Living Alive

Violence and war are major topics. I don’t pretend to treat them completely here. It’s imperative that Christians approach issues like war, capital punishment, domestic & self-defense with much prayerful thought & deliberation.

I’d like to begin with Jesus. “Love your enemies,” Jesus commands his followers. This is not an easy teaching. Is it one that we lay aside too often? Sure. But a lack of common obedience to this command does not diminish the seriousness of Jesus’ call. One familiar with the gospel will remember Luke 3:14, where Jesus speaks of a soldier being content with pay (no statement forbidding military service, cf. Augustine, sermon on the son of a Centurion).

Jesus was killed by the Roman government, an act of capital punishment. The Prince of Peace did not lead a violent life nor rally a radical revolution by the sword (tho’ certainly he did so by the Spirit!). Therefore, in order to support any form of violence, Jesus followers must be very careful in their rationale(cf. Aquinas, Summa Theologica, http://www.ccel.org/a/aquinas/summa/SS/SS040.html).

The only argument which has persuaded me in favor of any violence (or war) is the theory of a “just” war (“Just” meaning right or just). If you like to chase rabbits, look up the English word “just” in the dictionary and count how many different ways we use – or abuse – that single word.

Just War Theory (JWT for the remainder of this article) states that the threat of innocent life (not property or other tangible concerns) must be the cause for which to wage war. I think of World War II as a just war.

Please know that I am not a veteran; I have never served in the military. I definitely respect the military. I am the proud son of a WWII Navy Vet. And I am painfully aware that I live – everyday – in a free country, a freedom that is never *free* but has been bought with a price, the lives of many who were brave enough to serve, fight and sacrifice.
Thanks be to God for the soldier.

Having said that, I return to the issue of violence as viewed from Jesus and the New Testament of the Bible
Jesus said “Blessed are the peacemakers”(Matt. 5). Indeed, Jesus practiced ultimate peacemaking in his own sacrificial suffering and death (a violent death, remember). So, nonviolent enemy-love is not a pie-in-the-sky ideal, but a reality Jesus lived in flesh and blood (and it cost him his blood)(Hays, 323).
Jesus did not choose to raise an army or to rule the world – a temptation he turned down when face-to-face with the devil (Luke 4:5).
Jesus also chose the cross over combat in the Garden the night before He gave up His life.

In the Old Testament, people claim tthat they see a violent God, commanding His armies to not only defeat enemies but to wipe out their communities (women & children). While this may seem horrific, Jesus teaches an ethic that surpasses the Old Testament laws.
“You’ve heard it said, ‘an eye for an eye…’…’love your neighbor and hate your enemy’… but I say to you, ‘love your enemies (Matt. 5:38-44).

Jesus’ teachings seem to undermine the Old Testament law’s * just * punishment for law-breakers. “An eye for an eye” was not cruel & unusual but a means of demonstrating equity in justice. “No more than an eye, if you lost an eye from someone else’s bad behavior.”

What Jesus does is not undermining but completely elevating (for both the law-breaker & the victim): “don’t retaliate with harm – as justified as it may be – but respond with love.”

Jesus himself says “I’ve come not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. (Matt 5:17). What Jesus does is to raise the bar, heighten our moral standards.

- This is just a beginning… let me know your thoughts … more to come.

Worship Resources:  R. Hays, “The Moral Vision of the New Testament” (above quote, 323).

This time of year, I take time to count my blessings. There are many, many things to be thankful for, no doubt. God is good. I am (as always) doing much better than I deserve. And that is an amazing grace.

So, let me say… I am thankful for you, gentle readers. Thanks for reading my blogs so often. I hope you’ll return.

So here’s a bit of a preview for you. I am beginning a blog-series on some common moral dilemmas that people of faith confront in today’s world. I hope to offer some guidance (more than simply a stream-of-consciousness of my own opinion) with well-informed entries seasoned with Christian tradition, teaching & Scripture (most importantly). Here are some of the topics:

Violence & War
Lying & Deception
Anger & Broken relationships
Human Sexuality: abortion, marriage, divorce, homosexuality
Money & Social Status
Racism & Religious Intolerance
Secularism & the State

Oh, and BTW… I am thankful to live in a nation where I am free to express my views…and you are free to read them (and to make up your own mind).

Have a Happy Thanksgiving! – Pastor Jason

This week’s worship resources: C. Spurgeon, sermon “The Bible”; J.Lennon, “Imagine”.

The sink in my kids’ bathroom was draining slowly. It’s Friday afternoon, a time when I generally do chores around the house. It’s not my favorite – unclogging any plumbing drain. And I had been asked, already. Reminded again – and again.

So, I braced myself, grabbed the vise-grips & a bucket & went at it. I had never removed a trap before. Under the sink, I was thankful to find the plastic pipes only hand-tightened. They came apart easily. “Hey, this may not be so bad.” My thought was quickly corrected by the sickening odor & black sludge of the swampy clog that dropped into the bucket.

I had to breathe through my mouth.  The smell turned my stomach.

Ok. I’ll spare you the rest of the “how-to” (like, how-to-not-hurl when fixing a clog). I really couldn’t breathe.  It was just awful. I scrubbed the sludge from the pipes with a toothbrush (yes, mom, an old toothbrush!)  It took me 20 minutes or so – long enough to have a tremendous amount of respect for all plumbers.

So, here’s my point. It immediately occurred to me, when I saw the grimy mess…God must be truly repulsed by our sin.

There are parts, deep in me, which get clogged with the sewage of sin. Over time it builds up. The junk I allow to enter my soul. The hate & anger, the resentment & “clogged forgiveness” that I hide inside.

How God must be sickened by the smell of my sinful heart! How gross these inward pipes of my conscience, slowed by years of neglect and out-right refusal to obey God’s commands. How can I fix it? (I cannot.)

Thank God there is a spiritual plumber! Jesus is the Savior who does the dirty work of true spiritual forgiveness.

Sin is repulsive like sewer sludge. It’s not an easy fix. But Christ has the cure. Call upon His name; confess your sin. Believe. Trust & obey.

With clean inner workings, a cleared conscience and a renewed soul… you & I can be free to obey God’s Word and serve Him wholeheartedly.

May God drain you of every evil & wash you clean within.

VETERANS “I Thank God for you.”

My heart goes out to all our Vets. I had imagined that, for Vets after coming home from war, the rest would be great. However, I’ve learned more about their suffering after they return home. Iraq & Afgan war vets are coming home with not only purple hearts, but broken hearts. Many are carrying faith wounds. They are discouraged. PTSD, depression & suicide are common problems. They often don’t know where to turn.

Take time to pray for our veterans: men & women, young & old.

Suffering mentally and physically, many vets become homeless. I mean 150,000 of them have nowhere to sleep tonight!

But Good News: someone’s doing something about it. Roy Foster, an Army Vet, was once homeless himself.
Roy has a heart for the hurting veteran Americans. AND Roy has the courage to do something to help.
This generous soul has begun a program for homeless vets. The majority of those persons who complete Roy’s program go on to find permanent housing & employment. He’s helped nearly 1000 of them!

Who says 1 person can’t make a difference?

Roy made it to the Top 10 CNN Heroes. You can read his story, watch the video – even vote for him to be the finalist (click CNN.com/heroes).

If you enjoy your freedom, thank a Veteran of the Armed Forces. May God bless all our Veterans in these great United States. ~ Pastor Jason

Are you one of those people who are not so comfortable with the idea of a God watching your every move? An invasion of privacy, perhaps?

My in-laws have a GM car – complete with its little blue-button “OnStar” system. I was thinking about this, and I found (on the internet of course) there a few people who’d *never* buy one of *those* cars because they are suspicious: that Big Brother is watching; that the OnStar system is really a tracking device; that insurance companies use such “black box” devices to record data about your behind-the-wheel-behavior; that “the man” will come after you or hike your rates or …. Whatever.

Wow. I’m a bit paranoid just from hearing that perspective!

In a more positive way, can you think of God as more attentive (even closer to ya) than the OnStar button? I mean, can you think of God’s all-seeing, all-knowing character in a non-threatening way?

Of course, many can. Jesus does.

“The Father is in me and I am in the Father” (John 10:38). That’s a close connection.
Or, in Luke 17:21, Jesus says: “the kingdom of God is within you.” That’s as close as you get.

God loves you. God is not the “eye-in-the-sky” judge who’s breathin’ down your neck ‘cause you can just never get it right!

God is the on-board Navigator, the Constant Companion, the wireless Protector, the Way-the-Truth-the-Life God. God is with you . In a good way!

So may this ever-present-help God grant you peace & security because of His presence!

This week’s resources: A. Hamilton, “Enough”; B. McLaren, “Everything Must Change”; M. Lucado, “Facing Your Giants”