Love. Heal and restore us to the joy of togetherness. Empower us to be courageous in the Love that triumphs over all fear---the Love that enhances our immune systems!

Bold Christianity

 

It seems to me, and many seasoned Christians that are speaking in the world today, that we are entering into a period of spiritual warfare unprecedented in my lifetime for sure. The powers that humans have garnered in science and technology, and especially in the possibilities that are opened up in the preponderance of social media, have provided unprecedented venues for the propagation of evil and good. The Church, bearing the life-sustaining Truth of Christ, has been lulled into lethargy in the unprecedented peace and prosperity that were purchased by the diligent wakefulness of our Founders and forbears. The Light has grown dim. And now, through these massive venues, darkness has been creeping [perhaps flooding would be a better word] into our minds and hearts, and those of our children. Like the melting of the glaciers [probably, mysteriously a result of this spiritual lethargy] each day or week we see large chunks of Christian principles and truths collapsing into the ocean of chaos and multiple manifestations of darkness. Christians are either being slowly seduced into that darkness, or they are being relegated into a corner on the fringe of society and ordered to keep quiet in the public realm unless they can speak only that version of the Gospel that is “politically correct” and does not offend anyone. Our world is progressively becoming as hostile to the Christian faith as it was in the day when Paul and the first Christians lived and preached. The New Testament, therefore is particularly helpful to us in knowing how to respond. [This is a massive understatement, I realize.] If we do not become warriors, we will be talked over and walked over by those who do not know their right hand from their left spiritually. Our Lord will not be pleased with us if stand idly by while humans go marching off into hell like a lamb to the slaughter. The watchman must sound the trumpet [even if he is ridiculed for it] or else the blood of the people is on his head. We must shed our useless egos that worry about our reputation or what people will think of us. We have to love people enough to speak the Truth to them [the Truth that will set them free and save their souls] even if they hate us for it---even if they think we are bigots, racists or homophobic. We must know, in the core of our being, that we are NONE of these: That we are fully aware that God loves ALL people as much as he loves us. And we are acting out of this Love in all we say and do. Jesus will grant this blessing to us if we ask. We must put on the full armor of God [Ephesians 6] and stand boldly in the Love, Truth and Peace of Christ.

TRUTH

 

Truth remains the Truth, shining and harder than diamond, no matter what you do to it. You can dress it in the clothes of a harlot and drag it through the streets in mockery and condemnation; you can try to hide it behind flashy facades; you can paint it over with trumped up "hypocrisy"; you can put a plastic handle on it and try to use it to enslave people; you can try to sell it for a profit; you can simply ignore it while your world deteriorates; you can bolt and lock the door when it comes gently knocking; you can build a wall to keep it out--it will waft over with the clouds and pour in with the rain; you can run ten thousand miles to escape it, and find it there when you arrive; you can forbid it, hate it, try to turn people from it; you can drag it before the blind tribunal, condemn, torture, spit on it, crucify it---it arises from the grave in triumphant forgiveness and grace. It is washed clean by the blood of the martyrs. Children live in its innocence. The wise sit and run and play in its fields and by its streams, while those with the raging, envious eyes of Cain lurk in its shadows. It arises with every dawn and shines brighter and brighter unto the full light of day. Those who love it find infinite and perfect peace. Their souls take flight on the wings of freedom, upward and above the smoke and clamor of those who are rummaging through the philosophical garbage heaps or empty halls of academia, or fighting against each other in the pursuit of that which can not be gotten through fighting. Here it is, bold and bright above the ramblings of man, like a universal Lighthouse bringing the wayfaring soul safely into Port: "I AM THE TRUTH." [Jesus] Understand and live.

Oppression

 

Jesus was not a victim of oppression. By praying for His “oppressors” and teaching us to love our enemies---by not returning evil for evil--- He exemplifies the only way to rise above oppressive evil. He was not intimidated by power. He spoke Truth to it. But He did not hate those who were bewitched by it, knowing that they did not “know what they [were] doing.” To hate the people who are enslaved in the blindness of any form of evil is to live under the curse of that evil. This hatred can be expressed in arrogant or even comedic sarcasm and condescension, inflammatory demagoguery, and/or violence. The compassionate and wise hatred of evil heals the human family. The hatred of the PEOPLE who are lost in evil is a blindness that only serves to fuel the fires of that evil. If we cannot love our enemies as Jesus commanded and demonstrated, we will contribute to the social problems that we loath.

Principles to Overcome National Crises

 

In the current crisis we are facing in our nation, there are some principles that I believe will help us negotiate successfully; as we have negotiated through other major crises. I set them forth here:

1. Good and evil exist. There are ways of being in this world that progress us toward all that is good for humanity, and ways that regress us into unnecessary suffering.

2. The line that separates good from evil goes through the heart of every human. The primary responsibility of every human is to deal first and foremost with his/her own propensity for evil. No laws or systems of government can compensate for our failure to do this. Jesus pointed out that it is easy for us to see the evil “out there”, and difficult to see the evil that is “in here.” And He indicated that we would not be able to help our brother overcome his evil if we did not first expose and exculpate our own. [Matthew 7:3-5].

3. We all share the responsibility to stand together in confronting and overcoming societal evil, which may be thought of as evil that takes on a collective dynamic and is reinforced by the fact that many stand in agreement with it, benefit from it, and find ways to rationalize it---a sort of collective blindness. [Think of the Pharisees in Jesus’ time, the KKK, Nazi Germany and “systemic racism” in recent history.]

4. There is no person nor people group that is purely evil juxtaposed against a person or people group that is purely good. There is good in the worst of us and evil in the best of us, to varying degrees.

5. These principles take on a higher level of power and importance in the COLLECTIVE [vs. individual] battles against evil specifically because they are reinforced by the dynamic of what some have called “group think”--attitudes and beliefs that congeal and are reinforced by the number of people who adhere to them or benefit from them. In this dynamic those who are predominantly good but passive can be swept up in the demagoguery of those who are predominantly evil but loud and passionate. Historically, much unnecessary suffering has resulted from this human tendency.

6. Communism is an example of a political system that has capitalized [no pun intended] on this dynamic by fundamentally defining history as a struggle of the oppressed against the oppressor. This mindset is not exclusive to communism. When the human endeavor is fundamentally defined in this paradigm, the human tendency to overlook the evil in the self and demonize the evil in the other is maximized. Tens of millions of people have been murdered when this mindset has taken root in civilizations. This is a historical fact.

7. Judaeo-Christianity and the American Constitution and Democratic Republic that are rooted in its principles [partially stated above], properly lived out, have the potential of providing the enduring revolution that evolves the human family toward justice, equality, and peace at the pace at which these can realistically be attained. An accurate account of history reveals that this enduring revolution has indeed been happening. [The end of slavery; women’s rights and the elevation of womanhood; the success of the Civil Rights Movement, and now the progressive transcendence of “systemic racism”.] Patience and diligence are equally important in this process. Without diligence we stagnate in oppression. And without patience we fail to see our progress and face the tendency of over-reacting and destroying the foundations that provide us the platform for continued progress. This points toward the value of both the Conservative and the Liberal endeavors. The Liberal endeavor militates against stagnation and keeps us moving forward. The Conservative endeavor keeps us from “throwing out the baby with the bath water” so to speak. It works to “conserve” only that which has served all members of the human family well. Both endeavors are equally important and beneficial when lived out inside the parameters of the extremes on either side. But the benefits of both can only be contributed to the society in a context of civility in which neither side demonizes and rejects the other in a wholesale manner.

Mark Graham

[I hope you will share this]

John Yoo: Trump defends Constitution

https://youtu.be/RnPpIlhh16I

Jesus and Politics

 

When Jesus was born, Herod was the king of the Jews [their "president"]. He was so evil that Augustus said that his pigs were safer than his children (because his children potentially threatened his power.) In the Second Chapter of the Gospel of Luke we read about him. When the Magi traveled through Jerusalem, following the star that was leading them to what they had come to understand was the birth of a King, Herod said "Let me know when you find him so I can come and worship him also." His true intent was to murder him. Politics has always had a gruesome side--like life itself. Evil is real; and no arena of life is able to shut it out. Only the heart that has been redeemed and enlightened by the Christ (Who was protected by Divine intervention from the evil intent of Herod and Who has shown us the Way of Truth) can be perpetually protected from evil. This is true because we know, through Christ, that the Way of Life is the Way of Love--the Love that He manifested to the human family, and that He makes available to all who "seek, ask and knock".  Only to the degree that we are motivated by this Love are we free from the ravages and control of evil. His ultimate freedom was evident in His prayer from the Cross: "Father forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing." He was still loving! Nothing--not the hatred, mockery, cruelty, false accusations, abandonment, betrayal, physical torture or being nailed to a Cross --nothing could penetrate His soul of Love for the human family. And what a victory! Even today, on the streets of our violence-torn cities, divided by prejudice, fear and anger, those who are speaking with the clearest and most healing voices are speaking the language of Jesus the Christ. "Love one another! We're all God's children! Pray for one another! We got to stop killin' each other! Stop this violence! Stop it!" Martin Luther King, Jr., that Baptist preacher, knew that violence could never win the day. He was immersed in Jesus' teachings. Preached them repeatedly from the pulpit. Jesus has solved the problem of violence for all who hear and heed His voice: "You have always been taught to love your neighbor and hate your enemies, but I say to you, Love your enemies; bless those who curse you; do good to those who hate you; and pray for those who despitefull use you and persecute you, that you may be the children of your Father in heaven." Mt. 5:44.  Remember: He not only spoke these words, He lived the reality of them!

Until we get to this place of heart and mind, all our solutions will be temporary and restrictive in nature. No politician can redeem the hearts of humans. And no laws, military or police force can totally block evil. Education does not provide spiritual enlightenment. (Hitler was educated and intelligent!)

The solution to our social diseases will not be found in politics, law enforcement or education. These are only helpful to the degree that they are being enacted in a social climate of humans who have been and are being enlightened by the Spirit of Jesus Christ. All other goals and motives are distractions or palliative at best.

In America we have had an unprecedented opportunity to be a "Light on a hill" to the rest of the world; not by proclaiming ourselves to be better, more powerful or more righteous than other peoples, but by taking responsibility for the freedom that we have been given by "Divine Providence" (as our Founding Fathers clearly understood) and using it for the benefit of humankind. Not by selfishly grasping for more and more "rights" or sinking into a quagmire of hedonistic pleasure; but by practicing the spiritual disciplines that are a pathway to and manifestation of the only true freedom that exists: the freedom of the soul that Jesus expressly provides. ("I come to set at liberty those who are oppressed.") We still have this opportunity! But now, as always, the evils of fear and hatred threaten it. Fear and hatred are parasitical, draining away the life-force of Love. And Jesus delivers us from them! I beg you, as one who loves America and desires her to become what God has given her the potential of becoming, join the enduring revolution! Recognize the Lordship of Jesus! I challenge you to try to find a purer, more enlightened pathway than the one He walked and taught. If you can, walk in it! But if you can't, then why waste your time on anything less. Work on behalf of the Christian Faith. Support those who propagate the Gospel of peace around the world. This would be an enlightened thing for even an atheist to do, since the Christian faith infuses any society (like "salt" and "yeast") with freedom and life-enhancing qualities that are good for all--not just Christians.  And when the general population of any nation is predominantly enlightened by Christ, there is peace and harmony among the people. Jesus said, "They will know that you are my disciples by the love that you have for each other."

Please God! This is how we want to be known! May the world see America as a nation of people who sincerely love each other; and who also love the entire human family.